Martin HD-28

P Premier Guitar Article · Feb 2026

Built on the foundation of Martin’s legendary HD-28, it delivers the bold, balanced Dreadnought tone players have long trusted: powerful bass, clear trebles, and rich overtones shaped by forward-shifted scalloped X-bracing and time-honed craftsmanship.

We love to hear the low end. >> Yeah.

The result is a cannon of a guitar, delivering absolutely thunderous bass, a room-filling presence, and sustain that seems to last for days. If you’re a player who needs to be heard, this is your instrument.

>> If you're want if you're playing in a lot of jams and you're need you're not playing plugged in or anything, you want to be heard, absolutely 100% this is a great guitar for that. If you're doing kind of big, you know, open strummy singer songwriter stuff, this is built for that, too. Um I think that a having a car guitar this big does gain a lot of versatility.

Because the guitar that I picked up and fell in love with the feel and sound of, causing me to keep going back to play it every time I went anywhere near the store, happened to be a Martin.

>> It's obviously louder. There's way more bass response, but you can also play a lot lighter and still get the same volume you would out of a regular 18 or HD-28. And there's also this space that it occupies, if that makes any sense. If you are in a bluegrass picking circle, you're not just louder and providing more low end, it's this breath of volume and space that you're taking up.

G Gearnews.com Julian Schmauch · reviewer · Jan 2026

This combination is known for delivering particularly complex overtones, rich bass tones, and distinctive projection. And the even larger body provides more of everything.

And this isn't this thing just gorgeous? You know, being an H, of course, it's got the uh the herring bone uh perillet, which is interesting. Um I I've learned a lot. I did a really a big dive for this thing. And uh I've got so much to talk about that I I don't know that I'm going to remember a lot of it.

W What To Know & Where To Buy Article

The Martin HD-28 features rosewood for the back and sides, which contributes to its rich, resonant tone and strong bass response, ideal for a wide range of musical styles.

If you've ever wanted an acoustic that feels uh like a subwoofer against your chest, then this is it. They didn't mess with like the classic recipe of the wood. You're getting the solid spruce top, the East Indian rosewood uh back and sides from that iconic uh style 28. So, you get that crisp highs uh and rich, sparkly overtones, just scaled up to 11.

“It’s a really special way to celebrate the past while creating something that can carry the story forward.

And one of the things that I really loved about this guitar over the standard D28 was the low end and the bass response on this guitar. Um, that was that was the game changer for me and that's what helped me pull the trigger on this guitar was just how good the low end sounded. And it sounds absolutely awesome live and on recordings as well. And I found the HD28 to be a great recording guitar.

This Martin HD-28 is a model that stands the test of time and provides players a lifetime of enjoyment.

Obviously, the acoustic guitar wins. Uh but I do find that the K&K has a really really nice sound. It It works much better than a Pietu. Um and then when we have the shotgun mic and you can hear the guitar and the amp, uh I think that's a really nice live sound. of course. Um either one's going to work really well, though. I'm super impressed.

It’s still worth the investment. Binding issues are the exception not the rule.

So far I think it might be a keeper!