Tom, if you get me talking about guitars, you might not get me to stop. I've had a few of them. I had a Taylor, which was good, then I played a bunch of Martins and never found the sound I was wanting. After searching around, there are two martins that stand out without auctioning off your house and belongings for.

Mine is an HD-28V. It has a nice straight spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. Bracing is scalloped and forward shifted. It's made like the old Martins. I'd recommend the HD-28 without the v-neck and vintage appointments. The neck on mine is a little thick, and it causes some hand problems for me. Both models are very consistent from guitar to guitar.

Martin d-18 GE -- GE means golden era. Same pretty much as the hd-28, but it is a mahogany body with spruce top. A lot deeper sounding guitar, good for picking lead. Every one of them sounds awesome. Peter Rowan plays an old d-18. I like the d-28 best for bluegrass rhythm and the d-18 is hands-down a better flatpicker's guitar - and little deep for strumming unless you have a lot of finesse.

Tomorrow a mandolin player friend is coming over for jamming. He
is bringing his grandad's old 1953 D-18. It's worth a fortune, and he lets me play it. It has an amazing voice, and can make a sub par guitarist like myself sound like a pro. I love that guitar, but could never afford one. It sounds way better after being played for years and years. I've had mine for less than two years, and it is already sounding better.

Best strings for any of the above are Martin SP medium phosphor bronze. I've tried many strings, but they don't sound right on this guitar.

If you get serious and want to talk, just send me a note!

Best wishes,

Kevin

Kevin Miller

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