Martin guitars are built to last and Martin has been responsible for the manufacture of many iconic acoustic guitars. Martins 000-28 (view on Amazon) one of these iconic guitars. While the acoustic guitar "standard" will always be the D-28 model, the 000-28 model is a versatile guitar that performs well with both finger-style and flat picking. The bass isn't as pronounced on the 000-28 giving the tone a more balanced feel. This is the primary reason why the 000-28 is our top rated Martin guitar for all around playing. If you are a bluegrass player or your style of music lends itself to the bigger sound and booming bass of a dreadnought guitar, you'll likely want to skip ahead to our number 2 choice the D-28 model.
The 000 or "orchestra" body shape is well suited to many styles of music and has a little be more modern look that the traditional dreadnoughts. The first time I took notice on this guitar was when watching Eric Clapton perform with it. The guitar sounds great on melodic finger-style picking, jazz progressions, blues progressions, rock and pop chord rhythms and lead music lines. Martin does have an Eric Clapton model of the 000-28 but i prefer the standard versions as they are essentially the same guitar and your not advertising for an artist. If you're still undecided on the shape for your guitar, check out our types of guitars page to get more details on shapes.
Martin 000-28 Features
Body Shape - This is a full-sized orchestra shaped body an produces a well balanced range of tones.
Finish - Typically is a natural gloss finish. However there are also burst finishes available for this guitar.
Solid Sitka Spruce Top - This solid premium grade spruce top has a aging tone coler and is outlined by Martins classic herringbone pattern.
Back and Sides - Premium East Indian Rosewood.
Nut and Saddle - The nut is bone and Saddle is compensated bone.
Tuners - Nickel open gear, butter-bean knob tuners.
Neck - Made from select hardwood and comes with a performance tapered modified low oval shape that is easy to play. The fingerboard on the neck is ebony which has a smooth silky feel when playing. The inlay on the the neck is Martin's diamonds and squares long pattern and made out of abalone.
Adjustable Truss Rod - Allows you to adjust the neck bow to set the action of your guitars strings.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Should you buy the Martin 000-28?
Its hard for me not to gush over all of the Martin standard series guitars as they all have quality materials and time tested designs. What makes the Martin 000-28 stand out for me is the warm even tone the guitar produces. Martins builds are much more consistent these days with the automated PLEK system which finishes components out to exacting specifications. The added features I like about this guitar are the diamonds and squares fingerboard inlays and the herringbone pattern around the body. The ebony fingerboard has a luxurious feel that comes with the ebony wood that i personally prefer to rosewood fingerboards. We all have budgets, however if you can find away to afford this guitar rather than trying to save money on a lesser guitar you'll never look back.
Not sure if the Martin 000-28 is for you? Check out our other Martin guitar models and see how they compare.
