I knew what I wanted when I ordered the 000-28. Martin delivers superb quality and this guitar is no exception. I have a variety of nice guitars including dreadnoughts and small bodies from Martin, Taylor and Larrivee.This guitar is an auditorium 14 fret, 24.9 scale guitar that has a warm but strong enough sound and excellent balance. Not a flaw in the construction. Won't have to change a thing. It will be perfect for finger-style playing, blues and smooth flat-picking. No loud volume but a nice even sound that can only be appreciated for it's beautiful tone and overall playability.

ItÆs a year later and I wanted to revise the review I wrote of my Martin 000-28. In the past year I have spent a fair amount of time visiting music stores from coast to coast (I travel off and on), collecting information and impressions of guitars and related equipment. Over the past year I have purchased three other new guitars, a Taylor 614CE, a Guild Bluesbird, and a Fender 60Æs Telecaster. I play each of the four; none of them sits idle for long. But the Martin has become part of my ôroutineö - after my first cup of coffee in the morning I get the Martin and play while my wife has her coffee and then cooks breakfast. I tend to pick it up, too, when I play in the evening, and it tends to go with me to at least half of my weekly guitar lessons. Given the guitar ôpersonalitiesö I have in my collection, the Martin is the most pleasing overall; the others seem to fill ôniches.ö I hope I've explained why, below. My 000-28 has a clean, balanced, and ômatureö sound across its register (i.e., from the 1st to the 6th strings). Many dreadnoughts, for example, (even high dollar Martins) begin to get ômuddyö sounding as you move from the higher to the lower strings. They may have clean and bright sounding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, strings, but I've found when a lick takes me to the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings, I sometimes wonder if the strings are dead because the sound dulls so dramatically. This lack of balance with many guitars makes me crazy; I want the quality of the sound to be the same from string to string. That is what I get with the 000-28. Now, about this ômatureö sound (thatÆs my wifeÆs term for it). My Taylor has the balance that I like, but its sound is ôbrassyö (my wife calls it ôthe teen-eagerö). When I play the 000-28, I hear the sounds of the strings with little coloration from the guitar. The coloration that is there, to me, calms the harsher overtones, allowing the notes I play to ôring true.ö To some, this may not be ôexciting,ö like attempting to wail out a swing progression on my Taylor (Clear out the chickens, Ma! I'm gonnaÆ kick up some dirt!). On the 000-28 I find I play to hear the relationships of the notes, the chords, and the progressions. I guess this is why finger-pickers enjoy this Martin; what you hear is clean, balanced, uncolored musicianship. The craftsmanship of my 000-28 is excellent. The woods used on this instrument are beautiful and the gloss finish sets them off nicely while protecting them well. The tuners work flawlessly and stay in tune. A few technical matters. I took my 000-28 to a Martin authorized service center and had them lower the action just a ôscooch.ö All they had to do was adjust the neck tension slightly. It was a big improvement. It cost $10 to do. I also had them put a strap button on the heel of the neck ($2). The guys at the service center fell in love with this guitar. They tell me it is one of the best playing and sounding Martins they have seen. I have tried several brands of strings on this guitar, but I have come back to the Martin SP or SP+ 80/20 lights. Nothing else sounded as right. This 000 body is not ôboomyö enough to keep up with a group of dreadnought players when they get to ôwailing.ö However, when itÆs time to do some finger-picking or flat-picking, its balance will blow them away. Yes, I got lucky when I ordered this Martin from Music123. Their service was tremendous and the price was great!

I have a feeling that by the time this guitar matures, it will become the best ever. At the moment it is pushed into second place in my heart by my very old and very rare Levin. Compared to the Dreadnought style instruments I have always owned before and including every other Martin I have ever played, this one has the best tone and is best suited to my fingerstyle playing. The bass response is fantastic while the treble remains bright and clear.All round, this is a beautifully made instrument and is a joy to play.

I played serious rock and roll thirty years ago, but what I knew how to play was bass. I really never learned to chord a six string. When I made a decision to go to graduate school, I sold all of my equipment. For the past two years I have been thinking of buying a six string for my own enjoyment. But knowing my ear the way I do, I knew I would not tolerate an instrument that did not have a clean sound. I also knew I would not be happy with one that was difficult for me to learn to chord and re-learn to fret. Wow! Did I luck out choosing this Martin. The action is easy and, even with all of my rust, chords happen easily. And the sound is certainly Martin, without the heavier bass and mids of a dreadnought. This is a little expensive for a "first" guitar, but you don't have to fight it to create the music you want. If the auditorium sound is what you are after, this is a great one to consider.

I have had my Martin 00028 for almost three years, now, and it remains a terrific instrument! Since I wrote my last review, my son has spent over a year fighting "the war" in Iraq (he's home, now), and my other guitars have tended to stay in their cases. It was hard to find much desire to play while he was gone. But I kept pulling out the Martin and playing, as much for comfort and "stability" as anything else.The finish on my 00028 has begun to mellow some, and has begun to get that slightly honey-colored look that appears as a fine guitar ages. Otherwise, the finish remains flawless. It's tone has mellowed a bit more, too. With SP or SP+ 80/20 light strings, it remains one of the finest sounding guitars that I have played.My playing has matured to a level that I believe I can make these comments. The 00028 is a shorter scale neck. So if you have larger fingers, you will have difficulty getting three fingers in the second fret for an A chord (if that's the way you play an A - I often lay one fingertip flat across all three strings). Similarly, with larger fingers it will be difficult to barre chord a D (at the tenth fret). Playing chords from the twelfth fret up is a bit of a challenge since there isn't a cutout. But up on the neck is not where you want to chord this Martin. It is at its best chorded closer to the nut (open chords and barre chords), or when played flat picking, or finger picking. And in those situations the sound is just about the best I've ever heard!By the way, the price of this guitar has gone up over $200 since I bought mine. It's worth it! When the UPS driver delivered mine from Music123 I had no idea what a bargain I had received!