Part of the reason for the three panel back was to be able to use up all the smaller pieces of Rosewood they had.
NGD: '76 Martin D-35
- Thread starter bluesholyman
- Start date
bluesholyman
Friend of Leo's
I have a hair of movement on the Low E side but the rest of it doesn't want to budge - not in the mood to attempt extracting it only to break it in half and clean up glue, if its there. I'll let a luthier deal with it.
Yeah, for example, outside its 60% humidity right now - thats kinda low for what I am used to - somewhere around 70-80% seems more normal in the summers. Inside our house, we hold it around 45-50% because thats how the wife likes it.
Yeah, I figure on a "good" guitar, I'd have to do that at some point anyway. This thing sounds quite amazing. I am not used to Martin's but the sound is growing on me - nothing to complain about, just different perhaps - more rich and/or complex sound than I've heard from Gibson's or Taylors.
The neck does appear it will have to be reset. Until then, I'll have the action lowered at the saddle to get by and probably have that crack fixed in the mean time as well.
I honestly cannot find a better guitar that remotely interests me anywhere near what I paid for this - the new D-35s are simply out of reach. Even with a neck reset, I'll still be significantly lower than the price of a new one.
Freeman Keller
Doctor of Teleocity
I would not avoid buying a guitar that needed a neck reset (unless it was an old Yamaha), I would just factor that into the negotiations. The seller probably knows it needs one, that might even be the reason its being sold (can't lower the action anymore, don't want to pay for the reset). It used to be that resets were fairly reasonable, but they have really shot up in price recently, and there seem to be fewer good repair technicians that know how to do them. D-35's are truly marvelous guitars, their bracing is different from D28's which seems to give them stronger bass.
Enjoy your new guitar.
Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
I used to have a '70s D-35. Good guitar. Had a '70s D-28 that was also good.
It's surprising that brand and model makes a difference in whether you can write songs. It is, however, and excellent excuse for buying a guitar, and yours looks like a great find.
The small stuff:
Martins from the '70s have several common ailments, which is why they can he had for great prices. It was guitar boom-times, and they were just too dern busy.
- Pickguard: No surprise. They often lift on '70s Martins. It's a cheap fix, and it doesn't affect the sound.
- Binding: The photo makes the upper back binding look very slightly separated, but that could just be the angle of the light. Even if it is rising a bit, it doesn't look like anything to worry about. And it's another cheap cosmetic fix. So far, so good.
- Bridge plate: Use a mirror or your fingers to see what condition the piece of wood underneath the bridge is like. The '70s plate was poorly designed, so sometimes they need to be replaced. (If it looks good, it is good.)
- Bridge placement: Martin sometimes mismeasured the distance from nut to bridge in the '70s. Impossible intonation is a dead giveaway. (If it sounds good, it is good.)
- Neck set: If the action is too high or your saddle is too low, you might want to start saving up for a neck reset. That also happened a lot in the '70s
Having said all that, it looks like a fantastic guitar. And D-35s have a wonderful sound. Now go write something!
It's surprising that brand and model makes a difference in whether you can write songs. It is, however, and excellent excuse for buying a guitar, and yours looks like a great find.
The small stuff:
Martins from the '70s have several common ailments, which is why they can he had for great prices. It was guitar boom-times, and they were just too dern busy.
- Pickguard: No surprise. They often lift on '70s Martins. It's a cheap fix, and it doesn't affect the sound.
- Binding: The photo makes the upper back binding look very slightly separated, but that could just be the angle of the light. Even if it is rising a bit, it doesn't look like anything to worry about. And it's another cheap cosmetic fix. So far, so good.
- Bridge plate: Use a mirror or your fingers to see what condition the piece of wood underneath the bridge is like. The '70s plate was poorly designed, so sometimes they need to be replaced. (If it looks good, it is good.)
- Bridge placement: Martin sometimes mismeasured the distance from nut to bridge in the '70s. Impossible intonation is a dead giveaway. (If it sounds good, it is good.)
- Neck set: If the action is too high or your saddle is too low, you might want to start saving up for a neck reset. That also happened a lot in the '70s
Having said all that, it looks like a fantastic guitar. And D-35s have a wonderful sound. Now go write something!
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Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
Yep. And they're great for fingerpicking, too!
Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
Yep!
bluesholyman
Friend of Leo's
Its a fair critique. Hard to write on something, though, that just doesn't inspire you to play. Does it have to be a vintage Martin? No. This was just the meeting of opportunity/price and desire at the right time that allowed me to do it.
Oddly enough, it was a $500 chinese built acoustic I got loaned in Nashville that finally convinced me I didn't like the Gibson - that guitar was inspiring enough to stop trying with the Gibson and go find something else. Mind you, I have written songs since owning the Gibson, but the joy of playing it wasn't there.
bottlenecker
Poster Extraordinaire
I think they sound nice for everything, but I get why they're not everyone's cup of tea for fingerpicking.
Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
Yup. Or strumming. Different strokes! (Often literally. . . .)
Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
Yup. As they moved from prettier Brazilian to more mundane Indian rosewood, they used up the bigger Brazilian pieces first, on backs. When there were no pieces big enough for backs, they designed the three-piece back so they could use up the smaller pieces they still had.
The D-35 proved popular enough that when the rest of the Brazilian was gone, they continued to make D-35s with Indian.
Yup. And why they're not everyone's for strumming. Different strokes! (Sometimes literally. . . .)
Persistent myth: Flatpick mahogany, strum rosewood, fingerpick both.
Abiding truth: It's not the wood and strings, it's the person playing the wood and strings.
Good call. Old guitars need lovin' too.
Winner!
bluesholyman
Friend of Leo's
I managed to get the pickguard off properly (with some lightbulb heat and a painters knife) and I am curious as to what I am seeing. It looks to me like someone tried to glue the outer edge down, but the nature of the white stuff is not like something I've seen. Looks like elmers but its incredibly thin. Could it be superglue that reacted with the pickguard and acetate or whatever was orginially used to hold it down? Also included a better picture of that crack - looks worse, but I'll get it fixed.
Even with this, I am not letting it go - love how it sounds - worth the investment.
And last important question? Replace pickguard with black or go vintage with tort?
Even with this, I am not letting it go - love how it sounds - worth the investment.
And last important question? Replace pickguard with black or go vintage with tort?
Freeman Keller
Doctor of Teleocity
Martin was doing something totally weird during the 1970's with their pick guards. They glued them directly to the bare unfinished spruce top, then sprayed lacquer over the top. The p/g and top expands at different rates and sooner or later the top cracks. The correct fix, once you have the p/g off is to put some lacquer on the foot print on the spruce (brush it on, no one will see it), level that, then put a new p/g on using double back tape (most will come with tape on the back). I believe this was all covered in the Kimsey links that I gave you.
What I think I see is that your p/g started coming loose and peeling a bit, someone smeared some glue under the edge. You should remove every bit of that before putting the lacquer on.
The crack should be cleated on the inside and either HHG or thin CA can be wicked into the crack itself. Very common repair.
bluesholyman
Friend of Leo's
I'm gonna have a luthier do it - just don't really have time or the proper tools to do this repair correctly.
Boreas
Doctor of Teleocity
All D-28s were not created equal. IIRC, after WW2 Martin stopped scalloping the braces on the D-28 and I think went to a rosewood bridge plate until around 1976 when they added the HD-28 to the lineup. The HD-28 had scalloped bracing, maple bridge plate, and of course herringbone purfling. But they continued to sell the D-28 along side them with the post-war specs for many years. But IIRC, the D-35 specs never changed significantly and usually had lighter bracing than all other Dreads. I think it is the lighter bracing that rounds out the tone more where the D-28 has more of a punch. I think many pros prefer to record with a D-35 and perform with a D-28.
Although I prefer the look of tort, if it came with black, stay with black. Frankly, if the pickguard isn't damaged, I would just have it reinstalled properly - if possible. But consult with the luthier - you may need to go a little larger to cover the finish edge.
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985plowboy
Poster Extraordinaire
You did well.
A Martin D-35 is an icon.
Allow the excitement and anxiety of the purchasing process to be replaced by a commitment to slow down and really get to know your new guitar.
The tunes will come to you.
A Martin D-35 is an icon.
Allow the excitement and anxiety of the purchasing process to be replaced by a commitment to slow down and really get to know your new guitar.
The tunes will come to you.
bluesholyman
Friend of Leo's
Appreciate the encouragement. So far, very happy with the purchase in spite of potential gotcha's
Taking it to a shop very familiar with 70s Martin's and authorized to work on them. I know the neck reset will cost me $600 and I'm good with that. Going to have them look at all these other small items, including the crack. They didn't seem to think anything was a "pressing" issue, but I do want to get it all sorted in due time.
Charlie Bernstein
Doctor of Teleocity
Smart. The thing about those seventies Martins is, they can need a lot of work, but debugged, they're great guitars. You'll end up with something costing you a lot less than from one a premium year that sounds just as good.
