1938 Martin D-28 Herringbone

CF Martin made a total of 121, 14-fret, Herringbone D-28s in 1938. This Brazilian rosewood D-28 was stamped complete on December 22, 1938, serial number 71804, which makes it one of the last of the series with the 1 ¾ inch nut and rear bracing. The guitar has the original finish. I am the second owner and have owned this guitar for the last 46 years. I purchased it from Tex Ross in Vernal, Utah in 1974. Tex Ross and his Rhythm Wranglers were a well-known band and performed their Utah-style country-western music throughout the southwest for over 30 years. Needless to say, the guitar has been played a lot. The remarkable quality of this guitar is its incredible, booming sound.

When I purchased the D-28 from Tex in ‘74, the guitar had several issues which were repaired by Portland luthier Robert Steiniger. There was a crack in the headstock and cracks along the bass and treble side of the fingerboard extension. Steiniger repaired the headstock and also stabilized cracks along the fingerboard extension with a popsicle stick-style brace (see photos).  In addition, he repaired the slight deformation to the upper area of the rosette, which was more than likely damaged from the impact that cracked the headstock.  Robert also repaired the centerline seam, near the tailblock on the soundboard. 

Over the last 46 years, the guitar has been played frequently and has remained incredibly stable with no new cracks. Since that time, I have had contracted the following repairs:

• A small maple patch was added to the original, interior bridge plate. More than likely this had been done due to worn-out bridge pin holes. Can't remember at what point this was added. It does appear that the area of the X-brace that intersects this patch on the bass side, was slightly dented during the installation of this maple plate. (shown in photo)
• In the mid 80’s the guitar had a neck re-set and was re-fretted by Paul Hostetter - formerly of Santa Cruz Guitars, then working as a private luthier.
• Twenty years later, a second neck reset was performed by luthier Lynn Wheelwright of Pro Musician.
• In 2019, Frankie Montuoro (Montuoro Guitars) did a perfect-footprint bridge replacement and pro set up. It’s almost impossible to tell that it’s not the original bridge and the D-28 plays exceptionally well.  

Guitar comes with a five-year-old hard-shell case. Please examine the photos documenting all of these issues. I want to make sure there are no surprises – what you see is what you get.