At the very top of the Martin range, above the D-28 and D-35 with their rosewood bodies, sits the D-41. It is positioned just below the D-45, which is a bit more heavily adorned with pearl inlay. What’s interesting here, in my opinion, lies more in the instrument’s tonal characteristics than in its ornamentation, because it sounds very open, simply put. You don’t get the classic bass-heavy emphasis of the D-28 or D-35—so popular with bluegrass players. Instead, it’s more balanced, both deep and focused. There’s also very strong projection, and you can really feel it has plenty of power as soon as you dig in. When strummed, it’s quite ilmpressive, yet it remains clean and enveloping.

This particular example has a small crack under the bridge, which is fairly common on Martin guitars from the 1970s, as is the slightly lifting pickguard. The neck is straight, the neck angle is good thanks to a neck reset, and the action is very comfortable: 2 mm on the low E string and 1.7 mm on the high E string.

There are some traces of a battery holder inside, evidence of a previous amplification system that has since been removed in favor of a currently installed K&K Pure Mini–type pickup. The output jack is, of course, located at the strap button.

It comes with its original blue hard case.