Martin D-28GE 2001 Near Mint Golden Era Limited Edition Brazilian Rosewood- Natural

This Martin D-28GE Golden Era is CLEAN and it is an absolutely killer sounding example.

The D-28GE is one of the most sought-after limited editions Martin has produced in the modern era.  The effort: a return to the full prewar Golden Era specification that defined the acoustic guitar's golden age, built with the materials and construction methods that made the 1930s Martins legendary.

Introduced in 1999 and produced in limited runs of 600 over several years, the D-28GE uses genuine Brazilian rosewood back and sides from pre-CITES stocks that were warehoused before the 1992 international trade restrictions took effect, paired with Adirondack red spruce for the top and forward-shifted scalloped Adirondack bracing — the specific combination that acoustic players, collectors, and bluegrass musicians consistently describe as the holy grail of flat-top tonewood pairings.

Adirondack red spruce and Brazilian rosewood produce a specific tonal relationship: the spruce contributes exceptional dynamic range, projection, and headroom at loud playing levels — the "snap" and articulation that players describe as uniquely responsive to hard picking — while the Brazilian rosewood provides a dense, resonant body character with a complex, sweet midrange and clear treble that Indian rosewood approaches but does not fully replicate. 

This is #266 of the limited edition, in near mint condition, and it carries a specific and documented factory anomaly that distinguishes it from every other D-28GE in the run. The standard fingerboard inlay for the D-28GE is diamonds and squares — the traditional Martin pattern used on pre-war D-28s and throughout the Golden Era line. Guitar #266 was built with abalone dot inlays instead, a departure that Martin acknowledged when contacted about this specific instrument. This is not a modification, it is a factory production variation on a numbered limited edition. Within a run of 600 guitars, it is the only one of its kind.

The rest of the spec is all pre-war style: herringbone purfling, zigzag backstrip, mahogany modified V neck with solid Brazilian rosewood headplate, ebony fingerboard and 1930s-style belly bridge with fossilized ivory nut and long saddle, fossilized ivory bridge pins, Waverly nickel open-gear tuners with butterbean buttons, ivoroid binding, forward-shifted scalloped Adirondack bracing, fossilized ivory nut at 1-3/4". Action is set at 3/32" on both strings at the twelfth fret.

Near mint condition throughout — one of the cleanest D-28GE examples available and with a perfect neck set.  The action is low, the saddle is high, the frets show extremely light wear, and there are no cracks, repairs, or issues.  Original hardshell case included.

Mahar's Vintage Guitars is a brick-and-mortar and web-based retailer. We are happy to talk with you before you make a purchase.   Please reach out if you feel so inclined! We cross market our items here and on our own site, so items are subject to sale elsewhere at any time (however we will never cancel a sale if it happens here first). See our profile here, our Google reviews as well as our 100% positive Reverb feedback. Also, Reverb limits us to only 25 pictures of our items. There is a good chance we have more. Contact us if you’d like to see them.

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SPECS:

• Color: Natural
• Weight: 4lbs 12.5oz
• Top: Solid Adirondack Spruce
• Body: Solid Brazilian Rosewood
• Neck: Mahogany w/Solid Brazilian Rosewood Headplate
• Neck Profile: Modified V
• Fretboard: Ebony
• Inlays: Abalone Dot, not diamonds and squares. 
• Frets: Original
• Fret Count: 20
• Nut: Fossilized Ivory
• Nut width: 1-3/4"
• Radius: 16"
• Scale: 25.4"
• Neck thickness at 1st Fret: .864"
• Neck thickness at 10th Fret: .984"
• Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
• Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 3/32"
• Overall length: 41"
• Body length: 20"
• Lower bout: 15-5/8"
• Waist: 10-7/8"
• Upper bout: 11-1/2"
• Body depth/thickness: 4-7/8"
• String gauge: 12-53
• Electronics?: No
• Pickguard: Original
• Bridge: Ebony 1930s style belly with fossilized ivory long saddle
• Tuners: Waverly Nickel with Butterbean buttons
• Case: OHSC
  

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