C. F. Martin & Co. debuted the 14-fret D-28 in 1934, pairing Sitka spruce with rosewood to deliver balanced projection that could keep up with banjos and fiddles. From the folk revival of the 1950s to modern singer-songwriters, the D-28’s booming low end and crystalline highs made it the gold standard for steel-string acoustics and influenced nearly every large-bodied acoustic that followed.
- Introduced: 1934 (Nazareth, Pennsylvania, USA)
- Signature traits: Sitka spruce top, rosewood body, scalloped X-bracing
- Notable players: Neil Young, Tony Rice, Bob Dylan