Martin D-35 Review: A Brand Favored by the Best

If you're in the market for a premium acoustic guitar, it's hard to go wrong with a Martin. The company has been manufacturing top-notch acoustic guitars in Nazareth, Pennsylvania for over 140 years. Over that time, they've grown to become one of the biggest names in the acoustic guitar world — players from Johnny Cash to John Lennon and Paul McCartney have all favored Martin models.

Martin's dreadnought guitars are particularly renowned for their expressive voice and booming, deep bass. Along with the classic D-28, the D-35 model is one of the company's most popular instruments.

Since its introduction in the 1960s, the D-35 has become an iconic dreadnought acoustic for players in all genres. Let's take a closer look at the details and explain what makes this guitar one of the best acoustic guitars on the market.

Body and Neck

At first glance, the D-35 is an impressively large guitar. Like all Martin dreadnoughts, it features a wider, more square body than curvier parlor acoustics. The extra size aids with acoustic resonance and provides more bass than smaller models can.

The D-35's body is constructed with a solid Sitka spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides. The combination of Sitka spruce with rosewood is a classic acoustic guitar pairing; the Sitka spruce provides high-end clarity and snap, while the rosewood adds a dose of warmth and vintage glow. Sitka spruce is also exceptionally stiff, which makes it a great soundboard material — it creates a louder, punchier sound than other tonewoods like cedar.

Perhaps the most striking feature on this guitar is its three-piece rosewood back. Assembled in a triangular pattern, it's certainly a unique design! The neck is made of select hardwood (generally mahogany or Spanish cedar) and topped with a smooth ebony fingerboard. It's fitted in a low oval shape, with Martin's high-performance taper to help you move around the fretboard with ease. Martin's classic square paddle headstock tops off the look.

Hardware

Though the D-35 is undoubtedly a premium guitar, its style is more vintage and understated than flashy and trendy. Antique white binding joins the body and back, with multi-stripe inlays on the top and surrounding the sound hole in the center. The pickguard is made of faux tortoiseshell.

The ebony bridge holds a genuine bone saddle, which pairs with the bone nut at the other end of the neck. Martin chrome tuners keep your tuning stable; these machines are “closed-gear” models for a sleek, refined appearance.

Inside the body of the guitar, you'll find Martin's non-scalloped X-shaped bracing. Unlike the D-28, the D-35 uses thinner 1/4″ braces. The smaller strips of wood allow more bass into your final sound. That makes the D-35 an outstanding option for strumming and gives it some additional resonance.

Sound

It's hard to find flaws in a guitar this good. While it certainly has its strengths, the D-35 is versatile enough to handle most types of acoustic music — for proof, just look at the list of players! In keeping with traditional Martin dreadnought style, the D-35 offers amazing projection and sustain along with a relatively balanced tonal range.

The bass is loud and impressive without completely overpowering the sound. Fingerpickers might find it a bit heavy, though most other players will appreciate the extra volume and muscle. When compared with cheaper acoustics, the D-35 delivers much more power in the low end of the range.

Treble frequencies remain snappy and bright; while they're not ice-pick level, they can certainly cut through a mix. They sound particularly good when strummed in open chords, though they also shine on their own or in double-stop playing. Acoustic solo enthusiasts won't have any complaints here.

If there's any flaw to be found here, it may be that the bass can overpower notes in the middle of the range in certain scenarios. Ultimately, however, most complaints are just nitpicking — this guitar delivers quintessential “acoustic guitar” sound with very few perceptible weaknesses.

Conclusion

If you love to play acoustic guitar and have the money to spend on a premium model, you need to check out the Martin D-35. This instrument has stood the test of time and enjoyed over fifty years of success among pros and amateurs alike. It's hard to go wrong with a sound like this: versatile and balanced, yet assertive and powerful.