1973 Martin D-35 - $2,600 (Brownsville)

condition: good

make / manufacturer: Martin

model name / number: D-35

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I’ve had this guitar in my possession for 11 years. This guitar has the “B string crack” that many Martins from this era suffer from as well as a shrunken pick guard. The crack looks to have been previously repaired but I’m not sure I’d call it professionally repaired. But there’s no fear of it spreading. Some slight fretboard impressions between the 2nd and 3rd frets. A very small section of binding has begun to slightly pop up on the top back side. These should all be simple and straightforward repairs but instead of investing the money I decided to pass the savings along. None of the above details affect the sound.

Does this have the tone of a pre-war D28? It doesn’t? Is this a mint condition museum piece? No it isn’t. Does it deserve the reputation that 70’s Martin’s or 70’s guitars in general tend to have? Absolutely not. The guitar sounds great. Very heavy on the bass end as compared to the HD-28 that I have. The low E smacks hard. Tune it down to D and it really growls.

Glaser in Nashville performed $600 worth of work in 2015 notably a new bridge to correct intonation issues and a Plek job. You may be wondering why I didn’t have the above listed items repaired then and I probably should have. It just wasn’t an issue to me at the time and I didn’t want to spend any extra.

This is a players grade guitar. I’m not trying to make it out to be anything other than that. If you’re looking for a collector’s grade showpiece then this isn’t for you. Thanks for reading.

post id: 7915564983

posted: 2026-02-16 13:59

updated: 2026-03-05 21:02

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1973 Martin D-35 - musical instruments - by owner - sale - craigslist