Comparing the 2025 Vs. 2024 Martin D-28 - EMPIRE MUSIC

[@williss9995]

Great to see Martin take a genuine interest in improving their guitars! I’ve always been captivated by the D28 tone, and comparison videos like yours are both entertaining and informative. Great playing Justin and thanks to you and Empire Music for making this video!

[@firecrackerheart]

o good-great to hear some nuance, dynamics, and consistent rhythm on these new martins! very stoked about these .. .

[@tenzinpeljor]

I find the 2025 model compared to the 2024 more boomy and less clear in tone separation. So, the former D-28 model wins for my ears.

[@jasonwelsh417]

Same

[@rinkydinky-ob9pe]

good to see martin moving away from cheap plastic bridge pins , one of the 1st upgrades i did to my 00018 yrs ago, hopefully people can now buy these bone ones too , great review of the full range on your channel , im hankerin after another d28 now !!

[@mariodriessen9740]

I have a fairly new 000-18 (I think I hit the jackpot with that one - what a sound!!!). I don’t know how old it is exactly, but according to Martin’s own website at the time, the Reimagined 000-18 should have ebony bridge pins. And that’s what they look like to me. Could this have been a temporary thing? Because that would be the first thing I would do, replace plastic pins with ebony ones.

[@jeffstandfield]

I too like the 2024 or 2018 upgrades regarding tone. I’ve not heard live but in line the 2015 sound jangly like new strings do. I like worn in strings. The other thing I wonder is for fans of rosewood, does the bracing change make the guitar more rosewood like emphasizing the mids with a slightly more resonant top? When I fingerpick I love to dig in with alternating bass and the rosewood responds in a pleasing way that you have to dig in to get. I’d hate to loose this with a brighter top.

[@MervGinsberg-sc8kp]

Wow! That’s great! You have convinced me! I prefer the reimagined 2024 model over the new 2025!

[@EmpireMusicPgh]

Glad the demo helped! - Justin

[@kisschicken]

Maybe I'm crazy but I prefer the less boomy 2024.

[@lokom3706]

Was surprised, but me too!

[@tenzinpeljor]

I agree with you - to my own surprise. I had expected the newer model to be better sounding (to my ears).

[@silverbulletfury2660]

Same here, sold a d41 to get the reimagined d28 and so happy i did

[@metatron1212]

I recently bought a 2024 and saw this new release and had major FOMO. Feel so good after seeing this.

[@kisschicken]

@@metatron1212 yeah, I could see the boominess being a benefit if you’re a one-person singer songwriter but the “old” D28 will record better.

[@istricky]

Great A to B comparison J. Could listen to you play acoustic all day. 😊

[@jimmythefish]

So the HD-28 and D-28 have identical bracing now? Why have both? That's a very strange and confusing decision.

[@alonmo9]

Herringbone extra I guess?

[@thefisherman2837]

Because they've lost the plot. So same d28 just different binding and fret Inlays. For and extra best part of a grand in UK. Making sense...a bit senseless

[@mariodriessen9740]

May I ask what mics you recorded the guitar parts with? It’s hard to tell. No further editing? 😊

[@OurManInChad]

To me all the D-28s that I have tried sounded like dead wooden boxes. I hope the new ones are better.

[@thefisherman2837]

All martin had to do is roast or bake the tops and added a more fuller neck profile. Kept straight braced d28s. I like the thinner fretboard...thats about it.

[@richardstones6445]

Thanks for the info. Great decision by Martin to use scalloped bracing on the D28. But I'm still unclear what the difference is between Golden Era scalloped bracing vs. normal scalloped bracing. Is the bracing torrefied? Is it not forward-shifted? Is the scallop actually cut differently? I do love the elegant-looking volute compared to the stubby dimensions of previous year's standard series.

[@davefan16]

GE bracing is scalloped more deeply. Authentic bracing even more so.

[@MervGinsberg-sc8kp]

2025 sounds more like my old OM-28

[@r.a.4777]

you have to sell, whatever they throw at you...😇😅 thru the internet, on good hifi, i still prefer the 2024 ( i own a 2019...), bc it's the sound i wanted.. now it is heading towards taylor imho, but in the end its personal taste.. martin should tackle their massive quality problems before throwing new makeovers on the market...

[@lilycat1694]

So the only difference between D28 & HD28 is cosmetic in 2025. The previous D28 had forward shifted non scalloped bracing.

[@garykarlin1777]

Is this true?

[@softsouthernknight]

They sound the same to me.

[@josephgillette7782]

My HD25 sounds great but fell apart after 3mos of climate controlled ownership. I hear it’s endemic. After a poor factory warrenty neck reset I now own a piss poor $3300.00 guitar. I may get satisfaction one day and smash it on stage in effigy.

[@0071287]

That’s wild the martins I’ve owned are the most solid made things I’ve ever had