SOLD: 1934 Martin D-28: A closer look.

[@mayniac5.09]

every commenter on youtube thinks they are an expert.. Kimsey is a working legend sharing his knowledge with us.. Thanks for what you do Mr Kimsey.

[@Bryankimsey]

I am but a pawn in the game of life. But thanks!

[@mayniac5.09]

@@Bryankimsey legend status to me sir.. love your vids and glad you take the time to make them! Ive learned a lot about guitars from watching your vids.. You give hope to the 70s stuff that gets discredited so often..

[@Bryankimsey]

That's because I love under-dogs and helping them shine. In a way, this '34 is an underdog due to the non-original stuff. Collectors are all hung up over the originality and I'm over here going "LISTEN TO THIS THING!!!"

[@JeffandLeslie]

being a player and not a collector, how many parts may have been replaced over the past 90 years matters less than how it sounds and just listening through my computer speakers, it sounds magnificent. Would love to hear it in person some day. She looks a lot better at 90 than I do at 63.

[@trebleclef169]

Thank you for sharing your techniques, and this fabulous guitar! I'm sure that your videos are teaching/ guiding quite a few aspiring techs out there, and inspiring even more folks to take up the pursuit.

[@martinburke-x4i]

i hope i get to play one of those before i leave this earth! lol you sure look happy bryan enjoy!

[@gam1471]

Tasty picking - I particularly liked your Bill Cheatham licks up the fingerboard.

[@Big.E]

Loved this video

[@HayesTech]

Those guitars are awesome. I too have a KZbin channel and completely understand the "fish-eye" effect with certain lenses or even cameras, like the action cameras. I think I could be completely happy with the actions on those 2 guitars. My 65 Texan has about 5/64" on the low E and about 4/64" in the high E and I'm perfectly happy with that. It used to be a tad higher than that, before I made the insert to "temporarily" remove that adjustable saddle.. 😂 It sounds so good now.

[@redlinemando]

I think it's important to remember one main detail. Although these antique Martins were made in a factory, they were also made largely by hand. At that time, the technology didn't exist to make each guitar exactly to identical specs. To a large degree, parts were shaped & sanded by hand & that leaves room for all sorts of measurement variations in each guitar. I'm sure that they had target measurements that they wanted to adhere to, but I'll guarantee that it would be highly unlikely to find two prewar Martins of the same year, same model, with consecutive serial numbers that had the exact same neck measurements from heel to nut. That's not to even mention how much the wood has changed over the life span of the guitar. That "extra bridge plate" looked bulky in the first video, but I was deceived by shadows cast from the lighting angle. In this video, you can clearly see that it's not thick at all & not worth the trouble or risk involved to remove it. If it REALLY bothered me, the only way I would deal with it, would be to "take my sweet time & VERY slowly hand sand it" until it was paper thin. Well, it doesn't bother me that much, so I'd play it & enjoy it!!!! I mean, let's be real.......it's a surviving 1934 Martin D-28. I'm amazed that the top is in as good a condition as it is. For me, it would be a once in a lifetime chance to even touch or play a chord on an instrument this historic!!!! Some of these collectors & enthusiasts make a fuss over the most insignificant details. Let it have it's "vintage" tuners from a different year, let it have it's scars & let it have it's character. If it doesn't effect the sound, structure or playability of the guitar.......let it be!!!! When & if I live to be 90 yrs old, I'll be very fortunate if I have all my original parts!!!! I'll be proud of my scars & glad to tell their stories!!!! Shoot.......by that point, I'll be glad if I'm able to form coherent sentences!!!! Great video, great playing & extraordinary sounding guitar!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing the experience with us viewers!!!!!!!

[@Bryankimsey]

Bingo!!!! Exactly how I feel about it.

[@UncleWiggy252]

Ladies & Gentlemen. It's obvious that Kimsey has found his dream. You were magnificent my dear sir. He can't let go of it...and this is just his debut. OMG.. Meanwhile, I'm out here still tryin' to figer out how to fix out this Mahogany Hot Rod Special. ...God Bless, we are so lucky.

[@XJ1100J]

Hi Brian, I've got a 1934 D-28, one of the 11 originally known in Longworth's 1st edition HOMG. The stamp is well stamped into the headstock. The back part of my new peterson tuner's clamp fell off and the stub gouged the stamp but it is still clear to see and it's nothing like a decal, it's a stamp originally applied with a lot of pressure. Still have the original tuners, they were replaced by Waverleys. Width of the fretboard right at the nut 1.760 Width at the 5th fret 2.000 Width at the 9th 2.159 Width at the 12th 2.256 It was recently gone over by Dave Musselwhite and the action is perfect for me. I didn't recreate the other measurements, but the strings I use are the Dadario XT Phos Bronze 11, 15, 22, 32, 42 & 52 gauge. This is a cannon & heavier strings are simply not needed & I figure, why stress an 90 year old instrument any more than what is needed. This is not the guitar I played on Plectrology (Deep River Blues & The Fisherman), that was a Loprinzi LR-20 Blue Stripe. Nice to see you again. Hope this helps your database.

[@1945d18]

As far as neckwidth goes my 1945 D 18 should have a 11/16 the neck but it is 5/8 instead. It’s original but my guess is this was made by hand and there were variations during the war years. The neck is real chunky plus it has an ebony reinforcement due to wartime steel shortages. Still has the original tuners with the plastic buttons and they work fine

[@CharlieBryant]

“I’d have to think on that for probably about a year.” Ha!

[@quentinh.rueckert1407]

What is that behind the bridge plate? It looks like a piece of laminated something glued to the top?

[@Bryankimsey]

I think it was added to counteract top belly and then someone else tried to remove it and chickened out. It's thin and I don't think it's hurting it too much. I would be EXTREMELY cautious about removing. It's not causing any issues now and removing might cause issues. I'd be a lot more focused on the massive popsicle brace and 2 1/8" bridge spacing, both of which I can safely fix.

[@TZap19]

Where is this guitar being listed for sale?

[@Bryankimsey]

It's not. You can contact me via my name at gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with the owner.

[@jeremysuggs8345]

Bahahaha , you crack me up 😎👍👍

[@billlamb1745]

Bryan it appears that the back as zero longitudinal radius therefore no taper on the sides. It that correct? What about radius of the top?

[@Bryankimsey]

No idea. I didn't notice anything odd. It's gone again so I can't check. Plus, those are things I can't do anything about, ya know? I'm not gonna re-brace it, that's for sure.

[@johngeddes7894]

John Hall once set up a builder’s level, or maybe it was a transit, but he determined that a ‘37 D-28 he was working on had a 40’ back radius. That was his comment on the UMGF anyway. It might be just an approximation of what this ‘34 has for a back radius.

[@Bryankimsey]

I have radius dishes and could check but I only have so much time in the day and I'd rather play the guitar in my allotted time. :) I mean... sitting on the work bench it doesn't seem to have as much radius as some modern Martins- it doesn't rock around as much as some have. Then again, it could be a little dry and humidity would puff it up and create radius. I'd have to have the guitar for a week or so to really check that stuff and I don't want be responsible for it.

[@billlamb1745]

@Bryankimsey I'm only asking because I'm having a 34 recreation made. I noticed when it was on your bench, the side didn't look tapered. This made me think of an article on UMGF where John Arnold chimed in. Did you determine if this was an ebony rod and bar frets or T bar and T frets? Early in 34 was ebony but later switched to T bar.

[@Bryankimsey]

T and T. I understand your curiosity about the curvature, but that's going to be affected somewhat by humidity and I don't know what RH conditions this guitar lives in. Therefore, I wouldn't say anything until I see how it reacts to humidity.

[@billdedrick1914]

I believe you meant D'Addario XS not EXP EXP have been discontinued by D'Addario.

[@Bryankimsey]

Nope... EXP. :) An old set. That's partly why I didn't use them. I didn't wanna be The Guy Who Used The Last Set of EXP's In Existence.

[@OfficialDPTheRealDeal]

Compare it to your authentic now man with the new strings

[@Bryankimsey]

Too late. Elvis has left the building.