Martin’s new HD-28 Semiquincentennial is a love letter to 250 years of American history
Martin is marking America’s 250th birthday the best way it knows how: by building a guitar. The company has unveiled the HD-28 Semiquincentennial, a limited-edition model built on one of its most iconic acoustic platforms and infused with pieces of American history.
The release also marks 50 years since the HD-28 first debuted in 1976, America’s Bicentennial year. The guitar has since become one of Martin’s most recognised and beloved rosewood Dreadnoughts.
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Limited to just 250 guitars, the Semiquincentennial model features wood from the legendary Basking Ridge white oak a.k.a Holy Oak, a 600-year-old tree that stood through the Revolutionary War and generations of American history.
According to local lore, George Washington’s troops drilled within view of its branches, while Washington himself is said to have picnicked beneath it with the Marquis de Lafayette. Martin has incorporated wood from the historic oak into the guitar’s endpiece, heelcap, and Liberty Bell headplate inlay.
The patriotic theme continues across the reclaimed Sitka spruce top, which features original artwork by longtime Martin collaborator Robert Goetzl depicting a bald eagle, Independence Hall and a colonial-era American flag.
Credit: Martin
Underneath all of that, though, it’s still very much an HD-28. The guitar packs a Dreadnought body, solid East Indian rosewood back and sides, bold herringbone top inlay, and Golden Era scalloped forward-shifted X-bracing.
It also features a Golden Era Modified Low Oval neck profile, an ebony Golden Era modern belly bridge, bone bridge pins, antique white binding, and a Semiquincentennial star fingerboard design crafted from paua and mother of pearl.
Each guitar also comes strung with Martin Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 strings and includes a molded hardshell case.
“This is one of those projects where a lot of history comes together,” says Chris Martin IV, the sixth generation leader and current CEO of Martin. “Martin has been part of the American story for nearly 200 years, and our family has its own connection to the Revolution, so celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary feels especially meaningful.”
“It also brings us back to 1976, when Martin marked the Bicentennial and introduced the HD-28. Fifty years later, using that same model as the foundation for this guitar just felt right. It’s a really special way to celebrate the past while creating something that can carry the story forward.”
Learn more at Martin.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
