Martin HD-35 Acoustic Guitar - Natural Reviews

If God had a guitar, it would be an HD-35. People don't know enough about how unique this guitar is, I think it is Martin's best. It started out as a Manufacturing Materials Recovery Project for the expensive materials used in the Custom Shop. All the wood used in it is 5 or 6 grade custom shop wood. The necks are the finest custom shop Honduran Mahogany. It is plekked in the custom shop. It is finished in the custom shop. It goes through the custom shop Quality Control dept, not the general production QC. It has 000 1/4" bracing, AND it's scalloped. This equals huuuge, deep ringing sound. It's a little bit looser, rounder sound than than the punchiness of a D-35 but not a more lush, big, deeper, louder sound exists on this earth, if you dig that, and I dig that. I play 4 Martins, and it never fails, when I pick this one up, you can see people look up from their plates and drop their forks and stare, they may not be musicians, but they hear THAT wow sound. And Caleb at Sweetwater is the best, call him.

It sings like an angel and booms like a cannon. Sweetwater and its gear experts — truly amazing.

I've had my HD-35 for 6 months now. The first few months I had it I wasn't sure this guitar was for me. It was hard to play with the strings that Martin put on it. Plus I play guitar in bed allot as I'm disabled. The size of the Dreadnought under my arm was uncomfortable in bed. This is a guitar I play in my old van chair on my patio w my all veteran group where I'm sitting upright. Since it wasn't eletric that was another reason I didn't play it as we are all plugged into my PA. Im used to playing a classical, flamenco or electric guitar with softer strings. So after several months w the med guage strings Martin swears by...I changed the strings to a lighter guage. Since I've done that I've not put it down. I play about 3-4 hours a day. Right away I wrote a couple songs on it. Ive also ordered a pickup for it so I can plug in when my group is here. I wish I knew Sweetwater will install a pickup system when I bought it because my HD-35 doesn't come w one. What has started off a bit rocky...has been smoothing out quite nicely. I used Martin MA130 Authentic Acoustic Superior Performance Silk and Steel Guitar Strings - .0115-.047 Custom. I have a long time friend who is a studio musician who recommended this guage for me. I can now play it for hours vrs 20 min session's. I can also play bar chords wo screwing up...and leads wo shredding my fingers like a cheese grader. The tone sounds great and these strings are slingy...ive not broken a string yet, that was a worry for a bit since they are way thinner strings. The neck is super comfortable to play. The tone is superb. The fit and finish of a Martin is 2nd to none. Its a high quality instrument that for me...needed a few tweaks. I've ordered a Martin OM-28 and am having Sweetwater install a pickup of my choice. I still need a guitar w smaller body but with same scale length as my HD-35 for playing in bed. It took me a bit to warm up to my HD-35 but now I absolutely love it. Looking forward to having the pickup installed. Once that's done I'll do a review of the pickup. All in all I'm very happy. Sweetwater has the very best customer service available. Im extremely picky about everything I use or do...Sweetwater has become my go to for everything musical. Thanks for the support.
Semper Fidelis, USMC Vet.

I've wanted a Martin D-35 since I was a kid. I finally treated myself to this one. It's hard to find the words to express how thrilled I am to own this.
Thank you Martin for such incredible tradition and craftsmanship. Thank you Tim at Sweetwater for your special care during this purchase.
Rick Harris

I was constantly told that Sweetwater is the best customer service in the music business. I spoke with my rep Adam and he was patient with all my questions. This guitar can hum softly or boom like a cannon if you dig into it. I just can't wait to have the wood open up to really hear the guitar come to life every time you play it!

In 1974 a friend of mine got a '65 Brazilian rosewood Martin HD-35 for Christmas. I have wanted one ever since. I have played for 50 years and owned many fine instruments, all the names you know. IMHO this is the BEST acoustic guitar made by anyone! It's drop-dead gorgeous, sounds extremely deep and rich, plays like butter, projects extremely well, and being all-solid-wood ages very well. Truthfully it is also a source of great pride of ownership, always recognized by those who are "in the know" about fine guitars. It IS expensive (and how!) but worth every penny. I suggest waiting for no-interest financing.

I always wanted a Martin and finally got one. Ben gave me a great deal on this one.
I waited a couple weeks to review it to get over that "new guitar" crush.
A friend of mine has a D28 and D35. I loved playing both with a slight preference towards the D35.
Sweetwater was out of stock of the one I wanted, and because of the Covid-19 situation currently going on I may have had to wait months for the one I wanted to be back in stock.
Because Sweetwater is so easy to deal with and knowing I could return it if it wasn't for me, I took a shot on the HD35.
I am ecstatic that I did. The sound is very similar to the standard D35 but louder (more projection) and a bit cleaner (if that makes any sense). A little heavier on the bass end than the D28 but still with great tonal balance. I may lower the action just a bit (my own personal preference), but it plays like dream right out of the box. The plecking that Martin does in the factory really paid off.
As for the looks, I love the herringbone binding and the three piece back is absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't begin to do these guitars justice.
As with all Martin guitars, the finish is flawless. The body finish is high gloss while the neck is a soft satin.
My only very slight criticism is that it comes with plastic bridge pins. I would have expected at least bone if not liquid metal pins at this price. Luckily I had some bone pins laying around (I may even upgrade to the liquid metal).
One last thing. Did I mention IT"S A MARTIN?!!!

I've had this guitar about a month, so this is a"honeymoon" review. I'd been watching this particular one as a marked down display for a while, along with a d28,cutaway with a pup. I requested of Mason Bouvier, #1 "sales engineer" ( that I have"met") to test drive both, he and others did, then asked me, exactly what tone, sound,particulars, etc, I was seeking? Mason is familiar with my musical inclinations from previous conversations and purchases, (another of the many reasons that Sweetwater excels!). So I now have the "guitar of a lifetime"!
You pickers know what I mean. I have owned a few, and have been around many,many fine guitars, from the 60-70's Yamahas, older Gibson, Guild, Martin, Augustino Loprinzi, (which I have a '74 lr15,built,signed by Mr Loprinzi himself) . Numerous pickers pals ( vintage Martin owners and Taylor fans) all compliment this guitar, and express that " I wish my guitar played this easy," and complimented the sound! ( Of course they're not gonna say it sounds better than theirs, while holding it on their knee that's insulting to their longtime #1!!) Not listing any specs, other than factory I chose Martin lights and tusq pins, everyone has their preference, this is mine!!

I was obsessed with getting one of these for several months and just went for it last weekend. The pictures don"t begin to do justice to the look of this guitar. It is stunning in real life.
It plays like a dream and the tone and bass response are amazing.
Highly recommended.

A very great sounding guitar beauty in workmanship
I really happy about it and with it though I don't play music for a living I love to relax and listen to the sound I come up with some times I own a d28 and the d 35 HD they both are great instrument I love to have a d 45 . Or play one to hear it sounds thanks chester Wood

I have been wanting to add a really nice acoustic to my collection for quite some time.
Have played Some really nice Taylors and others including Martin and the Martin is the equivalent of European butter.
Yes, European butter.
Smooth, silky and elegant.
Gougous depth, pronounced midrange and silky highs.
The highs are not in your face like a Taylor but smooth like butter.
Plays beautifully as a nice Martin should.
Very happy with this purchase and always love doing business with Sweetwater.
Ended up with an HD as at low volume still has enormous depth.

Wow!! My first real guitar (50 years ago) was a Martin D-18 that we bought in Nazareth, It was stolen from my car and replaced by a variety of good knock offs (such as Takamine and Yamaha).

I was expecting a mild disappointment,. Really, how much better could the real thing be? Well - WAY BETTER! Wow! The sound is the thing! The action is a little better, but the sound is so much clearer, deeper, more resonant!

So, no, I am not suddenly playing like Stephen Stills, but I cried when I realized I could get such good sound out of this box.

Martin HD35 is an excellent instrument. The all-around great tone, & rich bass, is all there when you need it.
The mid-range actually helps your vocal track. It's easy to listen to what the vocals need & by the second take, you've got what you want ! With the new HD35 you don't just write a song, you create one !
I've had this guitar for well over a month & it sounds so right, just so perfect for me !
Thank you Sweetwater !

A beautiful guitar with great tone. But I"ve never bought a guitar with some assembly required

This is by far the loudest guitar I've played. The tone is well balanced with great sustain. Sounds good strumming picking and especially finger picking due to the projection. Would give it a 5 star but could live without the aging toner and 1 3/4" nut spacing.

I've owned an HD-35 for 11 years. Beauty is in the ears of the beholder, and I say this guy leaves nothing to be desired. It's very responsive; as loud, bass-y, and/or delicate as I want, and the harmonics are impressive! The trade off for that sound is that it IS the lightest braced product on the market. Yes, it's a cannon, but BE CAREFUL with it.
I took off 1 star for a snafu I had with Martin over my Martin custom 12 string. At 10 yrs old, Martin told me that it needed a neck reset to correct a problem with notes not keeping true pitch as I played up the neck, and even though I was the original owner, it was NOT a warranty issue, since the trouble was string action. Read the fine print carefully, and do not be fooled by that "lifetime warranty" business. It really does not cover much. I took the same 12 string to a well experienced Martin dealer, who corrected the problem by shaving a few mils off the bridge. I won't be paying the made in USA guitar premium again.

Been playing bluegrass and country lead guitar for over 30 years. Finally pulled the trigger on what I though was going to be an awesome guitar. I've owned this 2021 HD-35 for about 6 months now. I purchased it new in June from and online retailer. It sounds amazing but the action has slowly increased to the point where it's no longer playable. It came with 13's on it. I put 12's on it the first week. I switched to 11's last week to try and help. The bow of the neck is in spec but at this point it either needs a neck reset or the saddle sanded down as low as it could go which shouldn't even being discussed at this early stage of it's lifespan. I have never had issues like this with the cheaper Martins, Takamines, Blueridges or Yamahas I've had in the past. I'm going to be taking it to my local Martin dealer after the holidays to see what my options are. Guitar has never left my house and has not been exposed to extreme temperature or humidity changes. Bottom line, if the guitars is that sensitive then it's useless in my opinion. It would never survive gigging. Just to be clear action is about 1/2 inch high at 12 fret. Intonations are way off from strings stretching when fingering chords. The neck is also much taller than I expected. My left hand has trouble reaching upper E string. At this point I can not recommend this guitar.

My lower end martin has better action than my new hd35? These are plexed at Martin .Could have fooled me. Guess I was.