Acoustic Magazine 106 Retour à l'édition précédente

Born in 1965 from the impending shortage of Brazilian rosewood, the C.F. Martin & Co. D-35 quickly became one of the most popular dreadnoughts of a generation – and, thanks to new models and innovations, it will continue to be a staple of the Martin guitar line for generations to come.

Despite being labelled “the working man’s dreadnought”, the Martin D-35 found its way into the hands of some of the most distinguished songwriters on the planet: Johnny Cash, Elvis, David Gilmour, Neil Diamond, Judy Collins, and Van Morrison among others. The design of the D-35 represented an innovative solution to a supply problem – Martin had been using Brazilian rosewood on its guitars for over 130 years, but by the mid-60s, the availability of the tonewood was fast diminishing. By using “wedges” and “wings” to build the three-piece back of the instruments, Martin could utilise the pieces of wood that usually wouldn’t be big enough for guitar making.

In this issue, we’re commending the iconic three-piece back dreadnought from Martin. We laid our hands on the D-35 Standard Edition, the D-35E Retro, and a wonderful Brazilian D-35 from 1968 which proudly leads the way on the cover of this issue. Inside, you’ll find reviews on the Standard and Retro editions, as well as an interview with Chris Martin IV, a feature on the ’68 model, and a complete rundown of the guitar’s history.