How much does the Martin D-28 Cost? (price Guide)
$2,999.00
Currently the Martin D-28 retails for $2,999.00 in the Sweetwater catalogue. It's a high-end Martin, though still sits roughly in the middle of the D series pricing tiers, which can get up to nearly $10k. It's a pretty happy medium if you want one of the super nice Martin dreadnoughts.
Martin basically wrote the book on dreadnought acoustic guitars and their D series highlights some of their absolute best work in that area. This boosts prices for these guitars near $10k in some cases, though there are versions (mostly from the Road Series) as low as $800 to $900.
The D-28 is a fairly happy medium between those two extremes.
It's definitely not cheap, but it's affordable compared to the super high-end D series models. If you want to bet the farm on a dreadnought, the Martin D-28 is one of your better options.
We've built a price guide to help you get a good deal, or at least see where your best options are to buy.
Note that our price guides are not a recommendation or review of the product. However, we rarely do price guides for products that we wouldn't recommend. So this guide is for people who are already interested in the D-28 and just want some pricing info. Note that we also use partner links on pages like this as a way to support our side. If you click through our orange buttons and make a purchase, we might receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
The Martin D-28 is in the middle of the D series pack, though still expensive by most acoustic guitar comparisons.
Martin D-28 Price from Multiple Vendors
Note that we've included pricing for the D-28 Modern Deluxe, which is a scaled up version of the D-28. There are several vendors here with pricing that updates in real time, though we're missing Guitar Center and Musician's Friend, which are also worth checking for price comparison. We don't have agreements with them so we can't pull live pricing from their databases (nerd stuff).
Pricing up to date as of Wed, September 27th, 2023.
Amazon Listings and Pricing
There are usually a few listings on Amazon of the D-28, though it's not exactly a place we think of when shopping for acoustic guitars of this caliber.
Sweetwater tends to be the best barometer of where retail is sitting. They don't offer a ton of discounts, but they don't run up the price either. They also offer support after you buy the guitar, which is comforting when you're making such a big purchase.
If it were us, buying something like a Martin D-28 from Amazon wouldn't feel great.
Price Alert (lowest price among listed vendors)
You might be waiting a long time to get a price alert that the D-28 has dropped. Martin doesn't manufacturer these things at the rate of cheaper guitars, partially because more expensive models just take more time to produce.
And more obviously, they don't sell as many.
This usually results in the price being much steadier, which is true of most expensive musical instruments.
Still, you can sign up and see if you get lucky. Aim for a 15-20 percent discount.
Used Price on Reverb
Reverb is the largest used market that focuses exclusively on guitar gear (eBay is bigger but they literally sell everything). Last we checked, Reverb had a lot of D-28s listed, which is kind of crazy for a guitar this expensive.
The price below is the lowest of the listings currently available and also displays the total number of listings.
Note that it refreshes once a day.
Check used pricing for the Martin D-28: Reverb page
Browse 112 options from $2,199.99
Note that if ERROR is displayed it means that the listing page has changed on Reverb. They do that from time to time. We try to keep up with it but let us know in the comments section if it needs updated.
Conclusion
Martin has a ton of history behind their dreadnoughts. Where Taylor sort of runs the show when it comes to the concert body style, Martin has a monopoly on the dreadnoughts. If you've settled on the D series, the D-28 is a good balance between the two extremes, which shows in its popularity.
We've seen various year models of these guitars all the way back to the '60s, at which point you'd be buying exclusively as an antique or collectors item.
So just keep an eye out for the year model if you buy used.
If you have additional questions about our Martin D-28 price guitar, feel free to hit us up in the comments section below.
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Written by GC Editorial on Acoustics and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Acoustics and Roundups
I have a 1993 D28 (533277) that I was recently given as a gift (long story, but after spending years in the back of a closet, it’s now in good hands and is played every day)
The specs on this guitar appear to be different to what I can find online for a ’93 D28.
Mine has closed machine heads and scalloped bracing. The specs that I’ve seen all mention open machine heads and non-scalloped bracing.
A brand new D28 in Ireland is currently around €3,800. I’ve seen ’93s online for as little as €2,500/€3,000. If the sound improves with age, why does the price decrease?
Whoa, that’s really odd. I’m seeing the same thing. If it’s a 1993, that thing should be pretty valuable at this point, just because it would be really rare. I don’t get the impression there are a ton of them floating around, but I might have to do some digging on this one. Glad your D28 is getting some love though.
To clarify, this guitar actually has non-scalloped bracing, which is standard on D28s.
(Can we attribute that part of my original comment to a brain fart and move on?)
Everything else except the machine heads seems standard. The guitar is in excellent condition, with just a few small dings, which is expected after 30 years.
The owner gave it to me recently because he knew that I would play it. I was reluctant to take such a valuable gift, so I assured him that I would act as a caretaker and he could have it back any time he wanted.
Needless to say, I am enormously proud to have possession of it.
I also have a DXM from 1997 (which is pretty good considering that they are all laminate), a nice Takamine, and a Madeira P12 12 string.
Nothing comes close to the D28 for playability and incredible sound.
Any information about my
Martin D-16 TR would be So appreciated. I Just bought it from Facebook Marketplace.
Thank You.
Hey Susan – one of these, I take it? https://reverb.com/item/1883897-1996-martin-d-16tr-precursor-to-d-16rgt
Do you know what year it is?
Hey, I have a martin DC-28e that was my late father’s. I believe it was made around 2005. It’s in near mint condition as he was always playing his sigma martin from Japan. What do you think the value would be?
Hey Greg – looks like between $2500 and $3500 according to Reverb. https://reverb.com/price-guide?query=Martin%20DC-28e
This was myDadisigm guitar sigma made by martin in the early 70’s
thank you
Van Sebring
Hi. I have a 1943 Martin d-28 in good to very good condition. I have researched the serial number to establish the year. I also have the original hard case.
Do you have any idea of the value of this guitar? I believe it to be a special and valuable guitar. How rare is this? Thank you.
Check here: https://reverb.com/price-guide/martin-d-28-no-herringbone-14-fret-1947-1964
I’m not the guy you want to ask for antique valuation, but based on that, I think you’d be close to $10k.
Julie, A 1943 D-28 in good condition is a very desirable guitar. It has Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a Red Spruce top, rear-shifted scalloped braces, a 1 11/16 inch wide neck, and it’s worth probably $100,000.
Martin stopped using Brazilian rosewood in 1969. A Martin D-28 of 1969 manufacture is probably worth about $10,000 now.
I have a 1981 Martin D-28 S acoustic and can’t find anything about this guitar. It has the slotted head which I’ve learned gives a brighter sound to the strings. But is that it? How many were made? Why were they made? Are they rarer than the regular D-28. I look on line and don’t find any for sale. Please help with any info. Thanks
Dang, David – I have no idea, man. Something like this? https://www.theacousticshoppe.com/shop/Recently-Sold/p/Vintage-1981-Martin-D-28-Dreadnought-Sitka-Spruce-TopIndian-Rosewood-Back-and-Sides-5329-x53932782.htm
I wonder if the S just stands for spruce.
David and Bobby, The S stands for Special, as it was not the normal D-28 model. A 1981 D-28S is a 12 fret slot-head Dread (Dreadnought), and has a very mellow deep voice to it generally. They are nice guitars.
You can find them for sale on Reverb, from time to time. The 12 fret, wide fingerboard Dreads are a more niche market than the 14 fret (to the body) D-28 are.
Thanks for this info, Eric.
Hello,
I have a d-28 Martin, 323093. So I guess it’s from early 70’s. I inherited it from my father.
It has the hard blue case and is also electric.
It has been cleaned up, but does need a neck adjustment and some minor wear (restoration). Mainly due to my lack of knowledge and not keeping the humidity controlled.
I just started playing guitar. Have another acoustic, and Gibson les Paul electric.
Is the Martin worth a significant amount of money? Should I be using it? Why is it better? It is it a year that is just a $1,000 used guitar?
I’m not in the need of money. But if there is value to something I don’t have an need for… it takes up space..
Thoughts? Thanks, chad
Hey, Chad – that’s a cool find. Looks like you’d be in the $2500 – $3000 range depending on the severity of the wear and neck adjustment. https://reverb.com/price-guide/martin-d-28-1970-1984?query=Martin%20d-28&runDefaultQuery=false