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I managaged to talk the sales down quite a bit, maybe I'm mistaken but do you notice anything unusual about this HD28V?

I was hesitant to purchase but the sound was fantastic....

MMM Is the top not properly bookmatched? The left half top should be at the bottom? My wife says the center strip is not centered. Could be the guitar is angled a bit. I'm going with the improper bookmatch. Greg

No label......

I would have to say book match too...not that it really is a big deal....

I just looked at the Martin site and they don't put a label in that model.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Missing a diamond position dot on the fretboard.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

D-18 rosette....

Yep - great eye Mario!!!

I'm no Martin expert, but it looks like the logo brand inside is upsidedown.
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

Probably just the image but there appears to be something funky going on with the bass side upper bout. I have circled what looks to be a fault or flaw in the grain and it looks as if the upper bout is out of shape. Kind of like the bass side upper bout was glued to a stepped down neck block and is a tad lower than the treble side. At least it looks that way on my computer.



Cheers

Kim

The neck is overset, the top was built with green wood, and there's random orbital scratches visible in a few spots around the sides and back.

Keep that thing well humidified.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I would expect to see a herringbone rosette also. The bearclaw can look mismatched due to the way the lights are on it, or even as a natural feature of the wood, so that doesnt surprise me. On the other hand, I would expect to see a herringbone rosette.

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Reguards,

Ken H

It may be just my eyes but is the bridge off just a bit?

Mark

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Could be the camera angle, but the spruce graft appears off to the right through the soundhole.

I've seen Indian Rosewood with no back strip that was so uniform, you couldn't tell where the join was. Is the back off center?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Here is a shot off Martin's site. Don't see anything else right off.

This is an idea, but it could be camera angle. Is the neck attached where the 14th fret does not meet the body?



Is the pickguard installed a bit too far under the strings?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Everything appears to be just as Martin intended. Is it the bearclaw grain you allude too?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Herringbone going the wrong direction on one side. Come on, yer killin' us!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

The rosette it correct. The position markers are correct. The bridge is correct. The logo is the correct direction. The only thing I see that you could talk down a naive salesman is the bearclaw. The top is bookmatched if you look at the streaking.

Yup I agree it is improper book match. Flipped on end and over.

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Oh, I forgot. The 5 degree bridge pins are pushed in to nearly straight holes, sticking way over top of the bridge and leaving the hole at the bottom about 2/3 filled and the ball end snugged right in. That, and the end pin sits about 1/4" shy of fully seated when you try to install it - some assembly required.

That, and someone set the printer to halftone or dither when they were printing the pickguard.

C'mon, I have to have gotten it right with at least one of those. If not, don't tell us yet - I'm sure I can come up with at least a few more ideas......

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

What do we get if we win?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

The head of the third bridge pin is red while the rest are black.
That's probably why it sounds so good.

No, I think that one just didn't respond to the red-eye reduction flash.

Bream, I'm not sure if you're new or just re-registered with the new software, but in case you haven't noticed there's quite a bit of sarcasm here. Welcome to the forum. All in good spirits, usually light-hearted. Just watch out for this fella who usually posts as "Hesh". Ruthless, kicks you when you're down. Steer clear of that guy.

Really though, if it is the bear claw you're talking about as a sign of one side of the top being flipped, I think that's a false indicator. The grain lines certainly look right, and as someone mentioned earlier it is more a sign of a good deal of wood being sanded from the top after resawing. Bear claw can move a great deal, appear and disappear very quickly as you move through a quartered top. That's why it's important when using bear clawed tops to remove as little wood as possible to clean up the face after splitting and joining, then do all thicknessing from the inside. They just don't pay close attention to that on factory production tops.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Dave to me both side are equally refractive which to me can be a sign that one side has been flipped. Also the spacing on the slight bear-clawing towards the bottom looks the same I could be wrong though?

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

I'm with Mark on this one. To me the Bridge doesn't look square on the top.

Craig.

It does look like the saddle compensation angle is excessive.