Martin 000-28 Norman Blake

This is a high end Martin and seems to have all the goodies it should. 00028, 12-frets to the body. Nothing fancy. No electronics. I don't quite know how you judge 'features' on an acoustic, unless you're talking about esthetics. This one just looks like it's supposed to.

I went into the store looking for a music stand. "Have you seen our Martin room?" I was not in the market for a guitar. That day I walked out with a guitar that cost me over twice as much any guitar I've ever purchased. The sound was in a class all by itself. All up and down the neck, across all six strings. Balanced, can be played loud or soft, great string definition. In the "Martin room" I just kept saying "Wow!" ever time I put it back in my hands and hit a few notes.

Perfect, as you'd expect from Martin. Except for possibly one small thing. It seemed to me the height at the first fret was a little too high on the low E and A string. It's quite possible it's correct as is since I may not know as much about the subject as the guy who set up the insrument.

Two days old. I've had very good luck with a ten year old D16. Looks like the same excellent workmanship.

The one time I tested Martin years ago, they were perfect.

This is an expensive guitar that has a sound that makes it worth the price. It's the best sounding guitar I have ever had in my hands.

Beautiful adirondack spruce top with wide grain, high gloss finish, OM body style, old style 3-on-a-plate Waverly tuners. It has a wide 1 13/16 inch neck with a modified V shape and 12 frets clear of the body. High end arch top Geib case. Made in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in the good ole US of A. Rosewood body and neck.

This guitar suits my fingerstyle music perfectly. That being said, Norman Blake is famous for flatpicking...go figure. I dropped a Western (K&K) pick up in it and run it through a roland acoustic amp with no effects and have just about hit acoustic nirvana in my mind. This is a small guitar with a very rich, full sound, not tinny or bright like other small bodied guitars I've had. The only dislike I have is the price, which was near 3 grand used, although I did trade some stuff in to ease the pain.

Theguitar set-up from the factory sucked, like most Martins. However, that was easily fixed. The wood was beautifully bookmatched and the guitar contained essentially no flaws in terms of construction. I agree with the other folks that the tuners, although remarkably beautiful, are a bit stiff, even with oiling.

I have used this guitar already for live playing. It is built to last with a durable enough finish. I added strap buttons and they are holding strong. I think it is definitely dependable and I would use it on a gig without a backup. I must say that I never gig without a back up guitar and you must take care of any fine guitar. The more you pay for an instrument, the more likely it will be delicate just by nature of the beast, right?

Martin honors their warranty and have always been helpful & friendly to me. Good folks out there in Nazareth. If I ever had to "pull in to Nazareth looking for a place to stay" I would go to the Martin Factory, much like Robbie Robertson did..

I have been playing 35 years and have owned more gear than this box will allow me to list. Right now I am down to this 00028 NB, an older Gibson L-1 (I like 12 fret guitars). The Gibber fits my blues/slide moods. I also have a Tele thinline and a Strat and a Roland acoustic amp and a Fender twin electric amp. I play professionally on the weekends but still have a day job. I am totally happy with this guitar, hand down. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, if I could raise the cash! It has a beautiful, full sound in a small, well-designed, no thrills, package.

Really nice red spruce top, indian RW sides/back. Ebony fretboard, mahogany neck, 24.9 scale length, wide nut, slight v neck, slotted headstock, waverly tuners, herringbone trim. Really nice upscale appointments without going overboard. This is a 14 fret sized body with a 12 fret neck, which moves the bridge a little further back toward the endpin. I'm not a huge fan of the slotted headstock, especially after owning it about a year and having to change the strings. I can really see why solid headstocks are used nowadays, they are much easier to deal with and less fragile. I like the look of the slotted headstock, though. Like the other reviewer said, the tuners are fine, but they do seem a little stiff.

I really play jazz/swing with archtops for the most part, and have been trying to convince myself to sell this guitar for a while, but it just sounds so great that I can't do it. I played every guitar in the store, including collings, santa cruzes, gibsons, and of course every martin they had before I bought this. It has a nice warm, even sound with good bass response without being boomy or muddy. When I've played with my bluegrass friends who all have $$$ fancy guitars they seem to be very disturbed because this guitar sounds so great and they feel like I don't deserve it because I am a no-good "jazzer". Too bad, fellas. I've also used this for fingerstyle ragtime stuff and it sounds great for that too. I give it a 9 because I still prefer a good archtop to any flattop, but this is as good a sounding flattop as I ever expect to hear.

Action was a little high when I got it, but after setup it was perfect.

feels kind of fragile, as most good acoustic guitars do. They're delicate, and the slotted headstock seems like I could easily destroy it one day. That said, it cetainly looks and feels well put together.

One nice thing about Martin is there great repair network and warranty. Never had anything but positive experiences with them.

After owning and playing this for about a year, it is a great, versatile acoustic guitar. Remeber, you only need 12 frets on an acoustic! If you need more, you're doing something wrong. It's the kind of guitar that makes you feel like it's the only flattop guitar you need, possibly ever.

2004 000-28 Norman Blake signature model. Adirondack top, rosewood back and sides. Bought used. Slot head, 12 frets clear, Waverly tuners. Wide neck. Not flashy, but a beautiful design.

Excellent tone; punchy bass with shimmering trebles. Great note definition and good sustain. I play fingerstyle (poorly) and I agree with the last reviewer: this is a great guitar for fingerstyle. The wider fingerboard is wonderful. Just totally blows away the Clapton 000-28, imo. At the risk of being sacriligous, the Norman Blake has the ringing treble of a Taylor with the complex detail of a Gibson, all without losing the punchy bottom end and midrange clarity of a Martin. I love them all, but this one is the best I've played.

I bought this used, so I can't fault Martin, but this thing was in bad shape when I got it. The nut was cut poorly. One slot was so low that the B-string buzzed open badly. The G-string was not much better. The Waverly slot-head tuners are not as good as I expected. Waverlys for solid pegheads are excellent. These are stiff and geared too high. Otherwise, construction is typical Martin. If you're looking for features or looks to justify the high price of these things, you're gonna be disappointed. It's all about the sound.

The finish on the back of the neck is already wearing off in the first position. I don't fault Martin for this either. Possible the previous owner's body chemistry didn't agree with the lacquer finish. Other than this, I have confidence in it. I would not play it out without a backup. Changing a broken string on a slot head acoustic is not my idea of fun.

Martin customer support is very good. Their website is not bad. Way better than Gibson's, but not as good as Taylor's.

I like all kinds of acoustics, from cheapo Yamahas to $12.000 Brazilian rosewood D-45's. I own Gibsons and Taylors also. I've had several OM's, but have never been in love with them. They're a little stiff to play and they're still kind of a bottom-heavy guitar. I looked at several Eric Claptons, but they just didn't sound as good as they should given their cost. The Norman Blake has the perfect combination of features for me, and it's the best-sounding acoustic I've ever heard.

Martin 000-28 Norman Blake model made in 2005. Combines 14- fret 000 (OM) bodystyle and 24.9" scale with a 12-fret (to the body) neck. Forward shifted, unique bracing pattern with ebony bridge moved further away from the soundhole than normal. 00 size soundhole (1/8' smaller than a 000). Top and braces fashioned from Adirondack red spruce. Back and side are Indian rosewood. Herringbone pattern around top. Golden Era Style 28 rosette of black/white wood and ivoroid. Traditional zigzag back strip and old-style tortoise colered pickguard, elongated and slightly squared. Neck is solid mahogany, satin finished, with a slight V shape. 1 and 13/16" nut. Ebony fingerboard with a modified abalone snowflake pattern. Bone nut and long, drop in type bone saddle with fossilized ivory bridge pins with large pearl dots. Slothead design with Waverly-Sloane tuners with engraved plates and ivoroid buttons. Geib style arch top case.

Staggeringly beautiful tone. Warm, full bass with clean, not too bright trebles. Excellent sustain and decay rate. The Martin "ring" is in full force here. Blake designed this guitar to play flat picking on, but it's the perfect sound for fingerstyle, to me. What more can I say? It's simply the best sounding steel string guitar I've ever played.

Superb cratfsmanship. Fit and finish is excellent. Action was just the way I like it right out of the box. Only flaw I found was a slightly high 12th fret. I guess virtually nothing is perfect, so, a "9" for this catagory.

This is a beautifully designed instrument using premium materials. If the guitar is not exposed to extremes in humidity and not abused, God only knows how long this work of art should last.

Never had to deal with Martin, so no opinion here.

I own a bundle of guitars, many of them "high end." For me, this guitar is the "Holy Grail." The combination of looks, feel and tone is everything I've been looking for in a steel string guitar to play fingerstyle on. I own a Larrivvee 000-60 which is similar to the Norman Blake. Sorry, Jean Larrivee, but the Martin is in another league. No, I've never had the chance to play an Olson, but I just can't fathom an acoustic guitar any better than this Martin at any price. For me, it just doesn't get any better than this. I couldn't be happier.