Sigma DR-28

My DR-28 is a 1979/1980 model with laminated rosewood sides and back with solid sitka spruce top. This is a Japanese model as production was shifted to Korea in 1984. Of course it is a dreadnought design with no cutaway. it is a 20/14 fret design with mahogany fretboard.
There has been no repairs or modifications of any type except to replace the saddle with a more updated version after the old one cracked/broke.
This is the version with the Sigma by Martin Est. 1970 logo on the headstock.

I have not been a very serious player but have dabbled over the years and picked up not a few to try out and compare............I am always blown away by the sound and volume of this guitar. Using light coated strings, I have to strum with my fingers to keep the volume down! The bass can be a little overwhelming at time, but very manageable.

There was absolutely no set up. Could be because I purchased it off the wall so to speak. Fit and finish is amazing and excellently done. no fit and finish problems to speak of at all. Only problem, if you want to call it that is 2 cracks beside the neck that show up in the driest part of the winter. I filled one crack and the other I left alone. They are small and in no way affects sound or quality. Other than that, absolutely flawless.

Wow! Talk about a beater! I have had this guitar to the camp sites, let friends use it, fallen over many times and the worst was when it fell off a chair that it was sitting on and it was already about 20 years old at the time. Absolutely no ill effects of any of this. For years I was worried about the chair fall, but NOTHING! For such a rigid full sounding loud guitar, I am amazed at EVERYTHING about this instrument!

Huh?

What else can I say? I am looking for a second guitar, and probably a 12 string and I am going to look into the same or older vintage of this wonderful instrument! I have heard great things about Yamaha 12's but hey, stick with what you know, eh? I love everything about this guitar and absolutely no dislikes. AND.........it was my first guitar!

Dreadnought. Solid sitka spruce top and rosewood fingerboard, back and sides. Ebony bridge. Scalloped bracing. If not for the Sigma logo you'd think it was the real thing. Beautifully finished, and aging well after 10 years of playing.

Rich, full sound. I like the bright sound of MArtin 80/20 or SP lights (.012s). Perfect for a Neil Young sound, and also great for fingerpicking. I gig regularly on my own or with an acoustic blues player. He has recently spent over ??1000 on a Takamine in an attempt to get as good a sound, he doesn't play it 'cause it doesn't compare! A lot depends on string weight though, he uses much lighter strings and not Martins.

I bought this guitar from Hanks in Denmark Street. I walked in and said I'd like a Martin but couldn't afford it, they showed me this and a Sigma DR-28H (as well as some other makes). It sounded and felt pretty good before but they fitted new strings and set it up perfectly, and did a follow-up adjustment within 12 months, all in the price.

Nothing much to go wrong, just take spare strings (though I change them regularly and have never broken a string during a performance). Finish is good, and looking better all the time.

Hanks provided full set up and follow-up adjustments. They love acoustic guitars and it shows. Given this was at the lower end of their range they did not seem to skimp on care.

I am not a professional, but I have been playing aince I was 11 or 12. This was my first "half-decent" guitar and, to be honest, I didn't have much experience to compare it with. I had played a friend's Martin some time ago and, until I got this, hadn't found anything to match it for sound and ease of playing. In acoustic sessions it always attracts attention, I get much better players who can't believe the resonance and sustain it delivers.