Guitarsenal: Martin D-28

In 1970, Jimmy Page decided to make an upgrade to his guitar rack. Having grown weary of playing the Gibson J-200 that he borrowed from his friend Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy purchased one of the most iconic acoustic instruments ever produced; the Martin D-28.

Jimmy Playing his Martin D-28 at Earls Court (1975)

C.F. Martin & Company began manufacturing the D-28 in the 1930's. The 'D' stands for Dreadnought, the style of the acoustic guitar. The name of the line was derived from a class of British battleships of that period, and was noted for it's larger size and deeper sound. The D-28 as well of the rest of the Dreadnought line is noted for it's innovations using an X-bracing in the interior of the body. This helped to accommodate the neck which was playable down to the fourteenth fret.

Jimmy acquired his Martin D-28 sometime before June 28, 1970, when it made its onstage debut at the Festival of Blues & Progressive Music Festival when the band played the song, "That's the Way". Based on the appearance of the guitar upon its initial display, and the specifications of the guitar, Jimmy's D-28 was not a vintage instrument, but rather a new or slightly used model. It's exact year is unknown.

Jimmy Page with his D-28 at the Bath Festival

Jimmy's D-28 had a solid sitka spruce top with East Indian rosewood sides and back and white boltaron binding. The neck was composed of select hardwood, and the fretboard was black ebony with dot boltaron inlays. Jimmy later acquired a number of other D-28s, but his main one would be forever identifiable by a small white star placed in the corner of his pickguard. It has been presumed that Page's D-28 was not a herringbone model, as those are bit more fragile, than the non-herringbones, and might not stand up to the rigors of touring.

In order to enhance the sound of the instrument and to have it cut through the mix easier in the stadiums he was playing with Led Zeppelin, around 1975, Jimmy installed a Barcus-Berry Model 1355 Transducer connected to a Barcus-Berry Model 1330S Preamp. This allowed him to play through the board or an amp, rather than just mic the instrument as he had been forced to do on earlier tours.

Jimmy with the D-28 in the 1990's (Notice the White Dot on the Pickguard)

Jimmy used the guitar on Led Zeppelin's 1970 tour of the United States, then reappeared later for the band's tour of Europe in 1973. For the group's five show stint at Earl's Court in 1975, which were recorded for posterity, the band played a four song mini-acoustic set in the middle of the larger act, for which Jimmy busted out the D-28. The songs played included "Tangerine", "Going to California", "That's the Way" and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp". In 1977, Jimmy acquired a second D-28, but brought both of them along to play on Led Zeppelin's 1977 tour of America, using his first model for standard tuning songs and the second one for open tunings.

After the demise of Led Zeppelin, Jimmy shelved the guitar for all intents and purposes until 1994, when he brought it back out once again for the Page and Plant Unledded tour. He used the guitar to play a new rendition of "The Rain Song".

It is unknown specifically what tracks Jimmy Page used the Martin D-28 to record with, but due to the fact that he purchased it around the time Led Zeppelin recorded their third album, and well before their fourth, it is presumable that he used it on those two albums, and can be inferred that he used it on all subsequent albums as well.

Jimmy in 1970