Martin HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu Acoustic Guitar – Natural

A Slimmed-down Tribute to Martin’s Hawaiian Heyday

Roughly 100 years back in history, Hawaiian music descended on America’s shores with ukuleles, lap steels, and (most importantly for Martin) beautiful Hawaiian koa wood. The HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu pays tribute to that foundational period in Martin history, blending the timeless tone of koa with a smaller, more approachable spin on the dreadnought body. It starts with a solid spruce top supported by scalloped X-bracing and paired with a superlative set of flamed Hawaiian koa back and sides. Combined with a 24.9-inch scale length, 000-size body depth, and slope-shouldered construction, the HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu sings with a far more balanced voice than a traditional dreadnought — and a form that’s far easier to wrap your arms around! As for playability, a GE Modified Low Oval select hardwood neck joins the body, providing speedy navigation of the sleek ebony fingerboard. Finished off with a vintage-style rectangular bridge, captivating herringbone trim, and nickel open-gear tuners, the HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu stands ready to serve as your slack key standby, fingerpicking favorite, or first-choice flatpicking machine.

Flamed Hawaiian koa construction

Utilized all over Martin’s premium models during the Hawaiian music craze of the 1920s and early ’30s, Hawaiian koa is one of the 6-string world’s most prestigious tonewoods. It’s a naturally gorgeous timber with eye-catching figuring and a rich, dark, elegant hue that’s darker than mahogany and lighter than rosewood. However, koa’s tonal profile strikes closer to the maple end of the spectrum, featuring a strong, midrange-rich fundamental and chiming treble response. And while koa is often a favorite of City Music’s fingerstyle players when found on small-body instruments, the bass-heavy dreadnought-inspired boom of the HG-28 balances perfectly with the koa’s radiant top-end articulation.

A more approachable dreadnought

Martin’s legend was built on the legacy of the dreadnought guitar, but its large profile and long scale can be a challenge to wrangle — especially for guitarists with smaller hands and frames. To better accommodate the modern acoustic guitar landscape so populated with smaller-bodied 6-strings, the Martin HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu sports a slightly slimmer body than usual, clocking in with the same body depth as Martin’s 000 models. Moreover, its shorter 24.9-inch scale length takes another page out of the 000 book for a softer, slinkier feel on your fingers.

To finish off this guitar’s idiosyncratic set of dreadnought deviations, the HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu features a slope-shouldered construction — a rare sight on a Martin dread. This shape is far more familiar to the models of another golden-age 20th-century acoustic guitar builder, consisting of more rounded edges on the upper bout than the fuller, flatter curve of a D-18’s or a D-28’s shoulders. All these changes add up to a dread you can play for hours without discomfort, packing the punch of a larger Martin with the comfort of a 000.

Martin HG-28 Special Edition O’ahu Features:

• A slimmed-down, slope-shouldered dread inspired by Martin’s star role in the Hawaiian music craze of the 1920s and ’30s
• Shorter 24.9-in. scale and 000-size body depth result in a more manageable form factor than your standard big-bodied dread
• Dynamic and touch-sensitive solid spruce top with scalloped X-bracing
• Flamed Hawaiian koa back and sides offer a bright, midrange-rich, remarkably balanced tonality
• Comfortable GE Modified Low Oval select hardwood neck topped with a sleek ebony fingerboard
• Old-school appointments include a vintage-style rectangular bridge and iconic herringbone trim
• 1.75-in. nut width gives fingerstyle players plenty of room to work with