Very good guitar

The D35 was designed to answer the shortage of Brazilian Rosewood in the mid 1960's. The 3-piece back (now made with standard East Indian Rosewood) allowed Martin to use smaller pieces of Rosewood that would ordinarily not be used in a typical 2-piece back. The result, they claimed, was a guitar with smooth tone and accentuated bass response.

My first impression of the guitar was that it was a bit too bassy (especially for fingerstyle playing) but it was definitely smooth sounding. I lived with it for about 8 years until I got the money for a Martin 000-28EC. The D35 sits in its case now, only coming out on occasions where I feel like strumming chords or to try an alternative to my 000-28EC.

As with all mid to upper price range Martins it is well built, sounds great, and feels good to play. The bound fingerboard is a nice touch not found on its closest relative the D28.

I would strongly recommend playing a few before deciding if its the right guitar for you. I bought mine from a catalog back in '95 or '96 (before the internet) when I was living in a remote area with no access to a music store. A friend of mine had one and suggested I get one myself. I had always played fingerstyle but at the time was still on the fence about what style I wanted to focus on. Shortly after I bought it I began focusing almost purely on fingerstyle playing. I found the D35 to be a bit disappointing for that style as the booming bass tended to drown out the mid and upper ranges.

Overall, it is still a great guitar and look forward to keeping it for a long time and passing it on to one of my sons (5 and 3 years old currently). However, with all guitars you buy, play several models first before deciding to fork out the money. I believe it now lists for $2200 and that's a lot of money to invest in something that might not be right for you.