Martin D-35 And D-35S History And Changes

Model Changes By Year

1965: The Three-Piece Back And Lighter Bracing

The D-35’s three-piece back allowed Martin to use narrower pieces of Brazilian rosewood than a conventional two-piece dreadnought back required. A center wedge separated the outer panels. White fingerboard binding and extra back seams made the new model visibly different from the D-28.

Inside, the D-35 used 1/4-inch top braces instead of the D-28’s 5/16-inch braces. These early D-35 braces were not scalloped. Brace width and scalloping describe different features: the D-35 was lighter-braced without returning to the carved brace profiles of prewar dreadnoughts.

1966 And 1967: Binding, Pickguard And Neck Revisions

Early fingerboard binding had mitered corners where it turned across the end of the board. That detail changed in August 1966. The ebony board and its white binding remained part of the model.

During the 1966 to 1967 transition, black pickguards replaced the earlier tortoise-pattern material. Martin also changed its nonadjustable neck reinforcement from a steel T-bar to square steel tubing. The 1967 guitar in these photographs shows the three-piece back and bound fingerboard, both features present from the model’s introduction.

1968: The D-35S Becomes A Regular Production Variant

The D-35S used a 12-fret body-and-neck layout, with the neck meeting the body at the twelfth fret rather than the fourteenth. Its longer upper body, slotted headstock and wider neck distinguished it from the standard D-35.

A batch of 25 D-35S guitars was made at the end of January 1968. Special-order 12-fret D-35s existed earlier, so 1968 describes the expansion into regular production rather than the first possible example. The S version retained the three-piece back and Style 35 decoration.

1968 And 1969: Bridge Plates And Rosewood

Early D-35s used a small maple bridge plate. Martin’s factory history dates the steel-string change to rosewood plates to April 9, 1968. The later plate specification belongs to the same original D-35 production era as the earlier maple version.

The exterior wood changed in late 1969 as East Indian rosewood entered standard production. Brazilian and Indian rosewood overlap during the transition; a three-piece back does not identify the species. The D-35 continued beyond 1969 with its three-piece construction intact.

Did The D-35S Replace The D-35?

No. The 12-fret D-35S joined the line alongside the standard 14-fret D-35. It offered a different body-and-neck layout while retaining the three-piece back and Style 35 appointments.

Did The First D-35 Have Scalloped Braces?

No. The original D-35 used lighter 1/4-inch braces with a non-scalloped profile. The combination distinguishes it from both a contemporary D-28 and a prewar scalloped-brace dreadnought. Joe’s Martin construction guide explains the brace and neck changes shared across the period.