I’m the third owner of a newer Martin HD-28 that I liked but didn’t love. I didn’t love it because the feel of the neck was never quite right, and that made the tension on the strings heavier, the sustain weaker, and the overall playability something less than ideal. I contacted Kirby about setting it up to play 12s instead of 13s, and to do any nut work or saddle work associated with that for intonation. Within days he was at my house one evening, looking over the Martin, and also looking over some of my other guitars to see what I liked and didn’t like in terms of playability.
While there, he noticed some space in the HD-28’s dovetail joint that joins the neck and the body, and suggested that at some point, a neck reset was in order. Since the price he quoted me for a neck reset was so reasonable and fair – and a neck reset is a great deal of painstaking, exacting, difficult work – I had him do it straight away, while setting me up for the 12s.
Kirby dropped off my Martin earlier this week – turnaround time was fantastic, especially considering the amount of work he did – and I have to say, I’m beyond pleased with the results. Everything Kirby predicted about the job was spot on, and I appreciated the lesson I learned as he described why he did what he did and how it affects playability. In terms of playability, I think it’s safe to say that my Martin is now going to become one of my go – to guitars for everything from noodling around at home to gigging out with my classic rock band. Before this thing went to Kirby, that just wasn’t the case. Yeah, he’s good. If you live in the area and have need of an outstanding luthier and an all-around nice guy, Kirby’s your man.