Martin

There are few Martin instruments made in the modern era more obscure than a tiple.  Martin began producing tiples in 1919, evidently based on a larger Argentinean prototype introduced to them by William J. Smith of the William J. Smith Music Company in New York City.  Roughly translated as “treble” or “soprano” in Spanish, the term “tiple” also refers to a number of variations of a popular small guitar-like instrument found throughout South and Central America.  Given the regional variations of what is a loosely defined instrument, it would be difficult to claim any one particular interpretation of the tiple as the definitive tiple.  Along that line, the instrument that Martin referenced for their design was actually larger, strung with gut strings, and tuned to a guitar’s pitch.  Yet, Martin elected to design their tiple around an outmoded ¼ size guitar body template and steel strings, with an intended D ukulele tuning (A3 A4 - D4 D3 D4 - F#4 F#3 F#4 - B3 B3).   

In light of its tuning, the tiple is generally considered a member of the ukulele family; but, as anyone who has played one can attest, the voice of a tiple is really something special and profoundly evocative!   Featuring ten strings distributed over four courses, the tiple produces a choral presence that is otherworldly and downright sublime!  The mixture of unisons and octaves is reminiscent of 12-string guitars and other coursed instruments; but, the 3-string middle courses of the tiple create a unique and blissful display of re-entrant tuning and octave interplay, where the low pitch is flanked by a unison of pitches tuned to the next octave.  Fortunately, as is true of all ukuleles, the tiple’s tuning is simply a transposition of the tuning of a guitar’s first four strings (E, B, G, and D), making it instantly approachable for guitar players and ukulele players alike. 

In all of our many years in business, we’ve only had a couple tiples darken our door, but none of these was as spectacular or as well-preserved as this 1967 T-28.  In truth, before the arrival of this example, none of us had ever seen a T-28 in the wild!  The vast majority of tiples produced were Style 15s (755 total), Style 17s (1355 total), and Style 18s (2416 total).   By contrast, Martin only produced a total of 489 Style 28 tiples. Of those 489 T-28s, only 323 were made with Brazilian Rosewood, like serial number 219616 here, which is one of only 12 T-28s produced in 1967.  Thus, apart from a handful of one-offs (including one Style 45), the T-28, and especially a Brazilian rosewood T-28, is the rarest of the tiple models.   However, in viewing this particular T-28, which features a simply stunning set of Brazilian rosewood and which has been so well-maintained, it is hard to imagine that a better example could be found for sale.   But this T-28 ultimately does not need to parade around in its beautiful rarity to win your heart.  By virtue of its innate tone alone, this is one of those unusual instruments that instantly commands attention, which makes casually flirting with it to any degree quite dangerous—within one strum, the spell is cast and the poor bewitched player invariably proclaims, “I don’t even know what I would do with this yet, but I want it!!!”   

Condition

For an instrument that is approaching 60 years old, this T-28 is in remarkably clean condition—may we all be so luck at such an age!  That said, we do note some light finish wear here and there, particularly on the top.  For example, one can see the occasional shallow pinhead-sized dent (many of which are concentrated at the treble side upper bout); and, perhaps, most significantly, there are a couple scuffs below the bridge on the bass side, as well as some minor finish disruption along the bridge footprint that is strongly suggestive of a prior bridge re-glue.  Otherwise, there are some extremely faint cross-grain indentations in the finish at the butt of the instrument—these are so inconsequential that they are hardly worth mentioning, but they are detectable when reflected in oblique light.  Meanwhile, apart from the aforementioned bridge re-glue, there are no structural issues or repairs to note.  EXCELLENT+ - NEAR MINT CONDITION

• Tiple Body
• Sitka Spruce Top
• Brazilian Rosewood Back and Sides
• White Body Binding
• 5-Ply Black/White Top Purfling
• 2-Ply Black/White Back Purfling
• 11-Ply Single Ring Rosette
• Gloss Natural Body Finish
• Mahogany Neck with Headstock Volute
• Slotted Headstock
• Rosewood Headstock Veneer
• Ebony Fingerboard
• 6mm Mother of Pearl Dot Fingerboard Inlays
• Script Decal Peghead Logo
• Kluson 5-On-A-Plate Nickel Tuners with White Oval Buttons
• Ebony Back-Loaded Bridge
• Metal Saddle
• 1 1/2^” Nut Width
• 1 ¾” Fingerboard Width at 12^th Fret
• 17” Scale Length
• Original Plush Lined Chipboard Case
• Body Dimensions:
  • 27 ¼” Total Length
  • 12 1/16” Body Length
  • 6 5/8” Upper Bout Width
  • 8 15/16” Lower Bout Width
  • 3 1/16” Body Depth at Neck Heel
  • 3 9/16” Body Depth at Butt
  • 2 5/8” Soundhole Diameter