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The late, great jazz guitarist Joe Pass in fact played on a Martin on which he had attached a pick-up for quite a few years up to the 1950s when he switched to Gibsons and his trademark ES-175. I can't say that I'm an expert on this because I've never had the pleasure of owning a Martin or a Larrivee. I'm a cheap guitar man who owns many cheap but loveable guitars, including a Washburn EA 20 Festival that I bought for about $500. But in my many years of existence on this plane as a guitar player I've tried to pick up every guitar that I've met (as a teenager I even strummed on BB King's original red Lucille backstage in 1968 before he gently took it away from me and gave me his autograph and one of his picks which I still have in an envelope).
I agree with the previous poster that Martins lately have not been all that consistent. Just today I tried a couple of them at the Sam Ash store and they didn't match up to the Taylors as far as projection is concerned, at least to my ear. But when they're good, Martins can be REALLY good and some guitar players I've known have considered them almost members of their family. I don't think Martins made today, though, compare to the ones of yesteryear. The construction of bracing inside an acoustic guitar's top can be a real art form, as far as how much brace wood they can eliminate and still have a sound, playable instrument, and there's the question of tuning the top wood by ear (thumping on it and sanding it until the right sound emerges to the particular guitarmaker's personal taste). I don't think big name guitar companies in general have guitar makers taking the same pains they used to take in the old days, but that's just my own idiotic opinion.
Of the two guitars you mention, I think they are very different instruments, at least to me. The Martin D-28 is a Dreadnaught if I'm not mistaken, designed more for strumming and accompaniment rather than fingerpicking and soloing, and with fuller base and louder sound. The Larrivee model you mention is, I believe, a type 00 Martin, not the dreadnaught. The L-10 Larrivee has a wider fretboard by 1/16 inch than the Martin and is more of a fingerpicker's guitar rather than a strummer (with a narrower lower bout). This latter style of guitar (Larrivee L-10) usually has more mid-range crispness, but quieter lows, which to me makes it more versatile as a solo instrument instead of one mainly for accompanying a voice or another instrument. I realize that fingerpickers can fingerpick on strummer's guitars and vice versa but I'm just mentioning that 1/16 of an inch to me can possibly (not always necessarily) make a big big difference in the small world that is a guitar neck, not to mention the difference in sound range, fullness, and volume. After looking up the specs on the Larrivee, however, I notice that it has a compound radius, meaning that the fretboard gets flatter as you move up the neck. This is also a characteristic that requires getting used to and one that I personally really do not like. I would also take into consideration that the Martin just might have better resale value, as the Martin name is the grandfather of all acoustic steel-string guitars, in case you ever want to get rid of it and move up to a better instrument, such as a custom made guitar.
As far as my own personal choice, of the two, even with the compound radius I think I would choose the Larrivee, but mainly because of its style. That's my personal feeling, as I don't care for dreadnaughts. If you were comparing a Martin 00 style to the Larrivee, then I would probably choose the Martin. I think the slightly wider neck and the tighter body of the Larrivee, compared to the Martin dreadnaught would be more suitable to my style of playing, which is fingerstyle solo guitar. Maybe your intended use of the guitar is different, however, but I hope you are conscious of the fact that these two guitars are different types, at least to my knowledge.
Finally, I have to mention that one of the best acoustic steel string guitars I've ever tried was a Santa Cruz. A decent one might cost $400 or $500 more than the Martin but the one I tried had just a crisp and sweet sound along with a playability that was out of this world. Another wonderful guitar that I would buy over either one of the two you mention, that will probably be in the same price range or in fact maybe slightly lower would be a Lakewood. Lakewoods, handmade in Germany are being played by some terrific guitar players and the one I tried, with a cutaway was incredible: great tone, perfect intonation, LOUD harmonics, and thrilling response. I occasionally dabble with some Lennie Breau style harp harmonics and so harmonic qualities in a guitar are important to me (I only WISH I could play harmonics like the late great Lennie Breau). Unfortunately, you can't buy Lakewoods or Santa Cruzes at Music123, Sam Ash, or Musician's Friend and so you can't get a real discount on them. But I liked the Lakewood better than any Taylor, Martin, or Larrivee I've ever tried. But then it's all a matter of the type of sound we seek and the playability that suits us (which depends on your style). I'm sorry if I'm poisoning you regarding your choice but if I were you I would try everything in your price range when spending the $2000+ that you are about to spend on a guitar. It's hard to give advice over the Internet about a very personal reaction to a musical instrument, especially something that has such a great variety in qualities as guitars. But like the other poster said, go out and try as many as you can. That was very sound advice. If you find that great Martin that really turns you on and makes the particular things you like to play just jump out and grab you by the throat, then go for it. I probably would not order this expensive a guitar over the Internet but would hang around the music stores until I found a special one and fell in love.
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