martin has a blackout version for 799.00

https://www.americanmusical.com/p/martin-special-x-series-d-solid-top-black?

epiphone has a dove copy in black for 499.00

https://www.zzounds.com/item--EPIEASDV?siid=375800&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid

Didn’t Johnny Cash play a black D-35 or was it a D-28 ?

most of his stuff was on the D 28 black and D 35 black ,,but he used a D 42 black also... among others. they custom made him a D35 and a custom D42.
the D 28 was the first black acoustic guitar martin made.. or so i was told.

The "Man In Black" could probably have had any color he wanted.
Great reason for Johnny wearing black.

I'd look at a used Guild D-25 Black. New the Yamaha LL6 comes in black, as does the Eastman PCH2D.
 

I've owned many Martins over the years. Have too many now, I need to sell 'em off.

I also have Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, Webber.
But...

Having said that, the guitar I reach for each day isn't a Martin:
Bourgeois. My favorite of them all...
 

Depending on your budget, in addition to the one Terry linked, Martin offers this black dreadnought for $1,200.

martinguitar.com/11DC10EMODBLACK.html

Thanks for all the replies. I should have been a little more specific...acoustic only dreadnought, all black..my bad.
I found two but not sure if they are an upgrade or not from my Fender CD60S
Hummingbird Tribute acoustic
sweetwater.com/store/detail/EH...tar-ebony
and this:
Baton Rouge X15S/D-B
thomannmusic.com/baton_rouge_x15s_d_b.htm
Anybody know anything about either one?

quote:

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Originally posted by Patrick1962

Thanks for all the replies. I should have been a little more specific...acoustic only dreadnought, all black..my bad.
I found two but not sure if they are an upgrade or not from my Fender CD60S
Hummingbird Tribute acoustic
sweetwater.com/store/detail/EH...tar-ebony
and this:
Baton Rouge X15S/D-B
thomannmusic.com/baton_rouge_x15s_d_b.htm
Anybody know anything about either one?

---

The Hummingbird tribute has a laminated ("layered") top, so it's probably not much of an upgrade. 

I've never heard of the Baton Rouge brand.

Do you have a budget in mind? Both of those guitars are under $300. In that range the only guitar I would consider taking to a bluegrass jam is the Yamaha FG800, but it doesn't come in black. For a little more I really like Blueridge laminated-back models (but they're also not black).

I misspoke. I would look out for one of these:

Get a good guitar and paint it black.

Have you considered a "black" guitar constructed of carbon fiber?
Such as a Rainsong?

John..you mean like the HPL Johnny Cash guitar?

"you mean like the HPL Johnny Cash guitar?"

I don't mean a "wooden guitar" painted black.
I DO mean a guitar built out of carbon fiber.
Look at Rainsong and [I think the name is] "CA" or Composite Acoustics -- the makers of the guitar Tim Stafford of Blue Highway used on the road...

John..Ive heard of those but never heard one before..will look into it although, tbh, Im inclined to think that it would be difficult for it to have the same tonal qualities as wood...but I'll check it out nonetheless.

However I did find something interesting that I didn't know...apparently if a guitar has something other than bone nut and saddle these can be had relatively cheaply and from what I understand improves the tone etc considerably....cool, right? Are there any other things like this that can be done that improves a guitar without it costing almost as much as the guitar itself?

I changed my mahogany Silver Creek dread's bone nut and saddle to "TUSQ" and improved its tone and projection.

Steve, Ive heard of that before..so TUSQ is better than bone? Interesting...

My test for a good bluegrass guitar is to vocalize a low hum gliding the voice down lower and lower into the sound hole and if it resonates the body of the guitar from the sixth string, second fret, which is F sharp or first fret, F, it’s going to be suitable no matter what name or type of wood it’s built out of.

quote:

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Originally posted by Patrick1962

Steve, Ive heard of that before..so TUSQ is better than bone? Interesting...

---

I think Martin started using TUSQ a few years ago.

I noticed a very nice difference on my Martin clones.They came with all solid woods,forward shifted X bracing and scalloped braces.

Wonder if anyone has taken a guitar and compared the sound between TUSQ and bone using the same guitar, strings etc...not that I would be able to tell the difference but there's a lot of people on this site who could

The material the nut is made of (as long as it's of similar density and hardness to bone) ought not to make as much difference to the tone as does how well the nut is fitted to the instrument, and even that will be negligible, unless the rest of the instrument is exceptionally responsive and resonant.

There aren't near as many effective DIY tone tweaks possible on a guitar as you have on a banjo, but the material and fit of the bridge saddle is one I'd look at before changing the nut, and even more important is the angle at which the strings cross that saddle:

youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Ar8H-yMSg