An Honest Martin Guitar Review
Martin LX1E Guitar is among the six Little-Martins series of guitars. It has a unique twist on its design that allows the user to fall in love & appreciate the instrument. While some might find a smaller guitar pointless, this beautiful instrument has a big place amongst most guitar lovers. This website also published a nice guitar buying guide, definitely check it out.
The series has used HPL on the body construction. Some have electronics without the complicated equalizers, while others are simply plain acoustic guitars. Some have added features which make them expensive, but the LX1E is ideal among the six as it balances affordability and quality.
First Impressions.
On the first glance, the LX1E looks like a no-frills version of the classic Martin dreadnought. This makes it really adorable. But do not let this guitar’s size and price fool you. Just because it is the size of a more traditional acoustic guitar, does not mean its a slim down of the modern guitars. The LX1E rocks a strong Sitka-Spruce top & mahogany high-pressure laminate back & sides. While its choice of HPL for the back & sides enables Martin to cut down on the price, the quality of construction is still marvellous.
Read more about it here: https://indiehq.com/best-acoustic-guitars/
Product Features & Specifications
• Sitka brace & a Micarta bridge & fret
• High-pressure laminate at the top, back & side woods
• Satin body finish
• Electronics enabled
• Absence of complicated pre-amplifications
• Rosewood HPL overlay
• X type pattern
• 20 frets on a 23 length scale”
• White Tusq saddle & White Corian nut
• Has a Modified body type of 0-14 fret
• C.F. Martin & Co. logo
• Its tuners are constructed with nickel from Gotoh
• Affordable & durable
• Compatible with all amplifiers.
Body Quality
The Martin LX1E's body has a scaled down size from a normal guitar. This makes it lightweight, easy to handle and especially comfortable for kids to enjoy playing with. Yet the guitar wasn't made specifically for kids, but for adults. Its Modified 0 to 14 Fret body bears the influences of the grand concert & the dreadnought, this enables it to produce a strong sound but not as strong as the dreadnought. It creates a very nice emphasis on the mid & high tones the guitar produces.
Its top is made of strong Sitka-spruce, a great choice for such a guitar. The spruce enhances the mid & treble sound of this guitar, giving it a nuanced feeling which is hard to parallel. Its back & sides are of Mahogany, with a great HPL texture finish. The Mahogany is a cheaper replacement to rosewood. The tonewood isn't as dense & heavy as its rose cousin but it is just as good when it comes to emphasizing the bass of the guitar. By this, the guitar is just as capable in the higher end of tones as it is at the low.
The guitar's neck is made of Rust-Stratford, a technique that involves combining layers of thin and heavily laminated wood, into each other. The results are a very sturdy, yet very alternative appearing, neck. Despite its lamination, few people can notice a difference in sound. Its fretboard is richlite, a nice dark wood that has a smooth surface which is as enjoyable to play as it is to look at.
Hardware
The guitar's solid east-Indian rosewood bridge appears beautiful on this lightly-tinged guitar. Its effect on sound is equally noticeable, as the low tones of this guitar seem to better resonate than the body build of this guitar would allow.
The nut & saddle are made out of white Corian, a synthetic product that stands out thanks to its unique ability to allow for nice harmonics. The synthetic material is also good at mitigating the string buzz.
The tuners are Gotoh-Nickel. They come with smaller knobs, this might make it a little harder for those with larger fingers to tune them. However, the guitar is stable in its tuning, needing tuning rarely.
Sound
The sound of this guitar is more than just perfect. While its body size doesn't allow for the strongest or the loudest tones to be produced, by no mean is this instrument quiet. It's very capable of attracting attention from a crowd without amplification, while also giving beautifully detailed mid tones & treble. The sound of this guitar is vibrant & very lively. It's capable of warm tones which relax the ear. Great ranges of sounds for a guitar of this price range.
Durability
Martin itself says that “The Little-Martin isn't made to be cosmetically perfect.” And in fact, few customers say that there can be some imperfections in this guitar’s finish. But the instrument is not intended to feature in your studio décor. It is meant to hit the road and get beaten up. Just because it is not much of a looker does not mean that it does not adhere to Martin’s high construction standards.
Points to Improve
There are some reviewers who think that the choice of high-pressure laminates isn't eco-friendly.
Since the guitar doesn't have its own tuner, one has to connect directly to the speakers & may not have control over feedback noise. If used at concerts, the feedback noise will be irritating to the ear. Grounded electric wires are culprit in a situation like this.
There's room for improvement, but it can't stop the LX1E from jamming.
Pros & Cons
Pros
◦ The guitar's sound is clear & quite bright due to its solid spruce top.
◦ Its Fishman Isys preamp gives you more options to control your sound.
◦ Its contour switch doubles up as its EQ when pressed.
◦ Its phase switch offers an extra bass at low volumes.
◦ It has good playability & feel.
Cons
◦ Its bass projection doesn't match to that of bigger guitars.
Conclusion
The Martin LX1E is a simple but quality guitar. Its small size makes it the perfect companion while on the move, while its tuning stability & its perfect hardware allows you to start playing it at a moments notice. It has an outstanding sound and its sturdiness is simply inspiring. A great recommendation, irrespective of whether you're a professional or beginner player. You will get value on investment.