Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar Review :: Martin Guitar Reviews
great balanced sound, perfect for traveling around, inexpensive guitar

A great small travel and student guitar, it’s a real instrument shrunk down to travel scale. Something to keep you busy while at the beach or in the mountains. The Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar features a solid Sitka spruce soundboard atop the small, modified 0-14 body to guarantee tight, rich tone, volume and tone control on the Mini-Q pickup. Micarta fretboard and bridge, 23″ scale, Stratabond modified low-oval neck, and Martin’s patented mortise/tenon neck joint. Gotoh nickel tuners.
Sound of LX1 Little Martin Guitar
- sound is balanced, not excessively tinny or bright;light and sweet;
- surprisingly warm and balanced, not at all brittle like the Baby Taylors;
- a clear difference in sound between LXM and the LX1 because of the spruce top;
- you can hear all the notes perfectly when playing fingerstyle.
- sounds like a mini dreadnaught, excellent dynamics and full sounding;
Pros of Little Martin LX1 Acoustic Guitar
- very well made for an inexpensive guitar;
- rich, warm, and loud enough to play on your own, stunning for its size;
- you can get your head over it and hear more of what’s coming out as your audience hears it;
- very good for traveling around;
- everything seems well put-together, all the seams and edges look clean, no nasty edges, smooth, level frets
- the neck is comfortable and there are enough frets to have some fun up high – 14 reachable;
- good choice for people with limited shoulder mobility;
- tough, good durability, can go with you anywhere you want to take it. ;
- laminate body seems sturdy which is a good thing in a travel guitar.
Cons of Martin LX1 Guitar
- not as a primary instrument, but great for traveling though;
Suggestions for this little Martin Guitar
- Martin 550 strings;
- the neck can be adjusted, plus the bridge saddle can be easily swapped out (it’s not glued down) and replaced with an individually made saddle of the player’s choice, depending on whether or not the player desires either a higher or lower action;
Features + Technical Specs | |
---|---|
MODEL | LX1 Little Martin |
CONSTRUCTION: | Mortise/Tenon Neck Joint |
BODY SIZE: | Modified O – 14 Fret |
TOP: | Solid Sitka Spruce |
ROSETTE: | Inlaid Boltaron w/ Red Fiber |
TOP BRACING PATTERN: | Modified 1 Style |
TOP BRACES: | Inverted 1 Style Crowned Cross Brace & Graphite Bowtie Plate |
BACK MATERIAL: | Mahogany Pattern HPL Textured Finish |
BACK PURFLING: | none |
SIDE MATERIAL: | Mahogany Pattern HPL Textured Finish |
ENDPIECE: | none |
ENDPIECE INLAY: | none |
BINDING: | none |
TOP INLAY STYLE: | none |
SIDE INLAY: | none |
BACK INLAY: | none |
NECK MATERIAL: | Rust Stratabond® |
NECK SHAPE: | Modified Low Oval |
NUT MATERIAL: | White Corian® |
HEADSTOCK: | Solid/Square/Tapered |
HEADPLATE: | Mahogany Pattern HPL w/ Printed Logo |
HEELCAP: | none |
FINGERBOARD MATERIAL: | Black Micarta® |
SCALE LENGTH: | 23” |
# OF FRETS CLEAR: | 14 |
# OF FRETS TOTAL: | 20 |
FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT NUT: | 1 11/16” |
FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT 12TH FRET: | 2 1/16” |
FINGERBOARD POSITION INLAYS: | none |
FINGERBOARD BINDING: | none |
FINISH BACK & SIDES: | none |
FINISH TOP: | Hand Rubbed Finish |
FINISH NECK: | none |
BRIDGE MATERIAL: | Black Micarta® |
BRIDGE STYLE: | 1 Style Belly |
BRIDGE STRING SPACING: | 2 1/8” |
SADDLE: | Compensated White Tusq |
TUNING MACHINES: | Chrome w/ Small Knobs |
RECOMMENDED STRINGS: | Martin M550 Phosphor Bronze |
BRIDGE & END PINS: | White w/ Black Dots |
PICKGUARD: | none |
CASE: | Padded Gig Bag |
INTERIOR LABEL: | Gold Foil Label with Serial # and Patent # |
ELECTRONICS: | not an option |
OTHER OPTIONS: | Available left-handed at no additional charge |