Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar Review :: Martin Guitar Reviews

great balanced sound, perfect for traveling around, inexpensive guitar

musical instruments image

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
MODELLX1 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

Click below on page 2 for more photos

Disclosure: we may be compensated for our reviews. Click here for details.