Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar

The Martin LX1 is a wonderful guitar for smaller people with tiny hands, or even as a travel guitar. This one does not come with a pickup; I meant to get an LX1E but excited about ordering a Martin at a low price, just 449.00, in my haste I ordered the acoustic without pickup. My Luthier did, however install a pickup he had in his shop, and the sound is brilliant thru an amp. Don't have to tune it much, no more than any guitar, it's small and easy to play, it feels perfect on my small lap! And it's all wood, very sturdy and beautiful color. Mine is a light tan color. Martin never makes cheap, and this guitar is proof! Crystal, clean, melodious sound! You can never go wrong with a Martin!

I was looking for a Baby Taylor when I came across this little mini Martin guitar. I liked the description and the price was reasonable, so I bought it. It was delivered about 3 days later. I was pleased with it's general appearance, and after adjusting the strings over time, I found it to hold it's tune, with a subtle but rich tone for such a small guitar. It even came with a very nice, well made gig bag. The only drawback was that I was afraid it was "too" small. I used to own a Baby Taylor and this Martin was a bit smaller than that. I must admit that I haven't played a guitar in several years, and my fingers have gotten a little "sausagey". But I think it'll be ok. With a little practice and some stretching exercises I'll be just fine.As far as recommending this guitar, I would do so without hesitation. I love the sound, the size, the style. Unless you have ham hocks for hands or still sleep in a crib, this little Martin and it's gig bag makes a really good go anywhere, anytime, fun little guitar for just about any age, beginner or accomplished performer.

I've been playing for about 30 years, being in a very musical family with people you have all heard of, but I will keep that anonymous here. All kinds of acoustics, electrics...all brands--low dollar, very high dollar and so on. Knew about the electronics version, but wanted to get this one totally "off the grid," a guitar you could easily carry anywhere with no need for anything else. Mainly just goof playing, playing with random other folks/instruments, whenever, wherever=and handing off to my daughter one day. First of all, for crying out loud, it really is a Martin. I just didn't believe it would play like one, but it does. This is the crown jewel from the Mexico factory. I really like the sound. Not a full sized sound, but a special unique sound that has great range and establishes its own category. It is easy to play. I also like the echo tones from finger percussing the body. I'm not going to ramble on here and give a too long review that many won't read. Let's cut to the chase. This is a Martin. A real Martin with all that that entails, for a low low price. If you are wanting to try guitar, this should probably be your first. If you are an enthusiast and want an everywhere guitar that has small, tight frets and good action that you can take anywhere and accidentally bang up a few times, get this guitar. Finally, if you are someone who likes guitar, get this guitar.

I have a Martin LXK2, and I thought this LX1 would be a nice addition to my travel guitars. The LXK2 is HPL (high pressure laminate) throughout, including the top. The LX1 has a solid spruce top, with HPL sides and back. I thought these guitars would be comparable, but cosmetically different. I was mistaken. This LX1 is remarkably better in tone, and I'm a bit sorry I even have the LXK2 (with the exception noted below). Of course, the LX1 doesn't sound like a full-sized Martin (of which I have several), but it's pretty darned good, and a marvelous travel and practice instrument. I'd still take the LXK2 camping or to any other higher risk environment; the laminate top of that one would probably be more resistant to dings and self-inflicted stupidity.In the winter in this part of the country (Alabama) it gets awfully dry inside. In those conditions, all of my guitars (except the LXK2 but including the LX1) have Oasis humidifiers in them, and the LXK2 is the only one I let out of the case for any extended period.Note: To make string changes easier, I replaced the tuning machines with Grover Roto-grips. As these guitars require medium gauge strings, it turns out the Roto-grips can't handle the thicker low E string. I had some regular Rotomatics laying around, and I used one of them for that string so they'd all be cosmetically similar. I can stand tying off one string the old-fashioned way.

Of course the size is convenient. But it’s advertised as having a rich sound despite its smaller size. But I found it sounded like a ukulele. And the wood didn’t seem solid. It feels like balsa wood. Very disappointed and sending it back.

This guitar arrived to me today, in great shape. it was in a double thick box and within a gig bag. It was quite out of tune, but what does one expect. It feels like a Martin guitar, solid and well built, even for a less costly model. It comes with steel strings and the bag. If given to a new musician, calluses are forthcoming, practice a half hour a day, or until fingers are a little sore. In two weeks, it will be much better.The sound of this little guitar is nice. It is much better than some less costly ones. I previously bought a CORDOBA small guitar with nylon strings and this one has far better sound; not only because of the strings, but because of the quality of the guitar.