Martin D-X1E Review

Always order from sweetwater

This is the first guitar I've ordered online since 2009. Back then I ordered a guitar from musicans friend and it came with high frets and a warped neck. I was not too pleased. So at first I was hesitant about ordering this Martin. But it came perfect after the 55 inspection. Everything I have ordered from sweetwater is perfect. And martins are exceptional guitars so I was not disappointed

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Worth every penny, would buy again without hesitation

Owned for 7 months. I play it almost daily. Set-up is perfect for me. Build quality, playability, fretwork, tone, are much more than I expected. You would have to spend thousands to get a better guitar, and even then it's a matter of preference. It goes from air conditioning to summer heat/humidity and remains very stable. I can go days without retuning. The finish is super durable… read more and looks very nice but is not smooth like gloss wood, it has a very slight texture to it, but hardly noticeable except when light hits it just right. I believe this helps keep my sweaty arm from sticking to it. Electronics sound very good although I don't play through an amp often. I would trust the included soft case more than some cheap hard cases I've owned, it's very sturdy and well padded. If you're considering this you won't be disappointed. Martin has done an excellent job creating an affordable model.

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Wonderful

This guitar is everything I expected it to be. Delivery was in a timely manner and believe it or not. It was still in tune. I have always wanted a Martin but didn't want pay the price. Thank you for making that happen. The guitar is easy and an absolutely delightful to play. I've had the pleasure of playing some high end Martins and the D-X1E provides the tone and overall sound… read more as it's big brothers. I would recommend this guitar to anyone from beginners to professionals! A special thanks to Ethan for answering my many questions.

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Survived a catastrophic fall

This is one highly playable robust little guitar! Lovely size, great neck feel, and good sound. Awesome plugged into an acoustic amp. My son dropped it and the top separated from the body. It was fixable as the top and body were HPL. A solid wood top would not have been repairable. The guitar shows little cosmetic damage and with a good set up sounded better than before it… read more was dropped. This is the guitar to take everywhere. It's a brilliant little beast. If it were crushed by a steamroller, I'd replace it immediately. Best guitar for the lolly.

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Good guitar and goes where I don't dare take my all solid wood guitar

I bought this model specifically because it has no solid wood (other than the bracing). I've only had it for a few weeks, but have already taken it to an open mike. I had it in the trunk of my car all day at work, and it was about 35 degrees out. No need to take my nice guitar into work and listen to comments like, " Are you going to give us a concert?" I headed to the open mike… read more after work. It wasn't out of tune from being cold all day in my trunk...maybe a little normal fine tuning, but no more than usual. I was concerned how it would sound plugged in. I had read some negatives...I mean, the guitar cost $500...it must be a cheaper pickup, I figured. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it sounded very nice. I plan on taking it to Bluegrass festivals this summer. If I want to leave to listen to some music, I'll just leave it in the trunk of my car. There will be jams after work also. No worries. This guitar will be just fine in my trunk all day. As far as the guitar acousically....Sweetwater shipped it ready to play right out of the box. The action is low. It plays very nice. Sounds nice, maybe not as loud as a solid wood guitar. That's fine with me. I'll focus on how I play, and not on how my guitar projects. I do like the 1.75" nut, which was a spec that also drew me to selecting this guitar. My solid wood guitar also has a 1.75" nut. My hands are pretty big, so for me, this is important. The key measurement to me, is that if you measure from the 6th string to 1st string, at the nut...it measures 39mm. That's millimeters. Do that measurement on a guitar with a typical 1.69" nut. You'll get a measurement more like 36mm. At the right hand end of the operation, the string spacing on this guitar is normal, about 55mm at the bridge. So, as you move up the neck, it feels no wider than a typical acoustic...but the neck is wider there anyway. Where I do feel it, is in the open position. I know that Martin makes these HPL guitars with a solid spruce top for not much more money, and maybe it would be fine in my trunk all day in the cold or heat, but...maybe not. I opted for the 100% HPL. I also opted for the faux spruce look. The pick guard is a real pick guard, by the way. It's a more traditional look for bluegrass jams and festivals, and kudos to Martin. It looks like solid wood. So, thanks to Martin for making this fine guitar, and thanks to Sweetwater for the great setup on this guitar and great service. I plan on putting this guitar to good use.

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