Martin LX1E Left-Handed Natural

I like these small guitars with a big sound. The Taylor GS Mini is also like this. The Martin has a great resonance. With the advent of Zip pay there's no excuse that a beginner should not get one. The things about "beginner" guitars that put people off are it's hard to get a good sound, barre chords are too hard and the neck is too wide. The Martin is motivation solidified. It's also nice to look at, at the beautiful wood.

I went to my local music store and tried out the lx1e along with the baby taylor, 3 different models of travel sized yamahas, and the mini ibanez. The Martin blew them all way having the best low end tone in its class. So I put my order in here on AMS and the one I received is just as good as the one I played in the store. Good sustain and resonance. It is a little boxy which is a complaint I hear often but it's really not that bad for the size of the guitar and its better than any of the competition. I don't think it's reasonable to buy a mini guitar and then complain that it sounds a little bit boxy. This guitar is totally gig worthy. Action and neck relief were spot on out of the box it did not need a set up. All I did was put some Elixirs on and it was ready to ... MoreI went to my local music store and tried out the lx1e along with the baby taylor, 3 different models of travel sized yamahas, and the mini ibanez. The Martin blew them all way having the best low end tone in its class. So I put my order in here on AMS and the one I received is just as good as the one I played in the store. Good sustain and resonance. It is a little boxy which is a complaint I hear often but it's really not that bad for the size of the guitar and its better than any of the competition. I don't think it's reasonable to buy a mini guitar and then complain that it sounds a little bit boxy. This guitar is totally gig worthy. Action and neck relief were spot on out of the box it did not need a set up. All I did was put some Elixirs on and it was ready to roll. The included gig bag is a nice quality bag perfect for traveling. The electronics are good, especially for a vacation travel guitar I don't need anything high end as far as electronics go.AMS shipping was fast and on time. The guitar was well packaged and arrived in perfect condition. Buy this guitar!

Arrived in Excellent Condition , Wonderful Little Guitar

Reached Kuwait in excellent condition. The guitar is really nice looking and plays wonderful. It feels great and it carries Martin's signature guitar build quality. Although small it's got a nice weight to it. It's an absolute joy to play plugged and normally. You'll have no problems with the fretting , super comfortable. Would Recommend to guitarists at every level , love it.

Cracked in 45 days. Martin refused repair

The typical Martin warranty does not extend to the Lx product line. This is cheap garbage with a Martin name. Several other sources report these models are prone to splitting. It also sounds very dull. Terribly disappointed. Ruined Martin for me for life

Fantastic

Believe me this guitar is not just a beginner’s guitar. I’ve been playing 25+ years & I’ve owned a fair few guitars over the years. I don’t gig anymore, I only play at home for fun. This guitar has a beautiful tone but isn’t overly load like that of a big sounding dreadnought guitar. All the superb qualities, tone & playability you’d expect of a Martin guitar without the volume. It’s absolutely perfect for playing at home. So much so that after owning it for around 5 months it’s now the only guitar I play. It took a couple of weeks to adapt to the slightly shorter fret size but you soon don’t even notice. The tone of this is far superior to that of the Taylor baby in my personal opinion. Highly recommend this exceptional guitar.Kris

I hesitate to recommend this one...

I really liked this little guitar, BUT...I read the reviews and decided to buy in-store so I could play the guitar before buying, and I'm SO glad I did. I went into my local Guitar Center and played THREE of these Martin LX1E guitars, including one that had been specially unboxed so I could try it after two others failed my examination. All three guitars had a very pronounced buzz in the frets. It was not that noticeable when I played them acoustically, but the buzz was very noticeable when I plugged them in to an amp. I even tested the amp with other guitars, to make sure it wasn't the amp. It wasn't. Its a great little guitar, great tone and very playable, BUT my advice would be not to buy this one on-line. Play it first. Play up and down the whole fretboard, and ... MoreI really liked this little guitar, BUT...I read the reviews and decided to buy in-store so I could play the guitar before buying, and I'm SO glad I did. I went into my local Guitar Center and played THREE of these Martin LX1E guitars, including one that had been specially unboxed so I could try it after two others failed my examination. All three guitars had a very pronounced buzz in the frets. It was not that noticeable when I played them acoustically, but the buzz was very noticeable when I plugged them in to an amp. I even tested the amp with other guitars, to make sure it wasn't the amp. It wasn't. Its a great little guitar, great tone and very playable, BUT my advice would be not to buy this one on-line. Play it first. Play up and down the whole fretboard, and plug it into an amplifier and play again. I have been playing for more than fifty years and have never experienced playing three brand new Martins that were simply not up to snuff. Weird!

Review of Martin LX1E 'Little Martin' Acoustic Guitar

Loving this guitar. Compared with my bulky dean acoustic, this is a pleasure to play. It feels so good in your hands, with the heavier neck and smaller body.Surprisingly it gives a loud enough great sound, if you play with gusto, even the lower strings boom out nicely.It even smells gorgeous. My hands are not big and I haven't played for many years, but now I want to play every day. The woodwork looks beautiful too. I haven't tried playing with an amp yet, but I bought the Yamaha THR5A with this so I am confident it will work well together. Looking forward to many years of use, I am 59 and haven't had time to play guitar for a few decades, so I am very excited to have found this little gem of guitar, after nearly giving up on ever playing again.It was useful to ... MoreLoving this guitar. Compared with my bulky dean acoustic, this is a pleasure to play. It feels so good in your hands, with the heavier neck and smaller body.Surprisingly it gives a loud enough great sound, if you play with gusto, even the lower strings boom out nicely.It even smells gorgeous. My hands are not big and I haven't played for many years, but now I want to play every day. The woodwork looks beautiful too. I haven't tried playing with an amp yet, but I bought the Yamaha THR5A with this so I am confident it will work well together. Looking forward to many years of use, I am 59 and haven't had time to play guitar for a few decades, so I am very excited to have found this little gem of guitar, after nearly giving up on ever playing again.It was useful to watch Anderton's videos first before deciding which guitar to choose. I also tried a mini Martin but an older version, in a guitar shop, so I already knew I wanted this one, but the new version.

Small Guitar With A Big Sound

In the las couple of years, Ive discovered that I really like a smaller body guitar and a slightly shorter scale. This is much more comfortable for couch noodling and the compact size Id much easier to tote around. I decided that I wanted a really good small guitar and this is what I settled on. I have always thought Martin guitars were the best and this one does not disappoint. I debated on whether to spend the extra $100 for the electric option. Wow what a sound. With a little distortion and reverb, this guitar is a screamer. Im beyond impressed with this aspect. All in all, great guitar. No, it does not have the deep sound of my dreadnought Martin, but it does sound great and is exactly what I wanted. Very pleased.

Sweet Little Travel Guitar

We were on a road trip and made to to Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, IN. If you have never been there, just think WOW: big, beautiful, clean, with a dedicated room for each type of instrument, a trade/sell counter, a full service restaurant, and a concert venue. I had a travel guitar with me. I prefer the 3/4 size models to travel with because they are so much easier to deal with in the back seat, in restaurants, etc. Then I picked up this Martin in the acoustic room. From the first second I could feel the luscious wood, the perfect fret-board, the neat bindings, etc. Know this: from a small body guitar you are never going to get that big dreadnought sound. But it still sounds clean and crisp, and right out of the box the setup and action were spot on. If you can live ... MoreWe were on a road trip and made to to Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, IN. If you have never been there, just think WOW: big, beautiful, clean, with a dedicated room for each type of instrument, a trade/sell counter, a full service restaurant, and a concert venue. I had a travel guitar with me. I prefer the 3/4 size models to travel with because they are so much easier to deal with in the back seat, in restaurants, etc. Then I picked up this Martin in the acoustic room. From the first second I could feel the luscious wood, the perfect fret-board, the neat bindings, etc. Know this: from a small body guitar you are never going to get that big dreadnought sound. But it still sounds clean and crisp, and right out of the box the setup and action were spot on. If you can live with that smaller sound, you will be very happy with a travel guitar like this one because of the convenience. For me, being able to easily take a small guitar on the road with me so I can keep my practice time up is the way to go. So I traded in my other one - how convenient that they have a trade counter right there - and picked this one up and a strap and some other stuff and I'm very happy. Comes with a very nice gig bag as well. With this little guy I now have Martin quality I can easily take on the road. One other thing: these little made in Mexico Martins only come with a one-year warranty, as opposed to lifetime on the big ones. But I'm telling you, this thing is made very well, and with care will be fine for a long time. Martin says never leave it in the trunk, so keep it in the back seat, take it into the restaurant and hotel, etc. and you'll be fine. Plays nice, looks great, easy to carry. It's all good. And trust me, if you can find your way to visit Sweetwater in person, do it. It's like a candy store for musicians, you will just love it!

This guitar is perfect for my 12 year old AND me!

We researched a lot before buying this 3/4 size guitar. For such a small guitar it has a lot of rich sound. My son was playing my full size guitar, which has a lot of action, and he already sounds so much better on this smaller guitar. It's really boosted his confidence and he is practicing even more! I have had some more professional guitar players play on it and they agree it is a fantastic guitar.