MARTIN Little Martin LX1E Acoustic/Electric w/Gig Bag

This guitar sounds good to my ears. It’s easy to play with my arthritic hands . Overall I’m very happy, with the exception that it was made in mexico, I thought I was buying an American made guitar. But very well built and it holds it’s tune.

手が小さいので、ちょうどいいです。
頑張って練習します

Was skeptical at first since I own a couple of vintage Martins. Aside from the LX1E being a sustainable responsibly built guitar that has HPL back/sides, hybrid neck/fingerboard, and whose soundhole smells like a Lincoln Log toy set this is an amazing find. Yup- it’s perfect for the overhead bin on airplanes, comes with a good gig bag, and sounds great plugged in. Experimented with .11 gauge string set, but this guitar is really made for either .12 gauge or a true .13 (medium gauge) strings set. This guitar is designed for the combination of heavier strings and assertive strumming or picking to create a sound that belies its small size. It welcomes being pushed, muted, and/or percussively played. Found the same to be true of Martin’s DX regular size guitars which sound amazing for what they are. While the E Sheeran LX model has his logos on it, this is the same thing without the higher price tag-enjoy.

Love, love, love this guitar! I’ve always wanted a Martin, but I am too small to wrap my arms around a full-size guitar. I tried other smaller guitars and felt like I had to hold back so I didn’t “over-play” them. There was too much buzzing otherwise, and the sound was tinny. This LX1E, however, has a full, rich sound (it really cranks for a smaller instrument!) and I’ve already gotten so many compliments in the first week of playing it. The case is sturdy and has plenty of room. The Fishman pickup sounds great. I play in a local band (check us out… […]- shameless plug! Ha!) and I’m excited to perform with this instrument. I’m thrilled!

 Love this little Martin!
First real acoustic was a Taylor 414ce in 2011.
Second acoustic was a Martin dreadnaught junior sapele w pick up.
I’m only 5’4 and enjoy playing and singing live either plugged in or not.
This little Martin is awesome for playing around! I have it in my office and feel good knowing it’s high pressure laminate and can withstand some heat/humidity change. Durable!
Looks great, sounds very nice with spruce top.
I love it! So glad I purchased. Also glad to have my dreadnaught junior as it has more boom being a bigger guitar.
FYI if you don’t get a chance to try this ahead of time, the neck width and fret spacing is a bit tight, I have small hands so I love it but takes a bit of adjusting from a regular size acoustic.
If you have any questions or want more video just ask a question and I’ll see email update!

I bought this guitar about 1 month ago. I am a small girl 5’2″. I just strap this thing on and walk around the house playing. The pickup sounds freaking great hooked up to my Marshall amp. I have several other guitars including a Taylor 210ce which I also love. But this guitar is great for traveling, camp fires, and just plain old jammin. I chose this over the baby Taylor because the Martin had a full heel on the neck where’s the taylor baby did not. It also sounded better when I play both the Taylor and the lx1e side by side. I thought that the Martin had a better “feel” to is as well when holding it. It is a travel guitar so it doesn’t balance as well when you are standing with the guitar strap but I don’t mind that at all. I love this little guy and to be honest I now play it more than my $1200 Taylor. Came with a great soft case with backpack straps on it so I just put it on like a backpack when I’m walking far which is super convenient. Oh and the high pressure laminate is so great and seems pretty durable. Overall I have played a lot of guitars over my 10 years of playing and this little guy is a winner all the way around from sound, to feel.

As a complete beginner, I wanted something smaller, more portable, easier on someone with a smaller frame/ little hands that didn’t compromise on quality. Standard dreadnoughts were too large and intimidating, and the ones with a glossy laminate top just wouldn’t have made me want to pick up and play as much as this one does. I can’t praise the Little Martin enough. It’s just the most perfect size- comfortable yet not toy- like as a ukulele. Much, MUCH more versatility, range and better tone/ fuller sound than a uke, so for anyone primarily considering a uke over a guitar for size- look into this and other 3/4 sizes! Granted, I’m not an experienced guitarist by any means, but I have had some musical training growing up and played a couple other instruments and so I know what notes are supposed to sound like- it’s the guitar timbre that’s completely new to me. To my ears, the Little Martin’s sound is heavenly (when I get the fretting and chords right… lol). It’s just such a joy to pick up and play that my sore and numb fingertips don’t even deter me. I can’t wait to get callouses so I can practice longer. I can’t wait to learn more chords and solo riffs on this thing, and to take it with me every vacation, to jam with fellow hobbyists and just have tons of fun. I played piano growing up and I feel like the guitar is equally versatile, if not more, plus you can take the Little Martin pretty much anywhere and not worry about transportation. Also did I mention it looks absolutely gorgeous?? Everyone who’s seen it has admired it. It feels like a quality instrument, sometimes I just run my fingers along the smooth, polished wood feeling so pleased haha. The bag it comes with is also good quality, padded so should be fine for travel, nice smooth zippers and a pouch for your picks.

If you’re a beginner like me and buying online, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t panic if your guitar arrives with a high action (greater distance between strings and fretboard) and you find it near impossible to get a note to ring out. That’s what happened to me but taking it to a local shop and getting it set up to a lower action helped enormously. There are three main things you’ll want to do when you get a new guitar online:

1. Have it set up professionally so that the string action is as low as it gets without buzz. Look up online guides on where exactly to measure the height between string and the top of the fret bar- which string, which fret, etc. Around 2.4-2.8 mm is a nice, playable height for beginners.
2. Get a good tuning app on your phone (I use Guitar Tuna) and make sure it’s set to standard tuning (EADGBE).
3. Remember you have other string options other than the ones that came as default, and if you’re following video tutorials remember that whatever you’re using to pick or strum the strings (fingers, different styles of picks, etc) will impact sound. The Little Martin comes with medium gauge strings as factory default which have been a little hard on my tiny, soft fingers, so I’m going to switch to D’addario Silk and Steel light gauge for better playability and a warmer, folksy sound (I love the sound of classical nylon guitars, but starting on those wasn’t an option because of the scale spacing on those. I find it hard enough to press down on strings across just 3 frets. Silk and Steel won’t sound like nylon but will give some of that beautiful mellow sound).

I can only review this as someone who is never planning on making guitar playing anything more than a beloved hobby- so I don’t know about professional use for gigging, etc. It does have a built in Fishman pick up system which apparently is on par with much bigger and more expensive guitars. Also it’s pretty well known by now that this was Ed Sheeran’s signature instrument for years, and quite honestly if it’s good enough for Ed it’s good enough for me. It’s a bit sad that it took a 5’8 tall man to become a mega pop star for smaller guitars to really take off in popularity, but I’m glad those of us with little hards have better options now.

Overall, 100% recommend this guitar, makes me want to pick it up and play it every time, is comfortable to use and a blast to play with as long as it’s set up properly. I’m sure it doesn’t get as loud as full sized dreadnoughts but it’s more than loud enough for me, I play music for myself and maybe (?) a few other people once I’m skilled and confident enough. Well worth the money as it will be the only guitar I own and I can grow with it for years to come!