Note: Here we have 7 of the best martin guitars, containing detailed information along with relevant cons that will help you conveniently compare and select the most suitable model based on your needs.
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Our top 3 Picks
- Great playability
- Clean or crunchy sound
- Long-Lasting instrument without loss of sound quality
- Ideal for anyone irrespective of the experience level
- Super comfortable and easy to play
- Lightweight and easy to carry
- Can easily play both classical and acoustical styles
Martin acoustic guitars are rocking not only the stages but also the heart of many musicians. Holding up the amazingly sophisticated instrument while standing at the center of attraction has always been a dream for many aspiring musicians. And so, we have compiled a list of the best Martin guitars for the aforementioned Martin fans like us.
Guitars from Martin drive the musician with their creative juices to give a great feast for the listener and the player. They are the heart-throbs for many musicians. And that’s an undeniable fact. The features Martin guitars come with and their crown-like reputation are the reason why people crave one of these bad boys.
Beyond Martin guitar’s features, reputation and experience, their personal handmade touch is another reason. That personal touch makes every musician feel like the instrument is built for them. And that’s the reason why most of the musicians get emotionally connected with their instrument. Also, these guitars stand like a symbol of pride for most aspiring and inspiring musicians.
Suppose you are searching for your own your ‘rock the stage’ kind of guitar. You should definitely scroll further down and read these Martin guitar reviews. Because you don’t want to miss out on the amazing guitars.
Understanding the high reputation of the company, we know that you love to own your Martin guitar.
Since there is a super wide range of instruments available, we listed down the top seven to make your selection process easier.
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Top 7 Best Martin Guitars
The Martin road series DRS1 dreadnought guitar is one of the Best Martin guitars on our list. This instrument was first introduced in 2001. Since then, this guitar has been adored by many of the traveling and working guitarists.
The instrument’s top, back, and sides are crafted with solid Sapele and braced resonance or better projection.
How does it sound?
The guitar provides full sound with darker tones with the help of zebrawood used as the back material. The Sonitone guitar pickup configuration in the guitar gives the best soundhole usage.
The spruce material used in the instrument’s build helps in the perfect delivery of soft touch to the tone.
How does it feel?
The guitar feels super comfortable to play around with a variety of tonal nuances. And the Sapele material gives a versatile feel to the player. Even better fact is that this Martin acoustic guitar ages like fine wine.
Pros
- Great playability
- Good clean or crunchy sound
- Long-Lasting instrument without loss of sound quality
Cons
- Premium price for a premium guitar
This is one of the premium handmade guitars on this list. The guitar is built with Sita spruce and Mahogany body material that gives a comfortable and rigid feel while carrying and playing.
The instrument is built with classic design and professional sound quality with an enjoyable playing experience.
How does it sound?
The guitar gives a super professional sound quality. And it suits well for almost all the styles of music, which is an added advantage.
How does it feel?
The instrument is super easy to use irrespective of the experience level. Even for newbie guitarists, this is one of the best options you can go for. This series of guitars have super comfortable playability to ensure intense comfort.
Pros
- Ideal for anyone irrespective of the experience level
- Super comfortable and easy to play
Cons
- None
This Martin X Series 2015 LX Little Martin Acoustic Guitar Natural comes with an ambidextrous orientation, so you can easily play with this instrument even if you are a left-handed person. The instrument is built with Sitka spruce and mahogany material that ensures proper sound projection. Hands down, the best Martin guitar for the money.
How does it sound?
The guitar sounds super clear with the LXM sound. Also, this guitar gives the best sound for its smaller size. You can also play around with different base tones with this guitar.
How does it feel?
This is one of the best comfortable and easy portable guitars with a small size and higher portability. If you will be traveling a lot and there is not much space in your luggage, you can choose this one.
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to carry
- Can easily play both classical and acoustical styles
- Worth the price in this range
- Has an ambidextrous orientation
Cons
- Loses some of the “Martin” qualities
The fretboard and the top material of the instrument is built with rosewood. At the same time, the body and back material comes with Macassar HPL. This instrument is specially built for left-handed people. So, if you are one, you can definitely check out this one.
How does it sound?
The guitar delivers a balanced sound with crisp and consistent tones. It comes with a rich exceptional-sounding bass with a dreadnought body. And this helps in generating more captivating sound.
How does it feel?
The high-performance tapered neck gives a comfortable playing experience. Also feels comfortable playing different styles like rock, country, folk, jazz, and more.
Pros
- Easy to switch between styles
- Comfortable to play
- Durability with good sound quality
Cons
- Difficult to adjust truss rod
This is a right-hand-oriented guitar with rosewood as neck and back material. The guitar is built on the hardtail bridge system. This bridge system helps the guitarist to focus on the play entirely.
Also, the system supports eliminating the fumbling issues. Thus, ensure to provide a quality sound experience.
How does it sound?
The build of this instrument ensures to provide resonant warmth and punchy volume to the play. The tone of this guitar is what makes it more unique than the other guitars.
How does it feel?
The glossy and special rosewood polished back material ensures to provide a rich look to the instrument. Also, the neck pattern and fingerboard make it easier for better playability.
Pros
- Helps in generating powerful rhythm
- Super loud for all the styles of music
- Great finish
Cons
- Strings are sometimes not beginner-friendly
The Martin D- 18 E guitars ensure a crystal clear sound experience. Also, the build of this instrument gives a glossy rich look. The top material is constructed with Sitka spruce and finishes the look with a high glossy look. Also, these handmade guitars are built with premium quality wood. This adds a special touch to the instrument.
How does it sound?
The solid wood material ensures to provide a warm and deep sound. Also, the open gold tuners in the instrument help in delivering the captivating sound. Thus the instrument ensures to provide a high-quality acoustic experience.
How does it feel?
These Martin D – 18 guitars are well suited for late-night jams, cons studio sessions. This further gives more comfortability and an elite playable experience. So, this instrument is definitely going to satisfy the thirst of a guitarist.
Pros
- These guitars are handmade and have the special human touch
- Recommended by many guitarists
- Captivating sound production
Cons
- None
A major part of the guitar is built with spruce and Sapele material. If you are looking out for a little smaller guitar with dreadnought sound, this is a great option. The solid wood used in the construction helps in deep and excellent bass delivery.
How does it sound?
The guitar ensures to provide the crystal clear and deep acoustic experience, The spruce and Sapele material used here ensures to provide the proper sound projection.
How does it feel?
The instrument feels so comfortable to carry. Since the instrument is small, it is super comfortable to carry anywhere you are going. It is a portable instrument with the proper delivery of the acoustic experience.
Pros
- It gives a clear acoustic experience
- Small and easy to carry anywhere
Cons
- Not super comfortable for beginners
So, the above is the best Martin guitars that you can try out in 2021. If you are wondering why Martin HD 28 is not mentioned in the list. It is only because of its price range. But still, it is also one of the best guitars.
And the above seven guitars are our personal favorites, and we handpicked them to make your shopping experience easier. So, definitely go through the above review once again to decide which guitar will suit you the best for your needs.
Why choose Martin Guitars?
If you are still wondering why you need to choose Martin guitars, then here you go.
Though the Martin guitars have their a strong base in the industry since 1800, there are various other reasons why you should choose Martin guitars.
- The company does wise usage with wood usage. They make sure that no wood is just left or wasted in the guitar manufacturing process. So, the environmentally friendly nature of Martin guitars is one reason why you need to choose them.
- The company only uses the CITES-certified woods in the guitar construction process. The company tries its level best in minimizing the wastage of wood.
- Although the company has grown a lot from the beginning stage, there are very few employees in the company. Martin guitars believe that their strong relationship with their employees is what helped them grow more.
- Though robots and machines are used in the building process, there is always a handmade touch to all the Martin guitars. Yes, every instrument from Martin guitars comes out with its unique human touch.
- Martin guitar’s customer service – Though the company has grown a lot with years, they make sure to provide excellent customer service. Even now, they are offering customization options available. Though the company has many popular musicians as their customers, the company, at the same time, ensures to provide the same service to all their customers.
History of Martin guitars
C.F.Martin passionately founded the company in 1976 at Markneukirchen. This is a small village in Germany that already held deep historical popularity for musical instruments.
The founder started his journey at the age of 15 when he was an apprentice to George Stauffer.
George Staffer is one of the best guitar makers in those days. After completing the strength training from George Staffer, C.F.Martin started his business in Nazareth in Pennsylvania.
Since guitars were not much popular in the early years of 1800, people weren’t much aware of the instrument. But, C.F.Martin bought a change to the build of this instrument. He started to implement that X-bracing system for his guitars.
But, C.F.Martin didn’t claim any patent for this bracing system. And that led to many of the German immigrants started using the X-bracing guitar build system.
Though there was no proof of authority that C.F.Martin found the X bracing system, the Martin guitars were the first to come up with this idea.
In the starting of 1860s, the Fan bracing system started to emerge in the industry. And many people went back to that system. But C.F.Martin was still stuck with his X-bracing system. He was continuously thinking about how he can make some tweaks.
Later C.F.Martin made some adjustments with the joining parts of the instrument. This adjustment helped with the tone transmission from the neck to the body. And this bought some uniqueness to the Martin guitars.
In 1900, people were starting to know more about guitars and wanted to work on them. By this time, only in 1921, the company manufactured steel-string guitars. With this upgrade, the company started to grow to another stage.
As days passed in 1928, the company started selling almost 5000 instruments annually, which brought an excellent reputation and trust to the Martin guitars.
Since then, the company constantly comes with its uniqueness in the guitar manufacturing field.
Where are Martin guitars made?
Martin guitars are known for their great build and flawless craftsmanship. They are a world-class brand of guitars that prioritize human touch over any mechanical automated systems. To quote the owner and the head of Martin guitars, “You can have whatever robot you want. As long as it doesn’t replace a human.”
All the Martin guitars are made in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. But some of the models like X series, Backpacker series, road series, dreadnought junior, PA5 models are manufactured in Mexico.
In conclusion
So, the above is an intense review on how you can choose your Martin guitar and why you need to have one. So, don’t forget to check out the above-listed guitars to add up to your collection.
Even if you are a beginner, there is definitely a guitar in Martin’s collection. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself a kick-ass Martin now. Good luck!