Martin LX1RE Rosewood Little Martin Travel Electro Acoustic Overview
Martin guitars have a unique, piano-like tone revered by musicians and music lovers all over the world. The X bracing patterns and quality tonewoods employed contribute to the complexity and richness of tone.
Over time the company has found ways to offer the Martin sound and feel for a lesser price and accommodate the entry-level and immediate player. Each series has a typical player and function in mind. This is accomplished by stripping down the features and cosmetics featured on Standard series models leaving the essential Martin build, giving you the classic and characteristic tone revered around the world.
Travel guitars arrived during the nineties and have never left. The idea of a compact scaled-down instrument with a ¾ scale length really embedded itself as a must-have item for guitar players. As well as being ideal for taking on holiday, many people like to have them as ‘sofa’ guitars, something lightweight and playable to strum in your downtime. Martin & Co. introduced the Little Martin to meet the rising demand for smaller ¾ scale length instruments. It has a proportionately scaled down dreadnought shape and comes with various options. It is an excellent inexpensive option for beginners, travellers or just regular musicians. Due to its size, the Little Martin has many practical applications.
The scale length is ¾ of a standard scale length with 14 frets clear of the body. Gauge .12 and even gauge .13 gauge strings can be used (it’s worth checking with our acoustic department before changing gauge on any guitar). The nut width is 1 & 11/16 inches, standard width on many guitars.
The LX1RE utilises high-pressure laminate (HPL) woods for the back and sides. HPL provides a stable material with which to construct a guitar body and offer the instrument at an attractive price. HPL makes a great deal of sense for travellers as it is resistant to the ravages of humidity which is such a bugbear for quality solid tops. Ideal for camping trips, festivals, gap years and safari. The satin finish has a smooth matt texture and is practical and durable.
This model is offered with a solid sitka spruce top. Sitka spruce is the most common spruce wood in use today. Sitka spruce is good for volume and will age nicely over the first four or five years of the guitar’s life, improving with time.
The electroacoustic Little Martin is fitted with Fishman Sonitone pickups and preamps. The pickup is an undersaddle piezoelectric strip. They are feedback resistant and are clear and responsive. A lighter touch is recommended as heavy strumming tends to cause the pickup to sound thin. Preamps boost the signal strength with battery power in order to deliver the ‘hot’ signal required for amplifiers and DI’s.
A durable and water-resistant gig bag is also supplied to ensure that this guitar can be kept safe and dry whilst travelling.
See the whole Little Martin range. There are options for different finishes, electronics and solid tops.
Want the next size up? Check out the Martin Junior
