Little Martin LXM
My Review Of The Little Martin LXM
By: John Sizemore
So, I’ve had this thing for little guitars lately. I don’t know why? I have very few child students. But, it just seems more of my students are looking for a little guitar that doesn’t cost too much, sounds great and you can pack around with ease. So I’ve been playing a lot of them. There are several high end guitar manufactures from Taylor to Martin that make high quality smaller guitars. However, the guitar makers that really stand out to me are Taylor and Martin. They seem to really put their backbone into having these little guitars well made.
So, today I’m going to take a look at the Little Martin LXM.
“Here’s The Important Things To Look At When Reviewing A Guitar”
- What Material Is Used For The Top Of The Guitar?
- What Are The Back & Sides Of The Guitar Made Of?
- What Material Is The Neck Made Of?
- What Kind Of Tuners Are On The Guitar?
- What Is The Bridge & Finger board Made Of?
What Material Is Used For The Top Of The Guitar?
The top (where the sound hole is) of the guitar is arguably the most important part of an acoustic guitar. Most if not all believe it has the highest impact on the resonance and sound of the acoustic guitar. Don’t get me wrong, the back and sides are important too. Just not as important as the top.
There are two different kinds of tops that are manufactured on acoustic guitars. They are either a solid wood top or a laminate wood top. The solid wood top is just that. A solid piece of wood cut for the top of the guitar. A laminate is actually several different types of wood bonded together. Kind of like plywood so to speak. As you can probably tell… The solid is the more desirable. Generally this wood gives off great resonance that will only get better over time. Laminates tend to sound a little more dull and this sound doesn’t improve over time.
The Little Martin LXM has what they call a High Pressure Laminate top. It’s not the same as most laminates. It takes much larger sections of wood and puts them under high pressure to laminate. It’s a little higher quality.
What Are The Back & Sides Of The Guitar Made Of?
Although the prominent sound of the guitar comes form the top. The back and sides will give you your high or low tones. So, basically it’s the construction and not so much the material. However, the material is important due to humidity changes. A solid guitar will hold up much better than a laminate.
The Little Martin LXM has a HPL (high pressure laminate) back and sides. Although laminates are less desirable. The construction of high pressure as opposed to standard laminate has much higher reliability.
What Material Is The Neck Made Of?
The neck is very important. If you don’t have a well constructed neck? It could bow and you’ll never get back your intonation or action if bowed too extremely. So, the material is very important.
The Little Martin LXM has what they call a Rust Stratabond. This material is like a laminate Composed of dye impregnated wood veneers. It’s been used for gun stocks for years and has just recently been discovered by guitar manufactures since tropical mahogany has jumped up so high in price. Some Martin enthusiasts really don’t like this material even though it has been known to be stronger than real wood.
What Kind Of Tuners Are On The Guitar?
With today’s acoustic guitars it’s imperative to have sealed and permanently lubricated with a low gear ratio, with the exception of classical guitars.
The Little Martin LXM comes with sealed permanently lubricated chrome plated tuners with small finger buttons. Great for kids. Besides the small buttons this is a standard for all quality acoustic guitars.
What Is The Bridge & Finger board Made Of?
It’s quite important to have a very strong wood that holds up to wear and tear. The most commonly used wood for both the fingerboard and bridge of a guitar is rosewood. It’s very strong, holds up and doesn’t show scratches or wear. It’s used on most guitars.
The Little Martin LXM comes with what is called a morado or east Indian rosewood. It’s just like African Mahogany. A very strong type of rosewood that is a little cheaper than American Mahogany.
“What should I expect to pay & what does it come with?”
The Little Martin XLM retails for $349 and comes with a soft gig bag. NOT A HARD CASE. I wasn’t able to find any packages that were worth while with this model. But, I found that most retailers were selling this guitar just under $300. Amazon had the best deal called the Martin LXM Little Martin Acoustic Guitar wtih Gigbag
I would recommend getting a hard case for this little guitar. Having any guitar in a gig bag that isn’t hardened is just asking for trouble. I was able to find a really good hard case for a pretty good price on Amazon called the SKB Baby Taylor/Martin LX Guitar Shaped Hardshell
What Others Are Saying….
“I’ve owned the Martin LXM now for several years and it’s an amazing little guitar. It’s far superior to the Baby Taylor in my opinion. It holds tuning like a rock and since it’s mostly made of composite materials, it isn’t as sensitive to temperature and humidity changes.”
Rating: 
“Has a good tone for a little guitar. Well worth the price. Not as quality as a true full martin, but for this size and price it worth every penny. “
Rating:
“I have a few guitars at home and even keep a couple at friends’ places overseas so I don’t have to transport guitars when I travel. Was recently stranded out of town without a guitar so I researched online and then trolled a few music shops to play a few. For the money, the Martin is a solid, well made, attractive piece (lovely wood grain) with good tone & resonance that belies its size. You will find smaller travel guitars, but they have no balls. Smaller guitars don’t sit comfortably on your lap and they sound like tin-cans.”
Rating:
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4.5 out of 5 Stars Based on 7 reviews
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Any Complaints?
I found a couple complaints with the same issue. After about 16 months the guitar top had separated from the body and sides. This is a classic humidity problem which I think doesn’t look good for the little Martin since I found the complaint twice.
However, If taken care of? This shouldn’t be a problem. This is why I recommend the hard case. The guitar will last for years longer in a hard case.
My Final Thoughts On The Little Martin LXM
I think this is a great little guitar with a big sound. I really liked the action. I thought it was just right for a small guitar. There are a few questions about the reliability of the guitar. Overall it is a nice little guitar that would be perfect for travel or for a child to learn on. I think the price has a lot to do with the Martin name however.
Where Can You Buy the Little Martin LXM?
You can buy the Little Martin LXM from Amazon. At the moment they include free shipping and from what I can tell when comparing prices with other online merchants, Amazon does currently have the best deal especially with the free shipping option.
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