Best Martin Guitar Under $1000 (Jan 2023 Update)

I've had a D41 since 1979 and thought it was the most beautiful thing both to the eye and the ear. I wondered at the reviews, could a D42 sound better than perfection? Well, the answer is it's a different form of perfection. The D42 had presence to it. Like some actors/actresses have that special quality that makes the audience take attention. The D42 is like that. It has stage presence that will leave you bewildered at the incredible quality and intricacy of sound coming from it. It's bliss. Get one and you won't regret it. The reviews are true, oh so true. It has gold hardware that feels much less substantial that the D41. Inlay is pleasing to the eye and understated. Even so I can't fault what's there. Perfect finish, perfect wood, perfect tone. Built with Martin quality behind it. Its not as pretty as my old D41, the woods available have changed over the years. The tuners are less substantial. How much is a piece of heaven worth to you?

Overall: So after playing guitar for more than 30yrs, this is my first Martin. Very weird considering my father sang and played with a Martin F-65 (rare semi-hollow body, only about 600 made) most of his life. I've lived all my life usually not more than 2 hours from the factory, and for most of that time less than an hour. I've taken the factory tour which was awesome. I've met many musicians that play Martins, endorse them, etc. I've been playing the last year or so on a Fender acoustic(not including my electrics that I own or play), which is a decent enough instrument, albeit a cheap sub 300$ guitar, when I purchased it over a year ago. I have owned a few other acoustics, a couple Takamines, Fenders, Ibanez, Ovations etc over the years. I won't say I have any considerable experience with 1k and up acoustic guitars, but I like to believe I have at least a decent ear. The sound is really the thing here, as this is not an ornate guitar with fancy inlays and stuff like that. Still, one of the main reasons I chose this model is because it's solid wood. I have no experience with Martins HPLs, but I also know Martin wouldn't put their name on anything if it isn't well made. I prefer solid wood, so that's a great reason to chose this model for this price point, and the reason I did. That being said, this is what a great guitar should sound like. I can easily hear the way every string sounds as clear and loud as the others. I'm pretty sure this has to do with bracing and the way they build their tops. it just projects the way a guitar should, not muddy on low strings and too bright on the highs. It sounds superb, plain and simple. Clear, bright, articulate. Martin has been perfecting guitar building for almost 2 centuries now, and while this is not their top of the line guitar, it gets all the benefit of their experience in the way they're designed and built. One thing I didn't realize about Martins until after getting this, and looking at their specs on most of their guitars is they have a wider neck (1.75" width) than I'm used to. My Fender neck was more like an electric neck, both width and thickness wise. I will easily get used to this though, and may enjoy it even more in time, as I have big hands. I also love the hidden controls for the volume and tone and tuner. I love that they didn't cut a huge hole in the body of the guitar for them, very cool. I haven't plugged it in yet, but I have no doubt it'll sound good. Fit and finish are fantastic, as is the soft case they include. I would rather it have had a gloss finish, except the neck, but that's just a personal thing. It's a beautiful, well made instrument, that you should definitely put on your short list of under 1k guitars.I would definitely recommend this guitar.

Fantastic service from the team at Fanatic – happy to correspond in English. Order processed and despatched quickly and delivered to Gibraltar without any issues. Guitar arrived in perfect condition, well boxed. Was surprised that the guitar didn't have a strap button on the heel, but from research know that this is common practice for Martins – a bit of a shame, but no effect whatsoever on a fabulous guitar. Action is pretty high and the neck needed a slight truss rod adjustment, but easy to do with the right tool and experience of such maintenance (the allen key does not come with the guitar, but easily purchased). Width at the nut slightly wider than my previous guitar so a little technique change needed to avoid unintentional muting on the E string – that's not the guitars fault!

Overall: I purchased this guitar for practice, and to record licks for quick pre-production ideas. My Taylor GS Mini does not have electronics and I wanted to add a Martin to my collection anyway. When plugged in the Martin sounds very rich and there is almost no sound degradation between plugged and mic’d, very impressive! The fingerboard is wider than the one on my Taylor GS and as a result is much easier to play for me. This guitar is not as rich sounding or as comfortable as my Washburn 55 Comfort Series but the sound, the cut-away, and the small size makes this my choice for those quick pre-productions or gigs.Installation of an onboard tuner would make this guitar perfect in my opinion.

Took a GS Mini back and traded it for this. Much prefer this in almost every way (except for the gig bag… Taylor does a better job there). The reviewer who said this guitar doesn't have a truss rod is misinformed. This guitar has a biflex truss rod. I love the neck! At 1 3/4 inches, there's more room for fingerpicking, and this thing sounds great for strumming as well. Very balanced with nice lows for the size. To me this sounds better than anything in the price range, regardless of size.

I purchased the Little Martin for two reasons. I wanted a small travel size guitar for grab and go playing on the couch. I also wanted a guitar that was not made of all solid woods, because I live in a region that has high humidity as well as significant cold in the winter months. The Little Martin checked both of those boxes. Even though it is small, the Little Martin has a very big voice. When you dig in with a pick, it really projects nicely. Chords sound great, and it has a nice tone. Due to its size, it also makes it easy to play with your fingers. This is a very well made small guitar that is going to last for many years. Bravo Martin!!

it arrived yesterday to romania, from music store germany (thanks for handling it with so much care!) and i laid my hands for the first time on this loveable tiny beauty. it looks amazing and feels amazing, in every aspect. excellent playability all thourghout the neck, right out of the box… i wanted a travel buddy — small, sturdy, light and playable… and here she is. there are a lot reviews on the net, i will let here my own subjective opinion, after one day of having it (shipped from music store, germany). – i'm a tall guy (6 feet 3 / 190 cm), but the smallness of martin lx1 is not a hindrance in playing. my wife is a mongolian petite, so perhaps I'm used with handling small beauties 🙂 – i have big hands, but not thick fingers. if i stretch my fingers i can cover this guitar's neck from the net to the 10th fret (from pinky to thumb stretched out) — so you can have a clue; however, i feel comfortable playing all over the neck, even past the 14th fret. so no problem with that… and the transition back and forth to my normal-sized acoustic fender pm1 or to my electric squier affinity tele feels smooth, adjusting in no time. – the guitar is neck heavy, but it doesn't bother me at all; you see, it sits comfortably in my lap. – well, of course, the sound is not of a normal-sized guitar — one has to live with that. it is somehow a boxy sound, but martin has a lot of character, so i'm quite pleased with the sound. the guitar seems to suit better for fingerpicking or strumming with bare fingers; when i use my pick it's too noisy, especially the d string is sooo loud, taking over the other strings. in know, it's a new guitar, freshly out of its box, so perhaps it needs time to shape its sound. if this will not happen (due to hpl back and sides) i will still be pleased, the sound is good enough and i can work my way around. – the machine heads are of excellent quality (like every aspect of this guitar, actually): i tuned the guitar yesterday, after taking it out of the box, then forgot about it… summing up: craftmanship — state of the art sound — boxy, you may like it or not (martin has character, a distinct voice, above all) optic — beautiful as it gets, simply perfect price/performance — well, i would have loved to pay less… in the states, it was 399 USD until recently, now it's more expensive and perhaps the price will rise as well in the current covid situation; so buy know, don't postpone if you consider having one.

got this one as a gift so I can't rate value for money ratio 🙂 it does sound fantastic, very rich in all tone ranges. The preamp is very good too, transfers all the frequencies very well. But, you'd probably expect no less from Martin. What's a little odd, is the material used for construction, to what I reckon its all compressed wood / laminate combination, which appears strange at first, but does the job very, very well. You get a piece of gear you can take outside not taking care this much about dryness, humidity, or weather conditions. The "CASH" theme is allover the instrument and gigbag, which is a very nice feature. All is top quality, and looks solid. Would I buy it with my own money? YES 🙂