A Review Of The Martin 000X1 Blues Guitar
The Martin 000X1 is a low budget guitar in the prestigious Martin stable and delivers a great sound for it's size. Similar instruments of these dimensions are theTaylor: 110 Larrivée: OM-03 SP and Blueridge BR-43. You'll read many great reviews of the 000X1 on line, and you can take them at their word. A stickler for authenticity may say this guitar isn't that good, because the body and neck are not made of wood, but don't don't let that put you off track!
First of all, this instrument has literally no embellishments. There are side markers to denote fret positions, for example, but not on the fret board itself. The bridge and fret board are fabricated from Morado. The neck is stratabond, which is a kind of thick plywood, and very solid looking. The guitar no purling, and the solid spruce sound board has a light satin lacquer finish. The rosette is not inlaid, but sports a tasteful decal. I like the bare look of the 000X1, but of course I'm more concerned with playability. The instrument is very comfy to hold partly because of it's small sound box, and I just love playing it.
The neck is medium thin and slick, and the body is not too light. I don't like really light guitars. The Martin 000X1 is put together in Mexico with the attention to craftsmanship we associate with the brand. Nut width is 1-11/16", but seems a bit more than that. Obviously, Martin have the know how to make correct use of the width available. There's plenty of room to clear the strings with pudgy fingers, but the strings are spaced well enough enough to allow quick finger movements. The sound board is braced in the celebrated Martin X-series manner.
This instrument plays with great tone overall, but it's the basses that really impress - as you might think with an instrument from the Martin range. The E and A strings exhibit a resonance not found in most other makers guitars. The bass tone is little 'fuzzy', which is fantastic if you like to play the blues. This dirty sound is a matter of taste, but it suits me just fine. I bought the AE model, which features a pickup under the saddle, and a volume plus tone control cleverly hidden just inside the body near the sound hole.
A Great Starter Blues Guitar
The guitar comes into it's own when playing the blues, I found. Heavy picking doesn't detract from the quality of this marvel. The strings might buzz a bit, but hey, it's the blues! The overall volume is not the loudest, as as you would think with a small body size, but that magic sustain must come from somewhere. I plucked the bass E and noticed that it rang a long time after. This can produce really great effects, like bending the treble strings lightly over that droning bass sound.
I hope you find this brief review helpful, particularly if you were thinking of investing in this guitar. If I try hard, there are less positive features I can think of. For example, the spruce sound board is very lightly laquered and can be prone to knocks and scrapes. On the other hand, the body is probably indestructable. I've given my own 000X1 several quite heavy bangs with no obvious marks. Some other advice I might offer - the look of body can vary hugely between guitars, and some aren't so attractive, so go and choose one at your local musical instrument store rather than order from a distance.
Conclusion: The Martin 000X1 is maybe the best 000 size blues guitar you could buy in the low budget range.
First of all, this instrument has literally no embellishments. There are side markers to denote fret positions, for example, but not on the fret board itself. The bridge and fret board are fabricated from Morado. The neck is stratabond, which is a kind of thick plywood, and very solid looking. The guitar no purling, and the solid spruce sound board has a light satin lacquer finish. The rosette is not inlaid, but sports a tasteful decal. I like the bare look of the 000X1, but of course I'm more concerned with playability. The instrument is very comfy to hold partly because of it's small sound box, and I just love playing it.
The neck is medium thin and slick, and the body is not too light. I don't like really light guitars. The Martin 000X1 is put together in Mexico with the attention to craftsmanship we associate with the brand. Nut width is 1-11/16", but seems a bit more than that. Obviously, Martin have the know how to make correct use of the width available. There's plenty of room to clear the strings with pudgy fingers, but the strings are spaced well enough enough to allow quick finger movements. The sound board is braced in the celebrated Martin X-series manner.
This instrument plays with great tone overall, but it's the basses that really impress - as you might think with an instrument from the Martin range. The E and A strings exhibit a resonance not found in most other makers guitars. The bass tone is little 'fuzzy', which is fantastic if you like to play the blues. This dirty sound is a matter of taste, but it suits me just fine. I bought the AE model, which features a pickup under the saddle, and a volume plus tone control cleverly hidden just inside the body near the sound hole.
A Great Starter Blues Guitar
The guitar comes into it's own when playing the blues, I found. Heavy picking doesn't detract from the quality of this marvel. The strings might buzz a bit, but hey, it's the blues! The overall volume is not the loudest, as as you would think with a small body size, but that magic sustain must come from somewhere. I plucked the bass E and noticed that it rang a long time after. This can produce really great effects, like bending the treble strings lightly over that droning bass sound.
I hope you find this brief review helpful, particularly if you were thinking of investing in this guitar. If I try hard, there are less positive features I can think of. For example, the spruce sound board is very lightly laquered and can be prone to knocks and scrapes. On the other hand, the body is probably indestructable. I've given my own 000X1 several quite heavy bangs with no obvious marks. Some other advice I might offer - the look of body can vary hugely between guitars, and some aren't so attractive, so go and choose one at your local musical instrument store rather than order from a distance.
Conclusion: The Martin 000X1 is maybe the best 000 size blues guitar you could buy in the low budget range.
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