Martin DX1AE Acoustic Electric Guitar Ultimate Review

If you want to enjoy premium sound quality delivered by Martin Guitars without breaking the bank, the Martin DX1AE will give you the satisfaction you need.

It produces a sweet and excellent tone that is bright and loud; that will blend into any genre of music. They make great backups when you need one, and what others consider weak in the DX1AE gives it an edge over other brands.

Martin DX1AE Guitar Review

Today, I decided to review the Martin DX1AE Acoustic-Electric Guitar.

Martin is a brand name associated with premium guitars, and I love the sound quality produced by Martin anytime, any day. Martin guitars wanted a guitar that could fit into the budget of any guitarist budget, and the company introduced the X series.

A friend was playing the Martin DX1AE for his girlfriend, and I was in awe with the sound my ears were hearing. It sounded like a Martin but without the high price tag.

I placed and received an order for the Martin DX1AE; I was slightly disappointed that a casing was not included. In its price range, you could easily forgive the company. I was satisfied with the sound out, as they were well-balanced and never went off-tune.

The Martin DX1AE is a versatile guitar that can fit into any genre of music. It is user-friendly; hence you won’t have any issues getting the hang of it. It is suitable for beginners, but intermediate and advanced users who try it out will not be disappointed.

This review aims to share my thoughts on this guitar, and I hope to hear your thoughts too.

Martin DX1AE Review: Build Quality

The Martin DX1AE is a beautiful guitar well crafted with quality materials. I was impressed with its build quality, especially considering the price. It is a guitar built on the D-14 platform, with a dreadnought shape that gives it pinpoint projection and enormous volume.

The Martin DX1Ae, which features a solid spruce top, is not a heavy guitar. It weighs a whopping 9.9 lbs at 46x18x6in, which seems ok. It has an A-frame “X-1” top bracing pattern with Solid Sitka Spruce 5/16’ making the top braces. The finished top is a hand-rubbed finish.

Another feature of the Martin DX1AE is a high-pressure laminate (HPL) textured finish at its back and sides with a mahogany pattern. The high-pressure laminate (HPL) is rugged but helps give the DX1AE a balanced sound. The HPL makes the Martin DX1AE budget and environmentally friendly.

A closer observation further, you will see a patented mortise and tenon neck joint. Another feature of the Martin DX1AE is the rust strata bound neck, a multilayered wood creation that gives it a firm neck. The neck has a modified low oval shape with a scale length of 25.4” and fingerboard width at the nut of 1-11/16″. The material of the nut is white Corian.

There is a total of 20 frets, of which 14 are clear. The fingerboard has a width of 2-1/8” at the 12^th fret. It features a saddle of 16” Radius/Compensated/White Tusq, which provides comfort and easiness when performing tricky progressions and movement at the black Richlite fretboard.

The Martin DX1AE also features a headstock made up of solid/standard taper and a head plate with a high-pressure mahogany laminate (HPL). The Bridge material of the DX1AE is made up of Black Richlite like the fretboard. The belly is the bridge style offered, with 2-1/8” bridge string spacing.

At the bridge and end pins, you’ll see that they are white with black dots. Tortoise color is the color option for the DX1AE, and the rosette is a multiple black/white Bolton with red fiber. At the tuning machines, you’ll see they are chrome enclosed with small buttons.

The build quality of the Martin DX1Ae might not be the best in the market, but it is no walkover. I dropped my Martin DX1AE a few times on my tile, and there was severe wear and tear. If it had happened just once, I would have said I was lucky, but that was not the case with my Martin.

How did that happen? The answer is simple, they are well-built and can take a few cases of abuse here and there. I accidentally bumped into my wall with the guitar, but there were no blemishes. Although there was a compromise in the Martin DX1AE builds quality, the alternatives used are not harmful. It is still a great guitar at its price range.

I have taken a personal liking to the satin finish of this guitar. They did a great job with this guitar.

Martin DX1AE Review: Sound Quality

The Sound quality of the Martin DX1AE is one part of the guitar I love. I mostly play classic and alternative rock, which works fine in both cases.

The spruce top, thicker than most guitars, is responsible for the DX1AE bassy and loud sound. Clean sounds that could sustain were able to come out despite the bassy out of the DX1AE.

Thanks to the great tuners, I love how it plays to tune and never goes off. You practically won’t tune this guitar for long because the tuners stay for a long time.

I noticed the solid wood used gives the DX1AE a different sound and feel. Despite it being made of synthetic wood, Martin guitars were able to do a bit of voodoo on it to make it sound great.

The synthetic wood enables guitarists to be more creative while playing, and I love it. The resonance of the Martin DX1AE is unique, and the tone is quite balanced. The volume controls in the soundhole of the DX1AE are user-friendly, thus, are easy to use and control. It features gig-tested Fishman electronics, which enhances its versatility.

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Martin DX1AE Review: Pros and Cons