The Martin 000X1 is a low budget guitar in the well known Martin range and gives a great sound for an instrument this size. Similar instruments of this size are the Taylor 110 Larrive OM-03 SP and Blueridge BR-43. You’ll read some glowing reviews of the 000X1 on the internet, and you can believe them. A purist may say that it can’t be any good, because the back, side and neck are not made of wood, but don’t don’t let that put you off track!

First thing you notice, this instrument has literally no embellishments. There are fret position markers on the side, for example, but not on the fret board itself.The fret board and bridge are fabricated from Morado. The neck is stratabond, a bit like a plywood, and very solid looking. It has no binding, and the spruce sound board has a light satin lacquer finish. It doesn’t have an inlaid rosette, but sports a tasteful decal. I like the basic appearance of this Martin guitar, but then I’m more interested in This instrument is very comfortable to hold partly because of it’s small sound box, and I found it enjoyable to play.

The neck is thin and fast, and the body is just the right weight. I don’t like the feel of a guitar that’s too light. The Martin 000X1 is fabricated in Mexico with the attention to craftsmanship we associate with the name. The width at the nut 1-11/16, but seems somewhat wider. Of course, Martin have the expertise to make efficient use of the width available. There’s enough room to clear the strings with fat, but the strings are spaced well enough enough to allow rapid finger movements. The sound board is braced in the X-series style which Martin is famous for.

This guitar has great tone overall, but it’s the bass sounds that really impress – as you might expect with an instrument from the Martin range. The E and A strings have a power not found in the majority other makers guitars. The bass could be called little ‘fuzzy’, which is great if you want to play the blues. The fuzzy feel is a matter of preference, but it suits me just fine. I chose the 000X1AE, which features a bug underneath the saddle, and volume/tone controls cleverly hidden just inside the sound hole.

It comes into it’s own when playing the blues, I found. Forceful finger picking doesn’t bother this marvel. The strings might bounce some, but hey, it’s the blues! The overall volume is not the loudest, as you’d expect from an small body size, but that magic sustain must come from somewhere. I plucked the bass E and found that it was still ringing an appreciable. This can make possible really nice effects, such as bending the treble strings some over that droning bass note.

Hopefully, you found this brief review useful, specially if you were thinking of purchasing this guitar. Of course, there are negative features I can think of. For example, the spruce sound board has a thin veneer of satin finish and susceptible to bangs and scrapes.That said, the body is probably indestructible. I’ve given mine several quite heavy bangs with no obvious marks. Some other advice I might give – the appearance of the back and sides can vary substantially between guitars, and some of them are not really, so go and pick one out at your friendly music store rather than order over the internet.

Learn more about learn blues guitar. Stop by Jim Bruce’s site where you can find out all about how to learn blues guitar.