Martin DX-1

Very basic features. Mine has a solid spruce top, laminate back and sides (which means pressed mahogany,) a rosewood fretboard and bridge and mohogany neck.
there are satin finishes on the back and sides and there is no finish on the top, which actually lets the guitar breath.
It has chrome tuners, a tortise shell pickguard and very understated features throughout. there is a strap button in the back but none on the neck so you gotta do the tie thing by the headstock. i don't rate by the number of features but by their usefullness so i'll be generous and give an 8 here.

it suits my blusy style well. a lot of bottom end for such an inexpensive guitar. the treble has that nice subtle martin quality. it really does not have the tin can sound of a lot of guitars in its price range, but it does not sound like a $1,000 and up martin either. pretty close though, and after about a year and a half of playing it, i can honstly say it still gives off pleasing sounds, even as my ear has improved. it's not really compelling for finger picking, but anything with a plectrum will sound great, especially open chords.

the finish is pretty much non existant, but again, it allows the wood to breath. the disadvantage is that the unprotected spruce top suffers dings very easily (mine has a few) and will also start looking darker over time.
also, the rosewood fingerboard will pick up finger oils and darken with age. as a matter of fact, it started staining about the second week of playing it. the action, like most martins, is pretty high, though not by any means unplayable. it has no flaws. nothing is poorly cut or oxidizing.

it's a light guitar. i would not recommend it for heavy gigging. it's more of a nice at home or practice guitar. it can hold up well to takamines and the like in a jam setting. (sounds much fuller than takamines in my opinion) i could also see it singing in the hands of a good lounge guitarist. but if you take it out, use a solid case or sturdy gig bag.

well, they gave this guitar the same warranty as other martins, i believe limited lifetime. that's pretty good, considering it isn't the most rugged guitar in the world. i did call with a question once and they were pretty helpful, though i did get the feeling they were not as accomodating as they would have been to someone who owned a $7k d-45.

Overall, I'd say its a fine-souding, but not dazzling, mid-priced acoustic. If you're looking for something with a nicer finish and better durability, it's not for you. but if you are looking for a good, warm, bassy sound, it is. after playing it for a year and a half, i have somewhat fallen out of love with the guitar and have upgraded to a taylor 710. (my new love) but my martin, she served me well. now i'm selling her and can honestly say i'm passing off a quality souding instrument for the price.

spruce top with laminated sides, workmanship is great, looks are plain

the sound of the dx1 is great, really great when strings are new

action was bad from the factory, but took it to a dealer under warrenty, and was taken care of, but first string is a little to close to the edge, and some times in a C chord my palm dulls the string. seems like the first and sixth are not the equal distance in

everything seems great

no problem with warranty setup

the sound is great, looks are plain jane, first string to close to edge, like it mainly for the sound

All features are standard and utilitarian, just as you'd expect with a mid-range priced guitar.

I played many, many guitars and decided to buy this one soley based upon its nice deep, bassy sound; not just because it was made by Martin. Its a perfect Blues and folk guitar. Tonally this guitar holds its own against much more expensive guitars. If you prefer a more trebely tone, I wouldn't recommend this guitar, though. MOST people do play and listen carefuly to a guitar before they buy it, so I can't comprehend why someone would actally shell out the cash to purchase this guitar and then decide they hate its tone. Life's a mystery...

The action thus far has been consistantly good. During the dry winter months, I've been careful to always keep the guitar in my humidified bedroom. The intonation is great.

I've owned my DX-1 for well over a year now, play it almost everyday (I also play electric) and so far it has been rock solid. I really love the soft natural wood finish. And by the way, it is real wood to correct the last reviewer. The construction is solid, but may seem fragile since it does not have an armour-like varnish finish as some other guitars have. The lack of a finish also contributes to its nice deep tone.

NA

If your looking for a bassy Vs. trebley accoustic guitar, the DX-1 is best in its class for the money. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I'd most likely purchase the same model over again. I've been playing for over 15 years and appreciate the fact that you can finally buy a guitar that sounds this nice for less than $800.

1999 Martin DX1. This guitar has a solid spruce top with mahogany grained high pressure laminate back and sides (This is a nice sounding term for fake wood). This guitar just goes to show you that just because a guitar says U.S.A on it, doesn't mean it's good. I am not a guitar manufacturer, but I do build acoustic guitars. Martin has a pretty nice bracing system on this guitar, but it does not make it sound good like the sales pitches say. I don't care how good your bracing is, you can't make fake wood sound like real wood. The satin finish is less than impressive. The neck feels nice, but right out of the box, it needed some neck work. The only good thing I can rate is the solid spruce top. Although I have heard much better sounding spruce, I have to give it a 3.

The sound is not very good at all. I now feel like this guitar should have been priced half of what it was. I play various styles from jazz to funk to rock, and the only good sound it produces is on the low end strings. I recently bought an ALL SOLID WOOD larrivee D-03 for less money, and it sounds much, much better.

Action was terrible. The strings were actually on top of the frets, and I have to do a series of adjustments before I could actually here notes. The finish looked okay, but by the sound you can tell it is not a real laquer. The guitar is very, very light and I'm afraid if I hold it to tight, my fingers will break right through the fake wood. The truss rod was almost tweaked all the way when I got it.

This guitar will not withstand live playing, nor will the hardware last. I can tell that the wonderful bracing is already falling out of wack. (Does that mean it is still wonderful). It is totally undependable in any live situation. However, the solid top does give it an okay sound for a practice instrument.

N/A

I have been playing for many years, and this guitar has been my worst investment yet. As I said before, my larrivee D0-3 sounds light years beyond the martin and I spent $500 on it new. My advice to anyone looking for an affordable guitar: Stay away from the martin line for affordable instruments. Get an all solid wood larrivee for less money.

2001 model, made in USA,14 frets accessible, 20 total.
Solid Spruce top , laminated sides and back, black micarta fretboard, solid neck, no finish, enclosed tuners, no fret markers or inlays, very clean fretboard. extremely basic.

sound is very rich and deep. very close to that of a taylor.great overall balance to the sound. not cheap sounding.

fretboard is very smooth. great action. best acoustic i've played for under $1500

sounds great, plays great, but is still very basic, no gimics

The martin DX-1 is your basic dreadnought style guitar. It has 20 frets (14 exposed) and a very beautiful solid spruce top. The body is a wood fiber composite laminate, which is basically like a formida kitchen counter- top. I wasn't to crazy about this at first but just leave it to Martin to take a counter-top and make it into a work of art. Just looking at the body you could never tell that it isn't real mahogany. But atleast it won't scratch easily. I was looking for a good acoustic at a price I could handle, and for the price you will not find better craftsmanship or sound.

The sound is awesome! I've been playing guitar for 15 years and play mostly acoustic gigs now. The sound is so crisp and clear and when you hit the low notes it gives off a nice bass tone with very good resonance. I use a Dean Markley Pro Mag acoustic pick-up with mine (running into the PA) and it sounds great. Best of all, even at the low price and despite its wood fiber composite body it still sounds like a Martin.

The action is among the best I've ever played in an acoustic guitar. It is very easy to play. I have a 10 yr old Gibson Chet Atkins Tennesean (electric semi-hollow body) and the DX-1 plays almost as good as the Chet Atkins. Like I said before the craftsmanship is excellent. Everything fits together perfectly and there is no sign of glue or anything like that. It is almost flawless in design. The solid spruce top is very attractive and is exellent in quality.

This guitar will probaly withstand live playing if you are careful with it. It is kind of light but seems rather strong because of the type of bracing, however not quite as strong as real wood. The hardware is of good quality. Pretty much everything on this guitar looks strong except maybe the body. Like I said before just be careful with it.

I don't have any comments on this due to not having to deal with any customer support.

I've been playing for 15 yrs. I own a Gibson Chet Atkins Tennesean, an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, a Fender Twin Reverb with Celestion speakers (I put those in myself), many effects pedals and other stuff. I like playing good quality guitars, and the Martin DX-1 will make a nice addition to my little collection. If I had asked something before I bought this guitar it would be concerning the materials that the body is made of. Honestly, when I bought it I just picked it up, played it, and looked at the fact that it was a Martin in an excellent price range with super sound, so I didn't even ask what the body was made of. I love the looks, playability, and sound of this guitar. I'm not to crazy about the body material, but only because I don't know how strong it is. I do wish that Martin could make this same guitar with a real mahogany body for the same price, but I don't see that happening. Overall this is a really good guitar for any purpose, whether it is learning to play, playing live, or just sitting at home or anywhere else and jamming. It is quite remarkable that a Martin in this low of a price range still sounds and plays better than the higher end price ranges of some other popular brands of guitars. I would recommend this guitar to anyone who wants a good guitar at a low price.

Guitar has SOLID SPRUCE TOP with one piece Mahogany grained high pressure laminate back & sides. Inlaid Boltaron Rosette around soundhole. Neck is 1 11/16" wide at nut, 20 frets total-14 frets clear, scale length 25.4". Fingerboard & bridge are black Micarta. Guitar is full sized. Basic Dreadnought really. Looks basic, but because its a martin, it's simple, elegant, and beautiful!

Sound is amazing for a guitar in this price range. It sounds like it could easily sell for over a grand. Bass notes are boomy but not too boomy, and the highs accent this perfectly. I play newer rock, ex: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Our Lady Peace, etc. Perfect for this style.

The craftsmanship on this Martin as well as almost all other Martin's is flawless. No glue to be found, fret wires are perfect. Action suits me perfectly, not too high or low, kinda medium. Could not make this thing buzz if I tried.

Seems like it would require a good case to make sure it doesnt get damaged. Guitar is VERY light and probably brittle too. Just be careful with it, like any acoustic, especially a MArtin, be careful! Get a nice hardshell case, it's worth it. If you bang up a Martin, you're an idiot, period.

Unsure about this part, but I hear martin is fairly reasonable with customer service/warranties.

Been playing for a few years now, I own a few other acoustics including an Ovation Celebrity, a washburn D-10, and a few older pieces of crap. This one blows them all away. If it were stolen I'd hunt that person down and end their days. Even though it's fairly inexpensive, you'd never know that by the sound of this baby. Bottom line people, it sounds better than any other acoustic around for under $1,000. I even sat down with some martins that were well over $1200 and even some guilds, gibsons and taylors that were $1500+ and this one blew them all away. Hard to believe I know, but I speak the truth. Buy one if you find one.