Martin Road Series D-12E review

This Martin dreadnought is streets ahead with its solid-wood build and Fishman MX-T pickup and preamp

(Image: © Martin Guitar)

Guitar World Verdict

At $1,099 street, the Road Series makes Martin feel and pro-quality tone a little more accessible.

Pros

  • +

    Fishman MX-T offers a transparent plugged-in tone.

  • +

    Immaculate solid-wood top, back and sides.

  • +

    Performing Artist neck profile should be a crowd-pleaser.

Cons

  • -

    Richlite fingerboard might upset the cork sniffers.

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Martin will forever be an aspirational acoustic guitar brand but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t spared a thought for our pocketbooks in recent years. 

We have seen the X Series use high-pressure laminate builds to keep prices south of a grand, and the LX Series, aka Little Martin, offering affordable, travel-sized guitars.

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Jonathan Horsley

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.