Everyone from Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton to Wild ‘DADGAD’ Bill from your local open-mic night loves Martin guitars. For many, it is the ultimate acoustic guitar brand. It’s the tone, that squared-off headstock, the history.
Not all can afford a D-45 from its storied Nazareth, PA, facility, but the entry-level X Series, built in its Navojoa, Mexico plant, gives more players a chance to buy in to the brand.
Martin has “remastered” the X Series for 2024, ushering in a raft of changes to the spec. Fingerboards are thinner, with edges rolled, making them feel more premium.
There’s a contoured bridge profile – similar to that of its SC models – to enhance picking-hand comfort. Necks, fretboards and bridges of the more expensive X2 models are “select hardwood” – you’ll find Richlite ’boards and birch ply necks on the cheaper X1 models. The Fishman MX electronics have been swapped out for Martin’s proprietary E-1 system. The tuners are sealed satin chrome. Everything is satin.
The string spacing has been narrowed from 56mm to 54.8mm at the bridge as Martin seeks out fine margins for refinement. There are new Brazilian rosewood, ziricote and cocobolo HPL patterns for the back and sides, and it is the latter – resplendent on a Grand Pacific Cutaway – that we have here.
This GPC-X2E is top of the line for the X Series and has a Grand Pacific body shape that is all about pleasing the masses, smaller than a dreadnought but larger than a 000, giving you the best of both worlds. Think balanced tone with extra low-end force.
There is chamfering across the top of the body that contributes to the comfort. The Performing Artist neck profile’s easy C shape, allied to a tip-top setup, feels like it was inspired by electric guitar playability. The GPC-X2E should suit flatpicker and fingerpicker alike, and it’s more than game if all you want to do is throw some open chords around. This is one guitar you don’t have to fight.
Now, the cocobolo HPL is decorative. It surely doesn’t add anything to the sound but it does look nice and is tough as old boots. What does contribute to the sound is that solid spruce top and the scalloped X pattern bracing, and that body shape that is true to Martin’s notes.
Undeniably, this has a balance that reveals itself in a sweet treble and upper-midrange that adds detail to fingerpicked chords, while an open E chord struck with venom has volume and oomph, leaving a little honeyed treble in the air as the notes decay.
The E-1 pickup and preamp feels like business as usual, and that’s no bad thing. Amplified, it is naturalistic, and that’s what you want. We like that the tuner can be activated at all times, and it has a simple layout with volume, tone and phase button.
At this price, the competition is steep. Not many brands can compete with the name on the headstock but they can on spec.
Still, even if it is difficult to shake the suspicion that you pay a premium for the name on that headstock, it doesn’t change the facts on the ground, namely that this super-playable, stage-ready electro is hard to put down, there’s a quality gigbag/soft-shell case to sweeten the deal, and yeah, that headstock looks really cool.
Specs
- PRICE: $/£799
- TYPE: Grand Pacific cutaway electro-acoustic steel string
- TOP: Solid spruce
- BODY: Cocobolo high-pressure laminate
- HARDWARE: Satin chrome closed gear tuners, white Corian nut, Tusq saddle
- ELECTRONICS: Fishman MX
- FINISH: Hand-rubbed satin
- CONTACT: Martin Guitar
