The Martin LX1 Little Martin is a genuine Martin shrunk to a 3/4 travel size, and within that brief it is excellent: a short 584 mm scale, 1.6 kg in weight and a solid spruce top. Here's who it suits, and why a small body means less volume.
Small-bodied guitars are usually a compromise: easier to hold but thin-sounding and toy-like. The Martin LX1 is the exception. Famous as Ed Sheeran's guitar of choice, it takes Martin's tonewoods and build know-how and packs them into a 3/4 body that is kind to small hands and easy to carry. The short 584 mm scale and 1.6 kg weight make it the most accessible guitar in our test, and the solid spruce top gives it a grown-up voice for the size. That combination makes it our pick for small hands and travel.
| Model | Price | Body shape | Top wood | Back and sides | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Martin LX1 Little Martin Travel Acoustic Guitar | £379.00 | Modified 0-14 (3/4 travel) | Solid Sitka spruce | Mahogany-pattern HPL | ★ 4.5 | View → |
£379.00
Modified 0-14 (3/4 travel) · Solid Sitka spruce · Mahogany-pattern HPL
The verdict from Theo Marsh, guitar and instruments reviewer
The best choice for small hands and travel. The Martin LX1 Little Martin is a genuine Martin shrunk to a 3/4 travel size, and within that brief it is excellent. The short 584 mm scale length and slim neck make it the easiest guitar here for younger players and anyone with smaller hands, and at 1.6 kg it is light enough to take anywhere. The solid Sitka spruce top gives it a surprisingly grown-up voice for the size, and the HPL back and sides stay stable when you move it between a cold car and a warm room. It will not match a dreadnought for volume, but as a travel or small-hands guitar it is hard to beat.
Punchy and focused for its size, with a tighter sustain of about 6 to 7 seconds and a clear top end.
| Body shape | Modified 0-14 (3/4 travel) |
|---|---|
| Top wood | Solid Sitka spruce |
| Back and sides | Mahogany-pattern HPL (high-pressure laminate) |
| Scale length | 584 mm (23 in) |
| Nut width | 43 mm |
| Frets | 20 |
| Total length | 864 mm |
| Weight | 1.6 kg (lightest on test) |
| Factory action (low E, 12th fret) | 2.3 mm |
| Electronics | None (LX1E adds Fishman Sonitone) |
| Typical UK price | £379.00 |
The LX1 is the right guitar for two specific players. First, anyone with small hands, including children and many younger teenagers: the short 584 mm scale, around 60 mm shorter than a full dreadnought, means the frets are closer together and the strings are under a little less tension, so chords are physically easier to fret and hold. Second, anyone who needs to travel: at 1.6 kg and 864 mm long it is the lightest, most portable guitar in our comparison, easy to take in a car, on a train or as carry-on, and tough enough to survive the journey.
It is not the right guitar if you want full acoustic volume or a big, boomy low end. The 3/4 body simply moves less air than a dreadnought, so it is quieter and lighter in the bass; for that you want a full-size guitar such as the Yamaha FG800 or the all-solid Tanglewood TW40. And while £379 is fair for a real Martin, it is a serious price for a small guitar, so if you only need a cheap child's first guitar the laminate Epiphone DR-100 costs far less.
The solid Sitka spruce top is what lifts the LX1 above ordinary travel guitars. It sounds punchy and focused for its size, with a clear top end and a tighter sustain of about 6 to 7 seconds, far more guitar than you expect from a 3/4 body. It is naturally quieter and lighter in the bass than a full dreadnought because the body is smaller, but the voice is genuinely musical rather than thin, and recordings of the LX1 sound surprisingly big. As a solid top it will also open up a little over time.
The short 584 mm scale is the whole point, and it works. Our example arrived with a 2.3 mm action on the low E at the 12th fret, comfortable out of the box and easily lowered further with a quick setup. The slim neck and 43 mm nut, combined with the shorter scale, make it the easiest guitar on test to fret for small hands; chords that feel like a stretch on a full dreadnought sit comfortably here. The 20 frets were level and well finished on our example.
The clever part of the LX1 is the back and sides: instead of solid wood, Martin uses high-pressure laminate (HPL) with a mahogany pattern. That makes the guitar far more stable than solid wood when temperature and humidity change, so it shrugs off the moisture swings of a cold car or a centrally heated room without the cracking risk that worries owners of all-solid travel guitars. For a guitar designed to be carried around, that toughness is a real, practical advantage, and the build quality is otherwise pure Martin: tidy, square and well finished.
The LX1's two honest limitations both flow from its size and price. The 3/4 body produces less low-end volume than a full dreadnought, so it is not the guitar to buy if you want the loudest, biggest acoustic sound, that is the job of a full-size instrument such as the Yamaha FG800. And at around £379 it is a serious instrument at a price that reflects the Martin name and the solid top, so a buyer who simply needs a cheap small guitar for a child can spend far less elsewhere. Within its brief of small hands and travel, though, neither limitation counts against it.
Best for: small hands, children and travellers who want a real, durable guitar that's easy to fret and carry. Not the pick if you want full dreadnought volume (try the Yamaha FG800) or just need a cheap child's first guitar (try the Epiphone DR-100).
Yes, that is exactly what it is built for. The short 584 mm scale length and slim neck make the LX1 the easiest guitar on test to fret for younger players and anyone with smaller hands, and at 1.6 kg it is the lightest guitar here. The shorter scale also means slightly less string tension, so chords are a little easier to hold down.
Not quite, and that would be unfair to expect. The 3/4 body produces less low-end volume than a full dreadnought. But the solid Sitka spruce top gives it a surprisingly grown-up, focused voice for its size, far more guitar than a typical travel instrument, which is why it costs more than a toy.
It is one of the best. The small body and 1.6 kg weight make it easy to carry, and the high-pressure laminate (HPL) back and sides are far more stable than solid wood when you move the guitar between a cold car and a warm room. That resistance to humidity and temperature swings is a real advantage on the road.
The Martin LX1 is our pick for small hands and travel because it solves both problems at once: the short 584 mm scale and slim neck make it the easiest guitar on test to fret, and the 1.6 kg weight with humidity-proof HPL back and sides make it the most portable and durable. The solid spruce top gives it a genuinely musical voice for a 3/4 guitar. Its limits are volume, the small body is quieter than a dreadnought, and price, at around £379 it costs more than a child's first guitar needs to. If you want full volume, our best overall pick the Yamaha FG800 is the full-size choice, and the Epiphone DR-100 is the budget option. See where it fits in our best beginner acoustic guitar guide.