Martin LX1E Ed Sheeran
 

4 years with the same Washburn D10S and its time for an upgrade to a mid range guitar!...keeping the Washburn for altered tunings and nostalgia haha

really gravitating towards this guitar...now I know guitars are really subjective, but I was just looking for a bit of guidance...I don't really want to go over £500...unless of course you guys think its worth it to spend more, if that's the case then I can wait :-)

any difference between

http://www.martinguitar.com/new/item...le-martin.html

and

http://www.martinguitar.com/series/i...le-martin.html

apart from the £100 price difference of course haha

I like fun little travel guitars as much as the next guy but I wouldn't "upgrade" to one and would hesitate to call them "mid range" even the more pricey ones.

I have played both guitars you ask about and while I like them for a couch knock around guitar, the sound is a bit boxy to be my main guitar.

would you consider the price point to be mid range? even if this particular guitar is not...could I get some a lot people for a similar price?

Sorry to be blunt (i'm on my way home!) - but they're utter ****.

They're for a great charity cause I know, but if you want a guitar of that size get a GS Mini - the small Martins are terrible.

(and i speak as a Martin lover...)

I am about to put 2 guitars up for sale for $360 each on CL that would blow the doors off these. Acoustically and plugged in with built in fishman electronics with tuners as well. Like legitimately good mid range guitars. The deals are out there.

I agree these are tapping into the mid range price but I would call them entry level guitars. Mid range price in my mind is $500-1000. Anything below is entry level and anything above is expensive.

what about the seagull s6? my friends dad owns one of these and I couldn't believe it was less than £500

People around here LOVE that guitar. I have no experience with it.

I actually agree, I have a Martin lxk2 (basically the same thing) and it's nothing impressive at all. It's very quiet, has a bad balance between strings, sounds kind of dull, and the action feels off to me. Just all around not what it's cracked up to be in my opinion and I think there are better options probably within that price range for similar style guitars.

If you don't mind the wide neck, these are awesome guitars. The sound that comes from one of these is great- much better than any little Martin or GS Mini.

There also has been a lot of buzz here about the Yamaha FG730S. I just ordered one myself online, and I'm hoping all the hype is true. You should try one if you can.

OTOH, I think the Ed Sheeran Little Martin is kind of cool in it's own way. Plugged in it should sound pretty much like most other guitars plugged in. But if I were looking to upgrade from a lower end Washburn, that wouldn't be the guitar I would choose.

I agree and disagree with some of the points made about the two guitars from the OP.

Agree:
-I would not consider either the LX1E or LX1E Ed Sheeran as good mid-range guitars. They are very small travel guitars with durable high pressure laminate construction. Given this, they are the kind of guitar that packs easily, can withstand climate changes and at the same time offers decent (certainly not great) tone. I have played both and own the Ed Sheeran model - IMHO the Sheeran model sounds better than the other Little Martins (owing to the nice solid Sapele top).
-I agree that the GS Mini sounds much better than any of the Little Martins (I owned a GS Mini previously). However I wouldn't even try and compare the two. The Little Martins have an edge in durability and ruggedness and that's why I got one.

Disagree:
-IMO the Little Martins are not terrible - they are decent little guitars for traveling with, taking camping, taking to work (I do this with mine all the time) and not having to worry much about damage, etc. Yes they sound boxy, I think any guitar this small would. For me they serve a purpose that I wouldn't want to subject other guitars too, and keeps a guitar in my hands when I might otherwise not have one. YMMV.

To the OP, if you are looking for a good mid-range everyday player and do not have the specific size and durability requirements of a Little Martin - I would look at other options. There are tons of other better choices.