Martin DCX1E

Joshua Jones

Hi all, been playing now for about 2 years on a €100 epiphone. Been grand I suppose for a beginner but am looking to invest in an entry elec-acoustic. Been to my local store and messed about a bit with a dcx1e. Bit heavier than the epi but liked the feel and sound. Just wondering does anybody have one and how do they find it?. Thanks.

sarkozy

I wouldn't say you missed out at all. And unless you've a rediculously big wad of cash to burn, I wouldn't even think about blowing it on an entry-level Martin like that.

I've been looking for a great, affordable acoustic guitar for ages. Very recently, I settled on a Tanglewood TW40 O. Until getting this 'folk size' I've been looking for for a year or so, my main guitar was a 30 year-old Ibanez dreadnought I inherited from my Mother, a beautiful guitar. I took a job abroad in a dodgy country and wanted a cheap-but-good sound-alike so I did my research and settled on a Yamaha FG720. It will continue to be a guitar I use (I use a lot of alternate tunings).

So, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't consider the cheaper Martins. On sound alone, they don't stack up for a number of reasons: the top might be solid, but it's inferior wood and unvarnished (unless you like the unvarnished sound); the back and sides are not solid but some awful-feeling laminate MDF with a printed formica finish; the neck is actually plywood, and the fact that it includes a Fishman system means your guitar is worth at least €100 less, if not more. I wouldn't even think about getting what is, essentially, a crap guitar with a posh label.

If you're willing to spend that money, by comparison, higher-end Yamahas, Tanglewoods, even relatively unproven brands like Freshman, offer much better value-for-money. My cheap Yamaha (€340) has a very good solid spruce top and solid nato back and sides; the higher-up model has solid rosewood back and sides; how they keep costs down is they manufacture in Japan by cutting corners in ways that don't affect sound (e.g. the neck is not one piece). All this means these guitars will mature in sound. Tanglewoods are a similar thing and they have invested more in producing solid cedar tops, which offers a different sound a little more like the mellow sound an old guitar will sound like eventually (like my 30 year Ibanez). What these guitars offer is great build and very, very good tone for the price bracket. I have been looking at Freshman guitars for some time now (a 15 year-old Scottish company which makes guitars to their specifications in China) and they are looking to break into a very crowded market by offering excellent value-for-money - just look at the reviews of some of their guitars. I only haven't bought one because I haven't managed to get my hands on a varnished version of the Tanglewood I eventually bought.

If you're serious about playing (and you seem to be), then get the absolutely best balance between price and quality you can. Prioritise solid top and sides so that your guitar will mature in sound and prioritise build quality. If you have €700, you can get amazing higher-level Tanglewoods and Yamahas like the former's Heritage series. Also, take a look at another brand: Recording King. They get very good reviews.

Bert Jansch played a Yamaha L (a hand-made Yamaha) and it sounded fantastic - why someone would blow 700 euros on, basically, a synthetic guitar, is beyond me.

Anyway, that'd be my honest advice after years of searching and consternation.

But what do I know?

kingofpain

- great rundown sarkozy. I had a DCX1 (something like that, cutaway w. Fishman) from the first series, bought late 2006. At that time it was the best middle-class acoustic on the local market.

I sold it to a student a year later after realizing wood/top (probably) wouldn't mature much in the firm MDF frame + and finding a cheap 70s Suzuki by chance. Fishman piezo was sterile and 'plucky', I know a lot of pros use piezo for steel string guitars, to my ears it's 30% clack and string contact. (for example, Live At The Doug Fir Lounge af Richmond Fontaine)

All the guitars in this price class sound 'good' one way or the other, ears and minds are messing with us at times and some guitars are on display with trashed, dead strings. Be careful about the neck, should fit your hand perfectly in size and finish.

There are excellent quality on the market now
- Tanglewood (Goodwins, Capel str)
- Guitar Centre on Exc. & Xmusic have a Chinese all solid wood brand (Blueridge?)
- Solid wood Martins at Perfect Pitch (not sure about price range)
- Crafter & Taylor, wide range, great models among, not sure where in Dub/IE
- LAG at Waltons
- whatever used on adverts.ie

If choosing not to support local businesses Czech Furch or Canadian Seagull (Godin) are producing spectacular instruments for the money.

IF you're not spending good € on acoustic amp/PA anyway (and share the piezo hate;)) you can always fit a mic/pickup system in later on.

Enjoy the search

Doc_Savage

i have a DCX1RE, it has a great natural sound and plays as easy as an electric... i love it!
I have no idea what your concerns about weight are? the epi must have been made out of paper if you find the martin heavy?

glashanator

Please please please stay away from those Martin DX1's. they are paper thin cheap replicas of a real martin. My friend bought one a few years back. it just didn't last. He didnt know anything about guitars and the shop rep put him towards an inexpensive martin, at 1000 euro if u don;t mind. Its made of paper mache in my opinion..... his guitar has now 2 massive cracks along the face. 1 giant hole in the side covered with masking tape.....Don't even think about gigging these guitars, they just won't take the abuse that comes along with somebody who doesnt mind leaving their guitar lying about in a pub. Please look toward Takemine, Tanglewood or even Yamaha. Built like tanks at a much cheaper price than the Martin. I'll not comment on the Dx1's sound as all sound is subjective to the player of each instrument.....All I'm saying is the DX1 is not a well made guitar, wont last the distance and you'd be much wiser putting your money to something else,and not just paying for the badge......

They're a bit like Alpha Romeo's......They look good but they'll eventually fall apart..

Doc_Savage

i'm sorry mate... that build quality argument couldn't be more un-true for me! all instruments will last if they are well taken care of, and i'm not talking about mollycoddling them! My guitar is as well made as the other high end acoustics in my family... ovations, gibson, and takamine. theres no binding on the top of the guitar so the soundboard will pick up a dent or two more than a full blooded martin... but i haven't experienced any holes or splitting...well not in the last 5 years anyway;)

sarkozy

I wouldn't expect the DX1 to be built incredibly badly, but I consider it, overall, poor value-for-money.

I would also look at Seagull. Taylor are fantastic, but really expensive. I've looked at Crafter but never found one I felt worth the money.

One additional word on Takamine, and it's down to taste, but I was advised to stay away from them on account of the poor quality wood used. In the words of the shop guy, they're designed to sound good plugged in but not raw and acoustic.

Again, in my experience, the badges offering best value-for-money and at the higher end, serious wood, great build and sound, are Yamaha and Tanglewood. Just check the online reviews.

Best of luck in making your choice!

Savman

I've owned a DCX1E for a couple of years now, and it's handles the abuse just fine (believe me it has not been wrapped in cotton wool by any stretch of the imagination).

It sounds real nice acoustically, plugged in...well that's a different matter. It's fine for gigging but on the day I bought it I could hear no tangible difference in any of the sub €1k acoustics, I just preferred this to the Taylor equivalent because it 'felt' nicer to play and that's the whole point of an Acoustic Guitar.

I'll upgrade some day I'm sure, but can't have too many complaints about the Martin especially for the price. I don't like Tanglewoods personally, tried too many, and the cheaper Takamines have a distinctive sound that I could never take to.

Ain't no accounting for taste.

Dottser

Unless your James Taylor, you really couldnt get your hands on a better value for money guitar. This thing plays itself and i have played many, many guitars with 10/20 times the price of this martin( slight exageration ) with no greater ease if any!! Couldnt recommend it highly enough!!

Blackhorse Slim

I have a Martin 000x1, the smaller-body version of the DX1. It's great! The top is unvarnished, which I like and suits the type of guitar and the sound I want. It's not fragile at all, I tend to throw it around a bit, brought it on camping trips, and apart from a couple of small dings it's fine.

The neck is actually stronger than a normal acoustic, being not exactly "plywood", but a very strong composite developed by Martin, with no adverse effect on sound quality. Fretboard feels nice, action and playability are excellent.

There are a couple of things it falls down on -firstly the pickups are not great. I prefer to mike it up for acoustic perfromances, if I needed to use a pickup and sound good I'd use a single-coil pickup stuck into the soundhole. The Fishman pickups that come with the guitar are functional, they do the job but they really don't sound great. The other thing is the laminated wood sides - they are ok, not a problem for me, and are very tough, but as mentioned they won't improve the sound with age as proper wood would.

I tried out a lot of folk-sized guitars before I bought this, I really liked the Tanglewood folk guitar in this price range, but the Martin just felt and played slightly better, and I liked the sound. I have an entry-level Yamaha acoustic that was great value and a decent guitar, but the higher-priced Yamahas I tried (around €600) really didn't sound or play much better than the cheaper one.

Btw I mostly play blues and finger-picking on this, and for me it's as close to perfect as I could fine. If you like the Martin, go for it, but check out the sound through the pickups first if this is important to you.