Show Full Spec Comparison
| Martin LX1 Little Martin | D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Martin | Martin |
| Year: | 2014 | 2019 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Mexico | United States |
| Series: | Little Martin | Authentic |
| Colors: | Natural | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | Yes | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Solid Spruce | Solid Adirondack Spruce with VTS |
| Sides Material: | HPL | Rosewood |
| Back Material: | HPL | Rosewood |
| Bridge: | FSC Certified Richlite | Ebony |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Chrome Enclosed Gear | Aged Waverly Nickel Open Back |
| Fretboard: | FSC Certified Richlite | Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Rust Birch Laminate | Genuine Mahogany |
| Decoration: | Abalone 1937 Diamonds and Squares Long Pattern | |
| Scale Size: | 23" | 25.4" |
| Shape: | Acoustic Modified Low Oval | Acoustic Authentic 1937 |
| Frets: | 20 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 16" | 16" |
| Nut: | Corian | Bone |
| Nut Width: | 42.9mm (1.688'') | 44.5mm (1.75'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | ||
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Nickel |
Reasons to Get
Martin LX1 Little Martin over D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Reasons to Get
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged over LX1 Little Martin
Other Key Differences
Martin LX1 Little Martin vs D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Shared Features
Martin LX1 Little Martin vs D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Common Strengths
- Solid Top Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged favors large hands more than the Martin LX1 Little Martin.
Martin LX1 Little Martin:
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged:
Beginner Friendliness
The Martin LX1 Little Martin meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged meets only 3. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Martin LX1 Little Martin- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.
Woods Used in the Martin LX1 Little Martin
Birch wood is a hardwood with a light color and a fine, even grain. It has good dimensional stability and is resistant to warping. It's used as a cheaper replacement for maple. The tone produced by birch wood is typically described as being warm, clear, and resonant.
It's very similar to Ebony, but it is much cheaper to make. The main reason is that it is made from resin-infused paper. It is very durable and soft, so it's often used for fretboards and tops.
HPL is a high-pressure laminate made from multiple layers of paper or fabric that are impregnated with resin and then fused together under high pressure and heat.
Woods Used in the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Electronics
Neither of them come with electronics that allow you to connect them to an amp. This makes them completely acoustic, so you'll need to use an external mic to record with them or play live.
Winner:Tie.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Martin LX1 Little Martin compares to the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Martin LX1 Little Martin is built in Mexico while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged is made in United States.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Martin LX1 Little Martin has a Corian nut. It used to be the go-to nut for Gibson, but it's slowly being replaced by Graph Tech (Tusq). It's a synthetic material made to be similar to Bone, but it doesn't have the same self-lubricating properties, and it's less resistant.
On the other hand, the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged comes with a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.
Winner: Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Martin LX1 Little Martin's are Chrome Enclosed Gear while the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged's are Aged Waverly Nickel Open Back
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Martin LX1 Little Martin
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Bone Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged has the wider nut with 44.5mm (1.75'') vs 42.9mm (1.688''). This is a 1.6mm (0.062'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged has the longest scale: 25.4". The Martin LX1 Little Martin is only 23" long. This is a 2.4'' (61mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Martin LX1 Little Martin has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
The Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged, on the other hand, has a Vintage neck. This means that it's thicker than most modern necks, and makes it a better fit for playing chords and slow solos. Some people prefer this type of neck because it gives them a better grip thanks to the extra mass. Still, the vast majority prefer a thinner, faster, and more ''modern'' neck.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
Both the Martin LX1 Little Martin and the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged have the same fretboard radius of 16". This fretboard radius is really different from Stratocasters, but it's also a lot flatter than Les Paul fingerboards. It'll favor plating single notes over playing chords. This doesn't mean you can't use it for rhythm, but a more curved fretboard offers better playability for chords. Bending and sliding without losing sustain will also be more likely in a flat fretboard like this one.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
