Martin LX1 Little Martin vs Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
Reasons to Get
Martin LX1 Little Martin over Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
Reasons to Get
Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 over Martin LX1 Little Martin
Other Key Differences
Martin LX1 Little Martin vs Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
Shared Features
Martin LX1 Little Martin vs Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
Common Strengths
- Solid Top Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that both instruments scored 75 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.
The Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 wins when it comes to build quality. On the other hand, the Martin LX1 Little Martin has the upper hand when it comes to sound, playability.
If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
Both meet 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. 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. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
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
Taylor Baby Taylor BT1- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Martin LX1 Little Martin Overview
- From Martin's 2014 Little Martin series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 23"'' scale
- 16" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Spruce top
- HPL back
- HPL sides
- Rust Birch Laminate neck
- FSC Certified Richlite fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- FSC Certified Richlite bridge
- Acoustic Modified Low Oval Set neck
- 20 Medium frets
- Chrome Enclosed Gear tuners
- Weight between 3.35lbs (1.5kgs) and 3.65lbs (1.7kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 Overview
- From Taylor's 2012 Baby Taylor series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 22.75"'' scale
- 15" Fretboard Radius
- Solid Sitka Spruce top
- Layered Walnut back
- Layered Walnut sides
- Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Ebony bridge
- Acoustic Taylor Standard Set neck
- 19 Medium frets
- Die-Cast Chrome tuners
- Compare Specs >
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 Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
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.
It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.
Winner: Taylor Baby Taylor BT1.
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 Taylor Baby Taylor BT1.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Mexico.
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.
Winner: Tie
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 Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 comes with a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
Winner: Taylor Baby Taylor BT1.
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 Taylor Baby Taylor BT1's are Die-Cast Chrome
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
Taylor Baby Taylor BT1
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Ivory Tusq Saddle
- Solid Top Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- 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, both have a nut width of 42.9mm (1.688'').
This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.
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 LX1 Little Martin has the longest scale: 23". The Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 is only 22.75" long. This is a 0.25'' (6.3mm) 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.
Both the Martin LX1 Little Martin and the Taylor Baby Taylor BT1 have a C-shaped 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.
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.
In this case, the Taylor Baby Taylor BT1's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Martin LX1 Little Martin's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Martin LX1 Little Martin.
Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .
Martin LX1 Little Martin:
Taylor Baby Taylor BT1:
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.
