Anybody own or try out a Martin DX2MAE or the 0X2MAE for that matter?

[ctvolfan]

I played a Martin DX2MAE at GC a couple of days ago and I was stunned at how great it sounded for $450.00. I was just kind of looking around at the cheap room for something to keep at work to play in my spare time and the salesperson said that he had just unboxed one that sounded amazing for the money. I was interested in maybe an Ibanez Artwood series or an Alvarez parlor but this Martin for just a little bit more cash was miles above those in sound quality and much less boxy sounding. It has mahogany high-pressure laminate (HPL) top, back and sides. He said that they don't all sound as good as this particular one. I was not in the market to purchase an inexpensive guitar immediately but I can't help but feel that if what he said was true of that particular one, then I may be missing out on it if I don't get it. Is there that much inconsistency with Martin guitars? Or am I taking what the salesperson said too seriously? How much inconsistency could there be in an all laminate guitar? I would just hate to purchase one online down the road sometime only to find it didn't compare to the one I played. I am pretty convinced that it is exactly what I want now.

[mikiekimi]

I've been on the fence for a few months about a 0X2MAE that my local shop has. I've played it numerous times, but I just can't pull the trigger on the purchase for some reason.

The good: I love the 0 parlor size, the quality is mostly there and it has very good tone for an all HPL parlor sized Martin. Sounded slightly better than the Ibanez parlor sized head to head to my ears. 1 3/4 nut size is perfect for fingerpicking which is what I would be using it for.

The bad: It's heavy for the size, a Dread Jr blows it out of the water in terms of tone quality (not a good head to head comparison, but the same price) and the neck just looks 'cheap' to me. Doesn't even look like a good laminate (YMMV). The neck to body join doesn't 'flow together' if that makes sense. I keep thinking 'kitchen countertop' when I play it. Too bad they can't use an actual tone wood on top like other X series guitars.

All that being said, I'd probably pick one up if it were a good deal but I would not pay retail (my shop has it for $499). A guild M-240E I played yesterday as well sounded much better at the same price point with the same relative size and nut width...Chinese made (if that matters), but seems like a decent alternative.

[Ghostpicker]

I had never heard of these until a week or so ago when I ran across one for sale ($300) (DX2MAE). So I took a look and listen to it and was really surprised at how good the sound was for the price. Yes, I know it's all laminate and even though it says Martin on the headstock it's never going to give my HD28 any competition. Still, the sound is surprisingly good and loud and you can tell it's a Martin. Normally on cheap guitars I like them better plugged in rather than unplugged. This is not the case here. It has a low end Fishman pickup and I did not like the plugged in sound as well. But unplugged it's really nice and at $300 I can bang it around and not worry about it. BTW, the setup was just about perfect out of the box. First chance I get, I'll post a pic.

[mikiekimi]

I played the 0X2MAE again yesterday and noticed one other thing. The top is ‘beveled’ around the edges so where I mentioned the fit of the neck to the body, there is a gap between where the neck and body meet along the edge bevel.

The bevel is also black (or very dark) and is very noticeable.