Martin SC-13E

[eyesore]

Hi; off hand ,I think this is the performer model or something like that.Anyone own one here? Or play one? Not crazy about the looks.... just maybe thinking of a guitar for the summer months that will get beat up and hopefully stay in tune during heatwaves of summer. Just throwing this out there ,thanks.

[dnf777]

Ive heard good things about playability, but I cant get past the shape.

[darylcrisp]

its a total new shape, design. has very little other than the name plate,in common with Martin models of the past. its a slick, well engineered piece of very musical gear.

the shape is extremely balanced and comfortable when playing-sitting or standing. everything about it is aimed to provide the best ergonomics and performance to the player.

neck shape and feel is killer!

the most easy to play Martin out of the box, that i have encountered(and i've had a few pass thru my hands).

light body weight(4 lbs), very resonant. its a hotrod plain and simple.

if you've never played much up the neck, you will if you get one. the SC13 beckons and pulls you all over the fretboard, the neck shape just draws you in.

[Mezner]

I noodled with one a few weeks ago at Guitar Center and I was pleasantly surprised. The guitar had a surprisingly full tone and had excellent playability. If I could score one for under $1k I'd definitely consider adding one to my arsenal. I'm more of a playability/tone guy over looks, so its body shape didn't affect me much; if anything, I found its uniqueness a bit endearing, especially coming from such a traditional-lined company like Martin.

[Peter Z]

Played one for an hour a week ago. A great instrument.

Playability is incredibly good. Extremely light, resonant, much better looking than on the pics I have seen. The one I played was manufactured perfectly.
Strumming results in a bright sound (also because of the thin factory strings), fingerpicking sounds clean and nice.

It’s not a Martin dread!!! So nobody should compare those. The SC13e sounds very different.

All in all a very nice modern acoustic. Love it.

[guitpic2]

I bought one a couple of weeks ago.

It’s by far got the best neck action I’ve ever had on an acoustic. Lovely sound I think.

Very comfortable in the lap. Pickup works well

Woods are spruce/mahogany with a veneer of Koa for looks. Excellent fit and finish.

A lot of guitar for the $$$. I’ve paid upwards of $3k for a guitar of this quality.

[boneuphtoner]

When I first saw the specs, I was indifferent about this model. And then I played one and I was VERY impressed. It feels and plays very easily, just like the others have said - I expected that when I tried it. But it also produced a very nice warm fingerstyle tone - wasn't expecting that at all! I learned in a Martin podcast in December that this may be a result of the layered koa being sandwiched between solid mahogany - layered/laminates usually use a much cheaper plywood inner layer. In any case, I was very impressed and I almost took it home.

[Coler]

I've got one. It's fantastic. When you go up the neck on it and find nothing in your way is a blast. The neck in general is really fast and comfortable up and down. I would want the action lowered a tad on mine, when my local guitar techs open up again but even then, it's oh so playable.

The body is superbly comfortable. Really invites you to get around it.

The tone is lovely. Incredibly balanced. Records beautifully. I havn't settled on 11s vs 12s. It is possibly a little quiet with 11s but oh so sweet. It definitely picks up some body and growl with 12s on board. I keep it in DADGAD or drop D a lot and use it for fingerstyle/picking but I also strum it pretty heavy too and it is very versatile.

I find the plugged in tone does need a little shaping, for my preferences. I don't think the pickup is anything to write home about. But it's fine and will produce a great tone with some tweaks.

It's a quality instrument all round. New, for the money, in my market, there's nothing like it.

[jonfields45]

I find the SC-13 aesthetics quite good horizontal when being played.

Vertical on a guitar stand it looks a little off to me.

I think the market will get used to the looks.

[Johnny5]

Interesting. My pop really has been wanting to try one of these before he pulls the trigger on a Taylor 312ce.... but we haven't been able to find any locally.

Definitely an interesting guitar on paper (and the interwebz lol)

[Trent in WA]

I'll second what everybody's said here. If in a parallel universe I needed to get a guitar to take on the road for amplified live gigs, I'd grab one, slap a set of 12s on it, and lose no sleep about it. I'm impressed that the designers in Nazareth created a guitar that is structurally and aesthetically at odds with Martin's traditional designs but still has a Martin tonal profile. It's a winner. The only problem with getting one as a beater is that you might come to prefer it to your "good" guitars. It's a better guitar than it has to be.

[eyesore]

WOW! everybody agrees here!! Well now I have to try one out .

[darylcrisp]

Originally Posted by Coler

I've got one. It's fantastic. When you go up the neck on it and find nothing in your way is a blast. The neck in general is really fast and comfortable up and down. I would want the action lowered a tad on mine, when my local guitar techs open up again but even then, it's oh so playable.

The body is superbly comfortable. Really invites you to get around it.

The tone is lovely. Incredibly balanced. Records beautifully. I havn't settled on 11s vs 12s. It is possibly a little quiet with 11s but oh so sweet. It definitely picks up some body and growl with 12s on board. I keep it in DADGAD or drop D a lot and use it for fingerstyle/picking but I also strum it pretty heavy too and it is very versatile.

I find the plugged in tone does need a little shaping, for my preferences. I don't think the pickup is anything to write home about. But it's fine and will produce a great tone with some tweaks.

It's a quality instrument all round. New, for the money, in my market, there's nothing like it.

in total agreement with all this. in the initial online reviews, i felt the tone was thin and lacking. once i had one in hand and plugged in to a Bose S1Pro, i felt it was a solid "Martin" tone, was easily shaped with whatever bass/treble one desired, and gave as natural a tone as any pickup i've encountered.
as a fingerstyle guitar, its simply one of the most enjoyable guitars i've had in my hands. very resonant, very balanced in the whole string set(not bass heavy or treble bright). and i seem to remember it was designed, braced, and built to have that plugged in balance(which reflects acoustically) to aid in recording and live playing.

the two i've had in hand arrived with very low action(2/32" across all the strings, no buzz, flat neck, all the way up the fretboard), and both were dream machines in alternate tunings.

i've wanted one ever since and one day plan to acquire one. i think a 00 size would be an amazing small guitar if martin were to design such.

regarding the extra-light litespan Martin strings these come with(i am not a coated string user-and i do prefer old style uncoated SP's on most instruments i own-or John Pearse), i found i really liked the extra-light string set. they allow you to explore and work that whole fingerboard with ease. i felt the tone was a modern "Martin" tone if i had to label it. I think if a person put some light gauge old school SP's, it would definitely step the tone into the more standard Martin tone-but not bass heavy.

i like the blue dot on the fretboard.

my only preference would be to lose the new age blue look around the purfling and the soundhole rosette. put a regular white rosette or even thin abalone, or even koa(and koa purling against the black and white that is there already), and those of us with mileage would not feel so.........youngsterish-lol

[pagedr]

I stopped in to the local GC late last year to grab a few random things I needed, and they had just unboxed a new SC-13. I was noodling on a couple guitars in the acoustic room and the saleswoman told me I had to play the SC-13 just to give it a try. And I wasn't about to say no...

As others have said, playability is great. Best playing Martin right out of the box I've ever played, probably the best playing Martin I've played period. Tone though...was not great, but of course that's only my opinion. It was also, as mentioned, a very green guitar with brand new strings and I was one of the first to play it, so it might've just needed a little time to open up. Also didn't have a chance to plug it in so can't speak to that. The playability alone was interesting though, and if it sounds good plugged in I could see it as a really good gigging guitar. Just might not be my choice based on pure acoustic sound alone.

[JSSR]

I played this guitar, comparing it to the GPC-13E. I preferred and bought the GPC. The GPC is all wood and made in Mexico. Both played well but to me, the GPC sounded fuller. Your experience may differ.