Martin SC-13E review

Martin’s big launch for 2020 is a very un-Martin-style ‘crossover’ guitar. A designer’s folly or the future?

Martin SC-13E review
(Image: © Future / Neil Godwin)

Guitar World Verdict

If you’re into making music rather than cork sniffing, here’s a guitar with few – if any – boundaries and a design that’s a huge credit to the art and craft of the luthier.

Pros

  • +

    Price represents good value.

  • +

    Innovative design.

  • +

    Fingerboard access is superb.

  • +

    Quality electronics.

  • +

    Convincing acoustic and plugged-in sound.

Cons

  • -

    Onboard tuner seems a little slow.

  • -

    The action might be too low for some.

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

If you’re a dyed in the wool Martin acoustic guitar fan, you might want to look away. By design, the new SC-13E isn’t for you. “It’s time to rethink what an acoustic-electric guitar can do,” states Martin. 

If you’re expecting a guitar loaded with digital images or perhaps the in-built acoustic effects of Yamaha’s TransAcoustic technology, you’d be some way off the mark. 

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Dave Burrluck
Gear Reviews Editor, Guitarist

Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.