Martin 11D12E Acoustic Guitar: Full Review

The Martin D-12E Road Series Acoustic-Electric Guitar delivers the heritage Martin tone and feel in a roadworthy modern instrument. With its solid Sitka spruce top, solid sapele back and sides, and a comfortable tapered neck, the D-12E combines Martin's legendary acoustic qualities with Fishman Sonitone electronics for natural plugged-in sound. It's the best of both worlds - a rich acoustic tone perfect for jamming with friends, plus stage-ready amplified tone when you need to cut through the mix. The highly resonant tonewoods provide excellent projection and warmth from the lightest strum to full-bodied strums, appropriate for a wide range of playing styles and genres. Its comfortable modern profile neck and low action setup make the D-12E an accessible and versatile instrument suited for the stage, studio, or practice space. For an affordable Martin packing both acoustic character and amplified versatility, the D-12E delivers.

Body Style and Materials

The Martin Road D-12E has the iconic Dreadnought body style that Martin helped make famous. This shape produces a rich, booming sound that projects well. The back and sides are made of solid mahogany, which adds warmth, character and emphasis on the midrange. Mahogany is known for its balanced tone across the tonal spectrum. The D-12E's Dreadnought mahogany body generates excellent volume and sustain. The Dreadnought body shape is one of the most popular and recognizable acoustic guitar shapes, known for its versatile sound. Many iconic acoustic guitars over the years have utilized the Dreadnought design such as the Alhambra 2C-US. The large body size produces a loud, booming tone that projects beautifully. The Martin D-12E follows this time-tested tradition with its solid mahogany back and sides. Mahogany has a balanced tonal profile, emphasizing the lows and mids. This gives mahogany guitars a rich, warm sound with excellent note definition. The all-mahogany body of the D-12E generates a lush, resonant tone. The Dreadnought shape further enhances the volume and sustain. Together, these attributes make the Martin D-12E an excellent choice for guitarists who need a loud acoustic that can hold its own in a full band setting. The mahogany construction also gives it a vintage appeal. Overall, the D-12E embodies Martin's decades of experience with the Dreadnought design, updated for the modern acoustic guitar player's needs.

Top Wood

The Martin D-12E features a top made of solid Sitka spruce, which is prized as a tonewood for its balanced and clear sound. Sitka spruce is strong yet lightweight, allowing the top to freely vibrate and project sound. It produces articulate highs with good note separation. The solid wood construction allows the top to resonate and mature, improving over time. Sitka spruce is a popular choice seen on many acoustic guitars, providing an excellent foundation for both playing and listening. The solid spruce top gives the D-12E a crisp, detailed tone that many players prefer over laminate tops.

The D-12E's solid Sitka spruce top is an ideal choice for players looking for a balanced, responsive acoustic guitar. Spruce is lightweight and resonant, allowing the top to freely vibrate when strummed or picked. This vibration produces clear, bell-like highs and excellent note separation. Solid wood tops like spruce also mature over time, improving in tone as the wood ages. Many guitarists feel spruce tops sound better as they get older. The crisp tone emphasizes each individual note, making spruce a popular top wood for fingerstyle playing. It provides enough bass to support strumming while highlighting the clarity and articulation desired by many pickers.

While the D-12E features a solid spruce top, Martin also offers the Martin 11DX1E-04 with a solid Sitka spruce top as well. The 11DX1E-04 produces a balanced tone with the sparkling highs and focused mids spruce is known for. Its solid wood construction will mature over time, developing a rich, nuanced sound. The spruce top offers the responsiveness many fingerstylists prefer, while providing enough projection for rhythmic strumming. Players looking for an affordable Martin acoustic with a solid spruce top should consider the 11DX1E-04.

Neck

The Martin D-12E features a select hardwood neck with a satin finish. This provides a smooth and comfortable feel that allows for fast and fluid playing up and down the neck. The satin neck also helps minimize grime buildup and wear over time compared to gloss finishes.

The neck joins the body at the 14th fret, which is a comfortable midway point between the 12-fret and 16-fret joins found on some other dreadnought models. This allows easy access to upper frets while preserving the robust low end that dreadnought guitars are known for.

The neck has a standard width nut of 1 11/16 inches, which will feel familiar to most players. It's a versatile dimension that works well for both chording and single note runs. The profile is Martin's Modified Low Oval shape, a slim and tapered design that makes playing for long periods comfortable.

Overall, the neck is thoughtfully designed for playability and durability. The smooth satin finish and slim Modified Low Oval profile allow for speedy playing, while the hardwood construction provides stability and sustain.

Fingerboard and Bridge

The Martin D-12E features an ebony fingerboard and bridge. Ebony is known for its hardness, durability, and bright tone. It helps produce clear notes with tight bass and sparkling trebles.

The nut and saddle are both made from Tusq, an artificial ivory material created by Graphtech. Tusq is designed to have characteristics similar to ivory - hard and dense yet smooth. This gives optimal transfer of vibrations. The nut and saddle both help transmit the strings' vibrations evenly to the guitar body and neck. This combination of ebony and Tusq nut and saddle provides excellent tonal transfer and articulation.

Electronics

The Martin D-12E features Fishman Sonitone electronics, which are designed to accurately reproduce the guitar's natural acoustic tone. The Sonitone system uses an undersaddle piezo pickup and preamp with built-in tuner, tone controls, and phase switch.

The undersaddle pickup captures the guitar's sound by sensing vibrations in the bridge. This allows it to produce a balanced tone across all six strings. The preamp provides volume and tone shaping, allowing you to tweak your amplified sound. There are bass and treble controls, as well as a mid-scoop switch for altering the midrange frequencies.

The tuner is handy for quick on-stage tuning, while the phase switch helps eliminate feedback issues. Overall, the Fishman Sonitone electronics excel at amplifying the D-12E's organic, resonant sound. The tone shaping options give you flexibility, while still retaining the Martin's characteristic voice.

Hardware

The Martin D-12E Road Series acoustic-electric guitar features chrome enclosed tuners that provide smooth and accurate tuning stability. Enclosed tuners have a housing that surrounds the post and gears, helping protect the tuning machines from damage while also minimizing string slippage.

The chrome finish gives the tuners an eye-catching look that pairs nicely with the other chrome hardware appointments on the D-12E, including the bridge pins and end pin. Overall, the sealed chrome tuners offer durability, smooth tuning functionality, and aesthetic appeal.

Sound

The Martin D-12E Road acoustic-electric guitar produces a balanced tone that works well for a variety of musical styles. The solid Sitka spruce top provides crisp highs and articulate note separation. The East Indian rosewood back and sides add depth and richness to the midrange and low end. The mahogany neck also contributes to the guitar's warm, well-rounded tone.

This is not an overly bright or boomy acoustic. Rather, it has a refined voicing across the tonal spectrum that gives it versatility for strumming, fingerpicking, flatpicking, and more. It handles heavier strumming without getting too muddy. Single notes have nice sustain and character. Chords ring out with complexity and nuance. The tone is clear whether played acoustically or plugged in.

Overall, the D-12E Road delivers a balanced, quality acoustic guitar tone. It's a great option for players who want one guitar suitable for pop, rock, folk, country, blues, and more. The guitar sounds just as natural supporting vocals as it does taking instrument solos.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• The Martin D-12E has excellent playability thanks to its comfortable neck profile and low action. Players report that it feels smooth and easy to handle during fast chord changes or intricate fingerpicking.

• The Fishman Sonitone electronics provide natural amplification with clear tones across the dynamic range. The undersaddle piezo pickup accurately conveys the guitar's acoustic sound.

• This model produces balanced tone across the tonal spectrum - strong bass, nuanced mids, and clear trebles. Whether strumming rhythm or picking lead lines, the D-12E's sound is well-rounded and versatile.

Cons

• As a solid wood Martin instrument made in the USA, the D-12E sits at the higher end of the price range for acoustic-electrics. While the build quality and tone justify the cost for many players, it does represent a significant investment.

Summary

The Martin D-12E Road Series Dreadnought acoustic-electric guitar provides versatile performance for gigs and studio work. With its solid wood construction and Fishman Sonitone electronics, this guitar delivers rich, full-bodied Martin tone that projects well through an amp or PA system. The D-12E is an excellent choice for players who need the power of a dreadnought and the flexibility of plugging in. Though affordable, it retains many characteristics of Martin's more expensive models like a solid spruce top, mortise & tenon neck joint, and modified low oval neck shape. Overall, the Martin D-12E is an outstanding mid-priced acoustic-electric that sounds superb unplugged but can also hold its own when amplified on stage or in the studio.