Martin Road Series DRS1 Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural

DRS1: I've been playing a hollow body Gretch electric guitar and have 5 years total playing experience; I play everyday at home for at least an hour. I found that I was always playing my Gretch not plugged into the amp so an Acoustic was a better choice ... Enter Martin DRS1 stage right 😎I took the great advice of making sure to go to the guitar store and play a bunch of different acoustic guitar brands before buying. It's important to see what sounds good to your ear!!!! Even though I played it in the store it's still kind of shocked me when I first started strumming a few chords!!! A definite beauty!The case and guitar are in perfect shape (Absolutely perfect). Martin obviously has their quality control gig going on!!I tried to include some pictures with different views that I didn't see already posted!I like a guitar with low action, and this out-of-the-box seems to be fairly low action to me; just the way I like it! Other good advice that I got is to not get a setup done to the guitar for a few weeks...... till the guitar acclimates to the environment it's going to be in. I'll wait and see how it plays, and then decide later!!!No buzzing, absolutely perfect! I didn't want to spend this much for a guitar without knowing that I'll be playing it every day (I am; so i spent $760). I currently have a seagull guitar which I like, but this is in a whole other dimension of quality and sound!! I'll use the Seagull if I have to take it somewhere where it's going to be in a harsh environment (its now been relegated to the cheap seats)..haCan’t go wrong with this purchase... best to you, and enjoy!Side note: this vendor doesn’t ship on the weekend (it seems) so how that can still be called Prime is beyond me. Amazon said when i called: Prime is 2 days after they ship (what nonsense).... After the weekend was over it shipped on Monday and I received it on Wednesday (see my picture for the Martin box it shipped in. All good packing and guitar was safe-and-sound (sleeping like a little baby in it’s case)

I was reluctant to purchase a Mexican made Martin, but I knew Amazon had a generous return policy so I took the leap. A sub-grand acoustic electric Martin is hard to find especially if you want to avoid HPL siding. I have a HPL sided Martin DX1 already with the maple top. I love playing it because of it's light action and bright clear sound. My son who is all about Electric Les Paul's liked the sound of the DX1 so much he got a baby Martin with all HPL body for $333. This DRS1 has all Sapele sides and has a heavy bass tone to it which I like. I'll warn you the pick-up design with a 9 volt boost gives a lot more umph, than passive pick-ups. The easy access battery compartment is great too, right next to the 1/4" jack. I like the brightness of the Martin sound, but I have grown to like this bassier tone equally. It counters my brighter sounding DX1 and I highly recommend it. This was $759, but I later saw a Maple topped, all wood Martin acoustic/electric for $829. It had the cut out for higher fret use to it as well. If I had it to do all over again I would have given the higher priced one a chance first. This is my traveling guitar because of all wood and when amped out the bass really comes through. I used it once at a nursing home right after getting it and it was flawless. Can't say the same for my voice, but I highly recommend this as a worthy addition to any Martin collection.

I nearly returned this guitar when it first arrived. I'm very glad I changed my mind. When I first unboxed it I was not a fan of the sound at all, and I didn't think it could improve significantly, but I was wrong. I put my trusty Tone Rite on it and left it there for several days. It opened the sound up and made it project much better. The finish is great, and I love the dark sound of sapele. It just takes some time and playing to get it to open up. When I first picked it up, I much preferred the sound of my Seagull, but now the Martin is really speaking to me and the Seagull has been relegated to backup status. I've even picked up a couple of bluegrass tunes, just because I'm playing a Martin now. I've only plugged it in a couple of times, but the electronics seem to be adequate. I don't have an acoustic amp so I can't comment too much, but played through my modeling amp's pre-amp setting, it sounds pretty darn good.

Case has mild defects. Otherwise guitar itself is great!

Sound is good, but name? Where is DRS1? Just Road Seroes?

A friend owns this guitar, used it for a gig and helping him with adjustment issues. Sapele top/back/sides makes for a mahogany-like mellow sounding guitar- it can take hard playing and came set up with 12 gauge (light tension) strings. You need to dig into this guitar if you want attack and boominess. A spruce top might have given more definition- fingerpicking sounds muffled, lacks clarity. Suggest that you eq the Fishman internal pickup to your tastes when plugged in. Set-up wise the neck was easily straightened via the truss rod. However, my guitar tech guy reports Martin DR series guitars appear to need neck re-setting. It’s not a dovetail joint, thus you can feel the string action (height) difference in the first three frets vs the 5th through 12 frets. The string action gets higher going towards the sound hole. My friend will have the bridge saddle shaved down to make fretting on the higher frets easier, but guitar neck will need work if he wants to invest in making the guitar more playable. Work has to be done by an authorized Martin repair vendor to maintain the warranty, and the owner pays $300 to ship from Hawaii. As a better value, I would suggest trying the Martin DX or LX (HPL) line with solid spruce tops. I own a LX1 little Martin (non Ed Sheeran model) with a Fishman system. Doesn’t have the same string action issues, has a spruce top, has high pressure laminated back/sides/neck, and lots of punch and definition for a small guitar. Have also tried the DX dreadnaught models and they are good. The price difference between the DR and DX/LX series looks about $200-300, and I think the quality difference is noticeable.