Head to head
Compact and bijou: travel electro-acoustics on test...
It makes sense to start with the most famous model here with our LX1E, and even though we’ve played plenty of Martins, this really has its own thing going on. There’s a resophonic boxiness we certainly wouldn’t usually associate with the brand, but it’s combined with a resonant top and that easy, addictive playability that we are used to from the company. We can see this being a welcoming guitar for young hands. The low-end is relatively shallow like the body, but punchy – and plugged in that makes for a zingy tonality that needs to be tamed with external EQ and the preamp’s tone control.
The Sigma is an even more extreme version of those boxy traits but without as much lively resonance. The low profile neck also feels a little thin and cramped for adult digits and serves the 54mm bridge string spacing less well than the Martin. There’s the sense that this is a mini child’s version of a dreadnought rather than its own thing. It’s got a decent low-end to draw from plugged in with the contour switch, but the lack of dedicated EQ controls make the brittle high-end and mids hard to shape without the external aid of a preamp or sympathetic soundman.
With that in mind, you would assume the complete lack of controls would harm the Yamaha, but its passive nature is actually what makes it the closest to an organic sound here when amplified. It also feels and plays the closest to a larger guitar, with the 105mm depth of the body making a notable difference to the low-end. The satin neck is welcome, the higher action less so compared with the slinkier Martin, but it adds to richer projection here and it could be addressed with a lower string gauge and a tweak. The Fender feels like it’s bridging the divide with a defined clarity and division between the frequencies. There’s decent bottom-end from the 103mm depth, with a low action and flatter neck that’s friendly but not cramped thanks to the 56mm string spacing.
the sigma has the sense of being a mini child’s version of a dreadnought