Martin Special Dreadnought Cutaway 11E Road Series Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural

I have higher end guitars, but this one for the money is very well built, sounds great and plays great. Best deal I have found, great on the couch.

When I was 16, my parents gave me my first acoustic guitar.  It wasn't a high-dollar guitar, but it was what I used while teaching myself how to play, and it ultimately accompanied me through a lot of "life" during the years that followed.  I play acoustic guitar as one of the instruments I play on my church's worship team (in addition to bass/rhythm electric) and decided to install an after-market pickup in my guitar in hopes of being able to use it plugged in through my church's sound system.  It's done fine for the couple years since then, but the pickup (which is passive) just hasn't had the oomph needed to compensate for the relatively low gain/power of a wireless pack, and I've come to realize I needed to either pull out the pickup and come up with a new one - or just save for a new guitar altogether.  I have played several mid- and upper-tier Martins alongside other brands of guitars and was always impressed by how true to the natural acoustic tone an acoustic-electric Martin sounds when plugged in. After saving for several months and realizing I'd probably never be able to take full advantage of (or really notice a significant tone difference with) some of Martin's more upper-tier guitars (>$3K), I decided to pause when I got close to $1K saved and pull the trigger on this 11E.  The price point relative to the available electronics and solid build grabbed me - as did a well-timed sale during NAMM 2025, and I ended up being able to snag this cutaway version for $100 less than the non-cutaway version I'd originally had my eye on.  Guitar Center's excellent service/shipping got the guitar to me by the end of the same week, and I have to say I was even happier to see the guitar in person than I had been while looking at the photos in the listing.  The shipping box recommended evaluating the guitar after a 24-hour wait, so I gave it a few brief strums and then checked back in on it the following day. Initial impressions the next day and during the past month have been very good.  As a few initial thoughts:• There is no denying this is a well-built Martin dreadnought from the full, rich tone that this guitar has, and the build quality appears to be excellent.  It was built in Mexico - but still to Martin spec - so for me, that isn't a deal-breaker. • I did notice some unusual string spacing relative to the fret markers that at first left me wondering if the deal I'd scored may have been because this guitar was a factory second.  But I did a little digging and eventually realized that this and many other Martins have an asymmetrical nut, which keeps the sides of the strings evenly spaced apart, as opposed to basing the string spacing on the center/midline of the strings (which is the setup I'd been used to with my old guitar). • The generously-sized 1.75" nut width leaves the strings (and my fingers) feeling soo much less cramped than my previous guitar's 1.625" nut.  That extra 1/8" makes a seriously appreciable difference! • The gloss top on the main body of the guitar looks great.  The wood doesn't seem like it's anything special or that it's trying to be something it isn't, but it was cut symmetrically and overall seems well-made. • The satin neck and sides/back of the guitar feel really smooth.  Coming from an all-glossy guitar, I wasn't sure what to expect and whether I'd like the satin finish, but I can safely say... Both have their merits.  For this guitar, I dig the satin feel and subtle sheen that almost seem to come from below the surface of the wood.  It's a neat look.  For my old guitar, I'm totally fine that it's glossy.  I can't say I have a preference yet. • Out of the box, the action on this guitar seems a tad high, but not unmanageable.  I can imagine that with a small amount of sanding/filing (which I'm not afraid of doing myself), I can get it lowered just enough to give my fingers a break - but it's like moving into a house with only nice-to-have remodeling required.  Not critical. • There are several very, very minor build quality artifacts that I've noticed after some additional time spent looking over the guitar, but considering it was on sale for $250 off the original price, I'm honestly willing to make an exception.  For the sake of mentioning it, - The neck seems juust slightly cocked counterclockwise around the body (I included a photo showing in more detail), which means it isn't lined up symmetrically over the inlay around the opening, and there is a very slight gap between the neck and the body on the cutaway side. - While the headstock looks fine, the grain in the wood used in that area of the guitar was not cut symmetrically and heads off to one of the upper corners.  It's more of a nitpicky thing, but it still leaves that area of the guitar looking a little cheap for the price point. - The same goes for the wood at the base of the neck, which could've used a little better cut of wood for what I paid - but still, nothing critical, especially in the context of having bought the guitar with a healthy discount. - The strings and pegs were not installed very well at the bridge end, and the slots for most of the pegs were turned 10 - 20° in various directions rather than facing directly down the neck, leaving the strings slightly shifted from neutral.  I can easily make sure they go in straight the next time I change the strings, but it felt a little sloppy considering how little time is usually spent installing strings and the minimal effort needed to do a quality string install. Note: None of these issues appear to affect the sound, and the guitar still feels great overall, so I'm willing to let them slide and would still give this guitar a strong 8 - 9/10 score. With all of these things factored in, I have to say I have been very happy with this guitar during the nearly one month since I bought it.  I'm not one to build up a huge stock of instruments vs. having one really good of each type of instrument, and I'd expect that this guitar will be my go-to acoustic for as long as I'm around.  Kudos to Martin and the Guitar Center Team on a job well done building/shipping this guitar! #sweepstakes

I play mostly as a hobby…for family and friends. I wanted a nicer acoustic than what I had and this one doesn't disappoint. It looks great and sounds better. It did need adjusting out of the box but now plays like a dream. Having an onboard tuner is great also. Just a really great guitar and I'm happy I picked it up. #sweepstakes

This is a great sounding guitar but the top is extremely soft and shows signs of pick marks. Will look like Trigger before long

Guitar played decently, looked good but not special. I s'pose if I'm paying over a thousand dollars for a guitar, having played for 40 years, I expect something much more than what I got. I have starter guitars, $350-$400 that play and sound far better. Paying for a name here y'all.

Guitar arrived safely. Unfortunately it didn't sound good initially. Action was off and I dont have the tools or experience in fixing it. Brought it to my local GC and within minutes they had it sound perfect. Great acoustic once set up properly #sweepstakes