When Martin first released their revolutionary SC-13E, it represented the company’s headfirst dive into the world of cutting-edge guitar building, with a slew of performance-minded features that bucked all expectations for a company that’s often seen as the keeper of tradition. Now, the Martin Road Series SC-10E offers the same revolutionary qualities — the offset-shaped body, the heel-less design, and the 13-fret construction — with pared-down aesthetics and a thin satin finish for a more wallet-friendly price! This game-changing A/E’s spruce top and koa fine veneer back and sides deliver a gorgeous modern acoustic sound — direct, punchy, and dynamic — with incredible volume and projection. It sounds great in the studio, in the living room, and thanks to onboard Fishman MX-T electronics, it’s a world-class performer onstage. Playability, comfort, versatility: the Road Series SC-10E is the perfect instrument for the modern performer that requires contemporary features, but classic Martin tone.

Removes the limitations of the conventional cutaway acoustic

Playing the Road Series SC-10E is a unique, yet comfortably familiar experience. Its offset S-shaped body fits you like a glove, while providing balanced output and effective feedback rejection. Its sloped bridge stays out of your hand’s way, whether you’re strumming frenetically or fingerpicking delicately. Its low-profile velocity neck shape allows for helical hand rotation to ensure that every hand position feels relaxed and natural. Its 13-fret design blends the tone of a long-scale instrument with the playability of a short-scale, and its heel-less Sure Align neck system gives you unfettered access to the SC10E’s entire fretboard. And its low action, while maintaining the feel of an acoustic guitar, is sure to make electric players feel right at home. No matter what you’re playing, cowboy chords, jazz shapes, or rapid-fire leads, the SC-10E makes it effortless.

An acoustic guitar through and through

There have been numerous attempts at creating a comfortable acoustic that would appeal to electric guitar players. Unfortunately, the results are often less than mind-blowing — typically a super-thin acoustic instrument with equally thin tone. The Martin Road Series SC-10E eschews this type of thinking. While its comfortable neck and low action ensure easy playability, the SC-10E is an acoustic guitar through and through, meticulously crafted by a company with a 180-year history of building legendary acoustic instruments. Its spruce top yields the direct, punchy sound and broad dynamic range that the tonewood is known for, while its fine-tuned body with tailored X-bracing produces near-cannon-like levels of volume and projection. The SC-10E’s natural tone is stellar — at Music Experience, we thought nothing of miking it up in the studio.

Fishman MX-T system with built-in tuner

When you want to hit the stage with the Road Series SC-10E, it’ll be ready, thanks to its Fishman MX-T electronics. The Fishman MX-T system is an update of the popular Matrix series and features a cool, line-of-sight tuner located in the soundhole. This built-in tuner auto-mutes the audio output so you can tune any time. Its convenient placement in the soundhole allows you a full view without straining to see its LCD screen. All you have to do is look down. The SC-10E is a stellar A/E — it has everything it needs to be your number one in the studio, onstage, and anywhere else where top-shelf playability, comfort, and versatility are a concern.

What Martin Says...

It’s time to rethink what an acoustic-electric guitar can do. Do you want to play leads all the way up the neck? Play longer? Play louder? Now you can with this super-comfortable, easy-to-play acoustic-electric from Martin. The SC-10E, with its patented Sure Align® neck system, gives you full access to all frets so you can comfortably reach those high notes. It’s also equipped with a low-profile velocity neck barrel that ergonomically accommodates your hand as you move up the neck, giving you the comfort and playability of an electric. The affordably priced SC-10E includes a satin finished spruce top and stunning koa fine veneer back and sides. The design motif features a black and white aperture rosette inlay that is complimented by an ebony headplate, fingerboard, and bridge and black tuners and knobs.