Martin Backpacker

2008 Martin Backpacker Steel String with serial number up in the 187Ks. All details at www.mguitar.com. For what it is designed for, excellent! It is very hard to play without wearing the strap and wearing it short, so I would think a removable arm rest of some type might be a good addition -- but then again it's simplicity, portability, and durability that we are after here.

It sounds like a Martin Backpacker -- not like a D-28. I bought it at Guitar Center while on vacation in Florida after deciding NOT to bring along one of my other guitars. I immediately slid into guitar withdraw and had to do something about it. I played a Baby Taylor, a Little Martin, several other 3/4 scale models, and a Traveler Guitar Ultralight (every "travel" guitar they had in stock). I didn't like the feel of the 3/4 scale guitars -- they just sounded small and felt funny/too short. The Ultralight actually required an amp to be heard... I kept coming back to the Backpacker for its unique sound and feel. Actually, this little instrument has its own rustic, folksy soul. You get the familiarity of an (almost) full-scale fingerboard (24" scale) with a very unique, friendly tone. I did tune it down 1/2 step, which makes it feel very elastic and warms it right up. (Try it!) While it is clearly a guitar, its tone reminds me most of my octave mandolin -- very cool indeed! Clearly, you can't buy this and compare it to a full-scale, world-class acoustic guitar. Enjoy it for what it is.

Very well made. The action is slightly high but completely usable. The neck is chunky (I assume to make it tougher/better for travel). As others have mentioned, the wood is unfinished and the instrument just smells fantastic!

So far, so good. It seems very solid.

No need.

I have played for 20 years and own a wonderful Gibson Songwriter Deluxe acoustic, an old Simon & Patrick acoustic, and teles and strats. I also own a Peterson Octave Mandolin and a cheap offshore mandolin. I tend to take the mandolin on trips and wanted a guitar that I could do the same with. Now I have one!

This is the nylon string version, so I find that the strings last a bit longer, is easier on the fingers if playing for a long time but the sound quality is a bit less. It only has 15 frets, but that is all you need for a traveller. But you buy this guitar for the portablility. Its small, has a unique sound and look.

Don't expect much from this guitar. It is very much for personal use or sitting around a campfire with a few friends. The sounds isn't that loud. The tone is a bit higher than normal acoustics, but it does give it a unique feel.

The set up out of the box is fine for my playing. I can see if it was the steel string you would want to adjust it a bit, the action was a bit high.

One tough nugget.

The reason you but this guitar is so you can pick it up, take it on a plane, throw it in the boot of your car and take it away to the mountains. Its perfect for all those 'I wish I had my guitar but it was too big/bulky too carry' moments.

This is a 2007 model. Specs are well stated in the other reviews. The tuners are good & do not need upgrading and I'm on the side of those who find the neck very playable. Fret work fine.

I waited 4 months to review. I am on my second set of D'Addario EZ900 Extra Lights (.010.-.050), which I like better than the Martin originals.
As stated by others, bass is not it's forte. It is overall, balanced in terms of design i.e well defined midrange and somehat bright treble. Sound analogies seem common with this gtr. & it sometimes reminds me of a banjitar/ or a well made tenor ukuele but it mostly sounds like a short scale gtr :)
More importantly, it is sounding better as it ages.

Set up/quality control was good out of the box. Action a little high, but not enough to be bothersome and I haven't pulled the saddle. Was supposed to be a blem from M/F but I found none. I suspect they ran out of blems & sent me a new one.

Well made, no apology needed instrument. Made in Mexico. You might recall they've been making guitars for awhile.

1 year warranty didn't inspire me to send the card in.

I initially had a love/hate relationship with it. Playing it a lot one day & letting it sit a day. Not noted yet, it will rest on a standard gtr.stand. I leave it right by my chair & play it whenever the mood strikes. A great latenight player if you live in an Apt. I wish it had at least a decal - quasi rosette to spice up the plain soundboard. I've used it with a Schaller 'Oyster' pick up but could not find a satisfactory sweet spot on the small body & being amped neither enhanced nor detracted from its sound. It is not a toy. It is a Martin and delivers the inherent quality you expect from this brand, within its specifically designed parameters.

Fascinating instrument: looks like a luthier's project to test what they can do. Unfinished woods. Thing resembles a kayak paddle, which makes it hard to hold due to small size (but that's the idea). Neck isn't the longest I've seen. Neat gig bag came free with it, as did shoulder strap. Doesn't really compare to other guitars, as it is so different

Sellers had told me to not bother with this guitar, as it sounds like a banjo. I don't agree. It doesn't have the bass of a dreadnought, but it does have a reasonable bass, and Martin have made the thing crisp in sound. Sounds better than most full bodied acoustics for the same price (though I do own a dreadnought, which is of course a step up - but then it cost 5 times as much and is 4 times the size)

Guitar arrived in post with almost no string tension, but once tightened it was all fine for what I wanted. The woodgrain isn't the finest, including a little variation, but I'm happy with that

I think for a guitar that weighs almost nothing, it seems very solid, which comes down to a great design. The finish is 'unfinished', which I could probably remedy with some lemon oil or something, but won't. Happy for it to look like a balsa wood project

n/a

I've got tonnes of guitars and owned even more, but this has its own special place like the mini has next to the ferrari and lamborghini. I don't think you can really comapre it to other guitars: it stands on its own

Mine is a 2006 MIM new style Backpacker. It is a light satin finish, one piece hardwood body and neck with rosewood fingerboard. The tuners appear to be Shallers or mini-grovers that work just fine.
With the bridge shaved, the action should improve.

Surprisingly loud for the small body; sounds more like a ukelele than a guitar, but not unpleasant.

Action fairly high out of the box; the bridge is not glued in, I will probably have a luthier friend shave a 1/16" of an inch from it to lower the action

The guitar seems well built for it's size. The finish seems pretty thin and will probably wear pretty quickly. The guitar is very light, and the strap buttons seem to hold it securely. The strap is a must; I play it standing up as I have not found a comfortable sitting position with it yest

Have not dealt with Martin; this is my first Martin product.

I have been playing for 40 years. I currently own a number of acoustic and electric guitars; the acoustic list includes a Taylor 414CE, Baby Taylor, Taylor T5, Alvarez 12 string, and an old Epiphone FT550. I bought this guitar to take on vacation to Mexico; I didn't want to risk my Baby Taylor as not being able to carry on.
The Backpacker was meant to be; it fit nicely in the overhead, and even with the high action, was fairly easy to play. We got hit by the end of a tropical storm, and I played in our hotel tiki bar/shelter for a couple of hours and entertained about 40 people and 2 bartenders who stuck out the storm. It was well worth the money for just this one "gig" only! I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen, at $150.00 it is a bargain for what it does.

Um...just like whatever the last guy said.. Hey - free case!

When I first got it (it was a gift), I was really disappointed with how it sounded. Virtually no bass- very bright. But then again, what can you expect? It sounds a lot like my daughter's jr. size Fender 6-string. But it's small and travels well, so I've actually played it quite a bit. This guitar has grown on me. It's also made be appreciate how good my full size acoustic sounds.

Very good

I have travelled a lot with this thing, and even in the cheap bag it comes in, it has been great.

When I first got this guitar - I hated it. It has grown on me. A co-worker told me that he would give me $50 for it. I said no - because then I'd have to turn around and buy another one for $200. It's no Baby Taylor, but it is so darn small, that if it ever got stolen, I would replace it right away.

I've owned or had temporary guardianship of several of these, in electric, nylon and non-electric steel. My current BP is a relatively early version with a s/n just under 11,000 and the smallest body size made. I'm rating the Features at 7 because the electric has no volume pot and after all, it's a basic guitar, no trem, etc.

SOund is great for what it is. I really admire the viola-like tone, though lots of others who pick it up are stuck on "there's no bass to it". Echoing previous, rational reviews - DUH! It has the volume of an oatmeal box, what do you expect?

No fret buzz, hardware noise or weird resonances.

Have no clue on factory set up as I never bought a new one. But I can say that it seems many users over-string this guitar in an attempt to get increased volume. My electric had bronze 11s on it and it was absolutely unplayable. Probably why I was able to buy it for $100. Anyway I've strung it with Super Slinkys (nickel 009s) and Fender 8s, super smooth and IMO a better tone than bronze any day

My early one is older, and has developed a couple cracks in the spruce top alongside/behind the bridge, but it doesn't affect the sound. I'm planning on re-topping it and adding a piezo bridge PU, and maybe even a magnetic PU (and a volume control!)

Yes it has a cheap finish, but adding even a nitrocellulose laquer would reduce the volume and especially the high end resonance. It's OK with me, just re-oil ocassionally (probably why mine developed cracks - bad maintanance)

As far as the ridiculous string angle at the nut (to the E strings), I wind these two in reverse so they come off the machine spindle toward the center. It stays in tune better and there's less stress on the nut and strings this way - try it!

I travel and hike a lot and am NOT nice to these guitars, and they hold up well. The rude finish hides buckle marks and dings, and steaming out a dent is easy as pie.

It is fairly fragile compared to a "real" axe, but it is, what it is.

No idea, don't care. I doubt Martin would continue to market this guitar if it were as big a liability as some reviewers have stated (if you don't like it, SELL IT ON EBAY. I'll be watching)

Been playing for 35+ years. Have a naked blonde Johnson Tele clone, Tama acoustic dread, and red 1965 SG Special. All excellent instruments, or I'd get rid of them. There's no place in my stable for junk - so if it was lost, stolen, or busted, I'd replace it or fix it pronto.

Love the portability, tone, and panache of the weird shape. It's a conversation starter. I've played other travel guitars and still think it's better overall than anything I've tried (in this application-specific niche!).

The scale length takes some getting used to after playing a full size, overbends are almost guaranteed ;-). Shakes-n-bends like nothing else, and for a beginner this would be a great incentive to build finger strength.

'Nuff said everywhere

I tried a few different travel guitars, and some parlours. I like the sound of the backpacker. Yup, there's not a ton of bass - but I get enough tone out of it to make me smile. As someone else pointed out, it's quiet enough that I can get up early and play downstairs without waking my wife or kids. I like it a lot.

To everyone who said this guitar is poorly set up - haven't you hard of having a guitar set up for you? With few exceptions, it's always worth it. I bought mine used, and it had already been adjusted by someone who had the same tastes as me, and I have to tell you, it plays really nice. I like this guitar a lot. Also, it took me about day to figure out how to hold it. Strap on, pulled up a little high so it's not sitting in my lap. I play with my right forearm resting on top of the body, and it doesn't move - it's easier than my dread, in a lot of ways. A little trouble flatpicking the low E sometimes, but other than that, great. I fingerpick a lot. To the guy who said he couldn't play classical - nuts. I play a lot of classical stuff, and write my own pieces, and it's a great guitar. If you were into a lot of heavy strumming, I don't know, but I could care less.

For what it's intended for, it's fabulous. I've had it on a lot of planes, and it fits overhead bins nicely. It's light, and hangs easily from the shoulder when toting lots of other bags. The gig bag has a generous pocked for strings, picks, etc. The one minor niggle I had over finish was that the frets protrude a tad - I'll file them off at some point. The rest of the workmanship is top notch. Excellent set of tuners.

The size and shape take a beating, and it takes heat and cold well. It's made to be toted. And the price is low enough that if it does get destroyed, I can buy another.

Haven't had the need.

Been playing for 35 years. Have a number of guitars, including a dread I love and play daily. I play my backpacker daily, too. I carry it around the house. I play it in the morning. I can sit on any piece of furniture with it and play. I sit with it on watching TV, and play during the commercials. I love the way it plays, and the ergonomics. The only thing I'd like would be some kind of detachable rest for my arm, to give me a bit more room above the strings when flatpicking. But that's minor.

Standard steel string acoustic version

There's a lot of criticism about the sound, but for much of the negative criticism it seems the authors didn't purchase the guitar for it's intended purpose. Of course it sounds tinny off the shelf - if you want a full-bodied sound buy a Dreadnought! I took the bronze strings that came with the guitar, couldn't find any silk & steel to try out, so I put on some slinky top, big bottom electric strings on and it fattened up the sound considerably. For what the guitar is designed for it sounds fine.

Action: I took about a 16th" off the bottom of the bridge but left the top sloped as-is from the factory. Playability improved tremendously. I can't practice any Satriani solos on it but the action is now between an electric and an acoustic with medium strings.

It seems pretty bullet proof. Unlike most opiners I actually intend to take it backpacking and boating this summer, on airplane trips, etc. I'm teaching my 8 year old to play on it and he hasn't destroyed it yet, so... I'm obsessive about practicing and need a guitar everywhere. I do plan on playing this for a small private family funeral soon, but I have no intentions of playing this for any other type of audience.

Haven't needed it.

I've been playing for 19 years. I also own a Dreadnought and a Les Paul lawsuit. I've also owned a Fender strat.

If it were stolen or lost before my upcoming backpacking trip to Alaska, I would replace it. If after I'd think about it.

Another complaint is that it's impossible to play without the strap - I agree. It's also difficult to play because there's no weight to the body to keep the neck still. I solve that by strining my water bottle to the strap nut at the bottom of the body with around 24oz. in it.

It's all solid wood with a spruce top.It's the newer model with slightly bigger body,sound hole and different headstock.I'm not sure what the back and sides are made of Martin just states solid tone woods.All the woods look of good quality and have a nice grain.It has a 15 fret neck and good quality tuners that keep the guitar in tune.It comes with a Martin gigbag and strap.

I play folky,bluesy,jazzy style music if that makes sense.It is what it is a travel,practice guitar.I'm not going to begin it to compare to my 71 D28.I actually think it sounds very good for it's size.I agree with some other reviews the high e when played open sounds a bit like a banjo.The bass strings get a little dead on the 12th,13th frets but I was told by a luther thats normal for a short scale neck guitar.I put a 11s on the guitar until I realized Martin recomends 10's extra light only so I changed them back.It did sound better with the 11's. My cousin has the older version,the newer version has a bit more projection.My sound rating is based on it's size.

The action I would say would be medium not to high or low.There is enough room on the bridge to bring it down if needed.It has a pretty basic hand rubbed finish.I thought the neck finish was a little rough when I played it so I took 000 steel wool and smoothed it out.
I don't consider this a flaw just not to my liking.I find the first couple of frets a little close and take a little getting used after playing a full size guitar.All the joints and seams are tight.The only flaw is the top is sinking at the sound hole but I brought it from the factory that way pretty cheap.It doesn't effect the sound or playability at all.Like all the other reviews the design takes some getting used to,the guitar is top heavy and you have to play it with the strap.

I think if you really play it alot the finish would wear pretty fast at the sound hole.Everything else besides the finish would hold up pretty well.I think Martin makes quality stuff even it's made in Mexico.I've had a D28 for 35yrs and have little to no problems with it so I'm expecting the same with the backpacker.

They are excellent.I live a couple of hours from the factory so I take a drive with my cousin when I need something done.That is how I got the backpacker. I brought my D28 in to get the action lowered and a bone saddle installed N/C.While I was waiting to take a tour of the factory my cousin and I took a ride over to the original factory.This is where they sell guitar building kits and wood if you want to build your own guitar.They had a backpacker that was a second or a return for $50 so I brought it.Danny who runs the shop there and gives workshops on building guitars tuned it to pitch and checked it out for me before I brought it.They do take the name off the headstock and cross off serial # on the inside label so I'm sure there is no warranty on it.If you ever get a chance visit the factory they re-did the front to look like the original factory and installed a new museum that is pretty amazing.They also have a sound room off the company store that has all there high end guitars for your playing pleasure.Plus the tour is pretty interesting.

I've been playing for about 36yrs.I own a 1971 Martin D28,1983 Ovation Legend,1980 Guild G312,1990 Heritage Les Paul,1980's Fender Squire Bullit Strat.,1990's Cort Yorktown,1953 Gibson ES 140 3/4T,
1970's Dusonic Classical,1980's Harmony Mandolin and the Martin Backpacker. I don't think I would change anything like I said before it is what it is.I wouldn't have brought it if it wasn't $50.I think if you're going to pay $180-$200/new for one you would be better off spending another $60-$70 and getting the Martin LXM or Baby Taylor.
They are traditional shaped smaller guitars that do sound better.
That said it does have a unique design and sound so guess is a matter of preference.