Martin Guitars x Sweetwater Select Sean Daniel 00X2E Guitar Review [2025]

The spunky little acoustic that cuts through the noise with elegant simplicity

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I’ll admit it: When it comes to instruments, I’m a pretty emotional guy. 

What’s that phrase?—I think with my heart, not my head. I’ll buy an instrument only if, when I pick it up and play it, I feel something—a connection deeper than mere specs on a sheet of paper.

The guys at Martin and Sweetwater kindly shipped me my very own Select Sean Daniel acoustic—and to be honest, I started feeling some real affection for this little guy the moment I started noodling, still crouched in that awkward guitarist squat used all over the world by players who are just too impatient to walk to the nearest chair to sit down and play properly.

Now, let’s be clear here. Even if I was the most measured guy in the world who cared about nothing but the specs and technicalities, this little 00X2E would pass just about every test with flying colors (I mean, it’s a Martin after all).

But at the end of the day, even these prime specs took a back seat to what I consider to be the prime trait:

This guitar just has something special.

Quick Facts

The Select Sean Daniel 00X2E is a concert-style acoustic-electric guitar inspired by musician Sean Daniel and designed in a collaboration between Martin and Sweetwater.

The guitar weighs 4 lbs and 4 oz, retails for $859, and is available exclusively from Sweetwater.

The Story

I’d be sadly out of line not to start this review off with a quick bio of the man who inspired this guitar: the legend Sean Daniel himself.

Sean Daniel is a popular YouTube personality, educator, and accomplished guitarist with over 500,000 subscribers. When I went to his website, I found his material described as “music that can attach itself to your soul and make you a better person”—something that resonated with me right away.

Sean is a bit of an overachiever, being a proficient guitarist in a variety of different genres. As an example, here are the titles of three of his YouTube videos:

• “How to Play Bluegrass Guitar in 10 Minutes”
• “Getting Back into Rock Guitar”
• “Guitar Theory: Beyond the Basics”

…and that’s all just in the span of a month.

Although you can see Sean playing all different types of guitars on his channel, his signature style is the compact concert-style acoustic guitar—which is why Martin opted for its classic 00X2E body when designing the Select Sean Daniel guitar.

Speaking of the body style, I want to start this review by giving you a rundown of the material and design choices that contributed to making this guitar so special.

Build and Design

First impressions matter, and the Sean Daniel Select does not disappoint. Aesthetically, it’s absolutely beautiful—and yet it doesn’t look quite like any other guitar I’ve seen before. 

And thanks to the wood choices, size, and overall build quality, this is an instrument that sounds just as good as it looks.

Shape

This guitar is called an “00X2E” in part because of its body style, which is “00.” This is the middle size option for Martin’s concert style acoustic guitars, which come as either 0, 00, or 000, with the 000 being the widest. 

And in case you’re wondering, “concert style” simply refers to an acoustic guitar that’s a little smaller than a full-size dreadnought, with more of a rounded shape. Even if you’ve never heard the term “concert style,” you’ve almost definitely seen one before.

But don’t let this guitar’s small body size deceive you—its 24.9” scale length is just half an inch shorter than that of the D-28, Martin’s standard full-size dreadnought. This means that, although the body is compact and portable, it’s just as playable as any full-size acoustic. One could argue it’s even more playable.

Finally, the body is supported by scalloped X-bracing, the same style found on Martin’s legendary pre-war guitars. By carefully shaving away sections of the braces to create a “scooped-out” shape, this design reduces overall mass and helps the top to vibrate more freely. This results in a big boost to the guitar’s sustain, as well as its treble frequency range, which contributes to a brighter, crisper sound.

Materials

This is where things get really interesting.

The body of the Sean Daniel Select is made from two different types of wood: HPL mahogany for the back and sides, and solid sapele for the top.

When used in acoustics, mahogany is known to provide a warm, resonant, and slightly darker-sounding tone—which is why it works so well with the sapele top, which, though it resembles mahogany, actually provides a brighter, clearer tone.

Now, quick disclaimer: HPL stands for “high-pressure laminate,” which means that HPL mahogany is technically not real mahogany. That said, HPL is an extremely durable material, and it’s actually less affected by humidity than real wood. So if you prefer to spend more time playing and less time worrying about humidifiers and maintenance, HPL will actually do a better job over the long run.

And if there’s a big difference in tone between the two, I certainly couldn’t hear it (and this is coming from someone whose everyday guitar is an all-mahogany Martin D-15M Streemaster—so I should know).

Design

I think the overall aesthetic of this guitar is described best on Sweetwater’s website. Referring to the diamond and square fretboard inlays, the website says the design “keeps you elegantly grounded.”

This sentiment holds true for every part of the guitar. 

The pickguard is a solid white ivoroid crescent that looks quite striking laid on top of the dark, muted sapele of the top, and the cream-colored, open-gear tuning pegs add a touch of the vintage while keeping the aesthetic understated. In particular, these two features are rarely seen on Martins in this price range—they’re usually reserved for the much more expensive offerings.

Another touch I really loved is the lack of any sort of noticeable binding around the outside of the guitar. This lets the natural beauty of the sapele and HPL mahogany take center stage in a way that really is, as Sweetwater put it, “elegantly grounded.”

In almost every way, this guitar is certainly not your run-of-the-mill acoustic—but Sean Daniel isn’t exactly your run-of-the-mill guitarist either. His knack for making complex techniques feel approachable perfectly mirrors this guitar’s ability to get the job done without unnecessary flash.

Electronics

If you’re like me, you probably don’t think about electronics too much when considering a new acoustic—so when even an average pickup is included as part of the package, it can be a really nice bonus.

Well, I’m here to tell you that the Sean Daniel Select comes with no ordinary pickup—in fact, it’s one of the best I’ve ever used.

There are a few reasons why this little pickup is such a gem.

First off, it utilizes Martin’s E-1 preamp. This preamp is known for providing a clean, natural sound—which is what you want from an acoustic guitar pickup—as well as giving you control over volume, tone, and phase with a convenient set of controls hidden just inside the soundhole.

Secondly, it’s an under-saddle pickup. These are engineered to reduce feedback by directly contacting the strings at the bridge, making them more resistant to unwanted vibrations than other types, like soundhole pickups. 

In other words, you’ll be able to crank up your stage volume as much as you want without any anxiety about that potentially ear-shattering feedback that even your unborn grandchildren can hear.

Finally—and this is one of my all-time favorite things about this little 00X2E—the guitar comes with a chromatic tuner placed just at the edge of the soundhole. It’s positioned perfectly so you can tune simply by looking down as you hold the guitar in playing position.

It may not sound like much on paper—but if you’ve ever stood on stage in front of a quiet crowd, sweat beading up on your forehead as you try to decide whether to ear-tune your guitar into oblivion or just start the next song wretchedly out of tune, you’ll know just how nice of a feature this is.

Playability

Of course, all of the features above would be next to meaningless if the guitar itself wasn’t playable. 

This goes back to what I said at the beginning—you need to have a connection with your guitar, that little special something that makes you want to pick it up and play it, day after day, gig after gig.

Here are three reasons why I found the Sean Daniel Select to be especially playable.

• Nearly perfect intonation: I noticed right away that this guitar holds its tuning incredibly well—and while no guitar can be perfectly in tune across every note, chord, and key, this one gets remarkably close. Whether you’re playing open chords or working up the neck with bar chords, you basically won’t ever have to adjust your tuning. This is a huge plus for both performance and practice—and also not always a given for guitars in this price range.

• Satin Finish: The lack of a shiny laminate on the neck and body majorly reduces stickiness, which made it much easier to slide my hand up and down the neck while playing. I actually didn’t even put my finger on this right away, but it’s one of the reasons I found this guitar to be so playable right out of the case. Regardless, once you get used to it, you’ll appreciate how much more comfortable your playing becomes, especially when you’re switching between chords quickly.

• Portability: The small 00 body makes this guitar super easy to carry around. I’ve already taken it to a few of my friends’ houses, and I can pop it right next to me in the shotgun seat of my car. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s small enough to not get in the way (it’s even ideal for camping or backpacking trips), but still big enough to give you some serious volume.

And speaking of volume, let’s cap this off with what is arguably the single most important characteristic for any acoustic guitar—or instrument in general, for that matter: the sound quality.

Sound Quality

After stalling for a while on how I should frame this section, I eventually just went back to square one and asked myself, “What are the first words that come to mind when I play the Sean Daniel Select?”

The verdict? “Punchy” and “woody.” Allow me to elaborate.

Punchiness is how I refer to that immediate, sharp attack when you hit the strings. This is a trait that often comes with these smaller, concert-style guitars like the Sean Daniel Select. It’s a certain tightness that makes the sound just fly off the strings. 

My personal playing style is intimate and soft, and I never use a pick with an acoustic, preferring the more organic sound of the fingernail. The downside here, of course, is that my playing can often come across as too quiet and too muddy. So this was an area where the punchy sound of the Sean Daniel select really stood out to me.

Whether I was strumming full chords or fingerpicking, there was always a clear emphasis on that first initial strike of the string. The guitar has a clean, crisp sound that can cut through a mix and sit in that perfect frequency range where acoustics sound best.

Woodiness is that natural, earthy warmth inherent in acoustic instruments that vibrate naturally in the open air. At the risk of sounding too far-out, it’s that quality that makes you feel like you know your guitar—like you can feel the history of the tonewoods and the way they’ve been shaped by time.

The Sean Daniel Select has a fantastic woody character that centers nicely on the mid-frequency range. The result is a rich, full-bodied tone that feels grounded and resonant. You can clearly hear the balance between the warm HPL mahogany and the bright, solid sapele. 

It’s a wonderfully measured sound that’s suitable for all playing styles, whether that’s fingerpicking, flatpicking, soft strumming, or groovy chord-melody work.

Final Thoughts

The Martin x Sweetwater Select Sean Daniel 00X2E is more than just a well-built, thoughtfully designed acoustic-electric—it’s an instrument with personality. 

From its compact yet resonant 00 body to its sapele and HPL mahogany construction, to its E-1 preamp and built-in tuner, this guitar really is a workhorse that will get the job done—whatever that job may be—and do so with class.

Whether you’re a seasoned guitarist, a beginner just starting your journey, or a true genius like Sean Daniel himself, this guitar is a reminder that the best guitars aren’t always the flashiest or the most expensive—they’re the ones that just feel right.