Mitchell Acoustic Electric Guitars Review: See What Came In under the Radar

Note: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Have you ever heard of Mitchell guitars? Don’t be ashamed if you haven’t. Mitchell is not yet one of the better-known brands like Martin or Gibson or Fender. Someday they might be if the Element and Exotic series acoustic electric guitars they currently offer are any indication of what’s to come.

Mitchell makes several lines of guitars. In this review, I’ll concentrate on just the acoustic electric models in the Element series and the Exotic series. That makes a total of 4 guitars.

If you’re in a hurry and just want to check the availability and pricing of these four at Amazon, you can click the links in the list below.

• Mitchell Element ME1CE
• Mitchell Element ME2CEC
• Mitchell Exotic MX400
• Mitchell Exotic MX420

If you want to skip ahead to a certain section of this review, you can click a link in the box below. Otherwise, you can just keep scrolling and reading as usual.

Mitchell Element Series ME1CE and ME2CEC

The ME1CE and ME2CEC are the acoustic electric models in this series. Mitchell also makes two non-electric acoustic Element models – the ME1 and ME1ACE.

To compare most of the features of these two guitars, examine the pictures and the table below.

You can also check out the short, promotional videos just below. The first was produced by Musician’s Friend. The second comes directly from Mitchell.

The main differences in construction between the ME1CE and the ME2CEC are the spruce top on the former versus the cedar top on the latter and the woods used for the back and sides. Sapele, used in the ME1CE, is an African wood that is harder than mahogany. The ME2CEC uses Indian rosewood for its back, sides, and fingerboard.

Both models have high-ratio, die-cast, chrome tuners with Ebonite keys. They also both employ the Fishman INK3 pre-amp that includes a built-in tuner. Controls on this module include volume, bass, middle, and treble.

The TUSQ material mentioned in the table is manufactured by Graphtech Guitar Labs. You can read more about it in their FAQ here.

Mitchell Exotic Series MX400 and MX420

Both the MX400 and MX420 have the “Grand Auditorium” cutaway body style. Neither model has a pickguard. If that’s an important feature for you, you’ll either have to investigate installing one yourself or move on to a different guitar.

The MX420 is available in Midnight Black or Antique Sunburst (pictured below) finish.

Conclusions about the Mitchell Acoustic Electric Guitars

Online reviews of all of these models of Mitchell acoustic electrics are overwhelmingly positive. Most people fairly rave about them, especially those who had never heard of the Mitchell brand before discovering it at a local music store.

Many appreciate the color and finish, besides the quality construction and materials and the great sound.

Some owners compare their Mitchell favorably with their Martin or other high-end guitars.

As of this writing, the Mitchell Element series guitars are a little harder to come by at Amazon, but that can change daily.

Check the availability and pricing of Mitchell acoustic electric guitars at Amazon now.

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Gary Sonnenberg

Gary has been playing keyboards since he was very young. He started on a chord organ because that's what his father liked. He's played guitar since he was a teenager, and he recently learned he could keep the beat on a drum set.

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Author: Gary Sonnenberg

Gary has been playing keyboards since he was very young. He started on a chord organ because that's what his father liked. He's played guitar since he was a teenager, and he recently learned he could keep the beat on a drum set. View all posts by Gary Sonnenberg