Martin's X Series guitars were introduced in summer 1998 and they feature a High Pressure Laminate (HPL) for several parts of the guitar. This series was created because Martin wanted to start using alternative materials in their guitar building process and they also wanted to offer a guitar that even the beginner could afford. All X Series guitars feature traditional Martin designs using the HPL technology. HPL is composed of highly compressed wood fibers that are pre-finished and textured once they are constructed. This provides the guitars with an authentic looking wood finish and texture that guitar players come to expect. The material is also very durable. In mid-2009, Martin began using black Richlite for all bridges and fingerboards in the X Series that replaced earlier Indian rosewood and black micarta versions. In mid-2010, Martin introduced Fisman Sonitone electronics on all previous acoustic instruments meaning every guitar in the X Series is now an acoustic/electric. Models that were previously acoustic now have an "AE" suffix, and they also added these electronics without raising the price