Any Martin JR. owners here...
 

Have heard some nice things about them on the forum and have a few questions like: Do they actually sound like a Martin, and i'm guessing you must like the sound or you wouldn't have bought one? How is the neck/playability, and would you compare the sound anywhere in the ball park to upper end Martins? It's only $500! Thanks.

I have the older Martin Junior 2 and I love it. Yes it sound like a Martin, but I wouldn’t compare it to a high end Martin. But I do think it sounds better than it’s retail price.

I have the same guitar and love mine. I couldn't have responded to the OP any better. They are such a bargain having all solid woods and 1/4" bracing. Maybe why they sound better than the usual $500 guitar?

I too have an early sapele D JR. Paid $350 used.

I play regularly at lunch with a colleague who keeps a GS Mini as his “work guitar”. To my ears, the D JR vs the GS Mini is the typical Martin vs Taylor sound argument: The Martin sounds like a Martin; the Taylor, like a Taylor. You can hear the pedigree of each guitar as related to their larger and more expensive brethren.

I wouldn’t compare it to a guitar worth 10 times as much, but it travels, sounds and plays exceptionally well for what it is. Very happy with mine.

I have an older Martin D Jr. Playability is excellent on mine and it sounds very good.

I will say I've played D-18s I didn't enjoy as much,..

Thanks for the thoughts! I have a Yamaha FS800 for a couch beater, but am looking for a OM with better sound and will be looking at the JR. and some others trying to keep it below $1000 at the big box store.

Five and Counting 😙
 

The first juniors got my vote. They do sound like a Martin dreadnought. All 5 of mine have that bass that defines the Martin dreadnought. The sustain is very good also. I love the first junior. You just can't go wrong with the guitar.🤗

Kitkatjoe - Have to ask, why 5?

Any Martin JR. owners here...
 

I have a Dread Junior 2 (all Sapele). It has a nice warm tone. It’s a great guitar for its price. Its Richlite fretboard n bridge makes it look new and I think it will last longer than ebony or rosewood fretboard and bridges.

I just traded in my 2016 Martin D Junior and 2016 Taylor GS Mini-e Koa on another larger guitar. They were cute and sounded good but if I want a "comfortably-sized" guitar I just play my Taylor 322ce and get a really fine tone along with better playing ease. About the only real use I can see for a small guitar like the D Junior or GS Mini is for airline travel. The rest of the time mine just sat in their gig bags at home while I played my other guitars.

If you’re into the OM shape, Martin just released a 000-Jr too with the same/similar construction as the D-Jr. I think it will be a popular choice.

When I saw that the original model was being changed, I bought four more. 😝

I too have the Martin Jr D, its a fantastic guitar. Also I have the 000Cjr-10E,
a little smaller and it gets the same love.

I travel with my older DJr-2, quite often.

Sounds like a Martin should, in my opinion. Love the bass, overall tone, and wider nut width. SO comfortable to play, and sounds fantastic.

The Martin JR series is pretty sweet. The stock strings dont do them justice though.. You will be hard pressed to find a guitar that size that sounds so big especially at the bottom end. I sold my GS Mini when I bought the revamped Dread JR.

At that price point I have an Eastman e1om that I also use as a travel guitar. Its a shorter scale full size OM and its AMAZING! I cant believe it only cost me 500$.