NGD - Martin Dreadnought Jr.
 

Got it yesterday from Sweetwater, and it was still perfectly tuned. Just had a few hours with it, but what a nice little guitar. If their production team can keep up with the inevitable demand--without any compromise to quality--the D Jr. will be a HUGE success for Martin! On to the details...

1. Fit and finish are great - It's a plain Jane guitar, but the workmanship is excellent and I like the hand-applied oil finish.

2. Set-up - The action is a tad high compared to where I generally like my acoustics set-up; but, it's very playable all up & down the neck. It has a ton of saddle, so dropping it down to where I like it will be a piece of cake. But again, it's fine where it is...just a matter of personal preference.

3. Gig Bag - I like it and feel it will provide ample protection. The Taylor gig bag might have a bit more padding, but not enough to squabble over.

4. Neck - The 1-3/4" width is just so nice to have. In addition to being an all solid wood guitar, the neck width was definitely a big factor in my purchasing decision. Neck profile is comfortable and nice to move around on with the satin finish.

5. Tone - Lovely sounding guitar, with ample volume for casual play. Very nicely balanced, with enough bass presence for my taste. No one is going to mistake this for a D-18, D-28, or the like; but, that would be an unreal expectation. It is outstanding for what it is meant to be, and to my ear, has more of everything compared to the GS Mini. Not a knock on the Mini's, but to me, they sound a bit constricted; whereas, the D Jr. has an openness & more overall presence to it.

6. Pick-Up - Played through my Fishman Loudbox Mini it sounded quite good. As with any pick-up system, it allows you to color the tone to your preferences. Of course, it also provides the extra boost in volume you may want in certain situations. It's an inexpensive system, and since I have a Fishman Matrix Infinity system laying around the house, I may opt to swap it out--but not out of necessity.

7. Playability - Again, the 1-3/4" nut is a winner, and along with the neck profile, 24" scale, and overall size of the guitar, it's super comfortable & just a pleasure to play. I think I'll have a lot of fun with this guitar...


The below pics are from Sweetwater (who gave me permission to share them). So, since they are of my actual guitar and are much better than I could take, I'm going to use them...

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...psn04szjfb.jpg

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http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...psoijt2zgq.jpg

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http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...psclelhhky.jpg

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps58dq32xs.jpg

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...psxzg1pshs.jpg

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...pshqkcurd4.jpg

Congrats, they are nice, and yes, the gig-bag is more than adequate. Plus, they will sell like hotcake once the stores get them in...

Congrats on the new D Jr! I was a bit iffy on the gig bag when I first got mine, but it's growing on me.

Thank you drplayer for your informative review.

I confess to more than a passing interest in one of these new Martins.
Trying to think of a reason to have one.

Ive read a lot of comments comparing it to a GS Mini, but I wonder how it compares to a Big Baby Taylor? (of which I have two, and prefer to the GS Mini, size wise, not tone)
The BBT being a small (15/16's) Dreadnaught shape, always seemed a little thin tonally, so I wonder if (and hope) the D Jr. might give a fuller sound.

congrats and thanks

Great review - Congrats!! It's going to be a big seller for sure. I didn't realize it has a 1 3/4" nut width, I like that.

Good review, nice looking guitar.

You're welcome... FWIW, my reasons were:

1. - I like Martin guitars, and this is just an incredible value.

2. - I didn't have a small inexpensive enough guitar that I would feel comfortable taking on a trip, or camping, or to the beach, etc. It's all solid wood and a nice instrument, so definitely, you still need to take precautions; but, I feel much better about taking a $600 guitar vs. a $3K one.

3. - These will sell like hot-cakes, and being in manufacturing for many years, I know what happens when demand starts exceeding capacity. Short cuts are taken, which usually have an adverse affect on quality--at least in the short-term until measures are taken to accommodate the increased demand. I didn't want to wait and risk that this production facility might fall victim to this, and as a result, possibly start producing sub-par instruments for a period of time. And...

4. - These will sell like hot-cakes, which almost always equates to price increases. Nothing new or nothing wrong with that...it's just simple supply & demand economics.

I, too, bought one of these from Sweetwater. Took it out of the box and went out to the patio to check it out. 2 hours later I realized this must be a pretty sweet little guitar. I actually decided to part with my Koa Mini in favor of the D Jr. The Jr is just more comfortable for me to play with the slightly longer scale and wider nut. I still love the GS Minis but for me the D Jr is just a better fit, though not nearly as pretty as the Koa.

Thanks for the review and photos. Mine will be here tomorrow. I already have my photos from Ben. :D

Having owned the BBT and having had a D Jr for about a month now, in my opinion the D Jr is fuller and more well-rounded tonally than the BBT.

So what is the neck profile, exactly- full C? Shallow C? More of a D, perhaps? thanks-

Well, Martin calls it a "Dreadnought Junior Profile", so apparently it has it's own unique shape. However, based on the below link, I'd say it's probably close to the "Low Profile" or maybe somewhere between the "Low Profile" and the "Low Oval"?

http://www.martinguitar.com/features...dthshapes.html

Great review! Funny you mention the guitar was in tune...mine arrived from Sweetwater in perfect tune as well! QC on mine appears to be great! Cannot hardly put it down...just a nice little guitar.I still prefer the Taylor gig bag but really the Martin bag looks cool in black and yes, will provide the same protection (not checking it as luggage anyway.)

Full C IMHO...

scale length
 

So, the GS Mini has a scale length of 23.5"
and the Dread Jr. has a scale length of 24"

Have you found that half inch difference noticeable?

This is the best review I've seen yet on the Jr. Thanks for posting, Drplayer. This should crank up the GAS for those who've been sitting on the fence! My own Jr should be coming in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait.

Interesting what you said about supply and demand and its effect on quality control etc. I don't know that there's anything more they could do to streamline manufacturing that they haven't already done (you mentioned possibly cutting corners), but perhaps they would be as selective about materials. Still, I don't know anything about modern manufacturing so you might be correct.

And you're definitely correct about the price not going down and possibly going up in the short term. I've seen the same selling price everywhere, even among our sponsors who typically discount. I guess discounts will come after supply catches up with demand.

For the others who got in on this early round of availability, congrats and enjoy your Jrs. Can't wait to see the discussions about different strings on the Jr, mods, etc.

Thanks again.

price
 

I'm not sure if talking price is ok or not, but if it is,
are most people paying the $599 price tag, or can
you get that price down a bit?

The second one of these posts I have read recently. Just a pain they are not due in the UK until July/August

You're welcome... Let me clarify that I made that comment pertaining to supply & demand and it's relationship to quality only as a possible risk, based on my manufacturing experience. By "cutting corners" I didn't mean streamlining, but more like bypassing things that would normally be done. But, Martin is a very successful company, and for all I know, they are well geared up for this guitar and plenty capable of handling whatever influx in demand there might be. My personal decision simply erred on the side of caution...

I don't believe you can get them any lower then that, maybe if they flop a couple of years from now....

Even Maury's website said something about no coupons or discounts on these.

Just be thankful that they are not going for list price...

I don't have a GS Mini any longer to make a real-time direct comparison, but 1/2" is pretty significant. Think of it as the difference between an OM and a 000 14-fret, or a D-18 and a J-45. Generally I prefer a short-scale on a full sized guitar; however, in this case, I like the extra 1/2", as it gives you a little more room on an already extra-short scale.

Very nice! I'd like to try one of these out. Congrats

Received mine via Sweetwater a couple hours ago and I am very, very impressed. I've owned three GS Mini's in the last few years and this one is a significant improvement in just about every way, but most importantly in the sound. It is surprisingly resonant with above average sustain and way louder than it should be for its size. The neck profile is a bit deeper than I like but I'll live with that because of its other attributes. The pick-up sounds very good through my Carvin AG300 too. I did change out the strings almost immediately to my favorites (Martin Clapton's Choice lt. gauge) and I had a set of bone pins sitting around that I used to replace the plastic ones and those things further improved the sound. I am dead sure Martin has a BIG winner with this guitar at this price point. No, it does not sound as good as my 000-18 or certainly not as loud as my J-45, but hey, for 1/3 the cost, no complaints!

Maybe I missed it in your great description, but what is the difference in size when compared to a full sized dred?

Congrats and glad you're another happy customer! I did forget to mention in the OP that I too will be changing out the strings...most likely to John Pearse 700M (phosphor bronze mediums). It comes stock with Martin SP Lifespans, and although I understand why they ship from the factory with them, I've yet to find a coated string that sounded as good as a comparable un-coated string. Given how nice it sounds with the Lifespans, I'm anticipating it will shine even more with the JP's!

According to the Martin web-site, "...the Dreadnought Junior is reduced to approximately 15/16” of the full Martin 14-fret Dreadnought dimension (14 ¼” width at the lower bout)". Most are referring to it as a 3/4 scale guitar.

Quoted to add: The Yamaha Jr-1/2 and the Taylor Baby are 3/4 sized dreads...

Seems to me that 3/4 would be "12/16". Am I missing something?

Yep, I agree...not sure why some are calling it that. If the Baby Taylor is a 3/4 sized (as Taylor states on their web site), the D Jr. is definitely not.

http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p...psx0rwe5fi.jpg

Congrats on your new Jr!