Today we're talking about the Martin Dreadnought Jr. e., what are its pros and cons and whether you should consider getting one, along with a few audio samples of it in action. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
I had a 2013 Martin LX1 & after about a year of cutting my teeth on that, the guitar really opened up. I know only the top was solid wood, but it aged nicely to a dark shade similar to the top on yours & standard Martins. I have a 000-28 now which is amazing, & imho I don't think the DJr can compete with the rosewood on a 28. Probably an 18 series for sure. Considering these Jr's are solid back & sides as well as a top, they'll age well for sure. I'd like to get one without the electronics for traveling.
I think the DJr would be ideal for a travel guitar; good tone, well built and obviously short scale. And yes, the all solid DJr has opened up really well over the time I've had mine. I haven't tried any of the LX series but have heard positive things about them. Thanks for watching.
I have just orderd mine after a good month of looking at different options in this size before seeing your review, it's one of most honest down to earth reviews available on this model on youtube. My final decision was the sound of the guitar and also the larger size at the nut. As an ex retailer your comment at the end asking people to support thier local retailers is so inportant and I thank you.
Thanks for watching and commenting, Andy, glad you found it helpful. I think in terms of tonal profile it's very similar to a normal sized dreadnought; there's good balance across the EQ, it's just not as loud. In comparison most other travel sized guitars I've played sound thin and have very little bass. Yep, the nut width certainly helps with its playability and accommodates fingerpicking quite well. It depends on your preferences and what tone you're looking for, but I use D'Addario Nickel Bronze light strings on this guitar; good quality, well priced and they have a lovely warm tone. Anyways, hope you enjoy your new guitar.
I have always wanted a Martin Dreadnought, but never have purchased one, but always use my old Fender, which I also love. I happened to win a Dreadnought Jr at a work conference from a company who is based out of a town close to Nazareth PA. So I now am a happy owner of a Martin Dreadnought! 😁. I've never played a jr, but I immediately loved it!
Nice review. I think you forgot to mention the nut width at 1-3/4 and the scale at 24 inches. The older version I have from 2015 sounds basier and more dreadnought like. When I pick up the newer 10 version, it sounds similar to my Taylor GS mini Koa and is in more of direct competition with it. The older pre 2019 is a full notch up form this 10 version and a notch and a half above the GS mini Koa which also has a tighter 1-11/16 nut and a 23.5 inch scale. It’s really a beautiful sounding guitar and fits my small frame perfectly without being too small like the GS mini is for me. 5’ 10”, 160 pounds. I have retro strings on mine including ebony pins and tusk saddle which was an upgrade in sound from the plastic pins and tired coated strings. The power on the base end of this little dreadnought is really fabulous and huge for a slightly smaller full size guitar. Mexico makes outstanding guitars and there are no flaws on any of my guitars built from there including my GPC-11e and GS Mini
Hi. Thanks for watching and commenting. Although I bought mine in early 2020 it’s still one of the original runs of DJr.e’s, rather than the DJr.-10s, which have a thinner body. Having played a few GS Minis I don’t get why everybody raves about them, for me they’re so small as to feel like a toy and have almost no bottom end. Any way, glad to hear you’re enjoying your Martin DJr.
Great video review, I bought one of the newer ones for a campfire/living room guitar and it fulfills it's duty well. In person, I am never let down by it. Very nice sound and playability, I only notice the slight lacking when it's head to head with a big guitar. IMHO this guitar is THE guitar for someone who wants to travel with something that actually sounds good, or a plugged in gigging artist.
Cheers for watching and commenting. Glad you found the review useful. As you said, it makes a great couch and travel guitar. Happy to hear that you're enjoying yours too.
@@scoggers1628 I do wish I had the original like yours. I think yours has a little more depth than mine due to the deeper body. Still love mine though.
Great review Scoggers, I wanted to know how the D Jnr sounded and after your review I feel like I've just been playing it for the last half hour, thank you for the great review and playing.
thank you I think this puts me over the top to get one //. I am older & my hands are usually sore .. Is the action pretty low out of the box ? ///thnx //Ken
Thanks for watching, Ken. I would imagine that the action will vary a little between retailers, but the two I tried when I bought mine both had low action.
The older version, which you have, is not 000 body depth. It's regular dreadnought body depth. It's the superior of the two models, unfortunately only available in the used market since the release of the Djr10e
Thank you for your review. Very nice that someone that has this guitar say something. You say 3 years ownership, then you may have old or new one, does the name say Martin D JrA 10-E, some say that the new one label 10, is not so good as old one? First time i heard this guitar sound good, little bit rumble, but that was mic on recording i think? You may have change strings to something else(better) than original? Thank you for such a varied playing style, I really enjoyed it, and you showed off the guitar in a better way than many professional reviewers
The label says Martin Dreadnought Jr.e. , i.e. without the 10. I played a few different ones of the the same model in store the day I bought it and this was the one I liked the most. I haven't played any of the newer versions marked as 10 though. For this recording the mic I used was a Shure MV51 which is a good all-rounder USB mic, but it's not a professional level mic. As for the strings, they're fairly new D'Addarrio Nickel Bronze, about a month old. They're not bright like say Elixir strings are, but I prefer the tone. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching and commenting.
@@scoggers1628 Funny enough (I'm glad I read comments) I noticed there was no High pitched ring of the treble strings on your guitar which I found appealing. I find the B & E strings (mostly E upper) harsh in most cases. Most folk think it's clean and sweet but it reminds me of tinnitus. I got fed up listening to my own guitar ten years ago because of this (After ten years of playing) so, do you think D'Addarrio Nickel Bronze strings would help solve this, and if so; what gauge would you recommend? I'm partial to lighter gauge strings so perhaps this could be a/the problem. In general, I find most guitars sound (in the High range) wearing after a short while. Thanks and appreciation for your review Scoggers of this Martin guitar.
@@human6.045 Thanks for watching and commenting. I much prefer the warm sound of the Nickel Bronze strings and use their various light gauges. 0.12-0.52. As guitar strings go they're pretty affordable, so why not give them a try. Alternatively you could try Martin Retro strings which are also very warm in tone.
@human6.045 Something else to consider is the material of the picks you use; I find that ultex picks give a warmer tone than other materials, Dunlop Primetone ones especially.
@@scoggers1628 Thank you for getting back to me. I have never used Nickel Bronze, for some reason I've always used phosphor bronze. I'll give Nickel Bronze strings 0.12-0.52 a try plus perhaps the Martin Retro as you suggested on your previous comment. I never thought about pick material and just grabbed anything that felt OK, another thing I can experiment with, thanks Scoggers. I actually got myself a Baritone ukulele a few weeks back, it has a nice mellow sound but I miss not playing 6 string steel acoustic...going to go the Parlour size for easy couch playing, just not sure if I should go almost full scale length and 12 or 14th fret to the body. I've been watching all these smaller size guitar videos...Baby Taylor and the smaller Martins amongst others, my Baritone ukulele is a pleasure while sitting back on the couch playing so small is fine by me, Plugged in there as loud as they need to be anyway.
I am torn in between if I want a dread jr or the lx1. The dread jr is supposedly the perfect size, the lx1 is smaller however does the same as the dread jr. I don’t know what to do. My biggest concern is I want a guitar that’s comfortable to play standing and sitting. I don’t mind the lx1 but I just don’t want it to look too small, almost toy like. Cost wise, is only $100 difference between the 2. So I am conflicted
Have you tried playing both of the models? We often have preconceptions about guitars but these can and often are changed when we get our hands on them. I haven't played an LX1 but I certainly know that the Djr is a good fit for me.
