Martin has just announced its line up of new guitars in time for the coming 2015 NAMM Show, the first one to catch my attention is the Dreadnought Junior, a miniaturized version of their most popular guitar shape.
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This new compact acoustic joins the other new releases that C.F. Martin & Co. will be displaying at their 2015 NAMM booth, and depending on how well it is received we may get the other Martin shapes in “Junior” format as well because the release is labeled as “Junior Series”.
Also known as “D Jr”, the new Dreadnought Junior is a new body size that Martin is trying out in the market. It is said to be fashioned for player comfort while still retaining the punchy tone and the distinctly classic Martin appeal of the original. It follows the build and design of Dreadnoughts carefully, the only difference being the size, with D Jr being smaller.
The official description says, “the Dreadnought Junior is reduced to approximately 15/16” of the full Martin 14-fret Dreadnought dimension (14 ¼” width at the lower bout) with an expressive 24” scale length.”
Aside from being easy to carry and more comfortable to play, being smaller also makes the Dreadnought Junior more budget friendly. It’s quite surprising that it has a solid sitka spruce top, solid sitka spruce braces and solid sapele for the back and sides while retaining a more reasonable price tag.
The guitar also has a richlite fretboard that has a scale length of 24″, 20 total frets with 14 frets clear and 1.75″ nut width. Richlite is a composite material that is produced from partially recycled paper and phenolic resin, it is an affordable, reliable and environment-friendly alternative to the now rare ebony and rosewood fretboards. Other features include a white corian nut, black richlite bridge and Delmar Tortoise Color pickguard.
For plugging in, this Martin is equipped with Fishman’s Sonitone preamp system, which is prominently used pickups on entry level to mid-priced acoustic guitars. Martin concludes, “The affordably-priced Dreadnought Junior is ideal for smaller players, students, travelers, or anyone who aspires to the clarity and depth of tone that has defined Martin instruments for more than 180 years.”
The new Martin Dreadnought Junior has a list price of $799. For more information, visit Martin Guitar or check out their NAMM 2015 booth.
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