Belated NGD

[emtsteve]

A recent post about bearclaw reminded me that I need to post about a recent impulse purchase. This popped up on Chicago Music Exchange’s used listings and the top grabbed my attention. I love bearclaw and this top looked cool with both the bearclaw and varied grain width. It was like new and priced right so I jumped on it. Came in with not a mark on it and the plastic still on the pickguard.





It’s the newer Martin Dreadnaught Junior. Set up was perfect and the tone and volume very satisfying. I did pull the stock Retro .12 strings and went with some DR Rare pbs I had in .13 gauge. Big improvement! I am really enjoying this little guy. I’m finding that I gravitate towards my smaller guitars 90% of the time. This one may share travel time with my GS Mini.

[jdinco]

Can't go wrong with those Jr's...I have an older one and it has a pretty big "bear claw" "imperfection" or what ever you want to call it on the top. I like that it has it's special mark on it. I wonder if they use wood that is not quite perfect enough for their upper end guitars? Which is fine by me. It sounds great. Congrats on your Jr.

[jricc]

Congrats emtsteve! Nice Dred JR, enjoy!

[Macpage]

Great catch! That top really is nice. These are pretty cool Martins. Enjoy playing!

Best,

Mac

[KevinH]

I love tops with Bearclaw in them. Looks great. How does it compare in size with your Mini?

[Jim Owen]

That’s gonna be a lot of fun to play, Steve!

[UncleJesse]

The first thing I'd do is swap that saddle for a real bone one. I think that's corian or possibly tusq. You should notice a big difference. That and the 13 gauge strings are perfect.

[Glennwillow]

Very nice guitar, Steve! Congratulations!

I like the top!

- Glenn

[ish5]

Congrats on the JR. That's a nice looking top!

I bought the Sapele version in December and I'm a huge fan of these little guys. Best of luck with it!

I'm getting ready to swap out the strings and I'm thinking about some DRs also. Possibly Sunbeams.

[TTiimm]

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

The first thing I'd do is swap that saddle for a real bone one. I think that's corian or possibly tusq. You should notice a big difference. That and the 13 gauge strings are perfect.

I have the all Sapele version.

Bone saddle made a difference but it really popped when the plastic pins were replaced with Waverly Ivoroid pins. Mids and trebles are clearer but the biggest difference was an increase in sustain.

The plain ones were $9 but I splurged for the $14 abalone inlay version. Either way, it was money well spent.

Always do the easy and cheap thing first.

[emtsteve]

One thing I forgot to mention is when I changed strings I noticed the saddle wasn't perfectly flat, it would rock a bit the long ways. So I sanded it down just a touch to get it true. Sounds pretty darn good with whatever saddle that it has now. I may or may not try the bone saddle and pins, we'll see.

When it arrived I A/B'd it with my GS Mini and it definitely feels bigger, of course the nut width is noticeable (1 3/4 vs 1 11/16) and Mini's body is noticeably smaller too. Since someone asked, and I'm curious too, I took some measurements (first number is Mini, 2nd is D Jr):

OAL: 37" 37 3/4"
Scale: 23 5/8 24 1/8
Width lower bout 14 1/4" 14 1/4"
Body length: 17 3/4" 18 1/4"
Body depth: 3 3/4" 3 7/8"

I took a couple photos that I'll attach in another post from my phone (I'm on my laptop now). So the DJr is a bit larger all the way around but only by 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch and the depth is real close. Sure can feel it when playing though and I think the biggest factor in that is the scale. The sound from the D Jr is bigger too, although the GS Mini is plenty loud. The Martin sounds like a Martin and the Taylor sounds like a Taylor (go figure!). For plane travel the GS Mini is the winner for the slightly smaller size and awesome bag. Travel by car and the DJr is the winner. Around the house I hardly ever play my Mini but the DJr I am really enjoying. My Mini has a K&K and sound real nice amped and the DJr is acoustic only. I have upgraded the saddle and pins in the Mini.

All in all, the biggest differences are the neck width and the crappy bag with the Martin. I have a spare hard case that fits and another Martin gig bag (the nice blue one) that I'll use instead. Some folks have to have 1 3/4 but I get along OK with the narrower nut.

[emtsteve]

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by TTiimm

I have the all Sapele version.

Bone saddle made a difference but it really popped when the plastic pins were replaced with Waverly Ivoroid pins. Mids and trebles are clearer but the biggest difference was an increase in sustain.

The plain ones were $9 but I splurged for the $14 abalone inlay version. Either way, it was money well spent.

Always do the easy and cheap thing first.

I reamed and slotted the bridge on mine and used unslotted ivoroid pins the day I got it.

[Pura Vida]

Congrats! Love that top.

[dnf777]

Very nice! Enjoy in good health!