GEAR REVIEW
MARTIN DJR 10E BASS | Bruce Adolph
KEY FEATURES
• Smaller Body Size
• Short Scale Neck
• Corrected String Tension
• On-Point Tonal Characteristics
• Good Volume Naturally
When I first saw the advanced press release that C . F . Martin was releasing two new acoustic bass models , the DJR 10E and the 000CJR 14 Fret , as part of their Junior Series at the NAMM Show I was already saying to myself , “ Count me in !” I have been recently playing some bass on my church worship team and I had been looking at vintage acoustic basses , mainly because there aren ’ t a lot of good new options out today .
I have a pet peeve about some of the other brand ’ s acoustic bass offerings because it seems to me that they often take a jumbo size acoustic guitar body , then slap on an electric bass guitar ’ s neck … bolt it together and then call it an “ acoustic bass ” with just about that much thought that goes into it . They feel and sound awkward .
So , I found a 1997 ( not quite vintage but definitely older ) large scale bass that did play well and sounded nice . Two challenges for me … one , it had a huge hardshell acoustic guitar case and two , it was more money than I wanted to pay . Lugging that bass back and forth would have been a workout , and finding a gig bag that fit such a large instrument would have been even harder .
This is why I perked up when I found out that Martin has these new instruments debuting at the 2023 NAMM Show . I arrived at the press conference in Martin ’ s booth the day before the convention started and immediately picked one up to test drive .
First impression , the smaller body had a surprising amount of volume . I could play along ( not amplified ) with an acoustic guitar and be heard just fine . The short scale 24 ” neck was comfortable and easy to play . The action was dialed in ( which is often not the case with others ) and the tone had a great characteristic to it . Both are offered in either natural or sunburst . I was sold !
Then the press conference started , and I found out the reasons why I like these two new models so much . Martin has developed a phosphor bronze acoustic bass string ( Junior Series ) with a nylon core . These strings adjust the tension to the 24 ” short scale neck . They sell for an affordable ($ 29.99 ) too . That is what gives this bass the characteristic tone and the easy playability . The string packaging says , “ Easy to fret with enhanced projection and optimized tension ”. This is truth in advertising here … the strings feel and sound great !