D Jr (2)

I have no complaints with Martin's Dreadnought Jr's QC. At least for the one I've acquired, it's in top notch condition in its entirety. Perhaps this is the hallmark of the Martin name; formidable construction for the taking. However, the instrument gave off a pungent stench, akin to that of a dead lizard or some small critters left lifeless in the house for a few days. It's definitely unpleasant & a quick check was done to see if there was indeed something dead in the guitar case- negative. Was there something dead in the instrument body itself? Negative. A closer inspection revealed that the stench came from the strings & fretboard. I have no idea what caused this to happen but it could be:

• chemicals from the strings compounded by the fact that it was left boxed up & stored away prior to purchase
• the richlite material giving off some chemical reactions under humid conditions

Whatever the case might be, I've re-strung the guitar with a fresh set of Dean Markley as seen above. Coincidentally, the strings were left under some books in the house since August 2018 (as documented by the accompanying receipt); a one-year-old set of strings still fresh & crispy. Kudos to Dean Markley for getting it right in terms of preservation.

Moving on to the fretboard, with reference to the pic above, it's very difficult to tell that it's a non-wood material. The grain there is very convincing & they got it tinted right as well. I've mentioned previously that this guitar was a bucket list item for me because I've never owned & do not believed in setting aside money for a compromised component. I strongly believe that the fretboard should be constructed from a wooden material regardless of the pedigree. Putting things in context, the rate of deforestation now is rather alarming. It is inevitable that one day, 50% of the guitar's construction would be attributable to wood substitutes. That would be a sad day indeed. Companies like Martin are looking ahead to incorporate such a material into their tried & tested construction formula. Richlite seems to be a winning ingredient & we have Gibson to concur this commitment; their latest G-45 Standard acoustic features richlite as well. These substitutes also contribute to the lower price tags. 

Okie dokie, the next instalment would be a tone shoot out between the Dreadnought Jr & my Ibanez AW54JR.