Martin Juniors

The Martin camp is serious about their Junior range of guitars. As depicted above, they released more than a handful of models. As the name implies, the guitar had been re-sized to address the travel narrative but the scale length is 24.9" which is in between a Gibson & PRS. 

One of the models that caught my attention is this Dreadnaught Jr Street Legend version. Everything else here is in pristine condition less that top which was given the Street Legend treatment. This is basically a relic treatment. Not my cup of tea but this sells.

This one's interesting as well; a 000 cutaway bass. It sports the same scale length as the guitars & the primary concern here are the replacement strings availability. No idea when these will be available here but these are listed for USD699 each, regardless of the models. 

Lighter Jr

This is interesting. The Fender (Japan) Jr. instruments are already scaled down in terms of body dimensions & scale length. This Summer, the Japanese camp chambered the body so it's now even more pleasant in terms of instrument handling. It's unclear if the rest of the instruments in this series were given a similar treatment. Details from the manufacturer are scant.

Pic: Fender Japan

Fender Juniors

New by Fender Japan - the Junior Collection. The very inclusion of 'junior' here would naturally invoke a student profile but that's not the case. For those smaller built players, there's the Mini series which are currently in the Squier range. The Junior features a 24" scale length which is not a strange measurement for Fender - the Jaguar is 24". The basswood body size is reduced by about 5% & chambered but not entirely, enough to match the reduced scale length.

There's the Telecaster version as well.

I sincerely feel the Jazzmaster version is unnecessary. As mentioned before, the Jaguar is already sporting a 24" scale length but I guess the reduced body size is the difference that necessitates this inclusion. 

The Jr collection also includes a bass - the Jazz bass. However, like my Jazzmaster sentiment, it's unnecessary as the Mustang bass sports the exact, reduced scale length - 30". A P-bass version would be a wiser consideration. Looking forward to see these here.

Pics: Fender Japan