Make a wish and blow out the candles!
Ah, sixteen. What a time – you got your whole life ahead of you (and all that jazz). With a similar kind of warm-and-fuzzy excitement, today we're treating ourselves to the latest from Martin acoustic guitars. The 16 Series, a lively bunch of acoustics sure to shine onstage – or anywhere else they're found, for that matter – make for an impressive and highly musical lineup.
One model that stands out in particular with many features that impress across the whole series, the J-16E Cream, is an excellent place to start if you're looking for an entry point to this great shuffle of instruments. Wouldn't you know it, that's exactly the one we're talking about today. Won't you join us?
Spoons Full of Gold
Introducing the Martin Guitar J-16E Cream Acoustic Guitar
With their new 16 Series line models, Martin treats some of its classic models to some fresh coats of paint – both literally and figuratively. Not only that, the 16 Series also serves as a showcase of some acoustic guitar models lesser-seen in the Martin family. You've still got your dreadnoughts and jumbos, but in the 16 Series, such classics appear as bends from tradition as sloped shoulder dreadnoughts and grand twelve-strings. The 16 Series puts these more seldom-seen shapes and sizes in the spotlight alongside captivating colors like Cherry Cola and Blue Denim for an awesome display of Martin acoustics to keep you guessing.
The J-16E Cream embodies so much of what makes the 16 Series exceptional. A 14 Fret Jumbo body, a match of gloss and satin finishes, a unique cream color, scalloped braces, an L.R. Baggs electronics setup? We can keep going – and trust us, we will – this 16 Series, like its siblings, has plenty to pour over no matter where in your Martin journey you're at.
White Room, Black Curtains
Martin Guitar J-16E Cream Acoustic Guitar Materials and Design
The Martin J-16E Cream lets us in pretty quickly on a lot of what the 16 Series is working with. From square one, we're treated to a couple elements you surely can't miss. The J-16E Cream's 14 Fret Jumbo body comes together in a large-and-in-charge manner while retaining a comfortable size ready to slip under the arm or hang over the shoulders with a strap. This impressive body hints at the kind of formidable acoustic power we've got behind us with not only this 16 Series, but the lineup at large.
A classic Martin match of tonewoods comes together to form the basis of our Jumbo experience. Its top, an iconic Martin spruce, is decked in a clean, gloss lacquer finish. Its back and sides, East Indian rosewood, matches with a smooth satin finish. These time-tested Martin tonewoods produce an indispensable match of top-end chirp and low-end richness from its spruce and rosewood, respectively. Totally vivid and radiant, these woods make for a Jumbo with great projection, sustain, and tonal complexity no matter what you play. These woods are further bolstered through Martin's 5/16" scalloped spruce braces aligned in an X-Brace pattern.
A Martin acoustic is more than just a rounded box of wood, if we could be so bold to say. This J-14 Fret Jumbo extends out with a select hardwood neck in a Modified Low Oval profile. For a more modern feel in the palm with a slimmer shape and Martin's High Performance taper, this neck makes for smooth trips from lower to higher registers with a satin finish of its own. The feeling of this 16 Series in hand is breezy, making its musicality appear seamlessly as you explore its full range. An ebony fingerboard matches with this slimmer neck lined with twenty standard-sized Martin frets. For an equal level of comfort on the fingertips as across the palm, this classic ebony board balances spaciousness and articulation to streamline campfire chords, intricate fingerpicking, and any other style of playing you might bring.
Sittin' on the Top of the World
Martin Guitar J-16E Cream Acoustic Guitar Tones and Playability
As is the case with so many great Martins that came before it, the J-16E sings with lush, layered musicality. On every level, this 16 Series blooms with tone that impresses on the largest and smallest scales. Strum a full, open E and hear each string light up with a radiant balance of bass and treble moving from your lowest to highest strings. Start wandering around with melodic fingerpicking and hear each note ring out while staying articulate in the mix. Whether you're focusing in on each note individually or the whole picture, the J-16E Cream, like each of its 16 Series siblings, performs masterfully. The J-16E Cream's 14 Fret Jumbo shape contributes to a great balance of formidable projection via its large body and nimble navigation via its 14 Fret neck.
These larger-scale musical considerations are backed up with a number of smaller features to elevate the entire 16 Series experience. While some of these might seem mundane, they're massively impactful on the overall playability of this model. For one, more modern Martin features appear throughout this J-14 Jumbo like a Martin Modern Belly bridge. This ebony bridge lines up with a drop-in TUSQ saddle and abalone-dotted bridge pins to provide a supreme feeling of sturdiness and transfer of motion string-to-body. Getting the most out of the tiniest bit of motion through these quality features, this 16 Series resonates fluidly at every point. This fluidity is translated in full through the model's onboard L.R. Baggs Element electronics system.
Martin Guitar J-16E Cream Acoustic Guitar Final Thoughts
Alright, so, a refreshed series, a clean aesthetic, some classic Martin tenets, what have we got?
The Martin J-16E Cream is a model that slots right into the larger Martin lineage while absolutely making a name for itself on its own. Its great musical qualities like its Jumbo-sized body, its top-shelf materials, its sturdy hardware, its modern L.R. Baggs electronics and showstopping aesthetics all coalesce for an acoustic sure to win over any Martin fan. Those looking for a deviation from the usual Martin everyday have a deserving option with the J-16E Cream – and any other 16 Series model for that matter! A too-cool look, a vividly musical palette, a reliable Martin build, truly, at this point, what else could you ask for?
