Martin and Molly Tuttle collaborate on two new signature acoustic guitars.]

NAMM 2026: Two-time Grammy winner and bluegrass magician Molly Tuttle has finally gotten a Martin signature guitar, and it’s proven worth the wait, with two models arriving at once.

The Martin D-18 and D-X2E sprinkles fresh elegance on her treasured 1943 D-18 model, and a more affordable X Series acoustic guitar to the fore, realizing a lifelong dream for the artist.

Tuttle’s D-18 stays fairly faithful to her 83-year-old companion, with a rear-shifted scalloped bracing, 1940s neck profile, and a personalised touch in the form of moon phase fingerboard inlays.

“I feel like the moon represents creativity, inspiration, and your subconscious,” Tuttle explains of that aesthetic flourish. “Sometimes when I realize it’s a new moon, I think that’s a good time to plant the seeds of new ideas.”

The guitar, which Martin enthusiastically describes as coming “wrapped in timeless tone and vintage style,” is priced at $4,199.99, with both right- and left-handed models available.

Meet the D-18 and D-X2E Molly Tuttle Guitars – YouTube

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It’s the first X-Series model to have such a neck, with a “select hardwood” construction helping keep the price down. Elsewhere, it’s fairly generously specced with a satin-finished spruce top and figured mahogany HPL back and sides, scalloped X-bracing, and more lunar inlays for its ebony fingerboard. Playability, moreover, is at its heart.

“It’s this beautiful kind of V-shaped neck that I find extremely comfortable to play,” Tuttle beams. “You could pick this up and go down and play a gig with it that very day.”

For a musician who once told Guitarist that she “coveted” Martin Guitars, the Martin collaboration is her biggest ambition manifest.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing Martin guitars ever since I started playing the guitar,” Tuttle says. “To see my name on this Martin guitar and to have had a hand in designing it, it was just a huge moment for me.

“These are such beautiful instruments, I’m excited to see what songs they hold; there are no limits to what I can create and perform on these guitars. They have the classic sound that I’m looking for, and Martin Guitars always bring the best out of my playing and ideas.”