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What is it?
Like the Jason Isbell 00-10E that crossed my path recently, this tidy 000-size acoustic guitar, honoring star songsmith Shawn Mendes, is loosely based on a pre-war Martin that Mendes owns – and blends vintage styling with modern functionality at a price everyday players won’t baulk at.
The 000 body shape is one of the best-loved platforms in the Martin canon, being favored by everyone from Clapton to Mendes himself – this being his second signature model following 2022’s 000JR-10E Shawn Mendes model.
While it resembles Martin’s equally famous OM model, the 000’s scale length is shorter at 24.9” as opposed to 25.4”, giving a slightly looser, more relaxed playing feel than the OM.
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That’s made it a favorite with fingerstyle players and trad-bluesers over the years, with bends and delicate fingerwork all falling easily to hand.
Specs
- Launch price: $1,099 | £1,079 | €1,333
- Made: Mexico
- Body shape: Auditorium-size ‘000’
- Body top: Solid FSC-certified spruce
- Top bracing: Scalloped spruce
- Back & sides: Solid sapele
- Neck/shape: Select Hardwood / Performing Artist profile
- Scale/length: 24.9” (632.4mm)
- Nut/width: Corian / 1.73” (44mm)
- String spacing at bridge: 55mm
- Fingerboard wood/Radius: Ebony/16”
- Body depth: 4” (102mm)
- Finish: Natural, as reviewed
- Bridge/pins: White plastic
- Tuning Machines: Enclosed chrome
- Electronics: Martin E-1 pickup system; phase switch; tuner
- Weight: 4.1lb/1.88kg
- Case: Premium softshell gig bag
- Left-handed options: Yes, 000-10E Shawn Mendes LH
- Contact: Martin
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★☆
Like many mid-price acoustics, the Shawn Mendes 000-10E features a solid spruce top with solid sapele back and sides – sapele is a commonly used, cheaper alternative to mahogany with broadly similar tonal qualities and appearance, hence it finds its way onto a lot of guitars in this price bracket and does them no disgrace.
There’s also an eagle inlaid into the fretboard that’s based on one of Mendes’ tattoos. Eat your heart out PRS
Because this 000-10E is derived from a rare pre-war Martin, it’s been given a bit of a vintage makeover. For the first time on a Road Series guitar, for example, we get that lovely, archaic-looking straightline bridge with crisply carved pyramids at either end.
The faux tortoiseshell scratchplate, too, is patterned on that of Mendes’ pre-war 000. So much for tradition, however, because there’s also an eagle inlaid into the fretboard that’s based on one of Mendes’ tattoos. Eat your heart out PRS.
As a modern electro, there’s also a Martin E1 pickup system and a built-in tuner, too, which definitely aren’t to be found on Mendes’ original. Martin doesn’t specify if FSC-certified spruce top is Sitka or some other type but the amber toner used on it gives it a suitably vintage look – while scalloped bracing does its usual job of balancing strength with ample resonance.
The neck, meanwhile, is made from what Martin calls ‘Select Hardwood’ – a catchall term that typically means a tropical hardwood, such as sipo or sapele, that performs a role similar to true mahogany at a lower cost.
The 20 frets are tidy, though the fret slots are cut quite deep and filler is very faintly visible under some of the fret ends. The enclosed chrome tuners are perfectly effective, though I wonder if an open-gear set would have looked the part better alongside that vintage bridge.
The nut is made of white Corian, while the saddle is white TUSQ which is compensated for accurate intonation through clever shaping of its top edge.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★☆
I’m surprised to find it has quite a bold voice, louder and more bassy than many guitars of its size
Straight out of the box, this 000-10E has a fairly high action, measuring just under 3mm on the treble side at the 12th fret, so a little extra effort is required to get around the fingerboard, though a quick truss-rod tweak would remedy that niggle and the 44mm nut width gives decent room for fingerstyle.
The neck has a ‘happy medium’ Performing Artist profile – not skinny, not clubby, just familiar and comfortable, while the guitar voices and intonates single notes and chords clearly and holds its tuning well.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
Strumming the 000-10E in standard tuning, I’m surprised to find it has quite a bold voice, louder and more bassy than many guitars of its size, with a crisp midrange.
It almost comes across almost like a mini dreadnought, though it lacks some of the breathy sweetness that really good Auditorium-size guitars often have. Overall, it’s a guitar with a strong, appealing sonic personality – not the subtlest, but harmonious and clear with a good amount of power. It’s a guitar I’d trust to get the point across on a live stage.
Its amplified sound, as tested through the acoustic preamp setting of a Blackstar Beam Mini and also through a Boss Cube Street II is clear and reasonably natural-sounding for an under-saddle piezo pickup.
Judicious EQ of the mids permits me to dial in a warm, balanced tones with no piezo ‘quack’. The chromatic tuner, whose display sits just inside the lower rim of the soundhole, tracks well and gives a nice positive reading.
Verdict
Despite its hip vintage vibe, the Shawn Mendes 000-10E feels very much a modern, performer’s guitar and its clear, assertive voice is more ‘festival’ than ‘folk club’.
Despite its hip vintage vibe, the Shawn Mendes 000-10E feels very much a modern, performer’s guitar
GuitarWorld verdict: It’s a fairly-priced guitar with custom-style touches and strong workhorse potential, plus you won’t have to be a fan of Mendes to appreciate its power and utility. A capable performer with a strong, clear voice and modified-vintage vibe.
|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
A tidy, feature-rich build overall. |
★★★★☆ |
|
Playability |
Easy-playing neck profile, supplied setup could use a tweak. |
★★★★☆ |
|
Sounds |
Strong, harmonious voice that projects well. |
★★★★☆ |
|
Overall |
There’s obvious appeal for Mendes fans but anyone will find this a decent buy for an affordable Martin with nice mods. |
★★★★☆ |
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