Martin has partnered with Joe Bonamassa for two signature guitars that pay tribute to one of his most prized vintage acoustics.
The 00-18 and 00-10E are both inspired by the blues maestro’s 1937 Martin 00-18 Shade-Top. The release marks Martin’s second collaboration with Bonamassa, after the pair partnered back in 2024 for a meticulous five-figure recreation of his 1941 000-45.
But this time, both a premium and a more accessible model have been released, each offering the same 00 body shape and 1937-style sunburst as Bonamassa’s original.
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What’s more, they’ve both been carefully aged to replicate the top wear of the source material, in a bid to capture “the appearance of an instrument that was spent decades making music.”
Made in the premium Nazareth shop, the 00-18 features a solid spruce top with mahogany beck and sides. There’s Golden Era scalloped X-bracing, faux tortoiseshell binding and a Golden Era Modified Low Oval profile to its mahogany neck.
The more affordable Navojoa-made 00-10E, meanwhile, swaps in sapele back and sides, with scalloped spruce X-bracing and a Performing Artist neck profile. This one also has Martin E1 electronics, with volume, tone and phase controls.
Both models have already been put through the wringer by Bonamassa. The Nazareth model was mic’d up in the studio, and apparently JoBo’s producer preferred the prototype to the original.
More impressively, the cheaper model was played on stage when Bonamassa had a gig with a fellow guitar legend.
(Image credit: Martin)
“I couldn’t believe it when I first saw the one that came out of Nazareth and the lower end model, which is really great too because it has electronics,” he says.
“And the electronics sounded great. The first time I tested it, I had this gig in New York with Slash, and we were doing an acoustic opener.
“I didn’t have an acoustic guitar at my house with a pickup, but Martin had just sent over these two. I was like, ‘Oh cool, it’s got a pickup’, and I plugged it in. I was like, ‘Great!’”
The 00-18 and 00-10E are available now for $3,999 and $1,299, respectively.
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