Now Available at Northeast Music Center!
C.F. Martin 00-18 Joe Bonamassa Signature artist Edition (s/n: 3084226)! Guitar comes with Martin Hardshell Case!
Some guitars are designed around specifications. Others are designed around a story.
The Martin 00-18 Joe Bonamassa Signature Artist Edition is firmly in the latter category—a remarkable collaboration between C. F. Martin & Co. and one of the world's most celebrated guitar collectors and blues-rock artists, inspired by Joe Bonamassa's treasured pre-war 1937 Martin 00-18.
Handcrafted in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa captures the unmistakable character of Joe's original vintage instrument while delivering the consistency, playability, and craftsmanship of a newly built Martin.
At Northeast Music Center, we have spent decades around exceptional Martin guitars, and this is exactly the type of instrument that reminds us why the great pre-war Martins continue to inspire players and collectors generations later.
The heart of this Artist Edition is Joe's own 1937 00-18—a deeply personal vintage Martin that became the reference point for this collaboration.
Martin recreated its distinctive appearance with a special 1937 Joe Bonamassa Sunburst, including carefully replicated visual top wear inspired by the original guitar. Rather than presenting itself as a pristine interpretation of a vintage design, this guitar arrives with the visual personality of an instrument that already has a story to tell.
Beneath that unmistakable finish is a solid spruce top paired with genuine mahogany back and sides—one of Martin's most enduring tonewood combinations.
The result is everything a great small-bodied mahogany Martin should be: warm and woody through the bass, focused through the midrange, articulate in the trebles, and remarkably responsive to the player's touch.
The vintage influence goes far deeper than appearance.
Martin equips the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa with 1/4" Golden Era scalloped spruce X-bracing and a traditional dovetail neck joint, giving the guitar an open, dynamic response with excellent resonance and sustain.
Its compact 00 14-fret body provides wonderful balance and immediacy, making this an especially expressive instrument for blues, fingerstyle, folk, songwriting, recording, and nuanced flatpicking.
A 24.9" short scale contributes a comfortable, slightly more relaxed feel under the fingers, while the GE Modified Low Oval genuine mahogany neck with Standard Taper offers a playing experience deliberately rooted in Martin tradition.
The appointments beautifully reinforce the guitar's pre-war inspiration.
An ebony fingerboard and Golden Era Modern Belly ebony bridge, bone nut and long bone saddle, Old Style 18 abalone fingerboard inlays, faux tortoise binding and pickguard, nickel open-gear tuners, and a Guatemalan rosewood headplate give the instrument an elegant vintage aesthetic without distracting from its understated 18-style heritage.
Inside, a special label features a pre-printed Joe Bonamassa signature, further identifying this guitar as part of this distinctive Martin Artist Edition collaboration.
Perhaps one of the most compelling parts of this guitar's story came before its official release.
Joe Bonamassa brought an early prototype into the studio and compared it directly with his original 1937 Martin. According to Bonamassa, after hearing the two guitars through a microphone, his producer actually preferred the sound of the new Martin prototype.
That's an extraordinary compliment considering the instrument that inspired it.
The 00-18 Joe Bonamassa isn't intended to replace an irreplaceable pre-war Martin. Instead, it gives today's player an opportunity to experience an instrument conceived around the sound, feel, appearance, and personality of one of Joe Bonamassa's treasured vintage guitars.
At Northeast Music Center, Martin guitars are an important part of who we are. Our proximity to the Martin factory in Nazareth and our years of experience with exceptional Martin instruments allow us to offer our customers something beyond simply placing a guitar in a shipping box.
We understand that someone considering a guitar like the Martin 00-18 Joe Bonamassa Signature Artist Edition isn't merely comparing specifications. They're looking for an instrument with character, provenance, craftsmanship, and a reason to own it.
That's exactly what this Martin delivers.
Whether you're a dedicated Joe Bonamassa fan, a collector of significant Martin Artist Editions, a vintage-guitar enthusiast, or simply a player searching for an exceptional small-bodied mahogany Martin, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa offers something genuinely distinctive.
Northeast Music Center is proud to offer this exciting collaboration between Martin Guitar and Joe Bonamassa—an instrument born from a remarkable 1937 original and handcrafted today just down the road in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
