Joe Bonamassa’s second collaboration with Martin is a stunningly accurate recreation of his prized pre-war 1937 00-18
Joe Bonamassa’s got one of the most impressive vintage guitar collections in the biz, so big that it has to be housed at two museum-style locations in Nashville and Los Angeles. And among his collection sits a 1937 Martin 00-18 shade-top…
Now, an instrument of this calibre tends to be out of reach for most guitarists, but thanks to two new Martin Joe Bonamassa signature models directly inspired by that guitar, the idea is a little more in reach than before.
Meet the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa and 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa, two new acoustic guitars that aim to give players the look and feel of the blues maestro’s treasured pre-war 00-18.
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Martin’s second collaboration with Joe Bonamassa – the first being an epic $20k recreation of the guitarist’s 1941 000-45 – the two guitars include a handcrafted model built at Martin’s headquarters in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and a more accessible version made at Martin’s Navojoa, Mexico factory.
Both guitars sport a custom 1937-style sunburst and carefully recreated top wear to give it the feel of an instrument that’s seen decades of use.
In terms of build, the pricier 00-18 Joe Bonamassa pairs a solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides for a “warm, clear and responsive voice”, with a compact 00 body suited to blues, folk and fingerstyle playing. The guitar also features Martin’s Golden Era scalloped X-bracing, a faux tortoise binding, and a Golden Era modified Low Oval neck profile with a standard taper for a vintage feel.
Meanwhile, the more affordable 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa features a solid spruce top, sapele back and sides, scalloped spruce X-bracing, Performing Artist neck and a high-performance taper and Martin E1 electronics with volume, tone and phase controls and a built-in tuner. Martin says Joe Bonamassa road-tested the E1 electronics onstage before approving the final production model.
Both guitars come with a case, the 00-18 Joe Bonamassa a hardshell case and the 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa a softshell.
Credit: Martin
“If you told me when I was a kid that I’d be sitting here in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, with not one, but two signature guitars, I’d be like, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” says Bonamassa.
He also says the sound of the Nazareth-built model stands up to that of his 1937 pre-war original. “When we put the mic in front of it, my producer said, ‘I like that one better,’” he recalls.
Both guitars are available now from Martin.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
