Bonamassa 00-18 Review: Martin's Printed Top Isn't What You Think

The Bonamassa 00-18 is Martin's second signature guitar with Joe Bonamassa, and it's built on one of his own guitars: a 1937 00-18 from his collection, scanned, worn and all, and reproduced on a production 00. The first Bonamassa model was an OM-45, a guitar very few people were ever going to own. This one has a mahogany body, a $3,999.99 price, and a Road Series sister, the 00-10E Retro, at $1,299.99. John and Jeremy sat down with both on camera, and John's verdict was that the Bonamassa 00-18 is "for more people than the other one was."

The sticking point for a lot of players is two words: printed top. Here's what that means, what John likes about the guitar, and the two things he'd push back on.

What is the printed top on the Bonamassa 00-18?

Martin took one of Joe's actual guitars, scanned it, and recreated its wear and tear on the new top using the Mimaki printing system. It's the same process Martin has used to recreate famous old instruments, including, as John mentioned, Kurt Cobain's guitar. The point is repeatability: the look of a specific 1937 guitar, on every guitar in the run.

John thinks the backlash comes mostly from the name.

"I think the mistake was calling it a printed top. That was where people started to really get freaked out. It's not painted. It literally just has pigment in the finish."

So nothing is sitting on top of the spruce like a decal. The color and the wear pattern are in the finish itself. On the Bonamassa 00-18 that finish is gloss over the top, and John liked it best that way. He also said the satin version on the 00-10E "still looks absolutely fantastic," and that Martin is getting better at making these look and feel authentic with each run.

Watch the review

• The printed-top question starts at 3:27.
• Who the guitar is for starts at 4:48.
• John's honest critique starts at 10:02.

Bonamassa 00-18 specs, and what each one does for you

Specs below come from our Shopify listing for the Martin 00-18 Joe Bonamassa (item code 100018JOEBONAMASSA), not from the video captions.

• 00 body, 14 frets clear, 24.9" scale. A small body with a short scale means lower string tension than a dreadnought, so bends and fingerstyle work take less effort.
• Spruce top in the 1937 Joe Bonamassa Sunburst, gloss finish. This is the shade top John says isn't available on any other 00-18 right now.
• Genuine mahogany back, sides and neck. The 18-style recipe, the same wood pairing the 00-18 name has always meant.
• Golden Era scalloped X-bracing. John called out the forward-shifted Golden Era bracing as something a standard 00-18 doesn't have.
• GE Modified Low Oval neck, satin finish, 1 3/4" bone nut. The 1 3/4" nut gives your fretting hand more room between strings than a narrower modern nut. John called the neck "a very, very great player profile."
• Ebony fingerboard and bridge, Old Style 18 inlays, bone saddle. John points out the slot-through saddle, which he says you'd otherwise only get from the custom shop.
• Nickel open-gear tuners, faux tortoise binding and pickguard, hardshell case, no electronics.

Who is the Bonamassa 00-18 for?

Jeremy asked the obvious question first, and John gave the obvious answer first: a signature guitar is always going to sell to that artist's fans. Then he went further. For John, the Bonamassa 00-18 is for the player who wants the experience of a pre-war guitar, in look and in feel, and who will never spend $75,000 or $100,000 on the vintage original.

His argument is that the look changes how you play. He compared it to the blind bourbon tastings he's been watching, where experts who know a whiskey inside and out still guess wrong without the label in front of them. What you know about an instrument, and what you see when you look down at it, shapes how it feels to you.

John also brought up the violin world, where most high-end new violins are antiqued on purpose. A serious player, even at the college orchestra level, often doesn't want a violin that looks new, because they can't connect with it the way they can with an old instrument. Those players aren't faking anything. That look simply appeals to a certain person, and John is one of those people when it comes to guitars.

Who should look elsewhere: if you want a pickup, the Bonamassa 00-18 has none. If you want a bigger voice for flatpicking in a band, a dreadnought is the better tool, and our dreadnought guitars are the place to start.

What sets it apart from a standard Martin 00-18

When Jeremy asked for the X factor, John listed what the standard 00-18 doesn't give you:

1. The forward-shifted Golden Era bracing.
2. The shade top with the 1930s wear, which isn't offered on any other 18 right now.
3. The slot-through saddle, which otherwise means a custom shop order.
4. A limited edition run.

"You're really actually getting something that is just plain not available in that price point," John said. There isn't another 00-18 in a burst with this set of features in Martin's line.

Bonamassa 00-18 vs the 00-10E Retro

The 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa takes the same 1937 look to Martin's Road Series. It's the "fraction of the cost" option John and Jeremy kept coming back to. The two are built very differently, though:

Both have the 00-14 fret body, 24.9" scale, 1 3/4" nut, ebony fingerboard and bridge, and Old Style 18 inlays. The 00-10E is the one to plug in. The Bonamassa 00-18 is the one with the mahogany, the Golden Era bracing and the hardshell case. If you've weighed Martin's Road Series against the more expensive lines before, our Martin X Series vs Road Series comparison covers how that platform is built.

Martin did the same thing with Jason Isbell, pairing a Road Series Retro model with a higher-end guitar. Our Jason Isbell 0-10E Retro and 0-17 post walks through that pair.

The honest critique

John had two complaints, and he owned both of them.

The faux wear. Some players won't get past a guitar that came from the factory looking played. John put it plainly: some people feel they have to earn every scratch themselves, "and that's fair." He isn't one of them.

"I love the fact that I know I could play this guitar on stage and people would think it is the real deal."

The price gap. John's second point is about money. Because the Bonamassa 00-18 is a signed special edition, it runs about $1,000 more than a standard 00-18, by his count in the video. He still thinks it sits where most people would expect for the extra features, and below what a custom shop version would cost. But he said he wished the gap between the standard 00-18 and the signature model were smaller.

Our verdict on the Bonamassa 00-18

Jeremy closed it out. Joe is one of the most committed vintage gear collectors on the planet, and on this one "he didn't just slap his name on a headplate." He brought a 1937 00-18 back for working musicians, at a price they can afford, in two versions you can take out on a gig night.

Buy the Bonamassa 00-18 if you want the pre-war 18 recipe and that 1930s look without paying for a vintage original or a custom shop build. Pick the 00-10E Retro if you need a pickup and want the look for a third of the money. Skip both if aged finishes bother you. John says that's a fair position, and no spec sheet will talk you out of it.

Every guitar we ship gets the 23-Point Professional Inspection on our bench before it goes in the box.

Both Bonamassa models qualify for the Dread-Not Guarantee: a 1-year 90% trade-in credit (pre-tax, less round-trip shipping), a 30-day in-home trial, the inspection, and a humidity kit.

Related reading

• Martin D-28 Billy Strings: Signature Dreadnought
• Jeff Tweedy Martin Guitar: A Sustainable Signature Statement
• The Most Influential Guitars in Martin Guitar History

Play one at The Acoustic Shoppe

We have the Martin 00-18 Joe Bonamassa #4231 in stock, photographed by us, at $3,999.99. The 00-10E Retro Joe Bonamassa is sold out right now, so ask us about ordering one. You can also browse every 00 guitar we have, our full Martin collection, or every guitar in stock. For what else Martin brought out this fall, our Martin Fretboard Summit 2026 post covers the custom shop builds.