From the Factory, Players | July 9, 2026
“They Have Songs in Them”: Inside Shawn Mendes’ New Martin Signature Guitars
Inspired by a vintage 1920s Martin, the new 000-28 Shawn Mendes and 000-10E Shawn Mendes bring his songwriting style to two distinct models.
Some guitars feel like time machines.
You play one chord, and suddenly you're in a different decade—wood warmed by years, notes that bloom like they’ve already lived a few lives, and a vibe that makes you want to write something instead of just practice scales.
That’s the world Shawn Mendes keeps coming back to.
Shawn has spent years reaching for a small-bodied Martin from the 1920s, drawn to its intimate feel and distinctive vintage details: a pyramid bridge, uniquely shaped pickguard, and slotted-headstock silhouette. For him, smaller guitars create a different kind of connection.
“They feel like, when I’m writing, it’s a little bit more of an intimate relationship,” Shawn says.
Now, that vintage inspiration has taken shape in two new Martin signature models: the 000-28 Shawn Mendes and the 000-10E Shawn Mendes—each offering a different way to experience Shawn’s sound, style, and creative approach.
Same songwriting spirit. Two different paths.
Shawn Mendes, the Acoustic Guitar, and the “Songs in It” Feeling
Shawn has built a career on songs that feel personal even when you’re hearing them in a crowd—intimate melodies, honest lyrics, and choruses that can hold an entire season of someone’s life.
He’s also—very plainly—an acoustic guitar person.
The kind of artist who can begin in a room with nothing but a guitar and a half-finished idea, then chase the feeling until it becomes a song. From quiet studio performances to massive stages, the acoustic guitar remains central to how he creates and connects.
“Martin guitars are my first go-to guitar to pick up when I’m making a song,” Shawn says. “I have so much trust in their guitars.”
That trust comes from more than tone alone. It’s also about how an instrument responds to wherever the song needs to go.
“Martin guitars are great for a singer-songwriter because you can take them to ten, or they can sit with you at two,” he says. “They’re really a companion for a singer-songwriter.”
The right guitar doesn’t just sound good. It encourages you to stay with an idea, follow it somewhere unexpected, and keep playing until the song reveals itself.
As Shawn puts it: “They feel like they have a story in them. They feel like they have songs in them.”
That’s exactly what these two new models are designed to offer: Shawn’s vintage inspiration translated into guitars players can live with—onstage, in the studio, at home, or wherever inspiration strikes.
The Origin Story: One 1920s-Style Martin, Two New Signatures
The story began with a small vintage Martin Shawn discovered in a guitar shop.
“There was this little vintage Martin from the 1920s in a beautiful guitar shop in Brooklyn,” he recalls. “I think it was just the shape of the body of the guitar. It had a great pickguard, which inspired this [signature] guitar. And I’m always drawn toward old little guitars.”
Its comfortable body shape and unmistakable visual details quickly made an impression. Martin later built Shawn an ornate, pearl-appointed stage guitar inspired by that vintage instrument—one he could use onstage while carrying forward the character of the guitar he played and recorded with.
Now, that idea reaches players in two different forms:
- 000-28 Shawn Mendes: A limited Style 28 interpretation that channels the vintage elegance of Shawn’s stage guitar with more understated appointments.
- 000-10E Shawn Mendes: A Road Series version built to bring Shawn’s preferred shape, style, and versatility to more players.
Offering both was important to Shawn from the beginning.
“It’s super important to me to have more than one option—a more accessible guitar for people and one that is closer to the thing that I play onstage,” he says. “Having both options felt like the wisest thing to do.”
Two guitars, same thread: heritage that doesn’t feel stuck in the past.
Watch: Made for the Song—Shawn Mendes & His Signature Martins
In the official launch video below, Shawn shares the story of the vintage Martin that inspired his two new signature models, explains why small-bodied guitars play such an important role in his songwriting, and performs “Rollin’ Right Along”—a song written and recorded with the original vintage guitar.
He also reflects on his long relationship with Martin, the personal meaning behind the custom eagle inlay, and what it means to know that other players may begin their own creative journeys with one of his signature guitars.
The 000-28 Shawn Mendes: A Limited-Edition Love Letter to Vintage Style
If you want the version that feels like it belongs in both a studio and a display case—but still begs to be played—this is it.
The 000-28 Shawn Mendes takes the inspiration of Shawn’s 1920s Martin and wraps it in classic Style 28 DNA: solid East Indian rosewood back and sides, a solid spruce top, bold herringbone trim, and the rich, balanced response that makes the 000 such a natural songwriting companion.
And then it goes a step further:
- Golden Era (GE) scalloped X-bracing—the same style featured on the Modern Deluxe Series—for a lively, dynamic top response.
- A slotted headstock with gold Waverly® side-mount tuners for vintage elegance and modern precision.
- Shawn’s custom eagle fingerboard inlay in mother-of-pearl.
- A modern pyramid-style ebony bridge and a distinctive faux tortoise pickguard inspired by his original vintage Martin.
- A comfortable 24.9-inch scale and GE Modified Low Oval neck with high-performance taper.
- A worldwide production limit of only 88 guitars, each featuring a numbered interior label signed by Shawn and accompanied by a molded hardshell case.
The eagle inlay is especially personal. Shawn immediately imagined the artwork on a guitar when he first saw it, and the same eagle is also tattooed on his body.
“To me, the eagle represented the beginning of a new season in life,” he says. “A season of freedom and change and soaring and just liberation.”
This is the one you keep forever, write something special on, and someday hand down.
Quick vibe check: Who is it for?
- Players who love the look and feel of vintage Martins but want the reliability of a newly built instrument.
- Songwriters seeking rich overtones, articulation, and dynamic response in a comfortable body size.
- Fans and collectors looking for something connected to Shawn that is truly limited—only 88 exist worldwide.
The 000-10E Shawn Mendes: Shawn’s Style, Road Series Ready, Built with FSC-Certified Tonewoods
The 000-10E Shawn Mendes is the one you grab when you want Shawn’s signature aesthetic and creative versatility in a guitar built to go everywhere—practice room, couch, gig, session, repeat.
It features the comfortable 000 14-fret body size Shawn has played for years, pairing solid FSC-certified sapele back and sides with a solid FSC-certified spruce top. The result is a warm, balanced, and responsive voice suited to strumming, fingerstyle, writing, and recording.
“It’s the more accessible version of the two guitars,” Shawn says. "But it plays so beautifully, so luxuriously, and it sounds really, really nice.”
Its features include:
- All-solid FSC-certified tonewoods, including the top, back, sides, bracing, fingerboard, and bridge.
- A Performing Artist neck with high-performance taper for modern comfort and smooth playability.
- Shawn’s subtle custom eagle inlay made from FSC-certified sapele.
- A uniquely shaped faux tortoise pickguard inspired by his vintage Martin.
- The first Road Series straightline pyramid bridge—a vintage-inspired detail that contributes to its direct, focused voice.
- Martin E1 electronics with a built-in tuner, plus a softshell case.
For Shawn, the guitar also reflects the range he wants from an instrument—and the different sides of who he is as an artist.
“I often get confused about whether I’m the artist who’s playing a big stadium and soaring through the sky or the artist who is in a little room playing a little song with a guitar,” he says. “I often come to the answer that I’m both of those things.”
That versatility matters during the songwriting process, where a guitar may need to support everything from quiet, vulnerable fingerpicking to open, powerful strumming.
“It doesn’t ask you to be one thing,” Shawn says.
This is the model built for everyday playing—comfortable enough for writing at home, versatile enough for rehearsal, and ready to plug in when it’s time to perform.
Quick vibe check: Who is it for?
- Players who want Shawn’s signature style in a more accessible, everyday instrument.
- Anyone seeking an acoustic guitar made entirely with all-solid FSC-certified tonewoods.
- Gigging singer-songwriters who want plug-and-play convenience without sacrificing feel.
- Players looking for a versatile 000 that can move comfortably between fingerpicking, strumming, writing, recording, and performance.
A Quick Nod to Shawn’s First Martin Signature
Back in 2022, Shawn’s first Martin signature model—the 000JR-10E Shawn Mendes—placed a major focus on sustainability and personal storytelling through its materials and details.
That model is now retired, and this new chapter expands the idea in a bigger way: two full-size 000s, two distinct experiences, both rooted in the same vintage spark.
The partnership also carries personal significance for Shawn. As a young player, one of the instruments that inspired his own journey was an Ed Sheeran signature Martin.
“I remember when I first got my Ed Sheeran Martin guitar when I was younger, and I started writing songs on that,” Shawn says. “I was inspired to play like him and to learn how to play like him.”
Now, his own signature guitars may become that kind of starting point for someone else.
“It’s a really meaningful step on the path of your artistry to learn and walk through other people’s artistries,” he says.
Giving Back
With the release of the 000-10E Shawn Mendes and the 000-28 Shawn Mendes, Martin Guitar is proud to support the Shawn Mendes Foundation and its mission to amplify, empower, and uplift youth changemakers, their organizations, and their work.
The Shawn Mendes Foundation is a sponsored program of the Social Impact Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
One Inspiration, Two Guitars, Endless Songs
If you’ve ever picked up a guitar and felt like it pulled a song out of you faster than usual, you understand what Shawn means.
That “songs in it” feeling may seem like magic, but it begins with design, comfort, tone, and the little details that make you want to keep playing for five more minutes—which becomes an hour, which becomes a new verse, chorus, or complete song.
“When you’re inspired, you play better,” Shawn says. “When you play better, it’s this upward spiral of goodness.”
Whether you choose the limited 000-28 with its vintage elegance and heirloom build, or the Road Series 000-10E with its sustainable foundation and stage-ready ease, these guitars were created to meet players wherever their music takes them.
Explore the 000-28 Shawn Mendes.
Explore the 000-10E Shawn Mendes.
Find a Martin dealer near you.
Until next time, happy playing!
