Eric Clapton’s 1992 set for MTV Unplugged was one of the all-time great moments in acoustic guitar.
Rearranging his most-famous tracks, performing them on a pre-war Martin guitar, Clapton’s session would shift 26 million copies, pick up three Grammys and ultimately would become a seminal moment for the guitar brand.
It planted the seed for collaboration. Just three years later, Clapton and Martin teamed up for his first signature guitar, based on the vintage 1939 000-42 he played on Unplugged. The rest is history.
Now, Martin is celebrating that history, marking the 30th anniversary of its first Clapton signature models with a pair of Golden Era-inspired acoustics, the 000-EC and 000-42EC 30th Anniversary models.
Officially unveiled on Sunday, 30 March, to coincide with Clapton’s 80th birthday (many happy returns, Slowhand) these high-end acoustic guitars will surely soon be collector’s items. Martin is only making 300 of the 000-42EC 30th Anniversary. The more affordable but still super high-end 000-EC 30th Anniversary will be available until March 2026.
Both share the 000-14th fret body and the same dimensions as Clapton’s pre-war model. There’s the Authentic 1939 neck shape and the 1.69” nut width, the 24.9” scale length. But there are some fundamental differences.
Those with a five-figure guitar budget might want to first check out the 000-42EC 30th Anniversary before they’re all gone. Its $10,999 price tag is eye-watering but the spec would bring you to tears, too.
Here we have all the good stuff; solid Guatemalan rosewood on the back and sides, Adirondack spruce on top. Martin has given a lick of vintage gloss over Antique Toner, letting the wood – and those decorative abalone flourishes on the binding and the rosette do the talking.
That spruce top has scalloped X-pattern bracing just like they did in the Golden Era. This guitar is very easy on the eye. The twinkle of GE 42 Snowflake inlays in abalone on an ebony fingerboard is total class.
But as Martin says, this guitar’s true charm lies in how it plays and how it sounds, and it is designed to accommodate many different styles. “The scalloped Adirondack spruce Golden Era-inspired bracing enhances resonance and projection, ensuring this guitar fills any room with an unmistakably full-bodied sound,” says Martin.
Appropriately, these guitars leave the Martin factory strung with his signature acoustic guitar strings, Clapton’s Choice 12-54 phosphor bronze – and an extra set in the premium, embroidered Harptone guitar case the guitar ships with.
Each of the 000-42EC 30th Anniversary models has a hand-signed paper label, and there’s a certificate of authenticity too.
Now, if your budget does not extend that far, then the marginally less decorative 000-EC 30th Anniversary might be a better bet. At $4,999, however, it is hardly a runaround acoustic. This is serious stuff. The core recipe – its feel and its tone – is similar.
The mahogany neck joins the body with the compound dovetail joint, the X-bracing is scalloped, and so forth. But this has East Indian rosewood on the back and sides, with a solid spruce top, and Clapton’s signature is pre-printed on the label.
We have a regular gloss finish instead of the vintage tint, and the herringbone trim instead of abalone. Some might actually prefer that look. And besides, you still get a COA inside the case, and each guitar is numbered in sequence. Either way, these are special guitars for a special player. For more details, head over to Martin.
These Martins come hot on the heels of the Gibson Custom Shop's Murphy Lab replica of Clapton's “Disraeli Gears” 1958 Les Paul Custom, which was later owned by Albert Lee. It's really two signature guitars in one, and you'll find both Lee and Clapton's signatures on the electric guitar's second pickguard.
