Shop Keyboard Deals, Financing, and More

Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar - Ambertone

6-string Acoustic Guitar with Spruce Top, Mahogany Back and Sides, Hardwood Neck, and Ebony Fingerboard - Ambertone
Building your custom Guitar Gallery
$2,999.00

Or pay $499.83 for 6 months with Easy Pay

See all payment options
In Stock!

(Hurry, limited quantity available)

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Certified Fit Cases

No more guesswork! These cases are hand-tested and guaranteed to fit your guitar. See how we do it

Certified Fit Cases

Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar - Ambertone
In Stock!
$2,999.00
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

The Definitive Acoustic Guitar Tone

A bona fide piece of history, the classic Martin D-18 acoustic guitar will take you back to the days when acoustic guitars were king, and players depended upon rich tone and acoustic projection alone to convey their songs. Pick up Martin's absolutely amazing D-18 and you'll be captivated by its big, full tonality, its beautiful sonic detail, and its vintage-tinged looks. The D-18 gives you the classic Martin guitar experience, with a dreadnought body, a 14-fret design, and beautiful tonality to match its looks. Its solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides provide the foundation for a stunning sound. Ask your Sweetwater Sales Engineer - Martin D-18 acoustic guitars sound better as they age!

Martin guitars deliver that "just right" acoustic tone

Ask anyone who knows their bluegrass why the Martin D-18 has been a top choice for serious performers. It's because the D-18's iconic tone sits "just right", cutting through and holding its own without overbearing other instruments. Whether you're playing solo, or in a full bluegrass jam, your D-18's rich tone will always be heard without fighting with vocals, or covering up the low-end impact from the bass player.

Balanced tone sits great in any mix

The Martin D-18's "just right" tonality is just as useful in your studio as it is on stage. Just ask any recording engineer that's been in the business for a couple decades: the D-18 has an uncanny ability to set itself into any mix nicely, with a minimum of processing. Sure, that jumbo-body rosewood guitar looks great, but you'll be rolling off low frequencies and carefully adjusting compressors to prevent it from getting too boomy or indistinct in the final mix. Just grab your Martin D-18, point your favorite small-diaphragm condenser mic at the 12th fret, and you've got a sound that practically mixes itself.

The Martin D-18 is part of modern music's history

You've already heard the sweet sound of the Martin D-18 more times than you probably realize. That's because it was the choice guitar of legends such as Clarence White, Elvis Presley, and many more. Even Andy Griffith played one on The Andy Griffith Show. The Martin D-18 is a perfect example of an instrument that became iconic purely based on its tone and craftsmanship.

Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar Features:

  • An iconic piece of Martin guitar history, with a focused tone that sits well with a wide variety of instruments
  • Solid spruce top for amazing projection and great note definition
  • Mahogany back and sides for a well-balanced tonal range
  • Focused low frequency response that sounds tight, never boomy

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

Additional Media

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • String Type: Steel
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Body Shape: Dreadnought 14-Fret
  • Body Style: No Cutaway
  • Back & Sides Wood: Solid Genuine Mahogany
  • Top Wood: Spruce
  • Color: Ambertone
  • Body Bracing: Standard X-scalloped, Forward Shifted
  • Binding: Tortoise Color
  • Neck Wood: Select Hardwood
  • Neck Shape: Modified Low Oval Profile w/ Performing Artist Taper
  • Radius: 16"
  • Fingerboard Material: Solid Black Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Old Style 18
  • Number of Frets: 20
  • Scale Length: 25.4"
  • Nut Width: 1.75"
  • Nut/Saddle Material: Bone
  • Bridge Material: Solid Black Ebony
  • Tuning Machines: Nickel Open-geared w/ Butterbean Knobs
  • Strings: Lifespan 2.0 92/8 Phosphor Bronse, .013-.056
  • Case/Gig Bag: Hardshell Case
  • Body Length: 20"
  • Body Width: 15.625"
  • Body Depth: 4.875"
  • Overall Length: 40.5"
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 10D18AMBERTONE

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

Write your review
Rated 5/5

Just wow

Not much to say other than wow. The tone, build quality and playability is superb. This sits next to my D15m and will be played for years to come.
Rated 5/5

Santa Came Late

After many years of hobby-level playing I finally added a Martin to my small collection. Ordered the D-18 Ambertone shortly after Christmas and she arrived on-time and well-packed as expected. She is a looker and the fit and finish are immaculate as is that of the guitar case. Added the Boveda packs to control humidity in the case along with a Music Nomad Temp/Humidity gauge.

Sounds like she looks which is pretty sweet. Definitely a difference from my 1982 AY which is also mahogany, which you should hear with such a price difference. Very satisfied with the guitar and Sweetwater's service.
Music background: hobby
Rated 5/5

what a beautiful Guitar~!

.
beautiful features, beautiful sound. beautiful partner.
I'm so happy with it.
thank you sweetwater.
Rated 4/5

It's what you would expect after playing for 25 years

It's a good guitar. By that, I mean it sounds great. It plays great. It looks good. It's expensive. So I am rating this a 4 star based purely on value. I really love the sound. I am not fond of the price point. I've been playing a long time. I've played a lot of guitars. This is the most expensive guitar I have ever purchased, but I"m 40 with disposable income. I am the target market for Martin guitar. But it is exactly what I want and what I expect at this point. Capitalism at it's finest.

No major complaints although I received the guitar with a pretty obvious blemish on the back of the body. It's a couple of inches in length and very obvious in the light (picture attached). It looks like the poly finish was disturbed during the drying process. So maybe Sweetwater's 55 point inspection needs a to move to a 56 point inspection. Check the body for really obvious blemishes and possibly adjust the price. I buy scratch and dent items all the time, but paying full price for this guitar and seeing an obvious aesthetic blemish is a little frustrating. But I did not return the guitar or even contact Sweetwater (which I'm sure would offer an exchange). I kept it because it sounds great, and it plays great. That is the most important aspect for me. And it looks great (looking at the front side). So let's be honest. There is no reason to return it. And I plan on keeping this guitar for decades and imparting my own blemishes over time.

I went back and forth between the Natural and Ambertone finish. And since the Ambertone finish is a strong competitor with the D28 natural in price, I wrestled with that one too. All in all, I'm happy. The tone difference between the D28 and D18 is there when viewing comparison videos, but it's subtle and not a question of "better". I played both models at different stores and loved both. The natural look is not super appealing to me so...again, I'm happy with the Ambertone.

So if you want a great guitar, it's a safe bet. But you will be able to find excellent guitars at a fraction of the price. Also I purchased a 000-15 a few months ago and returned it. Relatively, the D18 is much louder and with the 1.75" nut, finger picking is easier especially with larger hands. Play-ability is slightly improved with the D18. See my review on the 000-15 Streetmaster on Sweetwater. I loved the look of the Streetmaster 000-15 (wow), but I love the sound of the D18 better.

Cheers
Music background: Records in the bedroom
Rated 5/5

Ambertone Crazy!

So, after trying out a Larivee D-05E, I decided to go with a Martin D18 Ambertone. My main acoustic is a Custom Shop Martin D28E. I wanted a dreadnaught with a mahogany body. After getting the usual great customer service from Sweetwater the guitar showed up a few days later. Visually, it's a beautiful instrument. Love, love, love the Ambertone burst. Plays great. Sounds great. I installed an LR Baggs HiFi pickup and it sounds great plugged in as well. The only thing I would think of doing differently, would have been an 1 11/16" nut instead of the 1 3/4" nut. But this time around, I didn't want to spend Custom Shop money. Other than that, I'm loving this thing!
Music background: Former long time full timer, weekend warrior.
Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!