ACOUSTIC: LIMITED EDITION SERIES

Martin's Guitar of the Month/Year program was popular, but by the mid-1990s, they realized that it wasn't enough (or at times it wasn't often enough) to release custom guitars each month. Martin decided to introduce a new line called the Limited Edition Series that included guitars that were built specifically for someone, a special event, or a significant era and have a set number of instruments produced or a limited ordering period where the quantity is set afterwards. Eric Clapton pioneered the Limited Edition Series with his signature 000-42EC in 1995. Martin now introduces their Limited Edition Series guitars typically twice a year at each NAMM show (Winter and Summer) and they highlight them in their semi-annual publication called The Sounding Board.
Currently, over 150 guitars have been released in Martin's Limited Edition Series and the list is very extensive. Rather than list every model in one giant category, we have broken them out into separate sub-categories for ease of searching. Models are alphabetized by their model number rather than the person, event, or era the guitar was built for. For instance, the D-42 Peter Frampton is listed under "D" instead of "P" or "F." Numbered models are also featured first followed by all letter prefix models. In most model descriptions, the production total is listed as well as the year of manufacture. Keep in mind that the production totals are taken from Martin's records and actual production totals may be different from what is listed. The year of manufacture is also taken from Martin's price list and the years when the respective guitar was offered. Many times, Martin has introduced a Limited Edition guitar at a NAMM show, they sell out of the run during the show, and production of these guitars do not start until several weeks if not months after the show. It is entirely possible to find a Limited Edition Martin that was produced after the years listed in the model descriptions.