Shawn Mendes's guitars and strings: the Martin signature acoustics
Shawn Mendes is a Martin signature artist. His 000-body and Junior-body signature acoustics, and the Martin phosphor bronze strings that match them.
reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Shawn Mendes is a Canadian singer-songwriter and a Martin signature artist. His signature models are all small-body acoustics: the Junior-size 000JR-10E (2022) and, from 2026, the limited 000-28 Shawn Mendes and the Road Series 000-10E Shawn Mendes. Martin ships these with its own phosphor bronze strings. Mendes's personal gauge is not publicly documented, so a Martin SP or Authentic Acoustic light set is the reference match.
Shawn Mendes is a Canadian singer-songwriter who broke out in 2013 and built a guitar-forward pop catalog on small-body acoustics. For string buyers, what matters is that he is a documented Martin signature artist, so his gear is anchored to a specific, current, affiliate-eligible catalog rather than guesswork.
The signature line
Mendes's first Martin was the 000JR-10E Shawn Mendes, a Junior-size, FSC-certified acoustic-electric released in September 2022. In 2026 Martin expanded the partnership to two full 000-body guitars: a limited 000-28 Shawn Mendes (88 guitars worldwide) and a Road Series 000-10E Shawn Mendes built for a wider range of players. Both trace back to a vintage 1920s Martin he found in a Brooklyn guitar shop.
Strings
Martin does not publish Mendes's personal gauge, so we do not invent one. What is documented: his signature guitars ship with Martin's own phosphor bronze strings, and for a 000-body or Junior-body acoustic the reference set is a phosphor bronze light. The Martin SP Phosphor Bronze Light and the coated Authentic Acoustic SP are the closest catalog matches to a factory-fresh Shawn Mendes signature.
SP Phosphor Bronze Light (.012–.054)
Why this one: The reference phosphor bronze light set for a Martin 000-body acoustic, the factory-fit match for the Shawn Mendes signatures.
This is a starter profile. Documented rig detail will expand as sourced specs are confirmed.