This is how it can be said that they are the exact same guitars, with a different name on the headstock.Īccording to published sources shared on the AMI website (and cited above), in 2017 alone AMI sold 40,000 guitars in more than 50 countries, with a very favorable response from players, dealers, and industry professionals. However, in the United States, trademark restrictions stopped them from selling their guitars under the Sigma brand name, which is why they bear the AMI name when they are sold in the United States. The result has been an incredible surge in popularity as the Sigma brand has seen impressive growth in sales worldwide. Once that was completed, they enlisted the services of the Cort factory to make a new version of an old name.” Martin for years and they made a decision to no longer offer that brand.When that happened, AMI decided to purchase the trademark rights in Europe for the brand Sigma. “First and foremost, it’s important for folks to understand that Sigma had been a brand offered by C.F. The reason for this is explained in an article posted on AMI’s website : In 2011, when AMI reignited the Sigma brand, they were not able to sell Sigma guitars in the United States due to trademark issues. The Sigma brand, a subsidiary of Martin (the way Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson) manufactured guitars in Japan to CF Martin specs, but because of the lower production costs, they were able to compete with the lawsuit guitar manufacturers on price. Martin had started the Sigma brand in 1970 as a response to the ‘lawsuit era’ when guitar manufacturers from Asia were marketing convincing look-alike guitars at rock-bottom prices. The AMI company distributed Martin Guitars - yes the Martin guitars we all know and love - in Germany. In October of 2018, when asked for the difference between a Sigma guitar sold in Europe and an AMI guitar sold in the United States, a representative from AMI Guitars replied, “Same guitar - different name, or as I like to say, AMI is a new brand, but not a new guitar.”ĪMI, or Acoustic Musical Instruments, Gmbh, started out in 1984 as a distributor of acoustic instruments rather than as a manufacturer.
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