Funny story; a guy brings me a pretty nice '70 D-18 last week for some fretwork and setup. He just got it... it's been in a closet for decades. Anyway, my new client here collects guitars, and in the course of conversation this oddball thing came up. It's still here. We've both been watching it, wondering the same thing, because neither of us ever saw or heard of a Sigma branded EM-18 "kit guitar".


I'm sticking with the guess they were leftover parts from the discontinued line. I love the weirdness, but it just isn't worth five bills for another guitar I won't likely play.

SIGMA is alive and well as an EU-based corporation that essentially migrated the brand to Europe after Martin discontined marketing them under the Martin business in the early 2000's.  Here's a quick history from Gunther Lutz, the principal at AMI who's also the German Martin distributor:

https://www.sigma-guitars.com/support/interview-gunther-lutz-50th-sigma-anniversary/

The SIGMA website:

https://www.sigma-guitars.com/

. . . and their BMC mahogany box geetar bass:

https://www.sigma-guitars.com/

No doubt as part of their arrangements with CF Martin, you do NOT see these often on this side of the Atlantic.  They list NO US distributor but do show Coast Music in Montreal as the Canadian distributor.

I worked retail at a Martin dealer in the 80's and remember most of the Sigmas as VERY nice guitars.