Jason Isbell might have the strangest tip for breaking in an acoustic guitar we’ve ever heard
Jason Isbell has just unveiled his new collaboration with Martin, a pair of classy acoustic signature guitars. And while promoting the fresh Jason Isbell 0-17 and the 0-10E Retro acoustics, the Americana star has shared some rather unconventional advice on how to break an acoustic guitar in.
Isbell insists that a new acoustic guitar should be introduced to good, loud music before it’s played. His advice? Popping your guitar in front of some speakers and letting your axe soak up all the musical magic. “I recommend putting it in front of a couple of stereo speakers when you leave the house and turn it up really loud,” he says [via MusicRadar].
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His personal preference is treating his guitars to a bit of good ol’ hip-hop. It’s not the only option – but it’s just the kind of music Isbell enjoys. “I normally use OutKast or something, just so when I come home, OutKast is playing on the stereo,” he explains. “It makes me happy! But all my new acoustic guitars get to listen to Outkast for about 40 hours the first week they’re in the house.”
While Isbell doesn’t quite explain the science behind his technique, we can only ponder why he stands by it. Perhaps the loud vibrations loosen the guitar up a bit? Sort of like you pull on a new set of strings before retuning a few times so the tuning sets. Or perhaps it really does just sink right into the mahogany, giving it a thorough lesson on what good music should sound like.
If you’re on the hunt for a new acoustic to trial Isbell’s technique out on, one of the guitarist’s new Martin models might take your fancy. The pair of mahogany guitars come in a more premium Jason Isbell 0-17 model, sitting at $4,999 and limited to just 50 units, while the 0-10E Retro is a slightly more affordable $1,049
The premium Jason Isbell 0-17 also serves as a replica of the pre-war 0-17 guitar heard across the entirety of his 2025 record, Foxes In The Snow. The guitars also both come with onboard Martin E1 acoustic guitar pickup systems, which also have the benefit of an inbuilt guitar tuner.
“If you’re a beginner player, a guitar this size and the shape works for you because it’s easy to play, but the more advanced you get as a guitar player, the guitar still works because it’s easy to control,” Isbell explains.
“A guitar like this meets the artist criteria that the instrument can’t be the challenge…” he continues. “What the guitar should be is an extension of your own physical self, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that you play it well enough to where it feels like you’re tying your shoes, but it can mean that you play it well enough to where you don’t notice it after a while.”
The limited Martin 0-17 Jason Isbell is priced at $4,999, while the 0-10E Retro version comes in at $1,049. Both are available from Martin Guitar in left- or right-handed configurations.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
