At last week’s Summer NAMM show in Nashville, Tennessee, Martin debuted several new guitars including the Jason Isbell D-18. Watch above as Isbell — a Grammy-winning and chart-topping country star — talks about his thinking behind the signature model, which he closely developed with Martin.
“[It] reflects the kind of music that I make. You can’t really sing workingman’s music with a guitar that’s got diamonds all over it,” Isbell says.
Closely modeled after the D-18 from the Golden Era series, the new Jason Isbell D-18 features vintage tone system Adirondack spruce top with mahogany back and sides, a rear-shifted X-brace, ebony fingerboard on an “Authentic 1939” shaped mahogany neck, and Fishman Infinity Matrix electronics. The fingerboard inlay is a copy of one of Jason’s tattoos. List price is $5,999.