Jason Isbell, the celebrated Americana guitarist and current owner of Ed King’s famed “Red Eye” 1959 Les Paul Standard, has expert advice to offer players who are buying their first guitar.
Guesting on Matt Sweeney’s Guitar Moves podcast, the six-time Grammy winner says the best investment a new guitar owner can make should happen before leaving the store.
“Spend the 50, 80 or 100 bucks before you leave the music store and let them set it up for you,” he says. “Let them set the action right, make sure the frets are level, make sure it’ll stay in tune.”
He adds that it’s a tip he wishes he received when he was starting his guitar journey. Newbie players have a lot to contend with — from getting their fingers used to the fretboard to learning basic chords and scales and beyond. As such, basic guitar management skills are often overlooked.
That’s understandable. With so much else to learn, it’s unfair to expect new guitarists to be know how to adjust their truss rod with great precision or fix minor intonation issues, just two things that can ruin a budget guitar’s performance.
But unless you’re a player like Keith Urban, who likes a guitar with a bit of fight in it, Isbell understands the benefits of players plying their trade on an instrument set up to be a little more forgiving.
“That is so huge,” he continues. “Because of course you’re not gonna be able to afford an incredible instrument when you’re that age. But if you spend the extra time, the extra money, you get home and you can play it. It makes all the difference in the world.”
In response, Matt Sweeney, best known for his work in Skunk, Chavez and alt-rock supergroup Zwan, notes how players new to electric and acoustic guitars may experience pain in their fingers.
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“The old guys will say, ‘It’s supposed to, you’ll get the calluses,’” he notes.
“You don’t want people to stop playing because it hurts,” Isbell responds. “You don’t wanna quit.”
The podcast and the important talking points it presents for beginner guitarists came shortly after Joe Bonamassa stressed the importance of being selfish in guitar stores. This is particularly valid for new players who, it could be argued, are more likely to buy a guitar based on its reputation rather than for how it performs specifically lfor them.
“Buy the stuff that speaks to you before you buy the stuff that you think is going to impress your friends,” he tells Guitarist.
“My suggestion is — if you’re a collector, a hobbyist or a professional musician — to buy things that make you happy,” he continues. “If you’re sitting on the couch and you can’t stop grabbing a guitar, it doesn’t matter what it says on the headstock. It doesn’t matter how much you paid for it.”
He’s also busted the myth that buying the right amp is a costly endeavor.
Meanwhile, Yvette Young has detailed her biggest case of buyer’s remorse, revealing she bought an instrument while third wheeling on a date.
Isbell grew up on a farm in North Alabama, and benefitted from the musical tutelage of his grandfather and uncle, learning to play multiple instruments by their hands. It was a foundation upon which he built his career.
He came into the possession of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King’s unique “Red Eye” Les Paul after Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville invited him to play some of King’s electric guitars for the store’s YouTube channel. The guitarist passed away in 2018.
“Ed had a beautiful collection of instruments,” Isbell told Guitar Player in 2020. “He didn’t just get good vintage guitars — he got the best versions of pretty much everything.”
The guitar got its “red eye” marking as a result of sunlight bleaching its finish while the guitar sat in a storefront window for an extended period. However, the price tag dangling off the Les Paul’s toggle switch, kept a portion of the guitar out of the sun’s reach. The guitar received a Gibson Murphy Lab’s reissue last year.
