Martin 0-10E Retro Jason Isbell

A characterful Americana workhorse at a sensible price - with a vibey artist tie-in

- JAMIE DICKSON

IF YOU'VE BEEN living in a shack in the woods, you might not be aware that Jason Isbell is one of modern Americana's biggest stars - yet ironically, his signature Martin 0-10E might be just the kind of acoustic guitar for backwoods living.

Isbell's third Martin signature guitar (there's an 0-17 and a D-18 to his name, too) is, Martin tells us, inspired by the 1940 0-17 he used to record his 2025 solo album, Foxes in the Snow. For the uninitiated, the letters in a Martin model name (in this case, a single “O”) denote the body shape and size, while the number after the dash indicates the “Style” — typically the woods used in its construction and level of ornamentation.