A look at Jason Isbellâs epic guitar collection including a Lynyrd Skynyrd holy relic
Here’s how Jason Isbell was able to afford a sunburst 1959 Gibson Les Paul, a vintage electric guitar which can fetch prices of $350,000 to a half-million. Isbell called his manager on the phone and asked her if she could book him some private shows, which are extremely lucrative for well-known musicians like Isbell. “And it just so happened,” Isbell says, “that bitcoin was really taking off, so I wound up at a bunch of weird bitcoin birthday parties and paid for that guitar without having to dip into anybody else’s life.”
Isbell details his ‘59 Les Paul acquisition during a new episode of “The Collection,” an excellent YouTube series by Gibson Guitars. “The Collection” features host Mark Agnesi visiting famous guitarists like Slash, Brian May and Rick Nielsen, who show and talk about their drool-inducing guitar collections.
“‘Bursts,” as sunburst ‘59 Pauls are sometimes referred to, are coveted for their vibrant tone and sustain. They’ve been used on many classic rock recordings, by guitar heroes like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Joe Perry and Keith Richards.
Isbell’s ‘Burst is known as “Redeye.” It formerly belonged to Lynyrd Skynyrd legend Ed King and was put up for sale by King’s family after King died in 2018.
This guitar’s nicknamed is derived from the bear-claw shaped deep red spot next to a part of the guitar’s controls called a pickup selector. The rest of the instrument’s flame-toned top has faded, from being in a store’s display window.
The red spot is where the price tag that hung from the pickup selector. Kind of like a tan line for a guitar.
Isbell calls Redeye “the best guitar I’ve ever played,” adding, “that middle position, that’s the magic thing for me,” referring to a tone setting on Les Pauls.
The Redeye hold extra meaning for Isbell, a lifelong Skynyrd fan who’d long been aware of that guitar. He first held the instrument after being asked to come in and be part of some videos Carter Vintage Guitars were making to promote the sell of King’s former instruments.
“Before I even plugged it in, I just knew,” Isbell says. “I would know the Redeye is a good guitar even if I was stone deaf just because you could feel it vibrating.” He joked, “My wife says I would be sitting out in a tent in the middle of a field with just this guitar and one last can of beans at the end of the world.”
A former Muscle Shoals resident now residing in the Nashville area, Isbell is known for his excellence as a lyricist, as heard on signature tunes like “Cover Me Up” and “24 Frames,” which mix elements of country, folk and rock. But he’s also a devastating guitarist, on display at his concerts, when he and backing band The 400 Unit musically stretch out more.
Artist ranging from Sheryl Crow to Semisonic to Isbell’s wife Amanda Shires have enlisted him to play lead guitar on their own recordings. Before his 2007 debut solo album, “Sirens of the Ditch,” Isbell made a name for himself as a guitarist, singer and songwriter with politically minded Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. This summer, he released his eighth solo album, the well-received “Weathervanes.”
Isbell’s “The Collection” episode was shot in a barn that’s been converted into a rehearsal space on Isbell’s property. A row of stained-glass windows in the design of Isbell’s anchor and dove logo are visible in the background.
When Isbell opens up a blue heavy-duty case to show host Mark Agnesi his ’59 Paul, Agnesi, whose guitar knowledge is vast, is wowed by the 64-year-old guitar’s condition. “I just can’t get over how clean it is. It still has crisp edges,” Agnesi says. A vintage instrument often has signs of wear and tear from decades of being played.
Isbell says the ‘Burst, “kind of saved my ass during the pandemic,” meaning it gave him something to smile about during such a dire time. “I’d just sit on the floor like I was 15,” Isbell says, “and instead of dreaming about having one of these I got to actually have one.”
During Isbell’s “The Collection” ep, he shows Agnesi and discusses 17 of his guitars. These include a 1964 Gibson Firebird III, 1953 Fender Telecaster and a ‘70s Gretsch White Falcon, the latter given to him by his late friend John Prine, the legendary singer/songwriter.
Agnesi also talkswith Isbell about how he originally got into guitars. “I don’t really remember a time when they weren’t around,” Isbell says. “My grandfather and my uncle player, my dad’s brother, and then on my mom’s side my grandmother and my uncle played.”
His grandad was a Pentecostal preacher in Alabama, and their church had “a loud church band.” At home, Isbell’s grandad taught him gospel chords on mandolin at age seven and guitar a couple years later when Isbell’s hands were a little bigger.
Isbell’s grandad would sometimes play slide guitar on his lap using a pocketknife for a slide. This instilled in young Isbell an early appreciation for the blues. Particularly the music of Robert Johnson, the 1930s Black singer who supposed sold his soul to The Devil in exchange for guitar prowess. Johnson’s songs were later covered by white rockers like Cream, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and others.
His blues jones led Isbell to the music of blues-inspired rock musicians like Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. His first electric guitar was an Electra MPC, a budget Les Paul copy. By 12, he’d talked his mom into buying him a Fender Telecaster. Later as a teenager, Isbell would save up money from his Walmart job to buy guitar effects pedals, including a Crybaby wah-wah.
In his “The Collection” video, Isbell explains what he likes about his various guitars with nuance you’d expect from a gifted wordsmith. Of the red 1959 Gretsch Jet Firebird he used to play all the slide guitar on his 2013 breakthrough solo album “Southeastern,” Isbell says, “That bridge pickup is nice and bright, and you can get a lot of expression out of it, especially when you’re playing slide.”
Of his 1946 Gibson J-45 acoustic, Isbell says, “I’m a songwriter and I think this is probably the greatest model of songwriter guitar anybody’s ever made. This is probably the one that I write on most often now. I love this guitar. It came from my [guitar] tech’s chiropractor. He’s got ridiculous stuff.”
In addition to be quite the guitar player and collector, Isbell has also been honored with his own signature model Fender Telecaster, a reproduction of a guitar he often plays live. Given his fondness for Gibson, a Isbell/Gibson collabo seems like a solid bet, too.
As Arnesi puts it during his intro, “Jason is truly one of us. A guitar nerd’s guitar nerd. And with nine Americana Music Awards and four Grammys to his name, he’s got a guitar collection that would make any guitar nerd jealous.”
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