Jason Isbell says guitarists who hold a bias against Mexican guitars are missing out on quality gear.
The Americana guitar star has worked with two of America’s biggest guitar-building institutions, Fender and Martin, which also have factories south of the border. While many guitarists believe American-made electric and acoustic guitars are far superior to their more affordable Mexican cousins, Isbell says players shouldn’t be so quick to judge.
His words come from a recent Guitar.com interview about his two new releases with Martin: the U.S.-made 0-17 and the Mexican-made 0-10E, both of which are based on his pre-war Martin acoustic.
“I think people pay for their biases sometimes,” he says. “Not necessarily with Martin but with a lot of companies. I think people will pay more to reinforce the incorrect opinions that they already have.”
The cost difference can be substantial. Consider Fender guitars: American-made models can cost up to twice as much as Mexican models, which can be priced lower due to the reduced labor costs and use of less expensive parts and materials.
While many guitarists see a big divide in quality between the two, Isbell says it's not necessarily so. As an example, he points to his two new Martin acoustics: the premium 0-17, which costs $4,999, and the wallet-friendly, Mexico-made 0-10E, at $1,049.
“I could take this Mexican-made version out and play it on tour, and nobody would know the difference,” he says. “I don’t think anybody could have done a better job on a guitar at that price point at making it reminiscent of the pre-war Martin, for sure. It definitely has that vibe to it.”
Then, of course, there are the people who believe the price of a guitar doesn’t directly correlate to quality, like the guitarist who played a $40 Harley Benton Strat every night of a 113-date arena tour. And as Guitar Player has proven, you can get a lot of bang for 500 of your bucks, or less.
Isbell's 2021 Fender collab, which released the four-star-rated Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster, is another fine example of a high-quality instrument from Mexico. And he pushed Fender hard on it, too.
“Fender did a great job on that guitar,” Isbell says. “I think it was the first double-bound Tele that they had made in the factory, and they knocked it out of the park.”
“It’s great that Fender is still coming up with ways to improve one of the greatest electric guitars ever made,” GP said of the axe. “The fact that the Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster is priced within reach of working players should make Isbell feel pretty stoked about his new signature Tele.”
Isbell's words about Mexican-made guitars take on extra import when you remember that he's a connoisseur of fine instruments. He went to extreme lengths to buy Ed King’s infamous “Red Eye” Les Paul. But that shows how value can be found at both extremes of the scale.
Elsewhere, the Tim Shaw-voiced pickups in Isbell's Tele have now been launched in their own right, and the guitarist has offered some important buying advice for newbie players to make learning easier.
And for more from Isbell, check out these nifty slide guitar and blues tricks, direct from the man himself.
