Pat Martino

When did you get back into playing? I didn’t get back into a relationship with the guitar until ’83. At that point, Tommy Gumina approached me and asked to endorse a solidbody he had just designed for Polytone. I used and endorsed that guitar, and Polytone amps, for about a year and a half.

What amplifiers have you used over the years? Keep in mind, there’s a difference between my relationships with all of these realities than most guitar players. In my case whatever comes up from social opportunity is useful. I adapt to it. If a Roland JC-120 is available to me, it’s because Tom Glenn from Roland Corporation, a good friend and former student, had one shipped to me as a gift. And therefore that’s what I used. Finally, the more active I became and have become, the more difficult it became to depend on personal items. For years I relied on riders to make instruments available on the road. I came to find out that in most cases Fender amplifiers and Roland JC-120s were the most available and I specified a second amp in case the first one was damaged. When this proved unreliable I was open to change for practical purposes.

What is your current setup? I use a Gibson Pat Martino Custom or Standard and the Acoustic Image Clarus amp. I recorded Live at Yoshi’s with the black Standard. I recorded the new album, Think Tank, with both. In the studio, I use the Clarus direct, as a preamp, into the board. There’s a direct out on the unit which bypasses effects as well as the Clarus itself, which I use for more authenticity and personal identity.

Do you use the Richard Raezer speaker cabinets whenever possible? The Raezer’s Edge cabinets are tremendous. They are well-made and beautiful; they are also precise and clear. The only problem is that they aren’t available in the middle of nowhere.

Amps: Acoustic Image Clarus Head – Into a Mesa Boogie 4×12 – his current amp Roland JC-120 Fender Twin Reverb

Amps:

Acoustic Image Clarus Head – Into a Mesa Boogie 4×12 – his current amp Roland JC-120 Fender Twin Reverb

Pat using a typical backline: Acoustic Image Clarus 2R paired with a backline Marshall 1960A slant cab.

I saw him use the same rig in Seattle at Jazz Alley.