Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny acquired his Gibson ES-175 Hollowbody guitar at age 12 from a garage sale in Lee's Summit, MO. He used this guitar extensively to craft his signature jazz sound until it became unstable, prompting a switch to a custom Ibanez archtop. Metheny's ES-175 was heavily modified, with the bridge pickup removed, a Roland MIDI pickup installed, and a toothbrush wedged into the tailpiece to secure his guitar cable. Remarkably, he never had a single repair done on it. A photo titled "Pat6.jpg" on Chez visually documents Metheny with this iconic instrument.

In today’s Helsingin Sanomat newspaper’s interview (by Harri Uusitorppa) Metheny is remembering his previous visit in Finland, as a young guitarist in Gary Burton’s quintet. He made a comment about the guitar he played then, Fender Coronado XII (my free translation, with Harri’s help):

Harri: “You played in Finland already in Pori Jazz 1974, in two concerts in the quintet of the vibrafonist Gary Burton as a second guitarist. Do you still remember that performance? You were then just a 19 year old novice.”

Pat: “Of course, the first time in Europe was a immense experience for a teenager from Missouri, Mid-West. Gary was the best possible mentor: three years in his group influenced me greatly. And I had that awful, unplayable Fender Coronado 12 string that was really one of the worst guitars imaginable … I remember that too!”

Pat has used an Ovation deep bowl nylon string cutaway since the early 80's. In the 90's he switched to a Linda Manzer made nylon string, but recently brought the Ovation out of retirement for the Unity Band < Kin > tour.

He recently started using an AMT S15g internal condenser mic in the Ovation and seems to be bypassing the Ovation's piezo pickup all-together now.

This photo shows Patrick "Pat" Bruce Metheny, legendary guitarist of acts such as the Pat Metheny Group, Jaco Pastorius, and Herbie Hancock playing his iconic Roland G-303 Guitar Synthesizer Controller 6 string. He is also noted using it in conjunction with the Roland GS-300 controller pedal.

In this YouTube video, Pat Metheny is seen playing his own signature guitar during the 2003 Newport Jazz Festival.

In this Vintage Guitar article Pat talks about buying his Gibson ES-150

When did you first play a Gibson Charlie Christian? In high school, there was a kid who had an ES-150. It’s a very particular sound and a great sound. We all love the sound of those Charlie Christian records. But there are some problems that come with it. It’s gonna buzz and hum, and the B string is too loud. A great guitar player here in New York is Miles Okazaki, and he turned me on to a box that Electro-Harmonix came out with called the Hum Debugger Hum Eliminator that completely defeats the hum issue without changing the sound. Works great.

I had a gig in Nashville, and like everybody, when you’re in Nashville, you go to Gruhn’s. They had a 150, and a particular one just kicked my ass. I took it into this little practice room and played it for about two hours, but ended up not getting it. Then they sold it, so I was kicking myself. But as it happened, the guy brought it back and I wound up with it.

Pat talks about his 2nd guitar here:

How long did you play the ES-140? I didn’t have it very long when my family took a plane to Minocqua, Wisconsin, to see my grandparents, on Ozark Airlines. I checked my guitar, and when we got to Minocqua, I opened the case to find shards. It was heartbreaking for me. Ozark Airlines said, “How much is that guitar worth?” And my dad, knowing that I paid $60 for it, said, “It’s worth $100.” (laughs) So they gave me 100 bucks and I went to a music store and bought a Fender Mustang. No idea why. It didn’t work for me at all.

Here Pat performs The Beatles - And I Love Her on his Linda Manzer Nylon String

Question:
Dear Pat (or other readers), What tunes do you use the soprano guitar on? I recently made one at a workshop and have transcribed "A Map of the World", "No Calej Polaci Snieg", and "Polskie Drogi". I’m hunting through my records for more tunes but haven’t found any so far. It’s a wonderful sound.

Pat’s Answer: Hi Richard. Not exactly the same guitar - the one you are referring to is a Manzer - but both In Her Family and Letter from Home are both tunes I wrote on piano and the only way I could eventually play them on guitar was to use an extended range instrument like the sopranos you are talking about. In both of those cases it was the Ibanez mini PM20. I actually tune that one an entire octave higher - the Manzer is just a 4th or 5th higher. Thanks from Pat

In this Vintage Guitar article is displayed Pat's Danial Slaman guitar

Pat talks about his first guitar here:

I had a paper route throughout those years, and I told my parents, “I think I want to get a guitar.” For them, that was like, “I think I’m going to join the devil worship church down the street. Is that okay?” They said, “No, you’re not. You’re not going to play electric guitar.” So that made me really want to do it.

This went on until finally for Christmas, when I was 11, my Christmas present was their permission to use my own money to buy a guitar (laughs). We looked in the Kansas City Star, and for 75 bucks there was an ES-140 three-quarter for sale. My dad being a car dealer, he talked them down to 60. That was my first guitar. Sort of an odd choice, and not what I was thinking. But I knew that Gibsons were good, and 60 bucks was about what I had. For about two weeks I played in a little rock band called the Beat Bombs, doing “Hang On Sloopy” and “Little Latin Lupe Lu.” Then my brother brought home this Miles Davis record, Four And More, and it was like somebody smacking me over the head with a baseball bat. I immediately started down the road of where I’m still at, trying to figure out what is that.

Pat talks about buying the first electric guitar he ever saw in his life from the sons of his neighbor Mr. Sumner.

What other guitars have you collected? I didn’t really remember much about Mr. Sumner’s guitar except that it was red and it was beautiful, and it wasn’t a Gibson. Then about two years ago, the sons called me after the dad had died, because they remembered the guitar making an impression on me, and they asked if I’d be interested in buying it. They’d had it appraised, and it was a ’56 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120. They named a price, and it was very reasonable, so I now have the first electric guitar I ever laid eyes on. And it’s an incredible guitar. The guy basically never played it; it’s in flawless condition.

Pat talks about owning his mentor's Atilla Zoller's guitar:

You had a close relationship with Hungarian jazz great Attila Zoller. When I was about 14 and had been playing for maybe a year and a half, Downbeat had a competition to win a week at a summer jazz camp in Illinois. So I got together with a couple of friends, and we recorded “Bumpin’ On Sunset,” and I did my very best Wes imitation – kind of my obsession at the time. And I won. So I went to Decatur, Illinois, in July of ’68, and Attila was the guitar teacher. That was the first time I’d had any contact with a real professional, high-level jazz guitar guy – an incredible figure for me at that age.

Somehow, Attila recognized something in me and took me under his wing. He said if I ever wanted to come to New York and hang out, go hear everybody, he’d be happy to show me around. We stayed in touch by mail, and the next year, my parents let me fly to New York with money I’d saved, and I spent a week hanging out with Attila. We went to hear Jim Hall and Ron Carter every night, and Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard. And Attila and I played a lot together, and we remained friends for the rest of his life.

The Höfner/Zoller AZ Standard I have was his main guitar for the last few years of his life, so it’s a real special piece because of that connection and friendship.

Pat is shown in a Guild advertisement playing his Guild D-40C

Linda: "I met Pat over 20 years ago after a concert and I've had the pleasure and the wonderful challenge of building instruments for him ever since. His desire for unique sounds has made me "push the envelope"with each of these 16 + special instruments."

PAT METHENY'S MANZER GUITAR COLLECTION (STILL GROWING):

Manzer flattop Manzer flattop (12 string) The Twins: Tiple/Methenytone (a very tiny Manzer) Sitar Guitar Classical flattop Classical fretless archtop 6 and 12 Little Manzer Classical (7 string) Little Manzer Steel string Studio Archtop Tiny Archtop 3 Baritone Guitars Pikasso

Linda: "I met Pat over 20 years ago after a concert and I've had the pleasure and the wonderful challenge of building instruments for him ever since. His desire for unique sounds has made me "push the envelope"with each of these 16 + special instruments."

PAT METHENY'S MANZER GUITAR COLLECTION (STILL GROWING):

Manzer flattop Manzer flattop (12 string) The Twins: Tiple/Methenytone (a very tiny Manzer) Sitar Guitar Classical flattop Classical fretless archtop 6 and 12 Little Manzer Classical (7 string) Little Manzer Steel string Studio Archtop Tiny Archtop 3 Baritone Guitars Pikasso

See Pat performing on his here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uyv2jTZio

Originally designed for and with a New York City studio musician, this is a longer scale "Manzer" steel string guitar. It is not to be confused with a bass guitar. It is a low tuned guitar, giving a low strung rich quality to the usual guitar voice. Tuned B to B or A to A. The usual string gauges range between: plain 18, wound 24, 36, 46, 56, 70. Responsive, evocative. The tone of this guitar is rich and full, and its voice has been described as "hauntingly beautiful.". You can hear an entire CD of this instrument played solo by Pat Metheny, His grammy award winning CD "One Quiet Night"

Pat perfoming live on his Manzer Baritone Pat Metheny - Don't Know Why (nice reharmonization!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BntNRMiI4PQ

What’s the wackiest guitar you own? One of them is this Paul Kinny acoustic stereo guitar. It just arrived in the mail one day from this Australian builder. It’s got a bridge piezo pickup, but it’s got two sound holes on the rim of the sort of eggplant-looking things – one for your left ear, one for your right ear. You actually do get two significantly different sounds out of the two holes, almost like you’re sitting at a piano. I’ve used it strictly acoustically on a record or two, mic’ed in stereo, and it’s a pretty awesome sound.

Here Pat explains how his signature model was developed by Ibanez. Ibanez PM-200 is now his main guitar.

Pat describes acquiring this Gibson previously owned by Wes Montgomery and George Benson.

You got a guitar that was owned not only by Wes Montgomery, but also by George Benson? I’m really not that materially oriented, but I thought, “If I could ever get one of Wes’ guitars, that would be something I’d really love.” One thing led to the next, and we all knew that George Benson had one of Wes’ guitars, and somehow I wound up with that L-5 – from George.

It’s the 1961 Gibson L-5 CES that we all know from the cover of Movin’ Wes, and George used it on the first couple of CTI recordings he was on. He used it as a studio guitar. I think George could pick up a telephone pole with a cable on it and it would sound f***ing amazing. He seems kind of impervious to whatever. He’s an interesting case, that guy (laughs).

In a catalog advertisement featured on Pointy Guitar, Pat Metheny is shown with the Ibanez PM100 BK Pat Metheny guitar. Additionally, I witnessed him perform live with this guitar at the Seattle Opera House in 1998.

In 2007, Manzer celebrated their 25-year association with the Metheny-Manzer Signature 6, a limited-edition six-string acoustic based on the original Linda 6. Three years later, she is close to completing the last of only 30 Metheny-Manzer models to be produced.

Another reference: http://prod.guitaraficionado.com/review-the-metheny-manzer-signature-6-limited-edition-acoustic-guitar.html

Linda built Pat a 6 string acoustic in the early 80's that he used on the "Rejoicing" record and says the guitar is like the Steinway of guitars to him.

Quote: "Linda Manzer made me a 6-string. It was the instrument I used to record 'Lonely Woman' on Rejoicing. That tune just sparkles because of that guitar. She made me that one guitar, which I immediately fell in love with, and then I said 'Well, how about you make me a 12-string?' The night I got it, I wrote four tunes. It was a totally inspiring instrument." - Pat Metheny

Another reference video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir4E0nEGlYg

"Linda Manzer made me a 6-string. It was the instrument I used to record 'Lonely Woman' on Rejoicing. That tune just sparkles because of that guitar. She made me that one guitar, which I immediately fell in love with, and then I said 'Well, how about you make me a 12-string?' The night I got it, I wrote four tunes. It was a totally inspiring instrument." - Pat Metheny

Linda: "I met Pat over 20 years ago after a concert and I've had the pleasure and the wonderful challenge of building instruments for him ever since. His desire for unique sounds has made me "push the envelope"with each of these 16 + special instruments."

PAT METHENY'S MANZER GUITAR COLLECTION (STILL GROWING):

Manzer flattop Manzer flattop (12 string) The Twins: Tiple/Methenytone (a very tiny Manzer) Sitar Guitar Classical flattop Classical fretless archtop 6 and 12 Little Manzer Classical (7 string) Little Manzer Steel string Studio Archtop Tiny Archtop 3 Baritone Guitars Pikasso

You also have a few Manzer baritone guitars. Craig Snyder asked her to make him a baritone guitar. And like many guitar players, I’ve picked up baritone guitars over the years and thought, “Wow, that’s cool. What would I ever use that for?” And if I try to play chords, it’s too muddy. So, baritone guitar was never something on my radar – I thought. I’ve known Craig from around town; he’s a studio guitarist and jingle writer, and he owns CR Guitars in Rhinebeck, New York. We happened to be working in the same studio and he brought in the baritone Linda made for him. I loved it right away and asked her to make me a copy of the one she’d made for Craig. I played the few things I thought would sound good on it, and I found myself very quickly putting it aside. Again, it was too muddy.

Then, one night in 2001, after I’d had it four or five years, I remembered that in my hometown of Lee’s Summit, there was a colorful character named Ray Harris. An amazing guitar player – kind of country, but he’d go play with the jazz guys, too. He had these guitars he’d invented, including this double-neck that was a 12-string on one side, and the bottom was this wacky tuning where he could play the bass and melody at the same time. And I realized it was a baritone guitar, because it went from A to A. But he did a Nashville tuning – meaning he would take the middle two strings, replace them with lighter-gauge strings, and tune them up an octave – but with a baritone guitar.

So I remembered that and did the Nashville tuning, like I’d done on “Phase Dance,” to Linda’s baritone. I’d just gotten a new mic and thought, “I’m going to record this,” and ended up recording for about four hours in that tuning, not really knowing what I was doing. I finally arrived at thinking of the bottom two strings as a cello, the middle two strings as a violin, and the top two strings as a viola. So you could play your normal kinds of things, and they would come out sort of sounding backward, with some hip bass notes.

After I listened to the stuff for about six months, it wound up being the record One Quiet Night.

After hundreds of hours of live performance under my belt, I really understood what was going on with voicings and possibilities, because I got into the habit of playing baritone guitar at the beginning of every concert. So I made What’s It All About – the only time I played other people’s music. They were songs I’ve always loved and would play around the house, so I thought it would be fun to make a record like that.

She’s not coming from jazz – although she’s gone on to make some incredible archtop guitars, which I also own, including a mini jazz archtop. It’s got kind of a Johnny Smith pickup and is very short-scale, but I tune it up a little bit. There’s something cool going on when you can reach seven or eight frets – kind of like Allan Holdsworth on a regular guitar.

Pat sports his PM2 model in a promo shot

Pat Metheny and The Metropole Orchestra (2003) ~ Into the dream

Performing on his Manzer Pikasso 42-string guitar

Here he talks about the process of developing the instrument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir4E0nEGlYg