What is this instrument

[mandopete]

Okay, I know it's not a mandolin - is it an octave (higher) guitar? I've never seen one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5-pB...eature=related

[mandolooter]

hummm no idea but it sure has a fat neck!

[arbarnhart]

On the album credits, it says he plays a "Guitar (soprano)" as one of the instruments and that had six strings/tuners.

[jaco]

I used to see Pat on the elevator at Berklee when I was there. Saw him in a trio with Jaco and Bob Moses, Gary Burton Quartet, duos with Mich Goodrich (a brilliant guitarist). Then all the permutations afterwards. Met him at the airport in Rome, Italy, and several other venues. He's a great musician.

[catmandu2]

Pat has such a nice round tone, and feel for the instrument. #With all of the bombastic "program" music he composes and records, it's always great to hear him in straight ahead jazz quartets and acoustic ensembles such as this. #One of my favorites was seeing him trading fours with Josh Redman on seering synclavier.

This baby guitar appears to be made in the in the style of his full-size electric hollow body Ibanez.

[mandopete]

I used to see Pat on the elevator at Berklee when I was there. Saw him in a trio with Jaco and Bob Moses, Gary Burton Quartet, duos with Mich Goodrich (a brilliant guitarist).

Me too, when were you there? Did you see them at Pooh's Pub?

I have been a huge fan of his since that time. I've always though it would be cool to hear him with a mandolin player, perhaps someone like a Thile.

[Celtic-Grass]

I believe that is the soprano guitar made by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer and called "The Methenytone" She's made many of his instruments including the 42 string "Pickasso" a beautiful multi-necked harp guitar, and a 12 string tiple. I believe she even toured with him in the late 80' as his guitar tech.

Pat has been one of my very favourite artists since I first heard the album "Pat Metheny Group" in high school.

[mandopete]

Cool! That's kinda what I thought, looks like a neat instrument. It also sounds a bit like a mandolin to me as well.

[Paul Kotapish]

Metheny performs and records on a variety of acoustic- and electric-guitar variants and the soprano (A D F C E A) and the baritone (B E A D F# B) or (C F Bb Eb G C). For guitarists, those instruments offer some of the sonorities we enjoy on the mandolin-family instruments without having to learn new fingerings. I'm particularly fond of the electric 12-string "mandolin-guitar" ((D G C F A D) in both its acoustic and electric versions.

Metheny is a wonderful guitarist, but I agree that his bigger band arrangements tend towards the bombastic and that he sounds best in smaller, more intimate settings. I really like Missouri Sky, the duet acoustic album he did with Charlie Haden and One Quiet Night, the solo improvised album done entirely on acoustic baritone.

[jaco]

Mandopete I was at Berklee from Jan. 74 through 76. Yes it was Pooh's Pub. I remember one time before starting the set with Jaco, when Jaco rushed the stage and did a summersault landing on the stage to begin the first tune. And this was when Jaco was sober! What an amazing trio. Wish there were some live tapes of those shows.

[mandopete]

Hey, sounds like we were there at the same time! We're you a guitar major?

Yeah, Jaco was certainly one of kind to be sure!

[jaco]

I started as a guitar major, saw Pat play and switched to piano. I figured with Pat playing guitar, why bother? I did take up classical guitar awhile later though, but through a private teacher at Mt. Holyoke. Became a Huge Ralph Towner fan around then as well.

[mandopete]

<grins> Yeh, I know what you mean! #I started as guitar major and switched to composition when I realized I didn't have the chops. #After that I dropped out of music all together and went into the computer biz.

Those gigs with the trio were some of the most amazing stuff I'd ever seen. #I #had never really heard a fretless bass before and I recall coming back to the dorm and helping my roomate pull the frets out of his '62 P bass. #I think the Bright Size Life recording spent about a year on my turntable (remember this was the 70's folks). #I saw the quartet with Gottlieb, Mays and Egan many, #many times. #I still wanna learn Phase Dance for the mandolin. #I recently saw Metheny here in Seattle, he had a friend of ours playing with him, Christian McBride. #Got to hear and see that Pikasso guitar, OMG!

Good to hear there's another Berklee-ite who's switched over to mando!

[jaco]

Pete we probably had classes together as I was a composition major as well. Saw Christian McBride at Jazz Alley in your neck of the woods a few years ago. Amazing bass player. I've got tickets to see the trio this March. If I get back to Seattle (what a great city) we'll have to pick some.

[billkilpatrick]

here's an acoustic version - a 1/4 sized "guitalele" (GL-1) from yamaha:

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/s..._id/16654#1687

they're wonderful little instruments. mine is tuned ADGBEA and if you treat it as a 5c. guitar with an absent bass "E" and an additional treble "A," you can get some very jazzy sounding chords, very easily, from the standard chord patterns.

[arbarnhart]

here's an acoustic version - a 1/4 sized "guitalele" (GL-1) from yamaha:

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/s..._id/16654#1687

they're wonderful little instruments. mine is tuned ADGBEA and if you treat it as a 5c. guitar with an absent bass "E" and an additional treble "A," you can get some very jazzy sounding chords, very easily, from the standard chord patterns.

Interesting; we have something similar as a kid's guitar. I never thought about trying very different tunings on it (I sometimes tune it open G so it doesn't sound quite so bad when one of the kids strums without fretting). I bought a set of strings specific to it that give you regular guitar tuning, but the tension is really low and the sound is not that good. I have my eye on it as a short scal OM conversion once the kids move beyond it (if they haven't destroyed it).

[Geiss]

That's a great story about your roommate pulling frets from Fender bass.
I used to see Pat play alot when I was on the concert bureau at University of Vermong, late 70' early 80's.
Steve Swallow on bass I believe and Llye May on keyboards.
Great sounds and good memories!!!!!!
David

[mandoblues]

I think the term "bombastic" is a little harsh. Being a multi instrument player as well as having played in larger band's and orchestras I tend to appreciate what he has done regarding the use of horns, vocals and percussion to add extra voicing into his material. It definitely agree that his solo (One quiet night) and quartette work brings out the voicing in his guitar work; but to say his band work is "bombastic" I would defintely have to disagree. Ad yes it would be wonderful to hear him play with a mandolinist (I think Mike Marshall would be an excellent choice). Cheers

[SternART]

I'm with Paul Kotapish, I still listen quite a bit to the duet album Pat made with Charlie Haden..Beyond the Missouri Sky....
A lot of folk inspired instrumentals.....won the jazz grammy the year it came out, one of my most played CD's.

I try to see him almost every time he comes thru the Bay Area, his band is always tight. Saw them 2 nights in a row
once & realized that a lot of what I thought was group improvisation was actually arranged, with variations
only in the solos. I've also thought Mike Marshall & Darol Anger would make good on jamming with Pat. Steve
Rodby the PMG bassist produced a Montreux Band album, but I'm not sure if they ever met Pat.

[Santiago]

I went to Northeastern in the early '80s and I saw Pat and his brother play acoustics in the little bar on St. Stephen's Street (off Symphony Hall) one night. I was practically the only person in there. They were just having fun. It was fantastic.

[Paul Kotapish]

I think the term "bombastic" is a little harsh.

Fair enough. He is always in the company of wonderful musicians, but the sound gets a bit thick for my ears in those bigger ensembles. I prefer his smaller combo performances.

[jaco]

Just saw Pat with the trio (McBride and Sanchez) last night here in Florida. I've probably seen him close to twenty times and this was one of the best if not the best show yet. The interplay between musicians was nothing short of astounding. McBride is a monster bass player and Santchez played some of the most musical drumming this side of Jack Dejohnette. Didn't hurt that we were second row center. Go see this trio if you get a chance. These guys are jawdropping good.

[mandopete]

Cool - saw them here in Seattle at Jazz Alley a couple of months back...great show.

Did you get a chance to look at the songbook Pat is selling? #Some pretty incredible stuff in that book. #At one point in the show he brought out a tune that he had only written (I mean like "written") a couple of days earlier. #I think he called it #47 or something like that. #Amazing music.

[jaco]

Yeah Pete, I've had that book a few years now. From what I understand Pat was very involved and the tunes are very accurate. There's enough there to keep anyone busy several lifetimes. I saw Christian McBride at Jazz Alley a few years ago but with Pat he seems to be playing on a whole other level. They need to put out a DVD. One of the best jazz trios I've ever seen anytime, anywhere. (The one with Jaco is right up there though)

[PhilGE]

I remember being turned on to Pat Methany back in high school/college. Even though I was way into the punk scene, I really enjoyed his sound and sense.