The current Ibanez catalogue features two Pat Metheny models: the pro-line PM200, and the more affordable PM2. Over the years, Ibanez have made a few different variations of the Pat Metheny model – including a rather odd double cutaway model, which I suspect was inspired by Howard Roberts’ famous black guitar.

While Metheny continued to play his Gibson for some years, that first Ibanez prototype has been his main squeeze since 1989.

Then, while touring Japan in the 1980s, Ibanez presented him with the prototype of a signature model guitar. At the tender age of 13 Metheny purchased a blonde Gibson ES-175, which remained his main instrument for the first 15 years of his career. In fact, for someone who has played such a diverse array of oddball instruments, his main axes have been remarkably consistent. Through it all, though, Metheny’s main association has been with rather traditional archtop guitars. In fact, of all those who experimented with guitar synthesis in the 1980s he’s the only major player still using this technology as part of his regular arsenal today. Among other things, Metheny was a pioneer in the use of guitar synthesizers. pretty weird (check out the Manzer-made “Pikasso guitar” for example). Many were one-off commissions by boutique luthiers such as Linda Manzer and Daniel Slaman, and some are…. But does his signature Ibanez model live up to his considerable musical legacy? Let’s find out!Ī relentless musical explorer, Pat Metheny has played a lot of guitars throughout his career. Pat Metheny has been one of the world’s most influential jazz guitarists since he burst onto the scene in the mid-1970s.

Ibanez 80s archtop neck radius