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Suede·Social·Issue No. 20
Tone recipes·2026 · JUL
Jazz1976

01Pat Metheny

Bright Size Life

The 'Metheny tone' — Gibson ES-175 (later 335) through an Acoustic 134 with a Lexicon Prime Time digital delay. Warm, woody body tone with a slight chorus-like shimmer from the delay. Single-coil-like clarity from the neck humbucker with tone rolled back. Lots of legato in the playing — hammer-ons and pull-offs blend with the delay's repeats to create a flowing line. No distortion, no overdrive, just amp warmth.

02Signal chain

Guitar to amp, 2 pedals between.

  1. In
    Guitar

    Gibson ES-175D

  2. 01
    Short, modulated delay for the signature shimmer
    Lexicon Prime Time digital delay

    Time: ~70-90ms, Feedback: low, Modulation: on

  3. 02
    Light chorus for additional dimension on some tracks
    Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

    Rate: slow, Depth: low

  4. Out
    Amp

    Acoustic 134 (transistor amp) — later, Polytone Mini Brute

03Field note

The secret sauce

The delay time is short enough that it sounds like chorus, not echo. That 70-90ms range is the actual 'Metheny sound' — anything longer and you lose the cohesive single-line quality.