The Story Behind the Martin Kenneth Pattengale Special
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To be honest, my first encounter with Kenneth Pattengale was tough: We were doing a Fretboard Journal Live episode and he and Milk Carton Kid cohort Joey Ryan were in full-on Smothers Brothers-inspired sparring mode. I did my best to keep my chin up but our video interview had lots of awkward moments. The results are semi-infamous and now preserved for awkward posterity on YouTube.
My last encounter with Kenneth was the exact opposite: Last night, I met him just outside of Seattle so we could chat about his new Martin guitar, the Kenneth Pattengale Special. It’s a truly unique collaboration between Kenneth, Martin and Gruhn Guitars. He was gracious, generous with his time and proved himself to be a true guitar (and Fretboard Journal) fan.
Normally, artists of Kenneth’s stature don’t get a “signature guitar” treatment from Martin or any other major guitar companies. Though the Milk Carton Kids are fantastic and can fill theaters and earn Grammy nominations, they aren't the kind of artist most Guitar Center customers are seeking to sound like. Kenneth was the first to acknowledge that. But, through sheer perseverance and patience… and thanks to the support of Chris Martin and Gruhn, he did get to design a guitar of his very own. And it sounds amazing.
The funny thing about Kenneth’s guitar? He reverse engineered it! Ultimately, he wanted to offer struggling musicians the best guitar possible for $2100... the modern day equivalent of what it would have been like to buy his beloved O-15 new, back in 1955. From that two grand figure, he worked backwards with Martin’s bean counters to create something truly special – a US-made Martin 0-15 that has a torrefied spruce top (!), vintage construction techniques and a unique look (the Spruce was darkened to resemble the mahogany of his ’55 0-15).
It’s like nothing else that Martin has ever produced. But all of this didn’t happen overnight. Martin and Kenneth went through various prototypes over the course of years, including one over-the-top one that was downright comical. Kenneth never let up... he wanted to see the project finished. Yes, some concessions were made – he originally wanted bar frets, for instance – but the final guitar is a testament to his vision: An affordable, bling-free instrument that sounds and plays great.
My talk with Kenneth will be the next Fretboard Journal Podcast – episode 231, out Friday the 21st. We go pretty in-depth - nearly 90 minutes of guitar talk, about this instrument and the others in his collection (he claims he has 70-plus guitars right now). I think you'll like it. I know it was one of my favorite chats of 2018.
In the meantime, head over to Gruhn's site to learn all about it.