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I never met Patrick, but I drove by his house many times on the way to my MIL's place in Tom's River. You hang around here long enough an old thread gets revived and there's Patrick (aka Patrick2) in all his glory. Hammertone's got it nailed pretty accurately, Patrick was ah, well he was Patrick. Love him or leave him. I never talked to him but sure read a lot of his posts. I bought a handful of his guitars (the Super Patrick being one) from his wife late last Spring. I'm still in touch with her, send her a box of Fannie May candy once in a while just to say hi. It's a real shame - if his passing teaches us anything "live fully and give it all you got, no one knows when it's their turn to check out."
Big
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10-02-2017 11:27 PM
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damn straight mike, death is certain, life is not.
Play them guitars!
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Patrick was an interesting guy.
We got together a couple of times. We would jab back and forth about the experiences we had during our musical life. He fancied himself a singer rather than a guitar player. But he really dug SOUND. When he played, he would play open string chords and just listen. He wasn't a nimble player. But he could "hear" things in a guitar that I couldn't. He had a very hard picking style. I remember the day he passed away, I came back from Ronaldo's shop and I checked into JGF and read that he passed away. It was as if I was having a nightmare. It was a surreal. That very day, He and I planned on taking Ronaldo out to lunch at a Cuban restaurant across the street from the shop in Union City, but Patrick backed out the night before. Ronaldo knew Patrick since he was 16 years old. Then I had to call Ronaldo to tell him what happened. Ronaldo cried.
Joe D
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I knew Patrick, and I know his wife. Great family. Patrick Amato was a _wonderfully_ opinionated guy. I relished his closely held, firmly stated views on all things.
I miss him, and I am glad to own one of his guitars. He KNEW what he liked and he accumulated a very nice collection of archtop guitars (and a nice selection of solid-body guitars, too.)
This guitar--i.e., the "Super Patrick," is one of the very best.
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Some shots from Patrick’s bathroom
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Thanks fellas for catching me up on Patrick2. He sounds like he was an intelligent, knowledgeable, opinionated and generous person -- not much unlike a lot of people here and a perfect fit for this forum!
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…and loud and rude and so forth.
Originally Posted by archtopeddy
Action shot!Last edited by Hammertone; 10-05-2017 at 02:14 PM.
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This photo is heavily photoshopped :-)) Originally Posted by Hammertone
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Lots of shouting went into this detail, I'm sure:
HeritageSP_9761 by Nate Lamy, on Flickr
HeritageSP_9760 by Nate Lamy, on Flickr
Last edited by Hammertone; 10-24-2017 at 11:18 PM.
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Ouch. And I came close to pulling the trigger on that guitar last year. Well, I'm sure it plays great. Any full sized pics of that guitar yet?
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Yes, it plays great. It is a greasy, groovy guitar made for flatwound strings, organ trios, and smoky bars. A throwback to another age. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Pix in Post#1 & Post#9 - is that what you mean?Last edited by Hammertone; 10-25-2017 at 04:55 PM.
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The stress Patrick went through to get Heritage to make this exactly right likely shaved off some time on Earth for the dear man. I can imagine that most might think that since Patrick was a Heritage rep, he could tell them what he wanted and they'd build it for him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Patrick was very particular, and the Heritage builders were poorly organized. The guitar was delayed several times causing Patrick to cancel work for no reason on at least two occasions because he wanted to get it in person. When he finally got it, months late and a lot of arguments later, the wiring was not right and they lost the pack of strings Patrick had left them to put on the guitar. Still, Patrick was happy by the end of the day.
Patrick had several high end builds, including two Unitys built to Patrick's specs. The Super Patrick was the most frustrating to pull together. He provided billets and many of the parts. He sweated every aspect of this. He called me many times furious over what I thought were small issues and wanted to walk away from the build. Sometimes it was over pricing for the work Heritage was doing, Patrick fearing he was being taken advantage of. I would listen, he'd settle down, and we'd figure out how he could get what he wanted and remain on good terms with the builders.
Soon after he got the guitar, he was interested in what the next guitar might be. It didn't end, and it became clear that he loved the negotiations, creativity and the anticipation.
Patrick died unexpected two days before he and I were picking up a pair of Golden Eagles at Heritage. They were new but had a small amount of checking so Heritage wanted to sell them at a very low price. Patrick talked me into splitting the pair. The next day he was going to drive to Kalamazoo.
I heard that morning that he had died, actually I saw it on this forum. I was stunned. I called the guys at Heritage that afternoon to let them know. They were speechless. A couple of hours later my phone went off. The caller was "Patrick Amato". For a moment I was relieved. I smiled and said hello. It was Patrick's wife. My heart sank. Shit.
Patrick loved his guitar collection. He appreciated all of them. But he put the most emotion into that Super Patrick. He drove all the way from New Jersey to Michigan to be there when the neck was rolled so that it was just right. He was the proudest of this guitar.
Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
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Friday was Patrick’s birthday.
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-19-2018 at 10:53 PM.
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I had a wonderful long conversation with Patrick on the phone the afternoon before his death. I even bought a guitar from him just hours before his death. He was in wonderful spirits. Happy and laughing. Joe called me the next day telling me he passed. I was shocked. He was in very good spirits when he left this world.
Me and Patrick used to bicker quite a bit but in the end came to respect each other very much. He certainly was never boring. I called him the great white shark.
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I was talking to Fran Amato a lot there in 2016 and we've stayed in touch via Facebook since. When Fran had the old house sold and was moving into her smaller new place/life she had a lot of odds and ends she just wanted gone. And she needed a little money. So I bought a Pro Reverb and a Princeton Reverb (both reissues I believe) and Fran said I've got Christopher packing all this other stuff too, I want you to have it. Must have been 15 sets of TI Jazz Swings, cords, straps, strap lock hardware, weird little things that didn't work and then some gems. I got aboutg 10 pick guards. I sent one to Pete Moreno at Marty's suggestion and the others were spare guards that Patrick had made for his Unitys, the Super Patricka and a couple of Heritage Golden Eagles, all with an eye toward him being able to setup the guitars as all acoustic.
I gave Hammer the 2nd pick guard for the Super Patrick last year for this baby, It was only fitting he got it...
Big
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 11-20-2018 at 01:39 AM.
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Yes, I got the pickguard and a most excellent cigar with it. Bonus!
Smoked the cigar, and reunited the pickguard with the guitar.
Hooray for Mark, and Mike, and Patrick! And Marv Lamb!
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I've told this story numerous times. But I am getting older and I tend to tell the same stories over and over. So humor me..
The day before Patrick Passed away, He called me and asked if we can change our plans to go see Ronaldo. He wanted to go see Ronaldo 1st thing in the morning. I told him I couldn't change the plan, because I had to go to work in the morning. He said, 2:30 was too late for him so we would go take Ronaldo out for Cuban food another time.
I went to see Ronaldo at 2:30. Ronaldo told me that he told Patrick the day before that Peter Frampton was picking up a guitar in the morning. Patrick wanted to be there to meet Peter, so that's why he altered our plans. (I got better dealed..). So I asked Ronaldo if Patrick showed up and he said no. Mmmm...
Later on when I got home, I checked the forum on my iPad and I saw a post that said Patrick2 has passed away. I thought "no way". So I read on and it was confirmed on his Facebook page.
I honestly thought I was dreaming the whole thing. When I reached out to Vinny, and was able to talk to him, it became very real.
He cherished his friendships here. Fran later told me she would come upstairs all the time and ask him to get the hell off the forum and spend some time with the family.
Our real families don't understand and support our passion for this thing we love. That's why we forge great friendships here on the forum with people we wouldn't know if we walked into them on the street. We were his family.
Thanks to all you for being a part of my extended family. Like Patrick, I don't know what I would have done with all that extra time. I certainly would not have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed all my time with you guys.
Joe D
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glad to hear i'm not the only one Originally Posted by Max405
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I miss Patrick. (and Fran)
If you made a deal to buy a guitar from Patrick, and you met him in person, he would invariably show you some other guitars that he thought you might want to consider--as he listened to you play. It didn't matter if he _didn't_ want to sell the other guitars. That was just his way.
I own a Super Eagle that has been owned by _several_ people on the forum. Nonetheless, every time I take it out of the case the first thing I think about is Patrick, from whom I bought it.
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That particular Super Eagle is still the most beautiful guitar I ever saw! Originally Posted by Greentone
Patrick and I were close in age. Being vets I felt a kindred spirit with that former Marine. Even the Marine Corp couldn’t tame his spirit! He was a righteous dude. I feel sorry for those here who never got to know him beyond the keyboard warrior facade. He was knowledgeable as hell, and could tell a good story. He struck me as the kind of guy who’d help another in a time of need. I told him that I’m not buying the tough guy routine because I see the soft heart on the other side. He replied, don’t tell anybody. I miss that dude too. This place hasn’t been the same since his passing. True story.
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Yep, a tender, tough guy.
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Belated happy birthday, Patrick- wherever you are. Probably arguing with D'Angelico over some detail!
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Man, that shallow/wide florentine cutaway is the shit! So f#$kin cool!
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