Comments on: The “I’m Yours” instrumentation bet

By: The one and only Eddie

The one and only Eddie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:36:21 +0000

I know you closed this but I would like to say, every video we could possibly find it was acoustic guitars. I figured I would throw that out there.

By: Jason Lancaster

Jason Lancaster — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:15:57 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Dave! I’ve been waiting to hear from you on this for quite a while. Looks like Adam won the bet as almost everyone who has weighed in has agreed on a uke. Although, I must say that I feel somewhat vindicated because everyone seems to agree there are no acoustic guitars (which was my primary argument and what actually started this bet).

By: David Drummond

David Drummond — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:05:58 +0000

Hereâ€™s my opinion, and Iâ€™m sticking to it. The â€˜mutedâ€™ instrument sounds very ukulele-like, but produces tones too deep for a standard uke. So I agree with Chris M, its probably a baritone uke, mostly ka-chung chords played pretty far up the neck, with occasional single-string downward slides; and in one instance, the chords go down to the deeper, lower part of the neck. The second instrument is a lightly amplified electric guitar, very likely hollow body, sliding chords up and down. Too much sustain for a purely acoustic guitar.

By: Daddio

Daddio — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:58:50 +0000

I think #3 is true. I don’t hear a hollow body electric, and I don’t think I hear an acoustic guitar either — I think that there are two ukuleles, or one overtracked, more likely, just as he is overtracking his vocals. The instrument(s) sound like they have a pickup in them, rather than simply miked, especially the “lead” instrument, simple sliding notes that sound like they could certainly be produced from a uke.
J, if you learn the guitar version of this, I’ve got the doumbek, we can try this at home!
I’m really becoming a big fan of Jason Mraz. ‘Bout time I started getting some of his CDs, I’ve liked just about everything of his you’ve ever played for me!

By: Christopher M.

Christopher M. — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:19:29 +0000

I polled a friend and they thought it was #3. Most likely a baritone ukulele. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele)

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:50:20 +0000

Hmm…..well, whatever it is, it sounds like it’s something with Nylon strings. I think premise 3 is likely (maybe the intstrument that is very muted throughout the song), but I also think that an amplified (solid? hollow?) guitar with nylon strings is being used (Lindsey Buckingham uses one of these a lot). My reasoning behind that thought is that it’s very easy to hear the little slides that are thrown in here and there, and I think that might not be picked up on a recording if the instrument wasn’t amplified. Then again, maybe it’s something like this: http://www.renaissanceguitars.com/renopener.html

By: Christopher M.

Christopher M. — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:08:07 +0000

Interesting challenge…The first hint shows up in the 1st 25 seconds. Thoughts: #1 is possible because of some of the chord changes. Hmm…the modulation at seconds 5,6 and 7. On #3, what is missing from the song is the metal twangyness. Time to listen again…