Offramp is the first studio album on which Metheny used a guitar synthesizer—the Roland GR-300—which would become one of his signature instruments.[2]
Offramp is also the first Pat MethenyGroup album to include vocals, which became a fundamental component of the band's sound. When Metheny and Lyle Mays partnered with Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos on the album As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, they sought to expand the potential of the recording studio as an ensemble instrument and experiment with sounds they hadn't previously utilized.[citation needed] Some of the innovations introduced on Wichita carried over into Offramp, namely Vasconcelos's vocals and percussion.
Bassist Mark Egan was replaced by Steve Rodby, who remained with the Group well into the 2000s and became an important partner in the compositional and production processes between Metheny and Mays.
The Group pays tribute to one of Metheny's biggest influences, pioneering free jazz instrumentalist Ornette Coleman, on the title track, and singer-songwriter James Taylor served as the inspiration for the sixth track, "James."
The album continues to be acclaimed by critics and fans for its compositional maturity, technological progressiveness, especially for the time it was recorded, and for introducing key hallmarks of the Group's overall sound, namely the guitar synthesizer and vocals.[citation needed]
^Birosik, Patti Jean (1989). The New Age music guide: profiles and recordings of 500 top New Age musicians. Collier Books. p. 125. ISBN978-0-02-041640-1.