We often catch ourselves talking about boutique tone. Boutique amps, boutique overdrives… “Blah blah Brownface ’61 Fender mojo…” But let’s talk about about a player how pretty much embodies boutique: the blues-pop superstar John Mayer.
Now, it’s not that everything he uses is super-expensive, though some of course is, it is that he puts together a signal path that complements his playing and buttresses his songwriting, the effect of which is that he has this irresistible candied funk tone, and a honeyed cream blues tone that’s sharpened by the subtle single-coil quack of his PRS Signature Silver Sky’s noiseless single coils.
Check out New Light for how this works in practice. It’s a neat trick, and it works on all audiences – pop, blues, funk, gear nerds…
We might not be able to source you a Dumble Steel String Singer, but there is no shortage of production-line gear that’ll get you on the road to sumptuous tone. Will it be Mayer-esque, where all in attendance audience with close their eyes and make it look like they have just enjoyed an Alain Ducasse degustation menu? Hopefully. But adding that soupçon of secret sauce is on you and your playing.
Electric guitars
Well, we all know what the number one pick is going to be here, but absent of any suspense or surprise as to the must-have guitar for Mayer fans, may we take this opportunity to urge you to buy one now rather than later. Who is to say that the Silver Sky will fall out of production, but look at how many signature guitars that were once super-popular have and then accordingly accrued ridiculous prices on the vintage market.
Buying a modern production-line guitar with a view to its vintage sell-on potential might be foolhardy, but so too is sitting it out, especially when the PRS Silver Sky is expensive but not eye-wateringly so - at least as far as the prices for high-end guitars go.
No expense spared
On a budget
Acoustic guitars
No expense spared
On a budget
Amplifiers
Mayer has gone through an abundance of guitar amps in his time. He has played a number of Fender amplifiers. There have been Vibroverbs, Vibro-King Customs, Band-Masters, Super Reverbs and more. The Dumble Steel String Singer has been a favorite of his but you’d sooner find a tin of tartan paint down Home Depot than one of those.
With that in mind we’ve got to play the percentages and see which would give us the most archetypical Mayer tone. As the top of the piece we mentioned creamy blues and candied funk, but let’s at to that elasticity.
There is a litheness to Mayer’s sound so we want an amp that has that sort of response, that abundant clarity and then just the right amount of juicy breakup when the moment calls for it. There has to be a dynamic range so wide you could drive cattle through it.
Choosing the right amplifier is quite possibly the most important decision you’ll make. Now, the Dumble combos are off the table, and so is Mayer’s Two-Rock signature head for similar reasons, but there are still a few decent options.
No expense spared
On a budget
Pedals
There’s a sense of breathless excitement and wonder surrounding a confirmed sighting of John Mayer’s pedalboard that’s akin to waking up one morning and opening your bedroom curtains to find the yeti doing burpees on your lawn. Again, it is his tone, beauty of it, the mystery - it’s like the Mona Lisa’s smile rendered in sound.
We can’t replicate his hands with a 3D printer and study them under laboratory conditions so looking at his signal path at least gives us something physical to reference. But we do have a pretty good idea of what he uses - at least, what was on his ‘board last year when he was touring with Dead and Company. Some stompboxes are essentials, such as an Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer and Klon Centaur. The latter is out-of-production and costs a mint but one of the abundant Klones will do the trick.
A boost pedal is crucial, too, just for a little push for solos and to work those tubes harder. Then we’ll need some compression, delay, and if you’re going with the PRS J-MOD 100 you will need some reverb and tremolo.
No expense spared
On a budget
