John Mayer has been out with the annual Dead & Company summer tour for almost a month now and, in what has become a tradition in itself now, internet gear sleuths have been hard at work identifying his 2022 Dead & Company pedalboard.
The award for the most definitive rundown we’ve seen so far has to go to the excellent John Mayer Gear (JMG) Instagram, which has put together an extensive list of his electric guitars, rack gear, guitar amps, and, of course, pedalboard for his 2022 outing.
The most notable change from Mayer’s 2021 Dead & Company ‘board is the sheer size and variety, upsizing from a relatively restrained 16 pedals to the full 21-pedal triple-rack Trailer Trash setup that’s normally reserved for his solo shows.
The full list includes several obscured or disguised pedals ‘blacked-out’ with tape or paint, and includes the following: Ernie Ball VP Jr., Xotic Effects XW-1 wah pedal, TC Electronic Polytune, Xotic Super Clean Buffer, JHS mystery pedal, JHS Prestige, Mesa Boogie Flux-Five, Ibanez TS10, Moog EP-3, Origin Effects SlideRIG, EHX Q-Tron+, Way Huge Aqua-Puss Mkii, Klon Centaur [blacked out], 29 Pedals EUNA, Source Audio Programmable EQ, Boss OC-3, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2 [blacked out], Providence Chrono Delay DLY-4, Strymon Flint, Boss TU-3.
As per usual, the TC Electronic Polytune and Boss TU-3 guitar tuners are there to handle electric and acoustic duties, respectively.
Meanwhile, the JHS ‘mystery pedal’, which we first spotted on Mayer’s ‘board last year remains, though JMG is speculating that is likely a clone of a Dumble pedal known variously as the Box-A-Later / Box Of Later / A Box Later.
Mayer once posted a long since-deleted pic of an original unit to his Tumblr [remember Tumblr!?] – and described it as such:
“One of a kind ‘a box later’ (box-a-lator?) by Howard Dumble… An external effects loop that also acts as a line buffer/clean boost.”
Elsewhere, Mayer’s main amp set up for the current run includes his Dumbleland Overdrive Special head (paired with a 1x12 Dumble cab) and a Fender Deluxe Reverb.
Guitar-wise, you won’t be surprised to hear that Silver Sky is in rotation, but Mayer’s been taking a break from the Roxy Pink model he relied on for a large chunk of his Sob Rock dates in favor of a more muted Moc Sand finish with a rosewood fretboard.
JMG is also reporting heavy use of his triple-pickup McCarty 594 Honey and use of a silver McCarty, too, while his 1952 Fender Telecaster has also been used at more recent shows (as evidenced below, albeit at a distance)...
Finally, Mayer’s rack hosts a UA Golden Reverberator, Xotic X-Blender, Boss GE-7, Leslie Combo Preamp, Radial’s Headbone VT, JD7 and JX44 V2, plus a Dumblelator II and Stereo Dumblelator (tube-buffered effects loops, similar to the Box-A-Lator but rack-mounted).
Despite the setbacks of recent years, the tour has gone largely to plan thus far. However, Mayer was forced to cancel the band’s appearance in Saratoga Springs this Wednesday (July 6), after his father was taken to the ER with an unspecified medical emergency.
The guitarist updated fans via Instagram Stories, saying his father, Richard Mayer, 94, was taken to hospital that morning.
"This morning, my father suffered a medical emergency and was and was transported to the ER where he received much-needed and great care,” said Mayer. “He is now fairly stable, and will continue to undergo some procedures, but as you can understand, I have to stay in NYC and can’t play tonight’s show in Saratoga Springs.”
The Dead & Company also posted an update, offering fans a free online replay of their full Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL show from June 25 by way of temporary recompense.
