John Mayers Tone

[JimiB]

anybody know what the setups in his amps are? He seems to get good strat tone out of his dumbles and two rocks. Anybody got the skinny?

[phsyconoodler]

Yeah,learn how to play like John Mayer.Getting his exact rig won't help you play like JM.He likely will sound pretty similar on a great many amps.

[v00d00blues79]

I always love how general tone related questions get answered in this manner... from what I've heard about his setup he mostly plays through the clean side and gooses his signal with pedals... His signature amp is a single channel even... I've seen him in concert twice from very close up and it definitely sounds like the clean channel with pedals for the dirt.


Andy

[JimiB]

Yeah,learn how to play like John Mayer.Getting his exact rig won't help you play like JM.He likely will sound pretty similar on a great many amps.

I also love this response. Please tell me about the time Ted Nuget played thru eddie's amp and still sounded like himself.
It's amazing this is a place where we talk about dumbles and the like all day and I mention the tone of an extreemly famous artist who happens to use 2 dumble's and a dumble inspired 2roc and when I ask about his circuit topology I get the ole - "you'd have ta cut offin his fingyers and weld em on yer'ownself to play like that- he's got a crazy bucket o' moonshine and a mojo hand thats how come he kin play like that"

[v00d00blues79]

Heh heh...


Andy

[nickt]

Yeah,learn how to play like John Mayer.

Don't think you intended this to be as it reads - did you?

Getting his exact rig won't help you play like JM.He likely will sound pretty similar on a great many amps.

Kinda agree - then again listen to Jimi Hendrix playing on one of the Crosby Stills Nash etc albums - probably through a CBS twin and Japanese fuzz box - not a good tone anywhere, definitely ick!

[v00d00blues79]

I can believe the statement that really good players can sound like themselves when playing through almost anything, but I have to limit that to their phrasing and style more than their "signature tone". I've seen Mayer playing on the Chappelle show through some rinky dink fender combo and you could definitely tell it was him, but it didn't sound anything like his TwoRock/Dumble rig... I do know that he plays alot in the second switch position on his strat. That gives him part of his tone and then you add the myriad of pedals that he runs through to round out the rest of his tone. Hell.. . from what I saw at his concerts it looks like he's got (2) Two-Rocks and (1) Dumble ODS running through (3) Two-Rock 2x12 cabinets... could be with the TR 12-65 speakers. Then theirs the Dumbelator, the ODS rackmount preamp, and the pedal board.

Andy

[keithrick]

If I had to guess I would say his amp has fender plate and cathode resistors (100K/1K5)

FWIW- my amp is set up like #124 and I can nail that tone in the youtube video. (The one with his open tworock amp)

[JimiB]

thats what I'm after. The built in reverb is probably not hurting anything either.

[phsyconoodler]

Ok,that is definitely not what I was going for here.
Take Hendrix for example.He played some killer tones sometimes and other times he sucked so bad it sounded like a rank amatuer.
The amp wasn't the problem there.It was the acid.
His best tones were often thought to be one or more of the marshall stacks he had onstage at a concert.But if you look off to the left or right of the stage what do you see?A Fender Twin Reverb pointing at him.
John Mayer has some very nice tone,but it can be gotten on more amps than a Two Rock or a Dumble.His style and pedals through a great Fender will sound very much like those amps anyway.
I know a guy who's a fabulous player,much better than John Mayer any day.He can get a righteous tone out of a solid state amp.He plays with a combination of pick and fingers that fattens the sound of any amp.I couldn't get any of the sounds he gets if I live another 50 years.He has been playing longer than Mr.Mayer has been alive.
A very,very big part of an artist's tone is in the hands.
sure having a great amp helps to be sure.Maybe since Mayer is not that great a player to start with,his tone is mostly the amp.I would hazard a guess that most good Dumbles and Two Rocks would do it easily.
They do have EQ sections.A glorious tone can come out of a Fender Super Reverb in the right hands too.
I've seen so many young players fantasize about the rig of an artist they admire that they forget about chops and concentrate on gear.
Get an amp that has a great clean tone and play with the dials and don't forget the knobs on the guitar.Don't just dial up a good tone on an amp and leave it there.Some incredible tones come out of an amp that has the treble pinned and the mids pinned and the volume pinned and the guitar turned way down.And all other combinations as well.
Oh,and Doyle Brahmal?His tone blows his boss Eric out of the water,but notice he doesn't get to play the intricate leads that Clapton plays?All in the amp?Not likely.

[Ears]

> A very,very big part of an artist's tone is in the hands.

phsyconoodler speaks the truth.

[markmalin]

> A very,very big part of an artist's tone is in the hands.

phsyconoodler speaks the truth.

I have to agree with this. Perfect example is, I have a '57 Gibson ES-125 and was taking jazz lessons from an amazing player who uses an L5. The 125 sounds "dry", at best. First lesson, he says "nice guitar, can I try it?" The guy starts playing it through his Polytone and it sounds like an L5! He nails that Joe Pass tone with MY guitar! I figure "it must be the amp." I rush out and get a Polytone Mini Brute and guess what? It still sounds dry. At that point I was convinced it was him. Next time I see him at a gig and he's playing through this junky Peavy Back Stage. He still sounds like Joe Pass.

Yes, the equipment is important but after playing guitar 35 years I'm convinced that lot more than we give credit for is in the player's skill and style.

my 2 cents...

Mark

Er... so why am I building a Dumble clone to try to get that Larry Carlton tone? D'oh! Good question!

[talbany]

I also couldn't agree more. I have had friends of mine who are unbelieveable players, pickup guitars I wouldn't spit on and plug into a Peavey POS solid state amp, spend 5 min turning pot's with no knobs and out pours wonderful music. I believe tone is produced in 3rds. 1st most important are hands, 2nd is Amp and 3rd Guitar.
I am also a BIG Doyle B fan, love the stuff he and Charlie Sexton did in the Arc Angles. Great tones and exceptional playing and songwriting. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy if you don't have it. I think Doyle gets better Plexi tone than EJ on his recordings.



Tony VVT

[JimiB]

I think Doyle gets better Plexi tone than EJ on his recordings

probably has to do with the plexi he is using. I am working on a 67' superbass clone as well. Love Doyle! Been a big fan long before he started doing the clapton thing. I also think John Mayer is a great player and songwriter. I think Continuum is a great album. I agree with all the posts in this thread, but they are irrelevant to the topic. I was asking about his amps, not looking for encouragement to practice. If I posted a thread about sonny landreth (who I spend way more time trying to cop his feel and technique) i don't think I would get the same responses.

[oldmacman]

It's all in the hands indeed. I didn't used to believe it until I played with Bennie Smith two summers ago in St. Louis. The first time I played with him, I walked into a corner bar where he was hosting a jam session and absolutely tearing it up. He was getting one of the thickest, richest tones I'd ever heard out of a Strat, and I was surprised to see that he was playing through a 1980s solid-state Peavey. I asked him about it at set break and he let me try his guitar. The strings were 8s or 9s. He said he'd been playing with that kind of setup for fifty years. I couldn't make it sound like anything. I ended up playing a few gigs with him, and I would bring my rig, a Strat with humbuckers and a modded Traynor Bass Mate (which I still kick myself for selling). One day he asked me to switch guitars with him, and he got exactly the same tone with my guitar and my amp. I wouldn't put John Mayer in the same league of players as Bennie, but tone is in the hands.