How To Do John Mayer-ish Stuff (licks, solos)
- Thread starter ngjingming
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ngjingming
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yes 10 char
ngjingming
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hmm then what other amp do u recommend? the amp has to be able to do other genres too....
bro ... just get any strat with 3 single coils .... get a tube screamer...
on your amp.... lower the MIDS
i would recommend the DRRI over the blues junior... a 12 inch speaker really lets the singlecoils speak properly...
Mayer's sound is in his hands man...u can only get closer by learning his songs... not really by buying his gear... his gear though very "powerderful" is nothing compared to his playing style and choice of notes.
on your amp.... lower the MIDS
i would recommend the DRRI over the blues junior... a 12 inch speaker really lets the singlecoils speak properly...
Mayer's sound is in his hands man...u can only get closer by learning his songs... not really by buying his gear... his gear though very "powerderful" is nothing compared to his playing style and choice of notes.
snuffleupagus
New member
His tone is more SRV than Jimi. But his chops are more Jimi than SRV.
Listen to alot of jimi and SRV learn to play their songs and soon you'll find that you would have developed your technique akin to the likes of all of them.
IMHO, its not the playing that really matters, its the way they(Jimi and JM) are able to groove out the chops and sing with alot of emotion at the same time. That is what makes them great because any 14 year old can just play lead at 120bpm or 16 notes per second, but it takes something else to be able to do the groovy fills and sing well at the same time.And this is coming from a lead guitarist (me) who can't really sing that well.
Listen to alot of jimi and SRV learn to play their songs and soon you'll find that you would have developed your technique akin to the likes of all of them.
IMHO, its not the playing that really matters, its the way they(Jimi and JM) are able to groove out the chops and sing with alot of emotion at the same time. That is what makes them great because any 14 year old can just play lead at 120bpm or 16 notes per second, but it takes something else to be able to do the groovy fills and sing well at the same time.And this is coming from a lead guitarist (me) who can't really sing that well.
KennethC
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ngjingming
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hmm doesnt the blues junior have 12inch speaker? and oh man the DRRI the wattage abit too high.. coz i mostly use at home
oh yeah, how much is a blues junior roughly?
and oh yeah is the tubescreamer the way he gets his slight distortion? im talking for of his continuum work
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3rd_stone_fr_the_sun
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two rock is considered a boutique brand even in the US. so far i've yet to see one in singapore.
to emulate the scooped sound of the dippers, i think an eq of some sort is a must. blues junior is probably the most affordable small tube amp out there, costs <1000. john also uses some really boutique OD pedals, i think the most affordable among them is the keeley modded BD-2, but if u can't afford that, i think an unmodded one will do too. BD-2 isn't the sound you hear on Continuum, but I think he used it for the Try! tour extensively.
most importantly learn his phrasing. i notice he uses alot of reverse rakes in his playing.
to emulate the scooped sound of the dippers, i think an eq of some sort is a must. blues junior is probably the most affordable small tube amp out there, costs <1000. john also uses some really boutique OD pedals, i think the most affordable among them is the keeley modded BD-2, but if u can't afford that, i think an unmodded one will do too. BD-2 isn't the sound you hear on Continuum, but I think he used it for the Try! tour extensively.
most importantly learn his phrasing. i notice he uses alot of reverse rakes in his playing.
KennethC
New member
I know of someone who does...cost him 10+k sgd...think it's a Custom Reverb if I aint wrong. OUCH to his pockets..
ngjingming
New member
then what is the sound from continuum? his overdrive is much more ermmmm delicious. like during belief solo, slow dancing solo, bold as love solo
I agree with all the guys who said that tone is in your fingers. Learn more of his songs, it's easy to fall into the trap of getting more and more boutique gear in your search for your idol's tone. (Especially if you have unlimited financial resources)
Nobody can buy chops, man. It's the most boutique thing if you think about it.
JM himself said in a Guitar Player interview that he didn't want kids to think that you need to go out and get a Two Rock amp to play well, and he would write a song and play on a squier if only to prove that it could be done. From the man himself! He can get all the boutique gear now coz he's made it.
Nobody can buy chops, man. It's the most boutique thing if you think about it.
JM himself said in a Guitar Player interview that he didn't want kids to think that you need to go out and get a Two Rock amp to play well, and he would write a song and play on a squier if only to prove that it could be done. From the man himself! He can get all the boutique gear now coz he's made it.
3rd_stone_fr_the_sun
New member
i'm guessing a fulltone fulldrive. damn smooth man.
but i'd say yeah it's mostly in your fingers
Isn't it plain irritating when you thought you finally figured out what john mayer did out there, then he shows up and do something that you might never figure out ?
Though I agree that tone is more in the fingers than gear, one still can get wee bit closer to the character of his sound by using some of his gear.
Gear-wise IMHO, I think that an alder-bodied, rosewood fretboard strat would do well. JM also has that big fat strat tone with subdued mids. The overwound single coils like the texas specials will work, but connected to some kind of eq pedal to tame the mids to get the scooped sound or something, and I also noticed that he sounded like he turned down his tone knobs on his guitar quite a bit. Upsizing to string gauge 10s instead of 9s will do alot to help.
For the amp, nothing sings like a tube amp, the fender blues junior will be a good option, and there are many mods you can try out on it to get what you like, its all in the web.
JM use so many kinds of pedals and drives but one main stay in his set-up would be the keeley ts-808. I made a clone of it myself and I personally find that it sounds twice as good than the original in an A/B comparison. Again, all the clone info are readily available on the net. I like the keeley BD-2 through the 808. There is some compression & reverb in his sound too.
Playing-wise, an arsenal of Hendrix's style and SRV licks will help a ton. But what I think contribute to JM's tone come from this fingers, he tend to switch to fingers alot as seen on the Crossroads City Love intro, http://youtube.com/watch?v=IEE2_RYyVYk. I suspect he uses two fingers (index & middle) together when he plays the higher strings, or his thumb for the bass strings. And sounds more like 'popping' as opposed to finger plucking the strings. His technique is somewhat similar to Warren Haynes playing http://youtube.com/watch?v=iChAWaX5ZDo. That fat fat sound.
For his electric playing, apart from learning blues, learning funk and R&B will help you understand what he does. But for his acoustic playing, thats a different story....... its totally another world of JM style !
He plays jazz as well........ you can hear those jazz licks on the 200 guitars video on youtube.......... He once mentioned on his web that if everybody were to do something uniquely their own, todays music will be so much more interesting.
If you have big long fingers, you are already halfway to that sound.... think SRV, HENDRIX, MAYER.
Though I agree that tone is more in the fingers than gear, one still can get wee bit closer to the character of his sound by using some of his gear.
Gear-wise IMHO, I think that an alder-bodied, rosewood fretboard strat would do well. JM also has that big fat strat tone with subdued mids. The overwound single coils like the texas specials will work, but connected to some kind of eq pedal to tame the mids to get the scooped sound or something, and I also noticed that he sounded like he turned down his tone knobs on his guitar quite a bit. Upsizing to string gauge 10s instead of 9s will do alot to help.
For the amp, nothing sings like a tube amp, the fender blues junior will be a good option, and there are many mods you can try out on it to get what you like, its all in the web.
JM use so many kinds of pedals and drives but one main stay in his set-up would be the keeley ts-808. I made a clone of it myself and I personally find that it sounds twice as good than the original in an A/B comparison. Again, all the clone info are readily available on the net. I like the keeley BD-2 through the 808. There is some compression & reverb in his sound too.
Playing-wise, an arsenal of Hendrix's style and SRV licks will help a ton. But what I think contribute to JM's tone come from this fingers, he tend to switch to fingers alot as seen on the Crossroads City Love intro, http://youtube.com/watch?v=IEE2_RYyVYk. I suspect he uses two fingers (index & middle) together when he plays the higher strings, or his thumb for the bass strings. And sounds more like 'popping' as opposed to finger plucking the strings. His technique is somewhat similar to Warren Haynes playing http://youtube.com/watch?v=iChAWaX5ZDo. That fat fat sound.
For his electric playing, apart from learning blues, learning funk and R&B will help you understand what he does. But for his acoustic playing, thats a different story....... its totally another world of JM style !
He plays jazz as well........ you can hear those jazz licks on the 200 guitars video on youtube.......... He once mentioned on his web that if everybody were to do something uniquely their own, todays music will be so much more interesting.
If you have big long fingers, you are already halfway to that sound.... think SRV, HENDRIX, MAYER.
if i may....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ymY81RQo4
This is played using a Mex Strat 1st Production 1993, bought while I was a student in GIT at Guitar Center Sunset Blvd. Costs = USD$299..
used to be my working guitar before I retiring. faithful companion from years gone by.
Played thru a Peavey 20W amp direct using the built-in drive....hehe.
String gauge are D'Addario XL .011 (strings are rusty though, no bounce...oops)
Soul and feel, technical abilities, ear and sense of groove are important.
But, its your fingers that gonna make everything you play, 'sings' ....
Jimi didnt just play, he make his guitar tell stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ymY81RQo4
This is played using a Mex Strat 1st Production 1993, bought while I was a student in GIT at Guitar Center Sunset Blvd. Costs = USD$299..
used to be my working guitar before I retiring. faithful companion from years gone by.Played thru a Peavey 20W amp direct using the built-in drive....hehe.
String gauge are D'Addario XL .011 (strings are rusty though, no bounce...oops)
Soul and feel, technical abilities, ear and sense of groove are important.
But, its your fingers that gonna make everything you play, 'sings' ....
Jimi didnt just play, he make his guitar tell stories.
fuzztremecho
New member
hmm
i've think i played on that guitar before..
i've think i played on that guitar before..
yup you did. i should be ashamed of myself for nottaking good care of my guitars. my only excuse is 'i'm retired'.....hahaha
wanna maintain them for me?.....<wink>