John Mayer

In this video from Guitar Center, John Mayer discuses his Silver Sky signature model guitar from PRS.

On the Paul Reed Smith website, John Mayer has this to say about his new signature model.

It’s been a dream of mine for years to design a guitar that includes some of my favorite vintage specifications but with a modern spirit and aesthetic. After two years of study and refinement, the Silver Sky is my vision of what a reboot of the electric guitar should look and feel like.

After graduating high school, John Mayer worked at a gas station for over a year to earn enough cash to buy a 1996 Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Stratocaster.

Mayer shows it off and talks about it in this video of him in the studio, starting around the 0:24 mark:

“…this one I bought with the money that I had made working at a gas station. I traded in a Takamine 12-string and a Mesa Boogie distortion pedal. I think I paid like nine hundred bucks as the difference. So I bough this in 1996.

This thing has so many little stories on it. [points to the bridge] This was replaced, I remember the day I had to order a replacement - I was in Atlanta in like 1998… 1999 maybe. I had a replacement put in there because I broke the whammy bar off in here. [John Mayer points to the tip of the headstock] I got that from hitting drums cymbals with it. I thought it was really cool to hit drum cymbals. … I took this backplate to the mall in 1997, and it says John Mayer 1997 before I went to Berkeley. [Mayer points to the ‘JCM’ engraving on the lower half of the back of the Strat] I did that with the engraving gun at the Berkeley dorms. JCM. [Mayer points to the back mid-point of the neck] And then this is from sanding it down - and playing - but mostly sanding it down with 400 grit sandpaper.

This is the guitar that my signature model is based off of, in terms of the pickups and also the neck shape. This has been in my bedroom when I was 19 practicing guitar playing, and Madison Square Garden, and Tokyo, and television shows… this is the representation of all the places I've been. This guitar started in my bedroom, when I had just gotten out of high school.”

In 2011, John Mayer collaborated with Fender to create his Signature Stratocaster, which features a distinctive tortoise pickguard, setting it apart from the black pickguard on the SRV Signature model. A user-uploaded photo on Fuzzfaced showcases this specific guitar.

In this video, John Mayer plays "Good Love Is On The Way" on his Signature Fender Strat - Cypress Mica.

"The idea is to have a guitar that is smaller, that you can take it on a bus, you can take it on vacation, you could take it anywhere you wanted to go, but that when you opened the case you would have a beautiful, perfect, ornate guitar that you don't really see anymore. A Martin 0045 is still one of the rarest model Martins, even when you consider reissues and special editions. It doesn't really end up in a lot of people's hands. I've thought of it as a guitar that has been overlooked for years. The neck is true to speck as a 0045 neck can get - the whole guitar is of the period! The thing about it that I think is the standout is this idea to continue the abalone inlay. The fret board always covers up the inlay underneath it, but what if the inlay kept going? You know, it's the Martin spirit to see if it can be done by doing it - I think it meets up perfectly. And that's done by hand. It almost gives the effect as if it's glowing underneath the neck; as if it's really, really bright but the neck is covering it. Everything about it, it's just a detail that from a mile away you would know it's that guitar. So it's a love letter to the period; it's a love letter to and from Martin, and it's a love letter to and from me to guitar collectors, guitar enthusiasts, and also enthusiasts of thing of this day and age that still resonate with great design and resonate with being ornate and being valuable. We're artisans. Martin is a custom shop - they're artisans. This guitar is a real treat and a blessing to own. I'm lucky to have one. The best compliment in the world is, if someone doesn't really own one of my records, or maybe heard a couple of my songs, or doesn't really an opinion one way or the other about what I do, but sees a guitar that I've helped design and they love it without having anything to do with me - that's the ultimate complement," says acclaimed guitarist and singer John Mayer about the Martin 0045SC John Mayer Stagecoach Edition Acoustic Guitar.

John Mayer - Going Down the Road, Feeling Bad - 07/12/13 - The Cynthia Woods-Mitchell Pavilion. This guitar was also used to record the ending solo in the single "I Guess I Just Feel Like" in 2018.

The customized Fender John Mayer "The Black One" Stratocaster relic has been spotted in use by guitarist John Mayer himself in numerous performances, including this one with B.B. King.

Made solely for John Mayer as the guitar was long discontinued. As mentioned by John: "Back in 1991, at the age of 13, I bought a Guitar World with Eddie Van Halen on the cover and fell in love with his Music Man signature model (and his playing.) 23 years later I reached out to Ernie Ball/Music Man and asked if they could make my childhood dream come to life by building one more of these long-discontinued guitars. Here it is, made from original parts stored away since 1991. The dream machine. Complete with "JCM" monogram on the headstock. Can't begin to describe the joy. Thanks @ernieballmusicman."

John Mayer appeared on The Late Late Show playing "Don't" by Ed Sheeran with a Jackson Custom Shop Soloist.

In this video John Mayer is seen using his Fender Jimi Hendrix Monterey Pop Stratocaster during his sold-out performance "Where the Light Is", live at the Nokia Center in L.A.

He replaced the fretboard with a brazilian rosewood one, and sanded off its neck. A good close-up look at the guitar can be had around the 1:10 mark.

John Mayer is seen using the dark red Gibson SG Standard Electric Guitar while he rocks a sold-out audience at the Copley Hall in San Diego.

In this Instagram photo posted by John Mayer, he can be seen holding a Tokai Silver Star solid body electric guitar with maple fingerboard and black finish. Photo was posted November 2016. The caption reads:

New for '17 #thesearchforeverything

John can be seen playing a Tele for his song "If I Ever Get Around to Living" on "Live on Letterman".

In this video, John Mayer plays "Crossroads" on his Gibson ES-335 Eric Clapton "Crossroads" Custom Shop.

In this Instagram pic John shows off his new toy.

John Mayer used a Fender Jazzmaster guitar during a performance with Taj Mahal at the Thelonius Monk Trumpet Competition and All Star Gala Concert at Dolby Theatre on November 9th, 2014 in Hollywood, California.

On the album cover art for John Mayer's 2001 album Room For Squares, he can be seen next to a Novax Expression electric guitar. It's very similar to the guitar he's playing in this live performance of Neon from 2005 (around the 1:10 mark in the video is a good shot of the guitar's body).

This guitar can be seen at 24:35 in this video of John Mayer performing "Dreaming With A Broken Heart". The guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Junior in Cherry Red from 1958.

This video shows John on the 594, at 19:00.

"This guitar is not a masterbuilt, it's not a custom shop. This is one that would absolutely have been sent to a store if I didn't take it. I'm using it live on three or four songs, and I'm loving it. It has the absolute heart and soul of the BLACK1, but if you're playing in your own band and you're trying to make a name for yourself, I think it's really cool to have a guitar that is sort of a blank canvas for someone to make a name for themselves with or a sound for themselves on. I think this is one of the classiest strats I've even seen. Piano black. Gold hardware. Mint pickguard. Mother of pearl tuners. It's like, I want to plug this thing in."

John Mayer was given one of the 185 replicas of Lenny, a guitar owned by Stevie Ray Vaughan. At around 1:01 you can see John holding the guitar, and at 1:27 you can see him playing it. You can also see legendary guitar tech, Rene Martinez (who used to work for Stevie) setting up the guitar at around the 2:31-time stamp.

In this video, John Mayer plays a Gibson L-5 CES guitar in natural finish.

In an article by Gibson about the Gibson L-5 archtop guitar, the author mentions John Mayer's usage of it. They write, "Mayer is proof that the L-5 has a place in modern pop. He pulls the silvery tones of “Slow Dancing on Mulholland Drive” from his Where the Light Is DVD out of a gorgeous natural finish L-5."

John Mayer can be see using a Fender Stratocaster Plus in this video of him playing live at the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013. Around 5:08 a closeup of the guitar can be seen, and it appears to have Lace Sensor Gold pickups and a roller nut, which is consistent with the Fender Strat Plus. The color appears to be either Midnight Wine Plus or Lipstick Red Plus, with a rosewood neck.

In this promotional video for Volkswagen, John can be seen playing a First Act GarageMaster, which was designed exclusively for Volkswagen during this promotion.

As seen in this picture from the concert, "Where The Light Is," he is playing on the D-41 during the acoustic set while playing "In Your Atmosphere." The absence of abalone pearl around the fingerboard near the sound hole suggests it is a D-41 and not a D-45.

Putting together a few sources, it can be inferred that one of John Mayer's first electric guitars - if not his very first one - was a Fender Squier Stratocaster.

From the documentary film Someday I'll Fly, starting at the 2:00 mark:

"I picked up the guitar from time to time at friends' houses, and I was always intrigued by it. It wasn't until I was 13 my dad rented one of my brothers and I an acoustic guitar from the music store. We were gonna take guitar lessons. caption reads: January, 1991 - John has lessons every Monday with guitar teacher Al Ferrante at Fairfield's Professional Music Center. I remember I'd get home from school, play for the whole rest of the night, and just never really catch up with sleep. My mom set up a rule - 9:30pm - so I would play all the way to 9:30pm, then I'd have to stop."

At 2:28 into the video, a Fender Squier sticker can be seen, with a sticker on top of it "Property of JCM." In the very next scene, a photo from 1994 of a 16-year-old John Mayer can be seen where he's holding what looks like a guitar with a Fender Stratocaster shaped body, black finish, white pickguard, and rosewood fingerboard. He shared this photo on his Instagram with the caption, "#tbt 1994. 16 years old."

In another video entitled John Mayer 2007 summer tour, starting at 3:12 into it, in an interview John Mayer says:

"My first guitar - my first electric guitar - was a Squier. So I've kind of grown up native to the shape and the sound and the feel of a Stratocaster, and kind of learned my way around a guitar on it."

John Mayes uses a Martin D-45 in "Where The Light Is" to play the song ''In Your Atmosphere''. It's a signature guitar from Martin that is still available on the Martin website. Mayer also used this guitar for playing "In The Blood" and "I Guess I Just Feel Like" both on stage and recording sessions.

John Mayer was spotted with his maple top Alembic Further in 2013 on stage in his Letterman performance.

In a YouTube video by Idris Omar titled "John Mayer - Your Body is a Wonderland (acoustic)," John Mayer is seen playing the Martin DM3MD Dave Matthews Signature guitar during acoustic sessions for his album "Room for Squares."

John Mayer uses a vintage 1963 Fender Stratocaster in Fiesta Red, which was listed for sale at Emerald City Guitars for $55,000. Originally equipped with a 3-way switch, it has since been upgraded to a 5-way switch. Mayer was seen with this specific guitar during his Instagram Live session on August 5th, 2017, as shown in the video by Dear Marie BR on YouTube. Additional images of Mayer with the guitar can be found on Instagram and Pinterest.

He also uses a Stratocaster with a golden top exclusively for the performance of ''Vultures''.

In the YouTube video titled "John Mayer - Neon (HD)" by Otoniel Vieira, John Mayer is seen playing the Martin OM-28JM John Mayer Signature Model guitar. This guitar, based on Martin's classic OM design, features a distinctive blend of materials and craftsmanship, including a solid Engelmann spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, and unique inlays inspired by Mayer's personal style. The instrument also includes Fishman/Martin Gold+Plus Natural electronics for enhanced sound. Mayer's connection to this model is further highlighted by his signature inside the guitar, making it a personalized piece of his musical repertoire.