John Mayer

The microphone used by John Mayer in this Instagram pic is a Neumann TLM 103 with a black finish. Given its height on the mic stand, it can be assumed that John Mayer is using the Neumann TLM 103 to record vocals. The mic is sitting behind his Teenage Engineering OP-1 synth. This photo was posted to Mayer's Instagram Dec 2014.

Starting at 0:43, John is seen using the SM7B for his vocal takes.

John Mayer is seen using a Shure SM58 vocal microphone, as captured in a performance photo from Abcnewsradioonline.

John Mayer was using the AKG C12 microphone for recording an acoustic version of "Something like Olivia". The microphone can be seen the whole Video, especially at 1:47

The Telefunken U47 Vocal Microphone was used by John Mayer while playing an acoustic session. In the video "Something like Olivia" the microphone is shown clearly.

In the full concert video "John Mayer - Pinkpop 2014" on YouTube, John Mayer is seen using the Shure Beta 58A microphone during his live performance.

Used for vocals and as an ambient mic for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

For Mayer's vocal chain, Franscoviak says that most of the songs were recorded with a Neumann U47. For a couple of songs, he sang into a Neumann M269c, and on “I'm Gonna Find Another You,” which was recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, he sang into Al Green's RCA 77 ribbon mic. From there, the chain included a Neve sidecar stocked with 1073 mic pre's and then a UREI silver-face 1176. “On a couple of songs, we did experiment with splitting his vocals into two channels — one of them would be kind of a clean and one of them would be kind of a gritty — and we would take the second channel and put it through a Fairchild 670 and really crush it,” Franscoviak explains. “Then we would either blend it together or choose one or the other for the mix."

(...) Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

John Mayer was using the Royer R-121 Ribbon microphone while playing an acoustic version of "Something like Olivia". The microphone is slightly hidden, but can be seen at 1:47

Used for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

“Then, every once in a while, if he wanted a beefy sound, I would use a [Yamaha] NS10 speaker that had been reversed,” Franscoviak says. “I would put that right up on the cone of one of his cabinets to get that real low-end thing.” The best example of that, he adds, is the solo in “I'm Gonna Find Another You.” Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

Used for vocals on the John Mayer/Counting Crows Summer Tour, as stated by engineer Chad Franscoviak in this September 1, 2003 Mix Online interview.

Meanwhile, Mayer's own deep, breathy voice translated well through a Shure SM86. "John's vocals have a lot of low-mid and high end, but not much midrange, and getting that requires a fair amount of soft compression," Franscoviak says.

Used for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

“Then, every once in a while, if he wanted a beefy sound, I would use a [Yamaha] NS10 speaker that had been reversed,” Franscoviak says. “I would put that right up on the cone of one of his cabinets to get that real low-end thing.” The best example of that, he adds, is the solo in “I'm Gonna Find Another You.” Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

As seen in the new music video for "Last Train Home", the first of 4 new songs on John Mayer's upcoming 8th studio Album, Sob Rock (dropping July 16, 2021), a vintage Shure 55 Dynamic Microphone makes a cameo and adds to the authentic 1980's vibe the video is going for.

Used for vocals on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

For Mayer's vocal chain, Franscoviak says that most of the songs were recorded with a Neumann U47. For a couple of songs, he sang into a Neumann M269c, and on “I'm Gonna Find Another You,” which was recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, he sang into Al Green's RCA 77 ribbon mic. From there, the chain included a Neve sidecar stocked with 1073 mic pre's and then a UREI silver-face 1176. “On a couple of songs, we did experiment with splitting his vocals into two channels — one of them would be kind of a clean and one of them would be kind of a gritty — and we would take the second channel and put it through a Fairchild 670 and really crush it,” Franscoviak explains. “Then we would either blend it together or choose one or the other for the mix.

“[Mayer] loves hearing his vocals really compressed, so he can be as dynamic as he wants to and it always sounds present to him,” he continues. “He likes way too much reverb when he's tracking, and then when we proceed into the mix, it will be reeled in a little bit. Generally, I will compress lightly going to tape or Pro Tools, and then in Pro Tools cream it with usually the Renaissance Vox.”

Used for the acoustic guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

Used as an ambeint mic for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

“Then, every once in a while, if he wanted a beefy sound, I would use a [Yamaha] NS10 speaker that had been reversed,” Franscoviak says. “I would put that right up on the cone of one of his cabinets to get that real low-end thing.” The best example of that, he adds, is the solo in “I'm Gonna Find Another You.” Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

Used as an ambient mic for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

“Then, every once in a while, if he wanted a beefy sound, I would use a [Yamaha] NS10 speaker that had been reversed,” Franscoviak says. “I would put that right up on the cone of one of his cabinets to get that real low-end thing.” The best example of that, he adds, is the solo in “I'm Gonna Find Another You.” Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

Used as an ambient mic for the electric guitar on Continuum, as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

Miking Mayer's guitar rig depended on the song's mood. On “The Heart of Life,” Franscoviak threw a ribbon mic in the middle of the main room as a pair of amplifiers boosted Mayer's tracks. On the majority of the tracks, though, Franscoviak would put a Shure SM57 and a Beyerdynamic M88 right next to each other, about two fingers' width from the guitar cabinet's grille. He would take that track, blend it and send it to one channel. In addition, Mayer likes to hear room ambience on his guitar tracks. To accomplish that, Franscoviak would point either a pair of U67s or U87s about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps, and then either a U47 or a Telefunken 251 in front of them all.

“Then, every once in a while, if he wanted a beefy sound, I would use a [Yamaha] NS10 speaker that had been reversed,” Franscoviak says. “I would put that right up on the cone of one of his cabinets to get that real low-end thing.” The best example of that, he adds, is the solo in “I'm Gonna Find Another You.” Mayer's acoustic guitar chain was an AKG C24 microphone into 1073s.

Used for vocals on "I'm Gonna Find Another You", as stated by recording engineer Chad Franscoviak in this October 1, 2006 Mix Online interview.

For Mayer's vocal chain, Franscoviak says that most of the songs were recorded with a Neumann U47. For a couple of songs, he sang into a Neumann M269c, and on “I'm Gonna Find Another You,” which was recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, he sang into Al Green's RCA 77 ribbon mic. From there, the chain included a Neve sidecar stocked with 1073 mic pre's and then a UREI silver-face 1176. “On a couple of songs, we did experiment with splitting his vocals into two channels — one of them would be kind of a clean and one of them would be kind of a gritty — and we would take the second channel and put it through a Fairchild 670 and really crush it,” Franscoviak explains. “Then we would either blend it together or choose one or the other for the mix.

“[Mayer] loves hearing his vocals really compressed, so he can be as dynamic as he wants to and it always sounds present to him,” he continues. “He likes way too much reverb when he's tracking, and then when we proceed into the mix, it will be reeled in a little bit. Generally, I will compress lightly going to tape or Pro Tools, and then in Pro Tools cream it with usually the Renaissance Vox.”

During John Mayer's Solo Tour, the decision was made to utilize all analog equipment. Tour mixer Derek Featherstone selected the Neumann KMS105 Supercardioid condenser microphone for Mayer's vocals. Featherstone explained, "With no band behind him, we could use a condenser just like we would do in a studio since we don’t have to sacrifice any sonic reproduction to navigate around background bleed." This information is corroborated by Mixonline.