Replicating John Mayer's 2019 World Tour Pedalboard - Pedalboard Build

Today is the day! After much waiting I build a replica of John Mayer's insane 2019 World Tour Pedalboard. The 2019 Tour, to me at least, is the best of John's guitar playing and tone since the Continuum Era. So it was a no brainer, when I was planning to build a Mayer board, to replicate the craziest pedalboard he's ever had.
There will be tone demos of the board in the near future. Once my Two Rock arrives I will be doing a series going song by song analyzing the pedals and tones Mayer got during the 2019 Tour.
I hope you guys enjoy! Please comment any questions and thoughts below!
Links:
Vagabond Audio - www.instagram....
Join the John Mayer Gear Lounge on Facebook - / 489582638360649
Check out my other KZbin Project @John Mayer Gear Lounge ​

[@jasonskinner]

I appreciate the money that has gone into this board. :)

[@Jerrys_missing_finger]

Yeah I would love to see the math.

[@keithremedy]

What I’m most impressed with is the tidiness. Having everything neat really makes a difference especially if you’re switching stuff out. This is what a board is supposed look like and for Mayer fans obviously this sets the standard to compare 2

[@JustinJeske]

Thanks for the kind words Keith! I really appreciate it!

[@tinman8014]

Saw him in London October 2019. I can confirm his tone was truly spectacular. This is very cool.

[@JustinJeske]

Still kicking myself for missing the 2019 tour!

[@joshbabbitt9243]

Subscribed! I am just as obsessed as JM tomes as the next, so this is a definite treat! What a 1st vid for this channel, lol! I'm ready for that tone demo!

[@brandonclark7867]

Amazing board. Hats off for creating it from thin air. Badass award given.

[@JustinJeske]

Thank you dude!

[@mickkraviz]

I’ve been a fan of your old channel and I‘m happy to see you back here on youtube. Keep it up! :)

[@benink5690]

Your passion and dedication to all your vids is awesome

[@DD1072]

what a great idea for a video

[@Vigi]

Wow so much work really went behind this! Can't wait for the demo. :)

[@janniswiese]

Great job Justin! Can't wait for some tone demos!

[@serranodavid3247]

Fulltone OCD overdrive into the CE-2w set in the Ce-1 mode, delay/reverb into the front of a fender blues Deville ...

[@NicholasPalance]

Killer board! Sorry if I missed it but what are you powering this with?!

[@Jerrys_missing_finger]

It's a accomplishment to put all this together, that's a lot of knobs to dial in.

[@JustinJeske]

It's gonna be pretty cool once my series looking at tones from the board, pedal settings, and what pedals where used for what songs in 2019 starts!

[@erpringle]

I agree 100% with you about solder vs.non solder. I use evidence cable brand and have never had a cable go bad. I don't know if you watch that pedal show but that's all Dan uses and he knows his stuff. The only thing is, they are definitely not cheap but you get what you pay for.

[@Levenbrech1]

Great job appreciate the insight and walk through!

[@JustinJeske]

Thank you!!

[@HasyirIbrahim]

yes sirrrr altho im thoroughly jealous. sick stuff justin!

[@Diax1324]

Considering the scale of this investment, you should definitely get an attenuator/load box to run the Two Rock silently. Those amps definitely sound best when you get just a tiny bit of power amp compression going (About 3 or 4 if the master volume was labeled). Haven't watched the entire video yet, so Idk if you mention having one, but I just thought I'd comment it because you're gonna want to hear that amp breathe without sending your neighbors into a froth.

[@JustinJeske]

Attenuator: check! 😎

[@Diax1324]

@@JustinJeske Jealousy: CHECK! Man I wish I could afford a Two Rock. I doubt I'll ever be able to.

[@kyleboosh1]

Great job brother. Always entertaining and very informational!

[@vagabondaudio]

Love the way it came out!! Looks awesome!! 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@danstinson6367]

Great job on the board 😊 Curious about the 2 katana boosts - one looks like it's after the tuner, is the other one a post drive/solo volume type of deal?

[@JustinJeske]

Both are after the tuner! Signal Chain is explained near the back end of the video but one is pre drive, the other in the loop of the Q-Tron + !

[@Millennial_Mike]

My favourite patch cables are the Lava Tightrope and Evidence Audio Monorail... both solderless... both sound great and are exceptionally useful ergonomicly speaking.

[@gordrock]

Well done mate, great work!

[@thib_frcs]

huge work thank you !

[@aaronhilbert2687]

Im curious as to what he has the Chrono Delay set to. If the Aqua Puss is a Slapback and Delay 80's is the longer TES delay, what was the Chrono Delay used for?

[@JustinJeske]

It’s another long delay. The 80’s sounds different to the Chrono, you can’t make them sound the same. So the 80’s does the specific TES thing, and the Chrono is a more traditional digital delay with an amazing tap tempo!

[@AndrewNuttall]

Small clarification, Chase Bliss RKM is an analog delay, not digital.

[@sercanaloficial]

Great video!

[@martinleonmusic]

Awesome build! Can’t wait for more videos!

[@aleksmayer5907]

So the Q Tron is placed between the TS 10 and the Katana? Wow that‘s interesting - currently I am trying to find out where‘s the best place on my board for the envelope filter. At the moment I place it after my Zendrive, but before the TS10 and the Katana :) Would also be interesting to know where Tom Misch places his envelope filter 😁

[@mathewporras6737]

This video is awesome, what version of “belief” is used for the intro?

[@JustinJeske]

There are several ones! Usually starts with a lot of delay and higher gain! (OD3 and Providence Delay 80’s usually)

[@gr8dane910]

Awesome vid ... boss tu3 tuner , boss blues driver , klon centar , aqua puss , Q-Tron and ts10 or ts808 seem to make the staples of his rig

[@JustinJeske]

Thank you! Yes he certainly has a formula he likes to stick with!

[@oldtimer99]

Really curious setup for the Flint. Is it real?

[@marcusflores2184]

Awesome work! Looking forward to more content 👍🏻

[@timbartlebaugh9915]

Fanstastic board! I’ve always appreciated John as a guitarist, not much of a fan of his solo work. Being a lifelong Dead fan I too was like WTF when he joined up with Bobby and the boys. I have to say he has done an amazing job with Dead and Co. he really does a great job honoring Jerry’s style and tone but at the same time making it his own. All that being said, what do you put in your Q-Tron plus effects loop? I don’t use a lot of distortion so I haven’t messed with it much. The start of my chain is Crybaby>QTron>TS9>TS808>DynaComp a la Trey Anastasio (I play a lot of Phish as well as Dead).

[@JustinJeske]

Thanks Tim! The Qtron has the second Katana in the loop!

[@timbartlebaugh9915]

@@JustinJeske so is it boosting the pedals that come after QTron without giving any extra boost to the QTron signal?

[@JustinJeske]

@@timbartlebaugh9915 no it is placed between the Qtrons preamp and the filter section when in the loop, so it is boosting the Qtron but not slamming the front end of it like other effects would placed before the pedal.

[@timbartlebaugh9915]

@@JustinJeske got it, thanks!

[@joshsinclair1796]

What’s the intro audio from? That’s some insane playing

[@hgdstudios8959]

Do you have a list of the pedals on this board? If you don’t that’s fine. Great work on the board, it’s really impressive

[@JustinJeske]

I don't, BUT, my next video is going to be an update on this board! So stay tuned in the next few days 😉

[@Al-vt9hg]

Welcome back Justin! Looking fresh! Please let us know the amp settings on John Frusciante's Silver Jubilee! Thanks for this upload! PS invest in a microphone first. Video quality is perfect. Blessings sir.

[@tylerpoe8628]

Love that sweater, where’s it from? And do you store picks in the pocket?

[@JustinJeske]

It’s Neighbourhood!! And haha i should do that

[@belo1971]

Waouh ! Awesome sound stuff you made . No fuzz on JM pedalboard ? Thanks. Regards from France 🇫🇷

[@JustinJeske]

Nope! John didn’t use any fuzz that tour!

[@MintStiles]

Surprised to see that except for a BOSS RC500, all except for one drive pedal on my (much smaller) board is here LOL! Now if I can only play like JM. This is a great video. As a caveat though, I hope people realize that JM's tone works with his band and his voice profile. There isn't any magic to his gears. Each is a part of the whole.

[@mr.sinbad4034]

Hey mate, great work here. No hate at all, I was just wondering because I am out of the loop. You used to do John Frusciante videos, but they have all been scrubbed from the channel. Are you planning on re-uploading or doing new ones? I was subbed to you a while ago when it was Frusciante vids, and now it's only Mayer. Thanks!

[@JustinJeske]

When the new album/tour comes out I’ll probably make some content for that. Just did a shift of my socials to focus on a larger audience I have and keep a consistent level of quality. Hope that helps answer some questions!

[@ginoinzo]

Nice work my man! Looking forward to some updates/tone tasting

[@jmayeromjm]

what a board!!

[@bilalnachabeh]

the intro belief is amazing, from which live performance is it??

[@mjardward]

What settings do you recommend on the milkman amp?

[@caffeinastudio832]

Josh essentially says what the Kirkland boost is on his "How to Stack Guitar Pedals" episode on the jhs channel

[@JustinJeske]

Yeah it’s 2 clean boosts. Very close in circuitry to the JHS Prestige but not exact according to Josh when he discussed it since that video came out

[@constantinschaumann4654]

What exactly does John use the Flux Five for? And does he use the EQ? Great Video btw!

[@JustinJeske]

It’s for a final stage overdrive, so like his big outro solos! And yes he uses the EQ! Thank you!

[@tennisracketguitar1659]

Is the chorus drive loop pedal a custom pedal? If so where would I get one?

[@slash0abid]

I may have missed it but how is the qtron wired? And where does it sit in the signal chain?

[@dkuda1]

this is awesome. Are your pedals set to his settings?

[@JustinJeske]

Things got moved around in the build so most settings are probably off to be honest haha. Normally they are as close to his settings or what gets me close with my setup.

[@michaelwagner7254]

Awesome job! Just curious, what is the actual board made out of?

[@JustinJeske]

Plexiglass overtop of wood!

[@markdavidofficial4274]

Bro how do you possibly afford this?

[@XxgxssxX]

Can you make a video on how Mayer uses the flux 5?

[@Utubesup7890]

I like that gold Marshall. Nice.

[@JustinJeske]

77’ JMP! Not too many made in Fawn 😎

[@bilalnachabeh]

19:50 I bought an OC3 yesterday and was wondering where to put it. Please let me know in which songs John uses the oc3, Thanks!

[@JustinJeske]

John never uses it religiously for one song or another really. It just was used as a more "when I feel like it" sort of effect. Vultures & Helpless are two that come to mind off the top of my head that he experimented with it on solos and jam parts during the 2019 Tour. Hope that helps!

[@patrickeagan4079]

Which live show is this clarity from? (during the build)

[@MaximillianNewman]

Anyone know which show that Guess I Just Feel Like solo is from?? Smokin…

[@MaximillianNewman]

I found it if anyone’s interested: August 6 2019 - Milwaukee, WI. Next question, which pedal is John using for that “octa fuzz” type tone on that solo?!

[@ferramirez4570]

Do you why he has a Neunaber plus an Strymont flint? Or if they have an specific use ? Those have really similar features on reverb.

[@JustinJeske]

The Slate has a different sound with the Wet Reverb setting. That’s the exact pedal John wrote Love On The Weekend With! So it’s what he exclusively uses for it! The Flint is set as a reverb just greater than amp for a little bit of extra verb.

[@iiisaaciiiriv8981]

Hey man, the tone test video hasn’t come out yet!!

[@JustinJeske]

Oh I’m well aware. Feel free to ask Two Rock when my amp is coming lol.

[@NA-03]

Where can I purchase the pedalboard risers?

[@TheMRCHEEFY]

Awesome build and dedication! I'm curious, did you have most of these pedals before you undertook the project or did you purchase all of them in one go?

[@JustinJeske]

Bit of both honestly. I had the main staples already but the ones specific for this tour I had to acquire. Some being rather hard to find like the Delay 80’s and ZD2 but I slowly got them all!

[@searom]

Besides Wait Until Tomorrow 2nd solo WTLI Live Version, where does he use Univibe? Do you believe Mooer Blues Crab is a good option for replacing the Marshall BluesBreaker v1 for the WTLI tone? Tks!!

[@JustinJeske]

He also used it on the Who Did You Think I Was outro on WTLI! I’ve never tried the Blues Crab, I do think if you can save up for a Snouse Black Box that is the best option!

[@searom]

@@JustinJeske Tks! Im considering mooer because I Live in Brazil, and these boutique pedals are very difficult or expense to get!

[@searom]

@@JustinJeske Univibe first in chain, before drives, right?

[@Minnesotastar]

Where did you get the pedalboard itself? Assume it is Vagabond? What size/dimensions?

[@JustinJeske]

Hey Eric, sorry for the late response. I got it through Vagabond so reach out to them if you have any questions!

[@TheFakeNewsFrog]

Hang on a minute… I’m pretty sure John does use an FX loop? You can see multiple cables running from his board to the amps. Not only that, your logic doesn’t make sense. The FX loop sits between the preamp & power amp stages. Anything going into the front of the amp goes into the preamp, through the FX loop, into the power section, out to the speaker. Just because he uses overdrives at the front with a high head room amp, doesn’t change anything. Let’s use a chorus as an example: By putting it before the preamp stage, the chorus effect is only effecting the tone of the pickups going into the amp, and whatever pedals you choose to put before it. Each pedal after it is then being driven by the chorus. And in fact, the chorus is being effected by the preamp section. By putting the chorus in the FX loop, you get the chorus effect on the pickups, pedals, and the preamp. So that nice warm clean tone the amp is producing then runs into the chorus, making the chorus effect the ‘full’ sound before hitting the speaker. This is the same for a delay. By putting it before the preamp section, each delayed note is trying to drive the preamp, instead of delaying the full sound through to the speaker. This also causes each delayed note to have a slightly different tone as it drives the preamp I don’t see how having a ‘high headroom amp’ makes any difference. An FX loop works just the same regardless.

[@JustinJeske]

I think you're confused with the point I was trying to make. I'm very well aware of how FX Loops work. John's amps are not distorting on their own, the preamps are not driving everything super hard like a Marshall would, for example. The difference in using an FX Loop vs 'All In Front' with an ultra clean "pedal platform" amp like a Mayer Two Rock is considerably different to the result you'd get with an amp that is overdriving. Yes there is still a difference, but I never said there wasn't a one. None of Mayers amps are designed to really break up, high headroom, thus your modulation effects are not going to be distorting to the levels other amps would through the preamps. The multiple cables you say are running to the amps are not doing so. They are running to his rack gear effects. Depending on the era there can be a Reverb unit in the FX Loop of certain amps, not all, but that is it. Most of his boards you can trace the signal all in line and then out to the Radial unit that spilts the amps. There is always another cable running for his acoustic chain into his Avalon units as well as it's a totally different chain. For the 2019 World Tour there were switchers on his board to activate his Leslie as well as a specific mix of effects in a rack. That is what these cables were doing, not going to the amps. You can trace the cables being all in line as well with the good pictures we have. Sob Rock is the only era so far we can't say with 100% certainty how he is running things but it makes no sense that he would change now, especially that his Bandmaster doesn't even have an FX Loop

[@TheFakeNewsFrog]

@@JustinJeske Thanks for the response Justin! That clears things up a bit. My whole train of thought behind doing it with a high headroom amp like a Two Rock, was that the preamp stage will still colour the sound and boost certain harmonic frequencies. I’d of thought putting the chorus, delay’s, etc.. after the preamp section, would benefit from being boosted or coloured by the signal in that way. I guess doing this would give slightly different tones, but in the end it’s down to preference. It’s like do a put X pedal before Y, or Y before X… It’s up to the player. I was under the assumption that the multiple cables would of been for an FX loop. What you mentioned with the Bandmaster is a great point though! Am I right in thinking that his Dumble on the Sob Rock Tour is clean with no reverb, and then the Two Rock & Bandmaster run the reverb’s? I do watch a lot of your video’s, they’re great quality and really do go deep into some of the tones I love. But I can’t seem to remember fully how he’s working with that currently. I might have to go back through and take a look! For my setup currently, I have a 100w KittyHawk from the 80’s. The first 20 were actually Dumble’s, but the version I’ve got here isn’t one of those. It’s a modified KittyHawk Custom. It’s got quite a good amount of headroom, probably not as much as the modern Two Rock’s though. It’s a really nice amp, and something slightly different. I aim to get tones somewhere in between Mayer, SRV, and Knopfler. I use mostly BOO Instruments boutique pedals made here in England, have my overdrives, wah, fuz, etc.. going into the front. Then effects like delay, tremolo, chorus, all running in the back. The only thing it could do with for the FX loop is a Dumbleator clone or something similar. My plan was to go with a multiple amp setup like Mayer & SRV. I’ve been trying to decide on what to pair with the KittyHawk… Maybe a high headroom amp like a Two Rock, or a Marshall, or even a Fender… It may even be a combination of two of them. If I was going for a 3 amp setup, it’d be my 2x12 in the centre, with a 1x12 either side in a live situation. But now you’ve made me question if I should use the FX loop at all… Or do I run certain pedals on certain amp’s… The possibilities are endless! If you have any suggestions I’m all ears. And thank you for helping me understand Mayer’s rig a lot better!

[@MetalMan1023]

What’s the looper on the lower left hand side of the board? If that is in fact a looper? Looks like the keeley looper

[@JustinJeske]

Yup! Old school Keeley looper! I mention it in the video!

[@antonioholguin8182]

Hey Justin how did you power the q tron plus here ? I have one and I want too add it too my board but can you power it without the adapter it comes with can you connect it too a power supply ?

[@JustinJeske]

You can totally connect it to a power supply the trick is just finding one that can do it. I use my Cioks Ciokolate which actually has a 24V outlet and comes with centre positive cords if you need!

[@offtheleashman]

what would the benefit of the compressor being before the wah be as opposed to after it??

[@JustinJeske]

I honestly think it was more to do with board space. When the SlideRig was placed after the Wah the Katana was always in that slot kinda above the Tuner. If the SlideRig was before the Wah, it was placed in that spot and there was no Katana on the board at all. The layout you see in this video for the Tuner, Katana, and Pulp is true to the Rehearsal Board but it did change for the actual tour. The current version of this board I have is 100% accurate in that regard now to the actual Tour. I'm doing an update video soonish on it actually.

[@ferramirez4570]

Is that a recent version of clarity? Sounds really recent.

[@JustinJeske]

Yup! All the sound clips were from the 2019 World Tour to fit the board 😎

[@erpringle]

I find it hard to believe he didn't have a fuzz of any kind on his board. Or a univibe for that matter???

[@davesava6e245]

What brand is the board being used here? Is it custom?

[@JustinJeske]

Trailer Trash is what John used. I had a custom one made since Trailer Trash I think went out of business? At least when I was planning this build I called and sent emails multiple times and never heard back...

[@davesava6e245]

@@JustinJeskewould like more info on the custom company you had to build yours. I think I would really like one of these boards.

[@keithremedy]

Who in there right mind would dislike this

[@hasleryancey2365]

this is amazing

[@Tom-lv5rr]

What is the brand to fixe / screw the cable in pedalboard ?

[@JustinJeske]

Luter, Amazon’s choice. They honestly suck though and I would not recommend them

[@CalChristiansen03]

Do you know which songs he would be using the boss oc-3 on?

[@JustinJeske]

There is no set song actually, it was mainly a spur of the moment thing. Most commonly was Vultures. He did use it during the Helpless outro solo that they featured in the Best Of John Mayer 2019 part 1 as well!

[@kimhwang3610]

Me: Wow that mayer board look so heavy...ah he got a lot of crews

[@brian91145]

What fuzz does he use on the I guess I just feel like ending solo?

[@JustinJeske]

No fuzz was used at all!

[@MrAMO73]

That’s quite a labour of love right there. Very impressive. Do you happen to know how JM uses the katana boosts? ie are they always on tone shapers or used as actual volume boosts? Cheers

[@JustinJeske]

We know it isn’t an always on boost for every song. Some guitars that have lower output pickups, like the blk1 might have it on all the time to even things out in terms of how the signal hits the chain. Other times he’ll use it just as a boost or if a song just requires louder clean tone.

[@MrAMO73]

@@JustinJeske Thanks for that 🤟🏻

[@clapsting]

wonderful , how much money are we looking at ?

[@JustinJeske]

I don’t have a total written down or anything! The cost isn’t really the point!

[@simont4435]

What songs was John using a compression for?

[@JustinJeske]

Wasn’t used for any song consistently really, just was used more as a boost when he was experimenting with that over like the Solo Dallas or Katana

[@CesarRPM]

Do we know if he used the slide rig instead of the cali76 for a fact?

[@JustinJeske]

Yup! You can clearly see it says SlideRig on the pedal 😎

[@orryfishburne5326]

Damn! That board is gorgeous!! Is it bad that im more jealous of the beautiful cable management than the pedals themselves? 🤪. I really need to get into soldering to get my board that clean. I like the pedals i have for the most part, but its a mess right now. Lol.

[@JustinJeske]

Don't be jealous it took me so long to do I'm not sure I'll ever do it again haha! Was a bit of a pain in the butt that's for sure! I need to get into soldering cables as well it's a good skill to have!

[@orryfishburne5326]

@@JustinJeske yea i really need to learn how to solder. I know its not hard to make cables, but when u dont have any experience or the tools to do so, i find it hard to invest in all that, but it would definitely be worth it in the long run

[@florencebex3422]

does anyone have a list with all the pedal names?

[@faycalbettioui3109]

Did you get to try this pedal ?? Jumblestomp Continuum If so what do you think?

[@JustinJeske]

Hey! No I have not. The only pedal like that I have is the Nordvang Gravity which I love. Maybe I’ll reach out to them and do a demo of one eventually and see what I think!

[@jordanreinecke1378]

What does the chorus drive loop do? Is it a parallel blender? Can someone explain its effect?

[@JustinJeske]

Does kinda what it says in the name. Has a Drive Pedal and Chorus in the loop. When the loop is turned on, both the drive pedal and chorus are activated into the chain at the same time.

[@rtbemt]

@@JustinJeske where did you get that loop pedal at? Awesome vid btw keep up the great work!!!

[@JustinJeske]

@@rtbemt I just got it off of Reverb! It's an old school Keeley Electronics one!

[@benriddelluk]

Where are the pedal risers from? Thanks

[@JustinJeske]

Hey Ben, they are from Earnest Custom but are no longer being offered. Check out FIX Pedalboards they make great hinged risers!

[@benriddelluk]

@@JustinJeske thanks

[@damianbroodryk4290]

whats that intro audio from?

[@JustinJeske]

Just one of JM's live 2019 shows! Don't remember exactly which one!

[@DGGriffinMusic]

Is all of this gear just for decoration? 😜

[@JustinJeske]

Yup, it’s way more interesting than some painting!

[@DGGriffinMusic]

I hear that!

[@luckylayne]

sick! did you used to have vids on Frusciante?

[@JustinJeske]

I’ll be uploading some when we get more information on the album and tour 😎

[@searom]

Where does JM use the MXR Phase90? Tks!

[@JustinJeske]

He doesn’t really. It’s used for Dead and Co shows for some sounds but even then not a ton.

[@searom]

@@JustinJeske Tks!

[@tomyates2551]

the other week, in a Sob Rock reaction video, that Rhett S fella made a comment about how he first thought a fuzz pedal being used to achieve the IGIJFL solo tone (yes, we've all seen the video of how it was actually recorded). But what about at 11:24 in this video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWXEgaWKr7urrLc) I can't wait to see if sound is on this board somewhere.

[@JustinJeske]

I’ve seen that exact pedalboard from the video actually. It’s an updated version of the rehearsal one with only a few changes. No fuzz pedal on it. When I look at his tone it’s half way down. That with the Smoky Signal should honestly do it. The tricky part is that the Smoky was only used 1/3rd of the actual tour. 🤔

[@tomyates2551]

@@JustinJeske Ahhhhhh, noice. Great insight fella.

[@its255am]

Souder

[@phillipkingsford]

are you on the spectrum?

[@bankjibbernow]

Overload....

[@emasalvadego]

How much money do you have?? Holy s*it!

[@JustinJeske]

It’s not about having money, it’s more about that I work hard to get what I have

[@Riccardoferriscuccimarra]

And u didn't played it? Bah...

[@JustinJeske]

I mean I literally said in the first part that I wouldn’t be and why