The Monterey Strat Returns & John Mayer's Epic Tone With It

[@brianwood7237]

The Trio was the reason I knew he could actually play...hiring Pino and Steve showed he is a very savvy bandleader

[@ryanrizzi703]

I agree, that’s when I really started being a fan myself.

[@brianwood7237]

Yep... and I'm from Northern California so I was very surprised pleasantly let's say when he joined up with the Dead

[@jamariopetitte6542]

my favorite guitar he plays i have a model of one in my room

[@bradpaul]

Yooooo, the dedication! 4am 😮‍💨 Do you think the strat came out because “Wait till tomorrow” was in Eb by any chance??? Some people like to talk about strats sounding wayyy better in Eb than in E???

[@nikolaubtopou]

Dat tone though

[@SkyfireAnthem26]

The solo tone was so THICK you couldn’t swallow it

[@44dean44]

It’s like the SS is a digital amp compared to a tube amp. The strat sounds so open, woody, fat.

[@insertguitaremoji]

He was completely at home on the Strat. The tone was phenomenal and punched through the mix.

[@brianwood7237]

His tone on 'Wait until tomorrow '... that is the number-one song I play on any strat when I want to test out the in-between positions on the 5 way... he nailed that

[@carolcorder344]

I love John Maher. He and I love a Song of the same. It was written in the 50’s, Freddie King recorded it in 1960. Then in 1970 Eric Clapton did a rendition. Finally in 1995 Bryan Adams made it popular. The Song Title is:”Have You Ever Really Ever Loved A Woman” 🎼🎵🎶♥️

[@victorfreeman3107]

As I was watching that performance I was wondering when Justin was gonna drop a vid about the performance. As alwasy great video, Justin!

[@glassslide]

Could not agree more, there is something about the Monterey Strat thats just..."better" imho. great video and welcome back!!

[@jacobbeyerl2483]

You should do a video on the double neck acoustic John used at the first solo tour. There is a video here on youtube of one just like it at the martin booth from the 2010 namm show. I wonder if john got it back then or commissioned a new one

[@JustinJeske]

Ooooo it’s comin 😎

[@misterknightowlandco]

Yeah the strat was way better than the silver sky…

[@boadiccea1]

I don't know who you are but I, we, aren't on here to listen to you go on and on about your vacation in Hawaii, and jetlag ?Well, now you're boring me ..

[@JustinJeske]

I like to chat with my audience and give them updates from time to time. Feel free to not be part of my community and not watch anything else

[@SharpEdgeStandardOfficial]

Don’t get me wrong now, I dig John Mayer he’s written some awesome music and can definitely hang with the best of them and he actually has done just that. But I really don’t believe there’s anything very special about his tone particularly his blues playing , yes it’s some good tone and playing but there’s nothing there that really grabs me. Most of his blues licks I’ve heard before in the exact same context with the typical strat into some fender amps with a broken up, slightly driven warm fender tone. Let’s not forget his song writing and vocal tone are why he struck gold in his career, not his blues playing.

[@ThePandaProcrastinates]

I think it was multifaceted. By the time they got to Wait Until Tomorrow they already got into a groove. The first song was rough. I don't think they warmed up. Bringing out the Monterey is a nod to Hendrix and I think John enjoys channeling Hendrix through it.

[@TommyFedak]

The Vibroverb though!

[@JustinJeske]

Very happy I got my RI!

[@redrock1963]

Jeeez you can talk.

[@sasmitha8446]

Silver Sky has more treble, less mids. Strat has less treble, more mids. 1k - 2k is the magic frequency range.

[@emmanuelibus]

Why Fender didn't want to work with him is beyond me.

[@DefenderB0SS]

John Mayer didn't want to work with Fender anymore

[@adamricard9410]

@@DefenderB0SS yes because fender didn’t want to do what he wanted. In other words Fender didn’t want to work with him.

[@chie1709]

Personally I get a bit offended (not in a dramatic sense, ok) when he used the Silversky for Gravity and Bold as Love instead of the Black1. I have a Black1 relic (I commissioned someone to recreate it and it’s awesome!). But I also have a Roxy Pink Silversky. Paul Reed Smith respects the money we pay for his guitars. Craftsmanship, fret work, neck work, string height configuration, intonation, and the sound is just perfect! Fender can’t parallel it. I bought a 1963 Fender Strat Fiesta Red reissue and the fret work was sub par. Fifth and sixth string rattles. What a darn shame for a $2500 guitar from Fender!

[@dddimon87]

Hey, don't you guys think that Strat tone was different from PRS because he probably used Klon in TS (the way he did in TRIO times) and not the other way around?

[@nickkokenspargermusic8666]

Please give me any and all insight into this, I just find it so phenomenal that John doesn’t use separate loop boxes for switching tones faster and also making it easier to turn multiple drive pedals on and off in fewer clicks ! His drive signal seems so clean compared to when myself and other people stack drive pedals in one large signal chain like him! I know guys like Joe Bonamassa will put drive pedals in there own loops to help with the slight problem of signal loss when chaining lots of pedals together! Especially drive pedals

[@StratStringSlinger]

Regarding the Silver Sky/Monterey Strat Comparison for this show, keep in mind when he switched guitars it went from Position 2 on the Silver Sky for Vultures to Position 4 on the Strat for Wait Till Tomorrow. Pretty big difference in tone and volume between Position 2 and 4.

[@marc-antoinejean6428]

And big different in the gain used too! « Who did you think I was, didn’t soud as it should be »…. Fuck it! He just played it with less gain. I call that bullcrap, totally pissed of people listening/playing music with their eyes

[@hermanshermits705]

Hi Justin, are you gonna do a special on this strat as well? Does ANYBODY know what pickups are in it?

[@ianharris8706]

Strat sounds so much better than the PRS.

[@tmmuscics2753]

A prs has a better 4th position, sounds glassy

[@bendayze]

no offense bro but you dont look tan, you look sunburned

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

The silver sky sounds more "pointed" if that makes any sense while the strat sounds more "open" and "vintage". This is probably what John Envisioned when he said that the SS and Strat were made to coexist.

[@KasparSchwabe]

Am I the only one who does not really hear a difference between the two?😅

[@coopscovers5119]

I felt like he was really off this performance. Almost like he was too drunk or high. Couldn’t hit the high notes and was frequently off beat. Sad considering the trio is my favorite

[@elihintz5620]

He’s been sober for like 5 years now so I hope he wasn’t drunk. Maybe high but I think it probably had more to do with it being the first trio performance in a while and in front of an audience that wasn’t necessarily his own fans. And Steve Jordan was sped him up a tonnn on who did you think I was, honestly I think John had the right idea slowing it down a little

[@sargentppeper]

The obvious is John’s 64 Strat is aged (wood, pickups, pots etc) like most vintage Fender & Gibson guitars you can only replicate that with newer guitars close as possible.. 🎸😊

[@fives.]

Silver Sky single-coils are strangely sterile pickups, in a way that wax potting just has no effect on (hence it can't be that, as such) Big part of the vibe is the way a single-coil crushes and compresses into the input of an amp dialed to the heavens that has INSANE amounts of headroom, and the Silver Sky's pickups do that in the weirdest way compared to a standard set of single-coils. The quack, the reediness of the fourth position on higher notes, it's just all there ordinarily - kinda not with the Silver Sky. Curiously enough. Note: It's hard to conjecture. Not only the Core model, but even the promo ad for SE Silver Sky, illustrates that it can do the Slow Dancing fourth position clean-bloom really well, so I'm open to the idea that I'm talking mad shit and my ears are highly negligent for what I'm trying to describe lol

[@justinguitarcia]

It is a sound though. Almost like lace sensors. Dont get me wrong, I prefer the fender sound over the SS but I think Mayer was going in that direction that all the blues strat players were in the late 80/90s with lace sensor, high fi sounding strats

[@Upside_Down_Guitar_Guy]

Wow, it makes me feel like I'm watching Where The Light Is again! I love to see it. Nice to know that PRS doesn't have him locked into a deal where he can't play Fenders

[@lebethonii6683]

Welcome back strat

[@rhymeskill]

Let’s be real, if John Mayer didn’t play a Silver Sky nobody would buy them. 💁🏻‍♂️

[@4034miguel]

IMHO, both sounded fantastic. Of course, if it were me, both would have sound like rubbish. 🙂

[@jamesyoung3006]

The PRS Silver Sky sounded terrible in that concert. The Strat sounded so much better. The Trio sounded better 5 yes ago.

[@tudobem12]

Any Fender with Big Deeper or Texas Special >>>>>>>>>>silver sky

[@elihintz5620]

The strat sounds pointier if that makes sense? Like everything just sounded a bit clearer and sharper than the silver sky. Both good but for this show I definitely preferred the strat

[@joesaxon6566]

Pretty funny about the tan! instead of Really pasty Canadian look, you are only slightly pasty Canadian!! haha!

[@jimib3]

Anyone think this performance was a bit of letdown?

[@ThePandaProcrastinates]

It was too short. He was the last performer and the other performances took extra time or assumed that way.

[@zacherycampbell7296]

It did seem a bit rushed and his voice seemed a little off

[@lestera34]

I wasn’t terribly impressed by this performance. It did feel rushed and unrehearsed. Was still happy to see my favorite iteration of JM though!

[@tmmuscics2753]

I love silver sky’s, but Strats are where it’s at!

[@PeeDee69]

I've been saying it from the jump...the SS has more bottom end in it. The mids and the highs don't punch like they do on a strat

[@YTOxygenLess]

Early statusss

[@PapaTMan4406]

Great Vid Justin

[@a_man_named_daaave]

4 am. You legend.

[@joesaxon6566]

Who'd you Think I was sounded disjointed and didn't groove at all....

[@adamricard9410]

John was sluggish on Who Did You Think I Was and rather than meet his tempo Steve was pushing him to speed up. It wasn’t their best.

[@alexanderroy5713]

Killer video!

[@aymericbruant3821]

Thats the Monterrey fender mim?

[@JustinJeske]

It’s a Prototype from the Custom Shop before they made the CS limited run!

[@joesaxon6566]

What was the major flaw on the Black 1's neck?

[@ctown6592]

Twisting over time

[@joesaxon6566]

@@ctown6592 But Why? Fender never made a neck before?

[@JustinJeske]

For how good a builder Cruz is supposed to be you’d think he could make a neck that’d last a lot longer than 10 years for a touring musician. The original neck’s life was 2004-2014. Seems rather short considering John barely played from 2011-2013. I don’t know about building processes and neck twisting but that seems oddly short to me.

[@joesaxon6566]

@@JustinJeske 50's and 60's Strats? Still going....

[@JustinJeske]

Exactly. Lots of CS level ones going strong for over 20 years as well

[@sylvainmartini1480]

I dont like the Silver sky at all...... I'm hoping that is the end of the PRS time ... !

[@s2seltaeb]

I think he’ll eventually have a full homecoming with Fender. I’d guess 2027… a full ten years after the SS… plus the year JM turns 50. I hope to see the Beck Strat again. Along with “Heartbreak Warfare” making a full return to the setlist.

[@CaptainSexy90]

FIRST!