What John Mayer's "Blacked-out" Klon Really Is & Why It Looks Like This

Every since the 2019 World Tour and we saw John Mayer "blacking out" pedals, the black klon centaur on his pedalboard was a pedal that sparked a lot of conversation and debate as to what it really was. Today's video is a full discussion of the pedal and all the details on it.
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#johnmayer #johnmayersolo #kloncentaur #sobrock #johnmayerpedals #jhspedals

[@joesaxon6566]

He blacks them out because of Justin Jeske

[@JustinJeske]

He did that long before my channel existed 😅

[@rianadams4837]

Justin, thanks for your videos! We (the viewers) enjoy your passion for music and how you appreciate the intricacies of minor adjustments and tweaks as they relate to tone and sound. I know you're a huge Mayer fan and focus on his style and rig, but the channel is more than that because I learn a lot about music in general, along with the excellent JM info. Thanks for sharing!

[@JustinJeske]

Cheers my friend 🙏🏻

[@drewk6614]

It's a good thing he blacks out that klon. Would hate for them to start fetching a premium price 😂🤣

[@blackfishgaming7145]

But do we know what kind of paint he used?? If you want to get the tone right, it’s gotta be the same black paint. Is it nitro??

[@_RLP]

Hahaha! You win the internet today!

[@lestera34]

@@_RLPwasn’t that witty

[@pnwdrifter5680]

But has to be applied by a mohair brush for best tone.

[@MrAwesomeSaucesome]

Currently down the hardware store. Need to know what paint John used to paint his klon.. urgent

[@BeefNEggs057]

Special tone paint - simulates tone wood.

[@martydibergi5228]

Hi Justin. We must be twins! So much in common. Thank you. I like your chuckle at the beginning😊

[@daanmulders8731]

Justin jeske videos are a instant click for me :)

[@dkuda1221]

great video. Around 6:40 in .... I've never seen the drive on the TS10 pedal maxed out like that!

[@thiagocesaro]

Makes total sense, Justin! Thanks for the insight!

[@RJ_HTx]

If you pay attention on the settings, you can clearly see it is a Klon pedal or a Klon Clon. The output knob is big takeaway.

[@misterknightowlandco]

It must be nice to have “I can spray paint a Klon” money. 😂

[@TeleTonemonkey]

Can of spray is only a couple of bucks! 🤷🏻‍♂️😉

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

Let's be honest here, that's probably going to be worth more than a non-spray-painted Klon since it's owned and used by John 🤫

[@misterknightowlandco]

@@dannyllerenatv8635 sadly, at least the price that would get would be somewhat justified, what regular ones go for is ridiculous 😂

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@misterknightowlandco hey someone literally sold bath water on the internet so anything is possible 😂

[@misterknightowlandco]

@@dannyllerenatv8635 that makes me sad for humanity 😂

[@patrickcarroll1754]

Good stuff, Justin! Any idea what markings on his pedals correspond to? It looks like has a few different symbols as if he has a few settings per pedal

[@ezraestrada4992]

Do you mind showing us a cover of your John Mayer songs or guitar licks. Just curious if you're just a gear collector.

[@countstoneula]

Any idea what kind of pen/marker do they use to label those knob settings? It looks so clean and practical.

[@sagittated]

I don't have any first hand knowledge, but you could get that with a fine point Posca pen and very disciplined penmanship.

[@MarkKirbyMusic]

I use wine 🍷 glass pens actually. They work well, and do not seem to stain your pedals. First test it in an inconspicuous spot, just to be sure.

[@therileyobrien]

Real klons have a hex nut on the dc jack and ceriatone uses a knurled nut. Obviously this can easily be changed but it isn't a common point of failure. But either way...that's not enough gain to engage the "magic" diodes so any similar pedal will sound extremely close.

[@insertguitaremoji]

Wish you’d deep dive his patch cables 😂 what are they!?

[@andrewrippel6164]

Anyone recognizing the irony here? Not OP

[@JustinJeske]

I’ll bite, explain it to me

[@andrewrippel6164]

@@JustinJeske prefacing that I like this channel and am a mega JM fan too. But it's not a stretch to see that this channel contributes to the problem that he's trying to avoid. And the irony is that you're detailing some of the actions he's taking to dissuade people from detailing his actions. Again, to be clear, do I mind? No. Do I personally have a problem with what you're doing? No. I watch your videos, I enjoy them. I do, however, think you deserve to be forthright about it and upfront that "yeah, I may technically be part of the problem here, I recognize it, but I do not endorse the price-scalping, gear-grubbing behaviors that John is working against. I track the man's creative expression, not his collecting habits" That would make the channel's objectives feel more genuine & well-meaning in my mind

[@JustinJeske]

I appreciate you enjoying the channel. I don’t disagree that what I do does work against John trying to hide his pedals. This is why when it came to the Sob Rock tour I did not make a single video on his pedalboard until the tour concluded. I had a full dead on shot of his board with the new pedals not blacked out 10 minutes after the Palladium show ended, and I personally never said anything about the board. I could have made a video for the very next day before the actual tour even started detailing his entire board in detail to grow the channel and built hype, but I didn’t. That’s me trying to balance talking about his gear and giving the right information while respecting what he is trying to do. Not to mention the stuff I know and will never talk about on the channel. I don’t think I need to explain it every single time I talk about it in order for people to get that I’m genuine. I know the things that I do that show that and most people who follow the channel get that!

[@andrewrippel6164]

@@JustinJeske that’s good of you. Good to know all of that. I appreciate the thoughtful response for sure. I think a quick disclaimer though is a helpful nod to your objectives and respect for John. Either way I still like the content you make

[@philipmarsh3522]

I don’t see an issue with you showing every pedal, cable, brand of spray paint used (for toan), whatever. The more hype there is about pedals and stuff the more money the small builder who will invent something special is likely to have to continue their efforts. There are plenty of options for players and not having the exact same pedal that your favorite player uses is not in any way an obstacle to sounding good. It’s just an obstacle for people who overpay for gear they don’t actually need - and that’s fine because collecting as a hobby has as one of its rewards the feeling that you have something other people can’t have. It’s not for me, but I have zero issue with other people doing it. When I saw a video about how people were paying over $6k for a Klon pedal, and remembered that I had an old pedal in a box that might be a Klon (it was) and plugged it in, I remembered why I didn’t use it. When the hype reaches $8k I’m selling it and using the money to pay for overpriced concert tickets. Everyone wins.

[@gregggyf]

Good Evening, Just for interest,.... HOW DOES A CERIATONE CENTAUR SOUND? Thank you.

[@JustinJeske]

It’s not my favourite clone, the higher gain sounds aren’t as smooth as a Centaur

[@gregggyf]

@@JustinJeske Thank you Justin for your reply.

[@enzowiratno]

@@JustinJeskewhat’s your favorite clone?

[@liamravita1365]

Justin Jeske driving up the price of so many pedals smh

[@stirlinghowe]

It’s a blacked out JHS Notaklon.

[@DeadRedRider]

A circuit's a circuit, until you add the magic black paint. ;)

[@PXR5-PXR5]

He got a billion pedals on stage.

[@brendandeeds1020]

…. But are you sure it’s not a centura???

[@kindofblue85]

You actually not sayin‘ anything ….

[@martydibergi5228]

just ordered all non John Mayer pedals. Way better tones.

[@JustinJeske]

I get pretty good ones from my 1964 Vibroverb, Klon Centaur, and CS LTD Strat 😂

[@martydibergi5228]

@@JustinJeske original 1964 black face Deluxe reverb no logo and All fender Hellecaster models USA and Japanese models!😊 oh and my 1968 Trini Lopez custom cause it is so pretty. 🐶 and 2 John Jorgenson signature G&L silver sparkles from about 25 years ago. No John Mayer😁

[@martydibergi5228]

i do not play like John Mayer and would way rather be able to play like Lee Ritenour. or Joe Pass. or Steve. Cropper. or James Burton. Yes. Real Deals. I guarantee playing my Tele I will NEVER be able to match John Jorgenson’s skills or tones. Never.

[@B_rendan_G]

Still think it’s a Centura

[@B_rendan_G]

😂

[@pnwdrifter5680]

It just doesn’t make sense to black out a real Klon. They are already unobtainum. Not sure if I buy the stage glare argument either. If Josh says it isn’t a Ceriatone, and at the same time respects his privacy, then a huge grain of salt is needed. If I was JM, I would not take my REAL KLON on the road, when a good knock off will do. It’s a Ceriatone. But you don’t have to believe.

[@JustinJeske]

Lol. It’s not a Ceriatone. It’s not even that great of a clone. He’d just keep using his Jeff Archer at that point or have a second Centura on his “b” rig. The guy takes multiple Dumbles on the road, Dumbles that are just backups for his stage ones, so what’s a 10K pedal to him?

[@pnwdrifter5680]

@@JustinJeske harder for a random dude to walk off with a Dumble. Opinions on the best clone subjective, based on far too many human factors. I stand by my comments. Maybe JM prefers whatever it is that he uses over the real thing. Or maybe he doesn't even care, but is simply tired of all the speculation.