For everyone hating, all the greats have given their props to his guy. Clapton said ''i dont think he realizes how good he really really is''. I mean, the hell does he give a shit about what you guys think, if clapton said that about any of us we can die happy as music fans. Also john is happy you guys are arguing, he once said ''once people figure you out, you get pushed to the side''. Keep talking, its given him a pretty decent career so far.
I love listening to people telling the background story to the guitar they put all their love into. Every single guitarist will have their own story and the relationship you have with that guitar is a feeling you can't describe. When John talks about opening it up and taking it out of it's case for the first time hairs stood on the back of my neck, it's all so personal.
Choosing the right guitar is a journey. As guitarists, we all love the instrument. And will go to lengths to play any and all we see. Like if a friend has one sitting abandoned in the corner. We'll tune it up and show it some love. But, nothing compares to when you find the "one". Chasing the dragon, as it were. When you pick it up, you know. It feels great. It fights back. It makes you want to play. Even when you're not playing it, if you see it on the stand, you wanna pick it up and make it sing.
I feel like everyone needs to really look into John and give him a chance. I know a lot of people who are still mad at him for all of the stupid things that he's said throughout his career, but he really is intelligent. Musically intelligent and just intelligent. He might not know how to shut himself up, but I could listen to him talk/play guitar for days. This video is great and he truly is an inspiration.
John Mayer, you mean the guitar took on its own personality. Like "that's it" and you are the guy that hangs out with it. It is an awesome thing to watch you play man. Keep it up.
@@aldair9362 Jaja, para que veía el video si no sabía inglés? 😅. Básicamente dijo que sería un verdadero buen guitarra si algún día fuera a un show y le prestarán una guitarra y el tocara con esa guitarra prestada (que generalmente no son tan buenas como las que preparan en el backstage). Y acá en Argentina, en un show, un fan le dio su guitarra en plena canción "Gravity", y él se la firmó y toco el solo de la canción con esa guitarra, jeje (creo que además era la última canción de la noche). Un verdadero Chad!
How can Fender send a guitar to a name player like that and not have it wired properly? I mean, I know mistakes happen. But you'd think that thing would be quadruple-checked twice!
Yeah, he did kinda throw Fender under the bus with that bit of info. Strange how he thought he'd fix the sound he was missing by putting it in the freezer overnight ....
he didnt say that he fixed it by putting it in the freezer, he said he put it in the freezer and when he took it out the 3rd time he realized that the ground was off or whatever
beagleguitar John Cruz has commented on this and he was pissed that it's been said it wasn't wired properly as he played it before it left the factory and said it was amazing. Must have been damaged in shipping
John messing around with “Gravity” at the beginning is legitimately some of my favorite playing of his ever (I especially like that nasty bend at 0:47). I often come back to this video just to listen to that part.
Of course. And I agree with you. Too many girls my age are infatuated with people like Bieber, One Direction, T-Swift, etc. Or if they ARE "fans" of John, they only know him for his radio hits like "Waiting On The World To Change". I wish more people knew about John's guitar skills, but one would never really knew it unless they followed his music/catalog. And yes, I recall John calling himself more of a guitarist than a singer.
ONE thing I will say about JOHN MAYER, he is a great story teller, if he never maid it as a player, he could be an ace news reader, he get's all the details in, & I find myself liking his story's a lot, enough to watch them to the end anyhow.......
For a change. He's not that good. I can play that stuff, and in tune, too. And I'm a professional musician so don't give me shit about not knowing what I'm talking about. I have a different opinion. Don't troll me, you people hiding behind pseudonyms, please. We can disagree without calling each other names, children.
For the longest time, I despised John Mayer. But recently I have a newfound respect for him and his work. I don't agree with everything he's done but I respect the man. But I do tip my hat to him, John Cruz and everyone else who had a part in building this incredible tone monster of a Stratocaster.
I know the exact feeling he's talking about at 7:27. Last summer I custom ordered a G&L ASAT Special to my specs and waited about 15 weeks for it to arrive. It got to the shop that I ordered it from while I was on my way home (Nashville) from out of town in Florida. That was the longest 10 hour car ride ever it felt like days. That moment he talks about though, it's magical. I wish for every player to experience such a thing at least once.
I played a Cruz Strat once and it was a $7,000 guitar. My wife took my picture while I was playing it. It was literally the greatest Strat I've ever played. Oh to be rich... LOL! Cruz also builds for Clapton as well.
I think most of you complaining about john buying a relic when he could have a true relic have never owned an old guitar. Here's a little story: I was out front of the Minneapolis/st Paul airport, having a smoke and stretching my legs on my way home to Seattle when I ran into a very famous guitar player(who shall remain unnamed). Me being me, I struck up a conversation and I asked him what he had in the case. To which he replied, "a 1968 Les Paul". I asked him if it made him nervous traveling with an old guitar, as my acoustic I was traveling with was made in the same year. He then told me a BALL SHRIVELING story about how the airlines had forced him to check his 1962 Les Paul a few weeks prior, and had broken the neck clean off the instrument. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded and angered by this story, but it brings me to my point. I don't buy new guitars for the reason I like the sound aged wood makes when I play my stuff on an older guitar. Would I want to take my 50 year old martin copy on the road? My 50+ year old gretsch out? Hell, even my 27 year old Taylor? Hell no!!!! I would do my best to purchase a new instrument that approximates the sound, and tweak it until its acceptable. Keep the guitars you love close, and to each their own on tone. But the guitars that inspire you? Treat them like loved children, and to quote john Denver, "what a friend to have on a cold and lonely night".
I really like how he potter with his strat. He don't just buy it or tells what he want - no the build it up. He has help from pros but he is working with the wood he wanna play. Never seen that before. I like the idea to do that.
Just keep practicing and you'll be great! I'm still no where near some of my favorite artists, but for me it's not about being as good as them. It's about being different and enjoying the style that I do and play. Keep it up!
How I see it.... since Fender went through such an effort to make sure John had "built" this guitar, himself.... I think they left the final touch of wiring the Fender, with ground wire properly attached, as the final and fitting last step to having a great sounding guitar, that he built, with his own hands. In hindsight, I would hope that John Mayer himself sees it that way too... the Final Touch in completing his own guitar. John Mayer is no dummy when it comes to electronics, winding pots to get a specific sound, or something as simple as a proper ground. He had the final hand in this one, partially built by him, for him, as his.
The lack of paint or or finish has no effect directly on the pickups, that would be absurd. What the lack of finish effects is the instrument's acoustic resonance, it effects the way the strings are allowed to vibrate and the way the body is allowed to resonate and thus affect the strings, all of which is captured by the pickups through the strings. A guitar that doesn't have the basic acoustic properties to sustain will never sustain, no matter how great the pickups and electronics are, they're completely secondary to the structure of the instrument. How much the finish on the wood actually effects the structure of the instrument and its resonance is totally debatable, but its silly to think that it doesn't matter simply because its an electric guitar and has pickups.
Geez, I have a run of the mill production Clapton Strat. It sounds amazing, and all the wiring is hooked up. A priceless CS Strat that leaves the factory with a ground not connected? Doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence in the FCS.
LOL @ all the commenters that only criticize behind the keyboard while this man is living his dream getting paid to make music, touring the world and has his own signature guitar.
Purely improv. He's just showing how even when it's not one of his songs it has a signature sound to it. But if you want that kinda blues progression go for 'Come When I Call' they're both in G. Have Fun!
also copper shielding tape is a must to cut down on the hum, single coils can get really noisy. look up guitar shielding here on youtube if you are not familiar with it,It makes a world of difference
It didn't sound right, so he opened it up and found a ground was not connected. So, guitars made in the custom factory aren't very well quality controlled? It would seem that if you pay that amount for a custom guitar, it should be correct upon delivery. That's the part of this video that stands out to me.
I agree, i mean if he got a custom factory made guitar and when he got it didnt sound right?... That's what doesn't make sense to me, maybe they need a bit of air and play, like brand new shoes, but those guitars are expensive AF
If memory serves me right, Black one was on the cover of Heavier Things. So maybe in his mindhe first used it on Continuum but its possible he played it on Heavier things. Unless the photo op for that album was after it was recorded.
the black one pickups are of an unknown origin, although they probably have alot in common with big dippers. the ones in his srv-esque strat and olympic white signatures are big dippers. :)
I put my guitar in a walk in fridge after I left it in my truck in single digit weather because I was afraid if it warmed up too fast it would warp than forgot about it. It was never the same after that.
stick it in the freezer? doesnt sound good? stick it back in the freezer? boys and girls check the ground wire ( output jack ) before you throw it in the freezer
No, the Black1 has a special set of, probably low output and underwound, pickups from the custom shop. The Big Dippers are in his signature Fender Stratocaster. The Big Dippers are variant of the Texas Specials with basically a Mid-Scoop. Says it right in the paperwork that came with my Mayer Strat.
I'm not really a single coil type of guy, But any genuine Fender pickups or even some lace sensors will make your guitar sound nice. it is also good to replace the potentiometers when changing out the pickups., I have an Epi Sg Special, real cheap guitar feels good plays great, I changed my pickups for DiMarzio Dactivator X added coil splitting and a phase reverse switch, out of just the pickup change and a couple simple mods My cheap SG sounds amazing
I can't imagine finally getting my guitar from the Custom Shop. After spending many thousands, and waiting many months. Only to play an electric with a disconnected ground. Knowing what that sounds like on an instrument I am familiar with, I can only imagine how dreadful that would be to hear from a new guitar you've never heard amplified before. You immediately panic. Something for everybody who thinks they're pickups sound hollow, weak, or empty to consider. Luckily he found the loose wire...
In circuitry, and someone correct me if i'm wrong, but you can have 3 wires that make an electronice device work. One to bring current to the device, one to carry the current away from the device, and then there is a ground wire. The ground wire prevents electric current from building up in the device and possibly shocking you. Not sure why in John's situation that would make his guitar not work.
