Combo
Fender Deluxe Reverb
The most recorded clean amp on earth and a pedal platform that flatters almost everything you put in front of it. Breaks up early enough to be musical, loud enough to be a problem.
CleanChimeyWarm
John Mayer's Sound
A pop songwriter with a serious blues player's hands and one of the best clean tones going.
Immaculate Strat cleans with Two-Rock and Dumble-style warmth
The rig
The gear associated with the sound. Each item opens a live Reverb search — vintage examples where they exist, modern equivalents where they don't.
Guitars
- Fender Stratocaster (Black1, Cream)Find on Reverb
- PRS Silver SkyFind on Reverb
- Martin OM-28 acousticFind on Reverb
Amps
- Two-Rock Classic Reverb SignatureFind on Reverb
- Dumble Steel String SingerFind on Reverb
- Fender Vibro-KingFind on Reverb
Effects
- Klon CentaurFind on Reverb
- Ibanez Tube ScreamerFind on Reverb
- Way Huge Aqua PussFind on Reverb
- Strymon reverbFind on Reverb
- WahFind on Reverb
Pickups
- Fender Big Dipper and Silver Sky single-coilsFind on Reverb
Why it sounds like that
Gravity
Two-Rock clean headroom with a touch of overdrive — the entire tone is in the fingers and the amp.
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Warm neck-pickup lead with long reverb, restrained enough to sit under a vocal.
Who Did You Think I Was
The trio's raw side: Strat into a cranked amp with a Klon pushing the front end.
From the shop floor
Modern
PRS Custom 24
The diplomatic answer to Fender-vs-Gibson. Twenty-four frets, a 25-inch scale that splits the difference, and coil taps that get genuinely usable single-coil-ish sounds instead of thin apologies.
BalancedPolishedModern
Similar sounds
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