I don't know why I keep watching this back every few months

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.

That little jam he starts at 14:45 is so incredibly soulful...

Not going to lie, this is kind of like Build a Bear for grown ups haha

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.

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!

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.

"it was just cold"

All the years and finally KZfaq sends me this amazing video. One day before my Fender Strat gets delivered!

Damn. Sweetest tone I've heard. The PRS Mayer sig guitar has got nothing on The Black One. Nothing, I say.

Nice to hear him hit a few wrong notes for a change

Who's here after the PRS Silver Sky demo?

What a great story... Nice to know we're all crazy in the same way. Thanks. Here's a few extra thumbs for such a great job...thanks again John.

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.

11:58 John has done that in a show here in Argentina. He's became that guitar player he was mentioning years before... A true master! Love u John.

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 come back to this every once in a short while

Exactly the way you should feel about your guitar. Its your baby. And it has that exyra feeling like damn thats it

I would gladly pay to watch John just play his guitar.

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.

Really tasty playing. I hope we see blues kept alive with some of the younger generations.

It is a great sounding guitar. the clarity is amazing... it really does hang on with sustain...

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.

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.......

I am in love with this guitar, first time I saw it but I know I can't have it so, "I am gonna find another you....."

he is an amazing guitarist. I can listen to him play all day.

That guitar is freaking amazing, very mellow top end, a lot of mids, cuts the mix perfect! And great Player as well!👏🏻

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 can watch this guy play for ages ..

Love the ending. John's Facial Expression: "Damn, what'd you think"? Dude: "That's just plain sick..!"

wow I never knew he was a good guitar player. new respect for john mayer

18:46 "that's just plain sick!"

i can listen to him play guitar for hours

It's cool that he mentioned Rory Gallagher's strat, Rory was a legend when it came to Fender Strats and what could be done with them.

So nice to listen to. Had never put a face or sound to the name until now.

18:10 anyone catch that smile he made...he's like "yep I just nailed that run"

Good interview. Something to be said about creating your own instrument. Certain cosmic effect. Or am I dreaming, haha. Thanks for posting

This is amazing!

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.

Still so soothing to watch again also in 2024

So beautiful

“That’s just plain sick” haha love it.

I want to do that too, the last part where he is jamming with himself. That was just... just... wow.

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.

Haha, I love the freezer story!! ".....and it still wasn't there....It was just cold!" You expect him to say there was some miracle over night.

THATS the tone I always wanted!

I think you’re an amazing guitarist and singing period brother

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.

Honestly John Mayer is extremely underrated as a guitarist, and musician, no matter what the haters say.

very nice sound nice guitar

Amazing!! Cheers!!

Such a bold tone in the bass strings ..

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!

I've played a John Cruz Strat from the Custom Shop and it was like heaven in my hands. It was also $7,000 dollars.

old boy taught you man.....songs depends how we feel at the moment....

I wonder if he amazes himself, the way he amazes us?

Dude can play.

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'll say this. He can tell a good story.

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.

The Black One: the most organic guitar tone ever (atleast for me)

He is so freakin good at blues guitar

"That's just plain sick."

It's kinda funny that if you activate the subs the guitar seems to speak while John plays it.

Damn, that shit from 17:35 til the end is just sick. And his face when he's done is even better.

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.

moral of the story is to freeze your guitar overnight when you get it.

legendary guitar and its cool to see even mayer can mess up a little

Sensacional! Vi até as carinhas dos ETs!

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.

Mas brilha pela simplicidade.,

"it's when you learn one of those bends"

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.

does anyone know what string gauges John Mayer's been using over the years? 10-46? Or maybe heavier?

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!

One thing has always confused me about this video, John sprays the plain body he sanded black... But Black One has a yellow undercoat (on the bottom half of the front at least). It's visable in a few places on the lower half, in particular the large section where his arm would rest. Perhaps this effect was added after somehow, but I can't understand how. I think they must have just swapped out the one he painted for a new one painted by the staff.

wow thank you so much... i've always had so many questions about that guitar. got the answers from the man himself

I never have any idea what he's talking about but dammit he can play!

Lovely 😘

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.

Adorei. Essa. Musica

To me... John's signature sound on that guitar is Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. Followed closely by Belief

This guy is a good businessman.

Lol John went on the video for promoting his main Fender custom shop guitar and said that they custom shop didn't wire it right.

Pleease. does anyone have any lessons or know where i could find lessons on accompanying yourself or whatever playing he does with the chords starting at around 17:35. I really love that, its amazing. Thanks

Anyone know how tall are the frets on this one? (6105?)

"A guitar without paint is too rustic for me. . ." Just wait a few years Johnny. . .

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

Tone tone tone, they all sound great. Fender USA. USA USA USA 😊👍

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.

How big is that freezer?

Such an amazing sound! Anybody know what kind of wood it's made of?

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.

Everything he says in this is so true.

Here's a question. How did a brand new multi thousand dollar fender american custom shop John Mayer signature telecaster come with a loose/disconnected ground? I'm a Fender guy, but really Fender? Really?

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. :)

This is what I'm trying to achieve.. its clean and clear and beautiful but still a guitar, it still has that slight bit of underlying grunt

probably johns signature two rock amp

Can somebody tell me the song that he's playing playing to along at the end? That blues progession and scaling that he does throughout the end is just amazing :D