“I was practicing with it in the dressing room and it was feeling too good to put down”: John Mayer honors Jerry Garcia by performing with a replica Alligator Strat at The Sphere – but says he wasn't ready for its “unbridled fury”
As YouTuber Justin Jeske astutely points out, the guitar was, this time, not the real deal, but a rather convincing Fender Custom Shop reproduction.
Posting an Instagram story before Dead & Company’s July 11 show, Mayer said: “Gonna play this for a couple of tunes tonight... it's a replica. I was practicing with it in the dressing room and it was feeling too good to put down. Don't wanna pull a sneak on ya.”
Jeske also adds that Mayer's PRS Dead Spec Silver Sky mirrors a number of the Alligator's key specs. That includes three vintage-voiced single-coil pickups and a brass-plate Alembic Blaster preamp inspired by Garcia's in-built clean boost. Clearly, Mayer has been chasing a little of the Grateful Dead guitarist's tonal magic.
The eagle-eyed YouTuber also speculates that the guitar has been his green room practice guitar for a little while now, as it was spotted in the background of a photo Train's Scott Underwood posted online, presumably taken in Mayer's green room.
Austin MacNutt with the Fender Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster (Image credit: Fender)
The guitar was seen sitting alongside a rack-mounted Kemper modeling amp and a cab – possibly a Vox – as a practice set up for the guitarist before curtain call. But the replica has proven so good, it's made its way onto The Sphere's futuristic stage.
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Replica or not, however, the guitar isn't exactly falling under the budget banner anytime soon. The Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt Jerry Garcia Alligator Stratocaster – to use its Sunday name – is currently listed online for prices ranging from $20,000 to $25,000.
Mayer used it for I Need a Miracle, the opening song of the night, and tonally, it sounded as supple as they come, practically purring through the song's lead lines.
Though, Mayer later returned to Instagram for some post-match analysis, noting, “I forgot that the output on this guitar is *hot* and my rig wasn't dialed in for the unbridled fury of Jerry's guitar tone.”
Mayer's live rig is perpetually under scrutiny from gear lovers – and gear snobs – and he's been the subject of recent speculation surrounding his amp choice for the residency shows.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
