John Mayer has spilled the secrets behind the peculiar onstage setup he’s currently using for Dead & Company’s The Sphere residency, quashing mounting speculation he’s ditched amps altogether.
The revelation also shone the light on Mayer’s unorthodox amp placement, which would have been nigh-on impossible to guess. Unless you had, erm, a pass to The Sphere’s loading dock.
Mayer’s current circulation of guitar gear is largely recognized for two things: his PRS Silver Sky signature guitar and a crop of highly desirable vintage tube amps.
Sure, he’s dabbled with a Fractal in the past, but his live arsenal has largely comprised any number of Fender and Dumble guitar amps alongside a fully stocked pedalboard.
However, during Dead & Company’s tour last year, his onstage amp was curiously hidden behind a velvet curtain – and for the group’s ongoing The Sphere residency, said amps were removed from the stage altogether.
Mayer gear fans wondered whether this was evidence the guitarist had ditched amps, and had instead followed the precedent set by The Edge, who made the high-profile switch from genuine valve amps for Universal Audio amp simulators for U2’s own The Sphere shows.
In an Instagram post, Mayer confirmed he was in fact using amps, but they had been mic’d up somewhere behind the stage. Of course, off-stage amps aren’t a new practice, but Mayer has gone one step further.
It turns out the amps are secured in wooden shipping crates, hidden among a wilderness of roadcases and cardboard PRS boxes deep in the venue’s loading area.
“File under ‘whatever it takes,’” Mayer reveals. “This shipping crate stashed behind some road cases in the loading dock of The Sphere houses a couple of my guitar amps that are mic’d up and being heard with the rest of Dead & Company.
“If you happen to be walking through, you’ve got no choice but to hear it!”
We’re not 100% sure what “whatever it takes” means here – those amps are really tucked away back there – but some commenters have theorized it could have something to do with the venue itself.
As some have pointed out, The Sphere reportedly doesn’t allow for a particularly loud stage volume, and since Mayer needs to really drive his amps to get his desired tones, bundling them away where they won’t cause any bother seems to be the only solution.
Whatever the case, Mayer’s post helpfully demonstrates the amps in action in their comfy new home, as he improvised through Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.
Visit Dead & Company's website for a list of upcoming The Sphere residency dates.
It's not the only gear quirk Mayer has been noted for during the groups' current string of shows. Recently, he was spotted playing a Fender Stratocaster that Joe Bonamassa confirmed had once belonged to Jeff Beck.
