John Mayer Signature Amp - The J-MOD100

I had a few Two-Rocks that cost about that price ten years ago. They were time-consuming and expensive to make, expensive to buy. And they sounded great, worth the $ to me. I made a lot of dough on sessions using them. They inspired the work, and clients were happy. Shoulda kept 'em, because they'd have been nice compliments to my PRS amps, but that's a story for another day.

Here's the deal:

I can't speak for other people who make a living with their gear, but what I put on tape is more valuable than anything I use to make the sound. I'd imagine this is true for anyone making a living in music. Heck, I know classical orchestral players whose instruments cost more than their houses, and they aren't famous name instruments; and they're not making solo records, either! Why prices are the way they are is a mystery to me half the time.

But I digress. Whether an amp is 3K or 6K, the only relevant questions are whether it inspires the work, whether the work makes the client happy, and whether I can afford it. If the answer's yes, I win and make money using the amp.

Whether John Petrucci's amp will give me a massage and a suntan for less money isn't relevant if it's not the sound I want (though I do like the OD sounds on it).

But I get that the considerations I have for a buying decision aren't the same ones that lots of other people might have.

By the same token, maybe people who have themselves worked up over the price of this thing could remember that no two people have the exact same conception when it comes to perceived value, and that a product isn't necessarily designed to please everyone's ears, or everyone's wallet.

If you like it, and it's out of reach, you can't take this stuff personally. There's other good stuff out there for you, regardless of budget. Nothing wrong with that, and no need to get steamed or frustrated. It's just an amp.

Also, there will be some, as always, who buy one to try it, to mess with it, and sell it used within a short time. It'll probably be a relative bargain. So just be patient, if you think you have to have one of these and don't have the dough.
 
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I can't wait to give it a try. I have crossed over that boundary of spending $4k on a guitar only to run it through a $2k amp
 
I had a few Two-Rocks that cost about that price ten years ago. They were time-consuming and expensive to make, expensive to buy. And they sounded great, worth the $ to me. I made a lot of dough on sessions using them. They inspired the work, and clients were happy. Shoulda kept 'em, because they'd have been nice compliments to my PRS amps, but that's a story for another day.

Here's the deal:

I can't speak for other people who make a living with their gear, but what I put on tape is more valuable than anything I use to make the sound. I'd imagine this is true for anyone making a living in music. Heck, I know classical orchestral players whose instruments cost more than their houses, and they aren't famous name instruments; and they're not making solo records, either! Why prices are the way they are is a mystery to me half the time.

But I digress. Whether an amp is 3K or 6K, the only relevant questions are whether it inspires the work, whether the work makes the client happy, and whether I can afford it. If the answer's yes, I win and make money using the amp.

Whether John Petrucci's amp will give me a massage and a suntan for less money isn't relevant if it's not the sound I want (though I do like the OD sounds on it).

But I get that the considerations I have for a buying decision aren't the same ones that lots of other people might have.

By the same token, maybe people who have themselves worked up over the price of this thing could remember that no two people have the exact same conception when it comes to perceived value, and that a product isn't necessarily designed to please everyone's ears, or everyone's wallet.

If you like it, and it's out of reach, you can't take this stuff personally. There's other good stuff out there for you, regardless of budget. Nothing wrong with that, and no need to get steamed or frustrated. It's just an amp.

Also, there will be some, as always, who buy one to try it, to mess with it, and sell it used within a short time. It'll probably be a relative bargain. So just be patient, if you think you have to have one of these and don't have the dough.

Well said, Les!
 
My Roland Micro Cube sounds pretty sweet.

Do you know how I learned about the Micro Cube?

Neiman Marcus, Tysons II, McLean, VA - early 2007, PRS Private Stock show and tell get together in the men's clothing department. Became friends with Larry Urie there. Talked product lines, David Grissom, McCarty Trems, and played Private Stock gutiars through Micro Cubes. Went and bought one as soon as I got home. $10,000 guitars sounded sweet powered by six AA batteries.

HA!!

No J-Mod on my Cube...yet.
 
Sh!t... Give John a break. You know how expensive its gotta be taking out movie stars and models? It's not like he can get away with taking 'em on dates to Pantera Bread.
Ha! Pantera Bread. That's what my girl calls that place.
 
There's actually a Pantera Bread video on youtube. It wasn't very well done and has too much bad language to post. It did lead me back to watch "Cooking Hostile with Phil Anselmo" which is downright hilarious.
 
So, I started calling it that years ago and thought I was pretty clever. And, thought I came up with it! HA. Wrong again. :D
 
. $10,000 guitars sounded sweet powered by six AA batteries.

HA!!

Of course they do!

It isn't a matter of money, and it's not a matter of what sounds good, because lots of things sound good, lots of things sound great, and a few things sound amazing.

What it IS a matter of is what make you, the player, happy. What pleases your ear. Etc.

I can make an ad recording in my very humble home studio. I can (and have) make one in a million dollar studio that costs $15,000 a week, plus the engineer, for a lockout rate so I can have enough time to get the project done.

Both will sound great. Both results will sound a bit different, too. There's no right, there's no wrong. There's what inspires you, there's what makes the clients happy, there are a zillion other extrinsic factors.

Go with what does it for you, and don't worry about the next guy. If it's not worth the dough to you, but it's worth it to someone else, what's the problem?

Answer: There isn't a problem at all.
 
Posted in the General Discussion thread a video of Mayer and Mr.Smith's Press Conference at NAMM yesterday demonstrating and discussing his signature amp.
 
Do I think it's expensive? Yes.
Do I care for that fact? Depends how good it sounds. I just dumped a Bogner XTC because to make it sound I had to have 2 co-pilots to clear all departure procedures...
My main amps today are 2 Two Rocks, a Topaz and a CRSV3, and I use them both for on clean tone, and run few pedals there. They each other got much more than that one tone, but right now I only need that tone.
So, is there such a thing as one great 6k tone? There might be. It has to be a heck of a great tone, but why not?
People pay (me included) top dollar for fancy guitars (another subject, but my best PRS happen to be the most expensive ones) why not pay that kind of money to match these fancy guitars to a great tone? Your tone is only as good as your amp...

ITOH, would I pay to have Mayer name on my amp (or a guitar)? Not a single dollar more. I personally think the Super Eagle is a specs nightmare. So messed up that not even Mayer is using it on a regular basis. He was doing interviews at the PRS booth on Namm with a strat, that's how awkward that guitar is. So, I'd definitely would like to TEST the amp before jumping into any conclusion. I'd pay 6k for one stellar tone, that's for sure.
 
I'd pay 6k for one stellar tone, that's for sure.

Exactly. Yes.

In any case, the whole question of what is, or isn't, "worth it," is a minefield of subjective judgment calls that, frankly, aren't worth the time of day.

Paul Smith, Doug Sewell, and John Mayer got together and worked on an amp. They put a price on that work. If it's not worth it to someone, great, walk past it.

If it's worth it, and you have the coin, then buy it.

It's just that simple.
 
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