In recent years, John Mayer has rarely been spotted without his best-selling PRS Silver Sky signature guitar. However, he’s recently resumed playing some old favorites, like his Jimi Hendrix Monterey Stratocaster.
During his recent residency shows at Las Vegas’ uber-futuristic The Sphere with Dead & Company, he’s been seen wielding a familiar-looking white Stratocaster with a reverse headstock.
Fans had theorized that it looked strikingly similar to the late Jeff Beck’s Custom Shop Strat, and now gear guru Joe Bonamassa has confirmed those eagle-eyed suspicions, saying it is indeed the real deal.
Instagram account JohnMayerGear and Youtuber Justin Jeske were the first to draw the parallels to Beck’s 2014 build, noting its reverse headstock, split roller nut, block saddles, and two-point bridge.
However, the account assumed that the guitar was a custom model built for Mayer, considering Beck's guitar never saw a production run green-lit. The reality, though, is even more exciting, with Bonamassa commenting on the former's post: “It is Jeff Beck’s Strat.”
Beck’s famed guitar, as it turns out, has been lent to Mayer for a few of their shows at The Sphere, with the guitar used for the songs Black Peter and Days Between – as reported by JohnMayerGear.
A separate post theorizes his trio of amps for the shows – and what the Beck build was ultimately paired with – was made up of a Dumble Overdrive Special, a Fender Twin Reverb, and, probably, a Dumble Small Special.
Taking the guitar’s esteemed heritage into account, Mayer channeled his inner Jeff Beck via some fluttering whammy bar lines and fingerpicking in honor of his pick-less playing style, looking very much in his element.
He’d previously played a Jeff Beck Master Built Strat to track Heartbreak Warfare, from 2009’s Battle Studies. This showcase takes his Beck love affair one step further.
It's probably a good thing he didn't copy Beck's '66 antics with The Yardbirds, when the former smashed a sunburst Hofner Senator to pieces before Jimmy Page's eyes.
