Neural DSP has announced Archetype: John Mayer X, a landmark release in its Archetype lineup and one of the most significant collaborations in the company’s history.
Co-developed directly with John Mayer and modeled from his personal studio and touring gear, the plugin delivers an authentic foundation for the unmistakable tone that has defined his work and influenced an entire generation of guitar players.
John Mayer’s tone has long been defined by a rare balance of touch sensitivity, harmonic clarity, and expressive depth. From the fluid precision and warmth heard on Continuum to the expansive textures of his live performances, his sound reflects decades of refinement and intentional choices.
Archetype: John Mayer X distills that identity into a deeply musical software instrument, built around the exact amplifiers, effects, and post-processing chain that form the core of his signal path. The plugin also includes an extensive preset library created personally by Mayer, offering players direct access to tones shaped by his own hands.
At the heart of the plugin are three meticulously modeled amplifiers drawn directly from Mayer’s personal collection. These include his 1964 Fender Vibroverb, his legendary Dumble Steel String Singer #002, and his Two-Rock Prototype Signature #83. Each amp was captured in extraordinary detail, preserving the headroom, harmonic structure, and dynamic response that define Mayer’s feel.
In addition to these standalone amps, Archetype: John Mayer X introduces a Three-in-One Amp that recreates his blended amplifier configuration used in both studio and live environments. This unified amp combines all three amplifiers and their matching cabinets using Mayer’s exact settings, mic placements, and EQ decisions, delivering an immediate and dimensional sound without the need for complex routing.
The front end of the plugin mirrors Mayer’s Continuum-era signal chain and the pedals that shape his articulation and phrasing. Every device was modeled from his personal units and arranged exactly as he uses them. A clean boost inspired by his Keeley Katana thickens single-coil pickups and adds harmonic weight, while an envelope filter based on his Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Plus captures the expressive movement heard in tracks like “I Don’t Trust Myself (Loving You).”
His own Klon Centaur is recreated as a transparent overdrive that enhances gain while preserving amplifier character, joined by a dual-mode overdrive inspired by the Ibanez TS-10 and Marshall Bluesbreaker MK1 pairing Mayer relies on for blues leads and broader breakup textures. A short, analog-style slapback delay modeled after his Way Huge Aqua Puss adds subtle thickness and movement to solo lines.
Mayer’s signature ambience is central to the plugin’s identity, embodied in the Gravity Tank. This effect blends his preferred spring reverb with the harmonic tremolo circuit from his long-used Victoria Reverberato, recreating the motion, depth, and atmosphere at the core of many of his most iconic tones. Named in tribute to “Gravity,” it unifies reverb and tremolo into a single expressive tool that feels alive under the fingers.
The cabinet section includes the exact speaker pairings Mayer uses with each amplifier, including his Fender combo with a 15-inch CTS speaker, his Dumble cabinet loaded with a vintage EVM12L, and a Celestion G12M Greenback cabinet paired with the Two-Rock prototype. These cabinet models anchor the amps with the same physical response and projection that define his recorded and live tones.
Post-processing completes the studio-ready signal chain. A polished digital delay inspired by the units Mayer uses for longer, tempo-synced repeats delivers clean echoes with flexible tone shaping, while a studio reverb offers Hall and Plate modes designed to add warmth and dimension without obscuring detail.
A four-band semi-parametric EQ with tailored high-pass and low-pass filters balances the naturally full low end of Mayer’s amps, and a Distressor-inspired compressor modeled with his exact attack, release, and sidechain settings provides smooth, controlled dynamics that define his refined sound.
Get it here for $169.99 and keep up with all our Neural DSP coverage right here!
