Introducing Archetype: John Mayer X

Neural DSP Announces Archetype: John Mayer X – A Landmark Collaboration Capturing the Most Influential Guitar Sounds of the Modern Era

Co-developed with John Mayer and modeled from his personal amplifiers, effects, and signal chain, the plugin delivers an authentic foundation for the unmistakable tone that defines his work – and has defined a generation.

HELSINKI, FINLAND, December 17, 2025 – Neural DSP today announced Archetype: John Mayer X, an extraordinary new addition to its acclaimed Archetype series and one of the most iconic collaborations in the company’s history. Developed in partnership with John Mayer and modeled on his personal studio and touring gear, the plugin offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience the tone, dynamics, and expressiveness behind some of the most influential guitar recordings of the last 20 years.

John Mayer’s sound is instantly identifiable – an interplay of touch, tone, and emotion that has carried through decades of recordings and performances. From the fluid precision of Continuum to the atmospheric textures of his live work, his artistry blends nuance and feel with unmistakable clarity. 

Archetype: John Mayer X distills that identity into a single, deeply expressive tool built from the amplifiers, pedals, and post-processing chain that form his core tone – and includes an extensive library of presets created personally by John Mayer.

“John’s sound has inspired guitarists around the world, and it was a privilege to work with him directly to recreate the rig that anchors his tone,” said Douglas Castro, CEO and Co-Founder of Neural DSP. “There’s an intimacy to the way his rig responds – it breathes, it opens up, it carries emotion – and capturing that behavior was one of the most meaningful projects we’ve taken on.”

A Studio-Ready Extension of John Mayer’s Sonic Identity

Archetype: John Mayer X is grounded in the amplifiers that anchor his clean tones, lead phrasing, and touch dynamics. The plugin includes three standalone amps modeled directly from Mayer’s personal units: his 1964 Fender® Vibroverb®, his revered Dumble® Steel String Singer® #002, and his unique Two-Rock® prototype Signature #83. Each amp was captured at an exceptional level of detail, preserving its headroom, responsiveness, and harmonic structure exactly as Mayer uses them.

The plugin also introduces a Three-in-One Amp – a recreation of Mayer’s blended amplifier configuration used in both studio and live environments. It merges all three amps and their matching cabinets with Mayer’s exact settings, mic placements, and EQ decisions, creating a unified, dimensional sound that reflects his full signal path without requiring individual amp balancing. The result feels immediate, open, and unmistakably connected to Mayer’s playing.

Pre FX

The front end of the plugin faithfully reflects Mayer’s Continuum-era signal chain and the pedals that shape his touch, articulation, and expressive phrasing. Each device was modeled from his personal units and arranged exactly as he uses them.

• Justa Boost: A clean boost based on Mayer’s Keeley® Katana®, used as an always-on tone enhancer to thicken single-coil pickups and add harmonic weight.

• Antelope Filter: An envelope filter modeled after his Electro-Harmonix® Q-Tron+®, known for the expressive movement heard in tracks like “I Don’t Trust Myself (Loving You).”

• Halfman OD: A recreation of Mayer’s own Klon® Centaur® unit, delivering transparent gain and harmonic focus while preserving the personality of each amplifier.

• Tealbreaker: A dual-mode overdrive combining tones inspired by the Ibanez® TS-10® and the Marshall® Bluesbreaker® MK1, reflecting the pairing Mayer uses for both smooth blues leads and broader breakup textures.

• Millipede Delay: A short, analog-style slapback based on his Way Huge® Aqua Puss®, capturing the slightly unstable BBD character Mayer uses as a subtle thickening effect during solos.

Mayer’s signature ambience and movement are captured in the Gravity Tank, which blends his favorite spring reverb with the harmonic tremolo circuit from his long-used Victoria® Reverberato unit. Named in tribute to “Gravity,” it recreates the motion, depth, and atmosphere at the heart of many of his most recognizable tones, unifying his go-to reverb and tremolo textures into a single, expressive control.

Cabsim

The cab section features the matching cabinets for each amplifier, including John’s Fender® combo with a 15-inch CTS® speaker, his Dumble® cabinet loaded with a vintage EVM12L®, and the Celestion® G12M Greenback® cabinet paired with his Two-Rock® prototype.

Post FX

The post-effects section captures the polished studio character of Mayer’s recorded tones. Dream Delay, inspired by the digital delay units he relies on for longer, tempo-matched repeats, delivers clean echoes that can be shaped through its tone-shifting controls. Studio Verb offers both Hall and Plate modes, reflecting the warm, musical reverb algorithms Mayer uses to add dimension and atmosphere to his clean lines and soaring leads.

EQ & Compressor

A four-band semi-parametric EQ includes high- and low-pass filters tailored to balance the naturally full low end of his amplifiers. Paired with it is the Distressor®-inspired compressor, modeled using Mayer’s exact attack, release, and sidechain settings to deliver the smooth, controlled dynamics that define his polished tone.

“John’s tone comes from a chain of choices made over years of playing and recording. We preserved those choices so players can begin where he begins – with a sound that feels settled, expressive, and familiar – and then make it their own,” concluded Castro.

Archetype: John Mayer X is available today for €199 incl. taxes. A 14-day free trial is available.

To learn more about Archetype: John Mayer X and to purchase, click here.

Click here for the official launch video. For high-res imagery, click here.