How It Was Recorded

John Mayer · Album, 2006

Continuum

This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.

Songs this record stands for: Gravity, Say, Waiting on the World to Change. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.

Lead vocalElectric guitar ampsAcoustic guitarBassDrumsVerified8Reported16

What the sources do and do not say

One Mix feature on the Continuum sessions with engineer Chad Franscoviak. It describes vocal, guitar, bass and drum chains for the album generally and never names "Waiting on the World to Change", so every row is album-level. Several items are alternatives or candidates, flagged in the roles.

Lead vocal

John Mayer

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Main lead vocal microphone on most of the Continuum songs.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann M269c

Reported

Vocal microphone on a couple of the album songs instead of the U47.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Input chain

Neve 1073

Reported

Vocal chain preamps, housed in a Neve sidecar.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

preamp and EQ

Made with AMS Neve as a model of the 1073 preamp and equaliser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves Scheps 73 (Models the 1073's preamp and equaliser, made with Andrew Scheps).

UREI 1176

Reported

Compressor following the preamps in the vocal chain (silver-face model).

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Fairchild Compressor/limiter (model not stated)

Verified

On a couple of songs a split second vocal channel was heavily crushed through it, then blended with or chosen over the clean channel at mix.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection

compressor

Models the Fairchild 660 and 670. The source does not say which model was used.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves PuigChild 660 & 670 (Models the Fairchild 660 and 670 owned by Jack Joseph Puig).

Mix effects

Waves Renaissance Vox

Verified

Heavy compression applied in Pro Tools after light compression on the way in; he says he usually uses it.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Electric guitar amps

John Mayer

Microphone

Shure SM57

Reported

Close microphone on the guitar cabinet for the majority of tracks, placed beside a Beyerdynamic M88 and blended to one channel.

Position
about two fingers' width from the cabinet grille

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

beyerdynamic M 88

Reported

Close microphone on the guitar cabinet for the majority of tracks, placed beside a Shure SM57 and blended to one channel.

Position
about two fingers' width from the cabinet grille

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann U 67

Reported

Room pair for guitar ambience; the text says either U67s or U87s were used.

Position
about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann U 87

Reported

Room pair for guitar ambience; the text says either U67s or U87s were used.

Position
about three feet from the edge of the semi-circle of amps

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Yamaha NS-10 woofer wired as a microphone

Verified

Reversed NS10 speaker used when a beefy low end was wanted from a guitar cabinet.

Position
right up on the cone of one of his cabinets

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A loudspeaker wired as a microphone to catch only sub-bass. No plugin does this; a sub-harmonic generator is a different process.

Acoustic guitar

John Mayer

Microphone

AKG C24

Reported

Microphone on Mayer acoustic guitar.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Input chain

Neve 1073

Reported

Preamps for the acoustic guitar microphone.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

preamp and EQ

Made with AMS Neve as a model of the 1073 preamp and equaliser.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves Scheps 73 (Models the 1073's preamp and equaliser, made with Andrew Scheps).

Bass

Pino Palladino

Amplifier

Ampeg SVT

Reported

Palladino bass amp, typically either this or a B-15.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Plugin Alliance Ampeg SVT-VR Classic

bass amp simulator

Officially licensed model of the SVT head and its 8x10 cabinet.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Ampeg SVT-VR Bass Amp (Officially licensed SVT model for UAD and Apollo systems).

Microphone

Neumann U 47 fet

Verified

Close microphone on the bass amp, usually, with light compression for tone.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Electro-Voice RE20

Verified

Used close up on the bass amp on occasion.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Yamaha NS-10 woofer wired as a microphone

Verified

Almost always placed on the bass cabinet to capture the very low end; never compressed.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A loudspeaker wired as a microphone to catch only sub-bass. No plugin does this; a sub-harmonic generator is a different process.

Input chain

Avalon U5

Reported

Mono instrument preamp and DI for the bass.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A DI box passes the signal on cleanly. Plug the instrument straight into your interface's instrument input.

Drums

Steve Jordan

Microphone

AKG D112

Reported

One of several candidate kick drum microphones listed (alongside an RE20, a 421 or an M88).

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The D112 is still made.

Shure SM57

Reported

Snare microphones, top and bottom (text says 57s).

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model. The SM57 is still made and inexpensive: the real thing is the practical route.

Coles 4038

Reported

Ribbon mic centred over the kit, parallel to the ground and close in, heavily compressed.

Position
directly over the centre of the kit, parallel to the ground, as close as possible without impeding the drummer

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Neumann U 47

Reported

Placed in front of the kick for a low-end sound.

Position
about 18 inches off the ground and four to seven feet in front of the kick drum

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Input chain

Fairchild Compressor (model not stated)

Verified

Compressor the 4038 overhead was run through after heavy compression.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection

compressor

Models the Fairchild 660 and 670.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves PuigChild 660 & 670 (Models Jack Joseph Puig's Fairchild 660 and 670).

UREI 1176

Verified

Compressed the front kick microphone hard, harder than the overhead.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Sources

  1. John Mayer: Taking Chances with His Trio, Mix, 2006-10. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

Disclosure: plugin links currently go straight to the maker and earn us nothing. If that changes, affiliate links will be marked here. Suggestions are chosen on fit, never on commission, and are kept separate from the recording facts. More.