John Mayer Shreds Van Halen on Eddie’s Music Man Axis Replica

John Mayer joined Dave Grohl for a Van Halen tribute at the annual Soundstage of Hope benefit concert on October 10, 2026. Playing a replica of Eddie Van Halen’s Music Man guitar, Mayer performed “You Really Got Me” with Grohl and drummer Chad Smith at Chaplin Studios in Los Angeles.

Mayer brought his childhood dream guitar

Mayer played a purple Custom Shop Music Man Axis built as an exact replica of the guitar Eddie Van Halen held on the September 1991 cover of Guitar World. It has a flame maple top, a “JCM” monogram on the headstock and original components that Music Man had stored since 1991. Mayer bought that issue at age 13 and became enamored with Van Halen’s signature model. After the guitar was discontinued, he contacted Ernie Ball Music Man in 2014 and requested the replica, which he later called his “dream machine.” Grohl paired it with an all black Gibson RD.

Why the performance matters to guitar players

The appearance showed Mayer adapting his lead playing to an EVH inspired instrument rather than his usual Silver Sky. He worked the Axis guitar’s Floyd Rose and whammy bar into his lead lines and volume swells, while a phaser shaped the sound toward Van Halen’s style. The gear change matters because Mayer treated the guitar’s controls and hardware as part of the performance instead of using the replica as a visual reference. It also continued an earlier Van Halen tribute: in 2008, Mayer performed “Panama” with a Frankenstein style guitar.

(Via: Guitar World)