Vemuram Jan Ray Settings Guide
A Japanese boutique overdrive that has become John Mayer's primary drive pedal since approximately 2016 — the Jan Ray is based on a Timmy-inspired transparent overdrive circuit with a JFET gain stage that produces an extremely natural, touch-responsive overdrive character. It is Vemuram's flagship pedal, hand-built in small quantities in Tokyo. Mayer's adoption of the Jan Ray shifted boutique overdrive market attention from Klon-circuit clones toward this more transparent JFET-based alternative. The Jan Ray is available in limited quantities and commands a significant premium on the secondary market.
Used by: John Mayer
The best Vemuram Jan Ray settings start with: Gain at 9/10, Treble at 6/10, Bass at 5/10, Volume at 7/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues / Clean Boost: Gain 7/10, Treble 6/10, Bass 5/10, Volume 8/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Gain | 9/10 | Clean Boost → Light Overdrive |
| Treble | 6/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Bass | 5/10 | Thin → Full |
| Volume | 7/10 | Silent → Loud |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Low Gain, Volume above unity — the Jan Ray's primary use case. The JFET gain stage at low settings adds harmonic warmth and pushes the amp input harder without imposing a fixed gain character. Treble at 6 adds presence without brightness. This is John Mayer's approach: the Jan Ray is not providing clipping of its own — the amp does that. The pedal is shaping the signal before the amp input.
Gain at noon — the Jan Ray's maximum useful gain setting. The JFET clipping at this level produces a gentle, open-sounding overdrive that is less compressed than the Klon and less mid-forward than the Tube Screamer. The Jan Ray's maximum gain is conservative by most overdrive standards; it is designed to work with the amp's own overdrive rather than providing saturation independently.
Very low Gain as a permanent buffer/enhancer — the Jan Ray below Gain 7 adds essentially no clipping of its own but the JFET input stage adds warmth and the Volume above unity drives the amp. Used as an always-on pedal that improves the signal between guitar and amp without adding an audible overdrive effect.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Mayer uses the Jan Ray as his primary overdrive into a Two-Rock Custom Reverb Signature or Dumble ODS — at moderate Gain with Volume above unity, the Jan Ray pushes the amp input while the amp itself provides the saturation and compression. The result is an organic, amp-driven overdrive rather than a pedal-driven one.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Jan Ray is not available from standard retailers — it is purchased directly from Vemuram's website or authorised dealers in Japan. Supply is limited and lead times vary. Secondary market prices (reverb.com, eBay) typically run 1.5–2× the retail price due to scarcity.
- The Jan Ray's Treble and Bass controls are passive (they cut, not boost) — they are tone-shaping controls rather than parametric EQ. Starting with both at 5 (centre) produces a neutral response; roll Treble anticlockwise for warmth, clockwise for presence; roll Bass anticlockwise for a leaner character, clockwise for more body.
FAQ
Vemuram Jan Ray — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Vemuram Jan Ray: Gain at 9/10, Treble at 6/10, Bass at 5/10, Volume at 7/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues / Clean Boost: Gain 7/10, Treble 6/10, Bass 5/10, Volume 8/10. Low Gain, Volume above unity — the Jan Ray's primary use case. The JFET gain stage at low settings adds harmonic warmth and pushes the amp input harder without imposing a fixed gain character. Treble at 6 adds presence without brightness. This is John Mayer's approach: the Jan Ray is not providing clipping of its own — the amp does that. The pedal is shaping the signal before the amp input.
For Rock / Light OD: Gain 10/10, Treble 6/10, Bass 5/10, Volume 7/10. Gain at noon — the Jan Ray's maximum useful gain setting. The JFET clipping at this level produces a gentle, open-sounding overdrive that is less compressed than the Klon and less mid-forward than the Tube Screamer. The Jan Ray's maximum gain is conservative by most overdrive standards; it is designed to work with the amp's own overdrive rather than providing saturation independently.
Gain: The Jan Ray has a relatively low maximum gain — it is designed for clean boost and light overdrive rather than high-gain saturation. (Clean Boost to Light Overdrive). Treble: Passive treble control. (Dark to Bright). Bass: Passive bass control. (Thin to Full). Volume: Output level — can be set well above unity for boost into a valve amp. (Silent to Loud)
The Jan Ray is not available from standard retailers — it is purchased directly from Vemuram's website or authorised dealers in Japan. Supply is limited and lead times vary. Secondary market prices (reverb.com, eBay) typically run 1.5–2× the retail price due to scarcity. The Jan Ray's Treble and Bass controls are passive (they cut, not boost) — they are tone-shaping controls rather than parametric EQ. Starting with both at 5 (centre) produces a neutral response; roll Treble anticlockwise for warmth, clockwise for presence; roll Bass anticlockwise for a leaner character, clockwise for more body.
John Mayer settings: Gain 9/10, Treble 6/10, Bass 5/10, Volume 7/10. Mayer uses the Jan Ray as his primary overdrive into a Two-Rock Custom Reverb Signature or Dumble ODS — at moderate Gain with Volume above unity, the Jan Ray pushes the amp input while the amp itself provides the saturation and compression. The result is an organic, amp-driven overdrive rather than a pedal-driven one.
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