I'm Yours
Jason Mraz · We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. · 2008
The rhythm part is a single strummed acoustic played fingerstyle with a capo at the 4th fret, recorded straight to the console at Kensaltown in London — no amp and no dirt anywhere in the chain. Aim for a bright, compressed steel-string with a little low-end trim so the muted offbeats stay tight instead of boomy. If you're going through an acoustic amp or PA channel, keep gain low, mids honest, treble up, and just a touch of reverb.
Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record
Tuning
Standard tuning, no capo · Capo at fret 4
The record is in B major; capo 4 with G–D–Em–C shapes lines up with it (Mraz plays it capoed at the 4th fret live), and some tabs instead tune down a half step and use C–G–Am–F shapes.
Guitar
- Taylor steel-string acoustic-electric · Taylor Expression System
Amp
Clean acoustic amp or DI/preamp channel
Album credits list only Mraz on acoustic guitar (Kensaltown, London, engineered by Dyre Gormsen), so no guitar amp was used — the part was mic'd/DI'd to the console; these knob values are for matching that tone through an acoustic amp or preamp. Mraz's signature-inspiring guitar is the nylon-string Taylor NS72ce, and some listeners hear nylon on this track, but the strummed rhythm reads as steel-string.
Amp
Fender '65 Twin Reverb reissue
Documented in Mraz's 2010 Premier Guitar Rig Rundown — that is his live rig, not the 2007 session; use it only if you're playing the part on an electric or amplified acoustic.
Pedals
- Moollon 3-Plus (compressor/EQ/DI) · compressor/EQ/DI — live rig, not the recording
Tone character
bright steel-string strum · fingertip attack, no pick · tight muted offbeats · compressed, forward mids · clean, no dirt
Four open chords with a capo at the 4th fret, but the feel depends on keeping a steady down-up eighth strum with the offbeats muted and even, plus a quick A7 passing chord into the turnaround.
Want this on your own amp?
These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.
Adapt it to my gear