John Mayer may have purchased the historic Henson Studios in Los Angeles, but he freely admits he doesn’t know how to use its mixing desk.
That’s what the 48-year-old guitarist revealed in a new video produced by the LA Times that sees Mayer and his partner in the venture, film director McG, explain why they have bought the complex that was once known as A&M studios. As you can see below, Mayer and McG guide the cameras around their new purchase before they arrive in the control room.
“Can you operate an SSL?” asks McG. To which Mayer replies: “No. I know just enough to let the other people do their jobs"
The business partners paid $44 million to purchase Henson, which they have renamed Chaplin Studios in honour of the silent screen legend who first broke ground on the building over a century ago. “In a day and age where people are seeing a lot of things disappear, it’s nice to be responsible for retaining something that’s a hundred years old,” the guitarist explains. “For as much innovation that there is, I like there being a little more preservation.”
The pair’s vision for the studios is for it to be a creative hub for artists. “We’re doing our best to create kind of a Warhol’s Factory thing of like-minded artists bumping into each other to do their best work possible,” McG told the LA Times.
Henson/ A&M saw many many famous albums take shape within its four walls – Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Tapestry by Carole King and Guns N’ Roses’ pair of Use Your Illusion albums, to name just a few. It was also the location for the star-studded We Are The World session in early 1985.
Mayer and McG aren’t the first investors with Hollywood connections to take over a much-loved studio. Back in 2021 it was announced that Brad Pitt had bought Château Miraval, the studio in the South of France that had been used by the likes of Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Sting.
Preserving an old-school facility like Henson in the face of the music economics of 2026 – reduced recording budgets and the shift to home recording - will be a challenge, as the pair admit: “The real estate guys weren’t necessarily saying what a prudent business move this was,” says McG. “But it’s not about the dividend or the monthly spit-out.”
“I love doing things that people tell me aren’t gonna work,” suggests Mayer. “That’s how I know I’m onto something.”
