Some people don't seem to understand that its not just about copying the tone.  People who want to know how to get mayers sound arent necessarily looking to sound just like him.  But if you can understand how he is able to achieve a certain sound, you can get a better understanding of how the different aspects of the tone work together, and from there you can build your own tone.  As some other people on here said, you take little bits and pieces from other people and make your own sound.

And Cait, by following the techniques of your teacher, aren't you essentially copying them and being influenced by them?  One teacher may have a different view on some of the techniques, and might do things differently, and if you had studied under that teacher, your whole way of singing may be different.  Thats the beauty of music, minor influences can have a huge impact.  Think about it logically, why do you want to sing/play guitar/write music?  Its because at some point in your life you heard something that influenced you and sparked that urge.  Subconsciously, the things we hear and experience heavily influence our tone/voice/style of writing.  For anyone to say that their style is 100% original and has no traces of anyone else or other influences is just flat out wrong, plain and simple.