He’s not exactly been keeping it a secret, but John Mayer’s long-awaited Strat-style electric collaboration with PRS has finally, officially arrived - enter the Silver Sky.
As you may expect from Mayer’s longstanding love for Strats and frequent Instagram posts on the model, the Silver Sky is based on 1963 and ’64 Strats - no surprises there.
The guitar was apparently two-and-a-half years in the making, and specs include an alder body and maple neck with 7.25” radius and 635JM neck shape, plus a rosewood fingerboard with small PRS bird inlays.
A trio of 635JM single coils are wired to a single volume control, two tone knobs and a five-way blade pickup selector, while the PRS steel vibrato unit and body-mounted output jack are visually faithful to Fender’s originals, but offer Mr Smith’s precision engineering, including Gen-III knife-edge screws for the trem.
Other unique touches include a reverse PRS headstock shape complete with vintage-style tuners, plus the lack of a rear cavity cover, leaving the vibrato springs exposed. A bone nut is also listed on the spec.
The Silver Sky is my vision of what a reboot of the electric guitar should look and feel like
John Mayer
“It’s been a dream of mine for years to design a guitar that includes some of my favourite vintage specifications but with a modern spirit and aesthetic,” says John Mayer.
“After two years of study and refinement, the Silver Sky is my vision of what a reboot of the electric guitar should look and feel like.”
Four finishes are available - Tungsten (which Mr Mayer is holding above), plus Frost, Onyx and Horizon, with distinctive accents on the trademark PRS lower horn scoop.
The price tag is £2,549, which is considerably less than Mayer’s previous two efforts with PRS, the Super Eagle II and J-MOD 100, and a far cry from his $15k Martin signature acoustic, which was unveiled earlier this year.
Flush Mayer fans will be keen to be among the first 500 purchasers, as the initial batch of guitars includes a commemorative hardshell case. After that, the model will ship in a newly designed, premium gigbag.
Head over to PRS Guitars for more info.
