Paul Reed Smith responds to Silver Sky controversy: “Everybody on the internet is gonna have opinions until they get their hands on it, and then their opinion changes”
Guitar maker reacts to John Mayer signature model debate
Nothing’s set the guitar world talking quite like John Mayer’s PRS Strat-a-like, the Silver Sky, and now Paul Reed Smith himself has responded to the controversy surrounding the model.
Speaking to Guitar Interactive, the builder stated, “Everybody on the internet is going to have opinions until they get their hands on [the Silver Sky], and then their opinion changes.
Almost all the reviews from the people that had their hands on it have been very positive
“Look, 82% of the written comments have been the other way around. But it's starting to change - John put up a long 45-minute video explaining his thinking about all this and I think that helped. Almost all the reviews from the people that had their hands on it have been very positive.
And besides noting its derivative nature, our review is no exception.
Paul goes on to say: “Look, I really like all this activity. It shows great interest in what's going on. And that part John loves as well.
“Forget about all the keyboard courage. People have opinions when they haven't got an answer on the guitar. It's OK. I think we've done a good enough job. My orders are telling me we're gonna be making a lot of these.
“Look, don't stop having an opinion; I'm not trying to do that. I'm a guitar maker by trade. And I think we did a good job.”
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Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.
