PRS Silver Sky Review (2019): Two Years in the Making

The PRS Silver Sky is a result of an over two-year collaboration between PRS guitars and respected guitarist/songwriter John Mayer. It is a signature guitar that was designed to encompass a vision that both John and Paul Reed Smith had with reinventing a long-cherished design. Have they succeeded? Let’s take a look!

Body and Neck

To address the elephant in the room, the answer is yes – at first glance, the PRS Silver Sky looks like a simple reproduction of the iconic Fender Stratocaster, mostly due to the almost identical body shape. The body is constructed from alder, and there are a few design changes that were a fit to John’s specifications (for example, a different depth of cut around the ribcage contour).

The neck seems to be where the most departure is made from the Strat. It’s still made out of maple, but it has a different profile and also has the distinctive PRS headstock – with a bit of a twist. Apparently, John wasn’t too keen on the standard design, so it is the only PRS guitar where the headstock is mirror-imaged. Not a huge deal, but it’s yet another departure to take note of. A rosewood fretboard with PRS small bird inlays and 22 frets cap off the package.

Hardware

There isn’t anything truly radical or groundbreaking here. The Silver Sky comes loaded with three single-coil pickups, albeit they are 635JM models built under John’s input. A traditional setup of the 5-way blade pickup switch along with one volume and two tone knobs round out the electronics end of things.

The vibrato bridge is not a huge departure from the classic design, but it does incorporate PRS’s Gen III knife-edge screws and tremolo arm. One plus is the inclusion of locking tuners, which are a great help in keeping things stable. A true bone nut helps to give great tone as well.

One thing we would have like to see – especially for a guitar such as this at the more expensive end of the scale – is a nice hardshell case. It does come with a PRS ‘premium’ gig bag, but we think that the price warrants something that would provide better protection for your investment.

Sound

It’s a safe bet to say that our expectations would be that the Silver Sky was just another of the bajillion Strat clones out there but a well-built one. Sure, it has the Strat vibe – that was the baseline intent of the model, after all – but the enhancements that John and PRS integrated really do make a difference.

The pickups are voiced really well, and they avoid the dreaded ice pick syndrome that can be found in this type of guitar. They are very responsive with great dynamic range, and they really help bring your tone to life.

Right off the shelf, the action and playability are superb. The neck is very comfortable, and having a low-action setup without any notes fretting out isn’t a problem at all. The difference in fretboard radius from a traditional Strat lend to the smoothness and feel as well.

Conclusion

The PRS Silver Sky is an excellent re-imagining of the Fender Stratocaster, taking the best elements of that time-honored design and incorporating new features that justifies the evolution. Some purists may have strong feelings about messing with a classic, but the bottom line is that the Silver Sky is a finely crafted instrument that has succeeded in its goal – to change the minds of guitarists in all genres as to what a guitar can truly be.

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