first play 8 PRS Silver Sky Guitarist MAY 2018 GIT432.rev_prs.
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra f i r st p l ay PRS SILVER SKY £2,695 WHAT IS IT? PRS’s take – and a very good one thanks to John Mayer – on a vintage-style Fender Stratocaster A Perfect Storm The world’s top electric guitar maker and one of the world’s finest players have pooled their considerable experience and produced a Fender Stratocaster in all but name Words Dave Burrluck Photography Olly Curtis O h dear, oh dear.
first play PRS SILVER SKY 1 RE-VOICING THE SINGLE COIL PRS went through at least eight sets of prototype pickups before John Mayer was happy. Hoping that they’d nailed it, Paul took a prototype Silver Sky to John. “He plugged in his ’64 Strat, then he plugged in the new guitar – with the same physical pickup specs – but it didn’t sound close to the same. He liked the one we had but he wanted it better. I said I can’t fix it unless you loan me your ’64 Strat and we put your pickups up on our test screen.
VIDEO DEMO PRS SILVER SKY http://bit.ly/guitaristextra 2 2. This style of neck joint was used from the DC3 onwards where, like the original Fender design, the heel platform extends from the body. The 635JM neck profile is a best-of mix of ’63’64 era Fender necks that Paul and John liked.
first play PRS Silver Sky The steel vibrato has been “completely retooled,” says PRS, but retains the typical push-fit, tension adjustable arm. It pivots on Gen III knife-edge screws.
VIDEO DEMO PRS SILVER SKY http://bit.ly/guitaristextra 3 first play WORKING WITH THAT FINGERBOARD RADIUS A vintage Fender fingerboard radius is historically ‘good for chording comfort but chokes out on higher fret bends’. “If the frets aren’t level or the action is too low, yes,” says Paul Reed Smith. “But if you have the frets and neck dead level and the action is not too low and it’s set up right then it doesn’t choke out.
first play PRS SILVER SKY VIDEO DEMO 4 http://bit.ly/guitaristextra PRS’S BOLT-ON BACKSTORY The first more Fender-like PRS dates back to the alder bodied, maple-necked Classic Electric of 1988. It certainly added Fender flavour compared to the Custom’s style but it didn’t sell well until a maple top was added along with a rosewood fingerboard then later a mahogany back: pretty much the same guitar as today’s CE 24.
first play PRS SILVER SKY VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra There’s no spring cover here. It’s not a cost-saving exercise: Paul Reed Smith was doing this way back in the early 80s on his handmade guitars he built for the likes of Carlos Santana PRS SILVER SKY Verdict This is a hugely engaging take on Fender’s iconic Stratocaster.
