PRS Silver Sky

first play
PRS SILVER SKY
16
Guitarist MaY 2018
Verdict
This is a hugely engaging take on Fender’s
iconic Stratocaster. Led by detail freaks
Paul Reed Smith and John Mayer, would
we expect anything else? Yes, the design is
derivative but PRS aren’t alone in producing
their own version of Fender’s finest dish and
there’s vintage reference here that’s often
absent from modernised designs, not least
its fingerboard radius and frets. While that
radius, the slightly uncomfortable-for-many
adaptation of the headstock not to mention
the, albeit down-sized, bird inlays might
well have Marmite appeal, in the hand it
simply feels extremely ‘right’, backed up
with a sound that’s easily the most Strat-like
of any previous PRS designs that have aimed
in this direction. For the PRS devotee, it’s a
no brainer – a different and hugely classic
tonal colour to add to your sonic palette.
The appeal to John Mayer fans is obvious.
Outside of those aficionados, well, there
is plenty of choice in the quality bolt-on
market around this price – many offering
plenty of options in terms of specification
and finish. Here, the four opaque colours
aside, what-you-see-is-what-you-get: this is
a signature guitar, not a standard model.
PRS will not pass comment on what the
future holds but in the same way as anyone
can see this guitar’s reference, it doesn’t
take a business analyst to guess after all this
detailed and costly ‘retooling’, the company
will – in their own time – offer the market
a more standard model with, hopefully,
more classic colours and, not least, a maple
fingerboard option.
As is, aside from being one of the most
hyped and discussed new electric guitars
this writer can remember, the Silver
Sky remains a highly-tuned signature,
a vintage-informed Strat-alike in pristine
contemporary dress. Of course, as the
trillions of words that are clogging internet
forums as we write proves, not everyone
‘gets’ PRS, or indeed John Mayer. And
while we’re huge fans of both, and indeed
this guitar, it’s disappointing that its
hugely positive attributes – build, feel,
playability and sound – couldn’t have
been presented in a more original, not
to mention PRS-like style.
There’s a huge
dynamic range and
that wonderfully
enveloping sustain
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
PRICE: £2,695 (inc hard case)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody
electric
BODY: Alder
NECK: Maple, 635JM profile, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.35mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, small
bird inlays, 184mm (7.25”) radius
FRETS: 22, small
HARDWARE: PRS-designed steel
block vibrato, PRS-designed vintage-
style locking tuners – nickel-plated
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53.5mm
ELECTRICS: Three PRS 635JM
single-coils, five-way toggle pickup
selector switch, master volume, tone
one (neck/middle), tone two (bridge)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.5/7.69
OPTIONS: The first 500 (125 for
Europe) come with special hardcase,
as reviewed. The next will come with
a new ‘Professional’ gigbag at £2,549
RANGE OPTIONS: The other PRS
bolt-ons are the CE 24 (£2,329) and
the DW CE 24 Floyd Ltd (£2,735)
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISHES: Onyx, Horizon, Tungsten
(as reviewed) and Frost body with
natural neck – polyester/acrylic
gloss body; tinted nitrocellulose
gloss neck
PRS Europe
01223 874301
www.prsguitars.com
PROS: Build, playability, sound
and typical PRS attention to detail
and quality. A superb vintage- and
experience-informed three single-
coil bolt-on
CONS: Limited colours, no options
or lefties and very derivative. Not
all will get the frets, headstock or
vintage fingerboard radius
8
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT432.rev_prs.indd 16 3/20/18 5:24 PM