Talking Point

One of 2018’s more controversial instruments…

PRS Silver Sky £2,549

2018 will be remembered for the year that Paul Reed Smith and John Mayer broke the internet. That might be fake news, but when our duo gave birth to the Silver Sky, everyone had something to say. We can’t remember a furore quite like it. There were a couple of years of ‘will it, won’t it happen’, staged leaks from Mr Mayer, and actual leaks by a PRS dealer in the USA resulting in a premature launch. All over – to put it bluntly – a Strat copy.

Yes, the combined experience of Messrs Smith and Mayer left a lot to be desired in the originality stakes, even though the actual guitar is exactly what you’d expect from PRS: very, very good. Oh, no it’s not! Oh, yes it is! The debate rages on: everyone has an opinion. For us, the Silver Sky “remains a highly tuned signature guitar, a vintage-informed Stratalike in pristine contemporary dress”.

PRS, of course, rode the storm and set about building enough guitars to satisfy the considerable orders, something that the company is still struggling with. Despite the rants, the Silver Sky is unquestionably the most successful guitar PRS has every launched. But, we do wonder, what’s next? They’ve ‘done’ the Strat and the Les Paul (with the revered 594) – maybe it’ll be a ‘Telecaster’…? After the Silver Sky, nothing would surprise us.

2. These PRS 635JM single coils are named after a mix of ’63 and ’64-spec Fender pickups (“635”: 63 and a half) and based on a pickup from one of John’s ’64 guitars 2

3. The “completely retooled” bridge pivots on Gen III screws and retains the PRS push-fit, tension adjustable arm. The vibrato sits flat to the body: this “helps with how loud the guitar is acoustically and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the pickups”, says PRS 3

1 1. The standard PRS headstock is reversed and offset to give a little more of the Strat’s cutaway on the treble side. The nut is bone; the tuners vintage-style but still locking