There has been some controversy recently on the release of the new John Mayer Silver Sky Strat — uh, I mean PRS guitar. A lot of it is negative, and many people don’t understand why that is. From all the reviews, the guitar is affordable compared to his previous signature PRS guitars and plays very well — like a vintage ’63 Strat. And therein lies why people have been critical.
PRS is the last big guitar company to have innovated a little in getting a different body shape, headstock, and overall feel. Sure, it was an obvious fusion of a Strat and Les Paul (more towards the LP in construction and woods but with a 25″ scale), but it was refreshingly different and very nice. With the Silver Sky, it’s really a slightly updated, custom vintage Strat with a PRS headstock thrown in. The body woods, shape, controls, etc. are essentially a copy of his ’63 Strat with some slight modifications. No real infusion of PRS DNA except that it’s made by them, and the reverse PRS headstock. No stainless steel frets, modern pickups, or new control layout, body shape, woods, or construction. Not even any bling (like some spectacular curly maple or quilt maple top) which PRS is famous for.
In this sense, it is PRS going backward, not forward. They are doing what all the other smaller boutique makers are doing — making a “better” vintage Strat without the super high price tag of the real thing. And it’s of course to please the guitarist who essentially wants a vintage Strat but with some small updates. Thus, I introduce the term “Modern Anti-Modern” because that’s exactly what it is.
Still, there’s still some value here because any publicity for a guitar in the news is better than none. With some claiming that the electric guitar is dead, any news of a guitar player of Mayer’s stature talking about electric guitar is better than nothing.
