Are John Mayer's Silver Skys Truly The Same As Ours?

[@TomoFujitaMusic]

I enjoyed your video. Do you know what pickups in John's Black One? I know it but I can not say!

[@brandonlash3629]

Hey Tomo. Love to see you in the comments!

[@JustinJeske]

Thank you Tomo!! I have a hunch but am not 100% sure! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@ecomicro]

Most likely based on a fender pickup haha. Good to see you here tomo

[@getup2nite]

If I guess correctly, will you confirm? 👀

[@Paul-D]

Interesting you feel you can not say? Its a set of pickups not top secret CIA stuff haha

[@mihneasechely]

I don't think he "singled out" the PRS used in the ballad version of Last train home because all the other times he's not using stock models, but because that arrangement, as the instagram post says, gave the guitar more space to breathe, and it was basically full of guitar playing without anything else drowning it out, so it was a perfect time to point out that what you hear is what you get in the store.

[@PedroLopez-sg2bu]

He gets dibs on the best wood available to build the guitar. Premium rosewood that looks almost as dark as ebony. Most signature sold are lesser versions of what the artists actually play

[@riffraff1350]

He's on record saying he doesn't have a #1 anymore and plays a lot of random Silver Skys. Besides, the ENTIRE POINT of partnering with PRS was to create production s-style guitars that are as good as vintage Fenders with mojo.

[@JustinJeske]

@RiffRaff he said that yet he had a #1 for the 2019 World Tour that literally had a "1" on the back of it, and has pretty much only played Sob Rock 1 & 2 this whole year. He still has number 1 SS's cause he plays the same ones most of the time.

[@riffraff1350]

​@@JustinJeske I heard something to that effect but at the same time, the footage I've seen from the 2019 tour shows him playing at least four different Silver Skys.

[@JustinJeske]

If you watch footage from the Asia Leg he pretty much always played Mesa Gold as his no. 1 for that leg. Come NA and Europe the MS Satin pretty much was used 80% of the time, he said it was his favourite SS as well. Few other colors were thrown in here and there. Like the Gloss MS was set in E flat as well for Heart Of Life. Even though the BLK1 was his main strat for years he still played a lot of different ones.

[@purushswaminathan5693]

also the lighting at his shows are great. so the average drab moc sand or frost white or black looks nebula-esque while yours or mine in our little apartments, meh😂

[@American-Dragon]

The biggest takeaway is that mayer is chasing the tone dragon

[@MY_MIND_ACTIVATED]

Do you SS owners even know that you dont have a standard (250k) volume pot value ? It is modified to get around 250 and 300k (i think its precisely around 280k) Thats a huge difference in tone and it is combined with .100uF for both tonepot

[@BlakeSchroederIndy]

They are stock for JM. They are stock for him as PRS sent to him.

[@jamesnelson1443]

I’m willing to bet his touring pickups are NOISELESS!!!

[@paulcowart3174]

I kind of commented on this about Mayer sounding just like the studio cuts Hope that's not truly the case He is just a great guitar player....Well hey yes he plays with the Dead so that can't possibly be the case right ?? I owned a couple early early DC:s One was even signed Wish I still had them Amazing tops AAAA stuff man

[@keithremedy]

I don’t know why this topic always irritates me. There doesn’t need to be some magic sauce for something to be used by the guy. The guy obviously has the newer stuff that’s available to people later but as far as the sS. These guitars seem to be pretty reliable sonically. I don’t think I’ve played one that I didn’t like & before the SS only factory sig I’ve ever bought was the Clapton that fender put out years ago. I never really cared for sig guitars cause they’d be different PRS kinda nailed it with putting out a sig guitar thats got sauce tho

[@theoverstoker3430]

I think you might be a bit overly obsessed with John Mayer.. js

[@JustinJeske]

So what I make videos of is my obsession right...js 😂

[@jeffrey.a.hanson]

Him and Paul Reed are both notorious ADD obsessive tinkerers. Put them together and there’s no way they’re not testing out new, minute adjustments on stage. Brad Paisley changes pickups depending on the damn sound check…guitarists can be insane.

[@Tim85-y2q]

Yeah, I don't think this is probably so much a case of him getting "ringer" models per se so much as it is the ones he's using live probably always being one iteration ahead of the current retail versions. It's not like they haven't made several running changes to the Silver Sky so far.

[@taylorpaulmusic]

I bought a 1st Gen Tungsten in late 2018. It's been my main recording and live guitar since. I'm intrigued by the bigger frets and different pickups on the new ones and would like to try one. I'm sure he's mostly playing new prototypes or one offs. I still believe we are getting closer to the real deal with PRS stuff than we were with Fender. Good content man!

[@keithremedy]

I’d agree with that... these SS are the first signature guitars I’ve really enjoyed and every one I’ve played I’ve liked. I own a early onyx & a later release dodgem & they’ve tended to get more play & gig time then my vintage strat & that says a lot having been such a big fender only guy for so long

[@riffraff1350]

Agreed. The Fender BLACK1 production models were ridiculously different from Mayer's personal guitar.

[@lexist7]

The 2018s are special. I have one in red

[@misterknightowlandco]

@@riffraff1350 those were basically a standard strat with his pickups in them lol

[@riffraff1350]

​@@misterknightowlandco It's pretty rare when signature models are anything but a standard Strat with a different color/pickguard combo. Still, those weren't even his pickups. The real ones in Mayer's Black-1 are hand wound. The ones in the signature are just typical Fender crap with a mid-scoop.

[@adrianhjordan1981]

Pretty much agree with you here. I think you're basically spot on that he plays guitars that are testing the next evolution, however I do think those changes eventually trickle down to the production Silver Sky. I think he basically has the equivalent of a Private Stock Silver Sky, though that is very different from the Fender situation. I don't think it's a bold claim to suggest that a stock PRS Silver Sky is closer to a Fender Custom Shop quality than USA Production, so it makes sense to me that John might actually use the same spec we can buy (prototyping new features aside). Personally I love my 2021 Silver Sky (Dodgem Blue) and can't think of anything I'd change. Actually what I'd most like to see from PRS is their take on a T-Style guitar!!

[@CorbCorbin]

For how much they cost, I’d rather invest in someone building me a guitar. On the actual topic, Mayer slightly changes pickups and pedals he uses so often, it’s just not believable he uses the stock guitar. He has the money and clout to have any guitar tweaked while on the road or in studio, if he’s just not quite getting the tone he wants. It’s obvious he just used it for that video, but it’s not unbelievable that he has used stock ones other times. I remember the ones selling for over $10,000 at that NAMM show, when they were being introduced. I mean, he could have any Strat he’s loving in the moment be rebuilt for him in the Silver Sky style, just keeping the guts the same. Not that I think he does this; but how many luthiers wouldn’t build him a guitar just for the exposure?

[@Ottophil]

What Id most like to see from prs is an ibanez rg

[@jg_jgjg]

John has stated in videos that he wants to eliminate the “unicorn” theory with gear. In reality, he could make a $100 dollar guitar sound great. I don’t think it matters. Meh.

[@riffraff1350]

He could make it sound great but not as great as he could if it were a quality instrument. Everything is relative.

[@brunodejemeentrar1593]

yh ans with a 200k bucks amp

[@xTheNameisEthan]

I think it’s a lot more about how the instrument feels, I have a 300 dollar Stingray and I like it but I picked up a 2000 dollar music man the other day and was blown away at how good it felt to play, it wouldn’t make me play better but it certainly felt a lot nicer to play and the instrument sounded better

[@Seriouslycantplayguitar]

Surprisingly interesting here, love the videos. It sounds like the guitar is always "close" to what John is playing, but like you said he is constantly messing with something, typically pickups or electronics. I think some players might switch out the pickups themselves as well, which is kinda like John has his own custom Strat "platform" that people can buy at any major guitar store which is really cool, I think most other factors being even outside of minor tweaks. unfortunately I do not own a silver sky to tell you if I would do so myself.

[@daoyang223]

Its the same with strats. The ones you buy wont shred like Yngwies. Something I learned from a dude who owned a guitar shop

[@ThePandaProcrastinates]

It makes sense he would use a slightly different/modified model sometimes. He probably is constantly evolving his sound, and with PRS has the ability to tweak as much as he wants. I prefer this, that means the Silver Sky will continue to evolve with it. For his Silver Sky's I am sure they pick the "best" one on the production line to add those tweaks or to send him stock. This work out well for us. It means that the consistency in the models is very good, so they could just choose one. I have seen some very dark rosewood (almost ebony) stock silver skies.

[@jrcenina85]

It’s hilarious that this even matters. Getting the same haircut as John Mayer or the same exact guitar that he has isn’t a substitute for being an artist or musician. If Hendrix had fixated on playing what his heroes played, he would’ve been playing acoustic guitars with horribly high action and bad intonation that the old blues greats played. Just be an artist and be you. John Mayer is him and you are you.

[@MrDream-zm1pw]

Exactly, as if your mediocre guitar skills on a nice guitar will get you as much gash as Mayer himself.

[@TubaSteve369]

This is 100% accurate. I've worked at fender, takamini, ovation, charvel, and Washburn. This is exactly how research and development is done in the field and then the information is brought back and put into production for the stock models.

[@JTanoalegre]

Little question ¿Who cares? Is just a guitar is a piece of wood with strings Take the damn thing and play it You like it? Cool buy it and improve as an artist You don't? Cool keep searching while improving as an artist Trying to be someone else just makes you a bad copy Little boy who likes playing The guitar Don't buy signatures unless is really necessary you are not going to be as good as the artist you're trying to copy

[@janniswiese]

Great video, well done Justin! I think it's great having John and Paul in close contact and always pushing the development of the Silver Sky. On the other hand, this doesn't make the production Silver Sky bad at all - PRS basically is a Custom Shop anyway and the quality standards are so high there's not much difference from one Silver Sky to the next. While there have been sightings of Silver Sky bodies in Private Stock, I don't think there are big differences to the normal assembly line. They use the same wood (even if more 'spectacular'), same CNC machines, same glue, ...

[@deletechannel13]

Nice vid! I sub. It would make a lot of sense that John never plays production models on stage, just prototypes. He's got to have the prototypes and play them live before they become production models because he's designing the silver sky. Whenever the new ones come out, the only point of replacing the prototype with the production model would be to say "Look! It's really the production model!" At the end of the day, he's taking those prototypes out to test them and to think about how to better design the guitar. It's not like most guitarists playing their signature model but secretly changing out the pickups or something like that, because the goal isn't to sell a cheap production model while the artist upgrades it for their use. The goal is to create the best possible production guitar and leave no stone unturned.

[@JustinJeske]

I 100% agree! Thanks for the sub 🙏🏻

[@baldbearded9601]

He said it multiple times before that one post too. I think this is reaching a little bit. He's got nothing to gain from lying or omitting something.. and he was never shy to praise his one off Black1 before the PRS switch, so I'd say if he says it, it's true. And he's been saying this for 2-3 years. Of course he gets prototypes before the public, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't play anything asode from the prototype. But is his silver sky the same as you'd buy in a store? Yes, he plays it stock. And obviously his technician does his job, so he looks regularly to make sure it doesn't need a setup. I'd guess that's pretty much it in my opinion!

[@frankiedrocks765]

Oil your fret board, it'll darken.

[@jameswilson1628]

Just get a half decent strat with close specs. It’s the wizard not the wand.

[@budgetguitarist]

Cool video and cool channel. I'm a huge Strat fan, and I've seen JM live 3 times (Sob Rock tour most recently) and he's definitely got killer tone. I'm sure he probably gets the pick of the bunch and probably an additional "attention to detail" setup. Personally, I don't like the Silver Sky - the neck is too fat for me. They sound killer, though.

[@Jzap44]

I own a ss from 2019 with a very flamed neck, didnt intend on buying one but when i saw that i immediately bought it and love it. From what i understand the new pups are more like the blk1, i do prefer the ones modeled after the 64 though. For future skys, id like to see the reintroduction of onyx with gold hardware. Also i purchased my ss from Guitar Resurrection in Austin tx where the owner also said john boughy 4 alembics lol

[@ClaudioMartella]

Who cares, get an actual Strat from Fender.

[@riffraff1350]

9/10 Fenders sound like shit. 9/10 Silver Skys sound like a '63 Strat with mojo.

[@ClaudioMartella]

@@riffraff1350 cute

[@silverfr3ak]

John will get the best guitars with the best components and woods? YES If a regular bedroom player has the opportunity of getting of of John's guitar, will he be able to get his tone? NO Even if you're an amazing player, we still need the Dumble and the other amps, which are a HUGE part of the tone.

[@jacobvieira1338]

Its widely known that some of the most famous guitarists had ghost builders or at the very least techs on hand to go over their guitars and make them night and day from an off the rack guitar

[@Zoso7227]

I’ve often thought of this as well as the same for athletes shoes. Great subject 👍

[@Allison_Chaynes]

Just buy a Strat

[@dansands6363]

Just because he’s playing prototypes with minor tweaks and changes doesn’t mean that he’s playing some hand crafted private stock model that would be worth a few grand more. Pretty sure PRS could get sued if it’s somehow found out they he’s using a private stock grade when he’s telling everyone this is the same guitar you or I could buy.

[@CityStarrzz]

The fact that he plays a bunch of different ones to inform the standard is great though, because it means the standard always improves and makes the entire range look like a better buy.

[@newgunguy4176]

So, basically, we'll eventually get whatever he's working on at any given time. That's pretty obvious since he's always improving something...

[@KenithCopeland]

good video, but does it even matter....... he will sound like him regardless of what he picks up and really, he is john mayer, if he doesnt get a "better" version whats the point of being joh mayer

[@Robroy333]

John just clones Stevie Ray Vhan licks anyway… the copies; who cares???!

[@mikem668]

Seems like nit-picking. I doubt John Mayer was lying when he said he could buy a guitar at Guitar Center. Obviously, he has access to guitar techs to check virtually everything. Of course he's tweaking stuff. Of course he and Paul are searching for perfection. Especially as he makes changes in the kind of music he's making. AFAIK one of his heroes, Jimi Hendrix, used new Strats as they came out. IIRC Fender just sent them to him.

[@adamkrug6064]

@justinjeske have you tried the 2023’s silver skys? I just A, B’d a whole bunch of silver skys and all the 2023 sounded may more open and expressive than the 2022 models

[@williamwagnon2809]

No two guitars are exactly the same. PRS makes very consistent guitars and are of high quality. Excellent workmanship! However, every body and neck are different. The density of the wood varies! Some necks have close grain, wide grain, straight grain, curly figured grain. You might not be able to listen to every one and tell a difference with your naked ear, BUT there are definitely those that sound vastly different. Some of the guitars that you play you can feel the vibration in them forever and some are kind of dead. That said ... does it really matter if the PRS you buy is identical to the PRS that John plays? You don't have his hands and don't play the same as John! Find one that sounds good to you when you play it! Even though it's a solid body manufactured guitar they don't all sound and play identically! Play it before you buy it ... unless you just want to hang it up on the wall because it's pretty (and there's nothing wrong with that if you do!). That's my two cents!!

[@211squirrel]

I live nearby the PRS factory and know quite a few employees. They pride themselves on the quality of their production instruments and the signature models are truly to the artists’ specs. The artists can literally go to any music store, pull one off the wall, and feel right at home. Now, JM may be testing stuff constantly, but I think it’s misleading to think of those test guitars as “different from spec,” in the perspective of “unobtainium.” The difference is related to testing, not that the artist is “receiving something special.”

[@riffraff1350]

Perfectly said.

[@MetallicA29]

@Michael this all day long!!!

[@HenrikMoos]

I know very little about John Mayer, but if you look at other of the big guitarist’s and if they play stockmodels? Nope they don’t. Look at Jim Root he played his signature pickup’s from emg years before you could buy them. He when through lots of versions. They all do that. Some of the things that they have done to their guitars would make the guitar imposible to sell do to pricing.

[@Nigel-ie6gy]

I’ve just taken delivery of a Sob Rock pink silver sky ( when it was unpacked ) made on my birthday with an incredible flame maple neck 👍🏽👍🏽

[@misterknightowlandco]

Ehhh I think we’re grasping at straws here. Trying minor things and tweaks to make his signature guitar better for us is a lot less “nefarious” than say Slash slapping a Gibson logo on his custom built, not by Gibson, les Paul because he got signed and appetite hit big is ALOT different. It’s his name on it, if he wants to cherry pick the best ones to play then ok cool it’s one of the perks of being him. So many artists just let the company add their name to a series of already existing guitars with no tweaks to them except maybe a new color that signature guitars became a bogus money grab. At least John did it honestly and said hey we designed this guitar to my specs and I’m always tweaking and trying things to make it better. So I’m cool that mines a couple years old and not as updated as his.

[@arielinzunza]

Its obvious that John will be trying out spec tweeks constantly on stage. Is the overall quality of the guitars he uses “better” than stock models? Apparently not. I think that’s what he meant on the Silver Sky introduction video

[@moose5206]

You could create 100 more videos on Silver Sky’s and I’d watch every one of them. Part of my reasoning and push to finally get my 21 Polar Blue SS, was you and the gear lounge review videos and in depth conversations about them. Cheers from CA.

[@JustinJeske]

Ha well I'm sure I'll have a few more coming out in the soonish future!! 🙏🏻

[@leehenderson8132]

Nope.i hate mine itsvup for trade or sale.its a 2020 core model,white/rosewood gigbag.the pick ups were absolutely shit.

[@astmagrooved]

JM can make your 'worst' guitar-out-of-tune sound better than JM's 'secret' guitar played by you ... I'm being polite here

[@guitarstring5981]

Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars. The PRS John Mayer Silver Sky has seen little change since its inception. A full nitro finish began in January 2020. The fret wire changed from .045” X .085” (original), to .055” X .090” (slightly taller and thinner-October 2020). The basic specs for each year are below. 2019--Alder Body, 25.5” scale length, 22 fret maple neck, rosewood fretboard, small bird inlays, steel tremolo, 635JM treble, middle, and bass pickups, one volume & two-tone controls with a 5-way blade pickup switch, vintage-style locking tuners, nickel hardware, premium gig bag • Neck profile: 635JM Finishes: (Toned nitro finish on necks), Onyx, Horizon, Tungsten, Frost, Moc Sand, Golden Mesa, Dodgem Blue, Orion Green 2020--Alder Body, 25.5” scale length, 22 fret maple neck, rosewood or maple fretboard, small bird inlays, steel tremolo, 635JM treble, middle, and bass single-coil pickups, one volume & two tone controls with a 5-way blade pickup switch, vintage-style locking tuners, nickel hardware, premium gig bag • Neck profile: 635JM-R (rosewood fretboard) 635JM (maple fretboard) Finishes: (nitro finish), Dodgem Blue, Frost, Golden Mesa, Midnight Rose, Moc Sand, Orion Green, Polar Blue, Tungsten 2121--Alder Body, 25.5” scale length, 22 fret maple neck, rosewood or maple fretboard, small bird inlays, steel tremolo, 635JM treble, middle, and bass single-coil pickups, one volume & two tone controls with a 5-way blade pickup switch, PRS vintage-style locking tuners, nickel hardware, premium gig bag • Neck profile: 635JM-R (rosewood fretboard) 635JM (maple fretboard) Finishes: (nitro finish), Dodgem Blue, Frost, Golden Mesa, Midnight Rose, Moc Sand Satin, Orion Green, Polar Blue, Tungsten, Roxy Pink (in rosewood fretboard only) I hope this information finds you well. We appreciate your continued support of PRS. Have a great day,

[@JustinJeske]

Few things we can all take from this. 1: The said "full nitro" which is different than what they suggested it was with the "Nitro over Cellulose" wording. I believe it thought, my Satin MS is rather fragile in its finish. Actually nicked it pretty good right after shooting this video lol. 2: They are clever enough to disguise all the pickups as being called 635JM's when we know for a fact the pickups are different in 2021 models. They might still be 635JM's by name, but not 100% the same. I wonder why they never just did changes all at once. Cause you can get very interesting overlaps with the changes around 2019/2020/2021 years. My pal Tommy who sold me his Satin SS, got a Gloss Moc Sand with the 2021 pickups as one of the very last ones they produced as a backorder. So a 2020 finish technically with 2021 specs. You could get a 2020 one with the V1 pickups and the new fret size if you got one made between October 2020 and January 2021. Pretty rare combinations actually are out there.

[@guusverschuuren8495]

This is what they told me about the pickups🤨: Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars. To my knowledge, there have been no explicit spec changes regarding the Silver Sky pickups between 2020 to 2021. Any changes to the specifications of these pickups has been done to retain the sound initially sought out by Mr. John Mayer and Paul Smith. Ultimately, there is nothing exclusively lower output about the pickups for 2021 models, and we do not offer any service on changing the sounds of these pickups. Achieving that iconic John Mayer tone could have more to do with turning knobs and/or using a nice big, clean amp! Let me know if you have any further questions! All the best, Weird choice of words. Seems like he isn’t allowed to tell anything

[@Diax1324]

@@guusverschuuren8495 Sounds like cold-war level secrecy. I bet PRS is doing everything they can to out-do Fender at their own game and don't want to explicitly make it easy for pickup makers to cop their tones.

[@samroney6644]

@@Diax1324 Doubt it. PRS SS isn't even a pimple on Fender's ass in strat sales and never will be. The only reason for the SS was to get Mayer to play them on stage.

[@JustinJeske]

@Sam Roney you say that, yet the SS outsold all US Fender Strats last year combined. Hardly a “pimple”

[@Wellsiscool]

OMG now you sounds like John Mayer from 2019 instead of now.....oh wait, no you don't....

[@RobSmith-rn3ie]

Well it sounds like whatever he's playing will eventually become stock. We should be grateful he tests the future models on stage to get the future mods just right. This is a good thing!

[@samroney6644]

The difference is who's holding it. People think they can pick up Mayer's guitar and sound like Mayer, lol. SMH

[@brownriceprod]

thinking 3 years ahead they came up with "let's make it not in America and with shitty wood and no locking tuners with 4 ugly colors and put it in the SE line? good job boys lol

[@hairnation68]

No Artist I’ve seen plays stock signature model of their own guitar. They are given select made models.

[@rickjason215]

Of course, his guitar is not what you get in a store. His Strat was much better than his PRS imitation Strat. Does Paul Reed Smith have any shame?

[@DavidRuiz-fv9ek]

I think a point you are missing is the guitar tech he has access too compared to us mere mortals who do our own work. This makes a big difference on how his guitars play compared to what you get off the shelf. Along with direct contact with the man himself and his staff, it is silly to think that what you get at Guitar Center is what he is using.

[@riffraff1350]

The point is that everything he plays CAN be turned into a production guitar. With Fender that was impossible.

[@Fa11out]

these petty "changes" to be concerned over. Nevermind the fact that even if someone has as 100% accurate version of what he has on stage today they wont sound like him when they play and the constant pursuit to chase a specific person's sound is a giant waste of time and energy

[@noarrivalsguitar2524]

This is kind of a weird concept… We’re only not getting the guitar he plays because he’s testing new prototypes. There’s no conspiracy. There’s a difference between playing a “special” guitar and testing protos. I mean… how is this supposed to happen? Am I supposed to be upset that PRS isn’t shipping out proto’s for us to test out too? It’s feels a bit like someone handing you fresh baked bread, then putting another loaf in the oven and saying “yeah but yours is more fresh and newer- NO FAIR”. And with the fretboard, I’ve owned 6 Silver Sky’s. All but one has been almost Ebony black. I’m sure he does like the rest of us. I call my local store and ask if they have any dark fretboard guitars… duh. Doesn’t mean he got some special unicorn wood. When I’ve done guitar tech work, something that’s common on the bench is stain. Some people want to darken their rosewood. Takes 35 seconds. His tech could have done that with a paper towel. Just some “outside looking in” thoughts. Pretty sure everyone realizes what’s going on - we don’t get prototypes.

[@trainstationz]

I'm actually looking into darkening my Jazzmaster's fretboard. What stain would I use for that?

[@noarrivalsguitar2524]

@@trainstationz - Stewmac makes an “Ebonizing ink” that will stain a board really dark. I think they’re like $15 a bottle. Works really well

[@MetallicA29]

Bruh...weird flex to say he doesn't play the same gear you can buy when he's just road testing. Different to me than what he did at Fender.

[@colinparks619]

"I'm gonna have to buy it" what a load of crap lol, who you think you kidding John lol😅

[@dylancitro3713]

Everyone knows all prs core guitars are beautiful as they are 2 to 6 grand but top of the line is their private stock and if your a sponsored artist why would you not have yours made in the private stock room

[@lindamcguigan5989]

That headstock and truss rod cover look cheap I've never understood Fan Boy guitarists find your own sound it's in your head and fingers

[@purushswaminathan5693]

you mean 'your' silver sky. we're still struggling to pay those klarna payments on our classic vibe🤣

[@colinpadley1897]

I've got a 2019 SS, now I know why I don't sound like John Mayer! 😃

[@damirmilanovic3043]

And my opinion is if tomorrow turttle comes along and play something and all the girls in your neibour hood scream like they saw beatles tomorrow you will be drawing on your skull turtle shell and than you will be saying why they dont like me i got turtle shell to

[@AtypicalPaul]

I'm surprised the silver sky guitar has plastic tuners

[@waynepayne864]

I mean it kind if is. Just add 3 years. Hes playing the 2024 stock model rn

[@danielvelazmusic249]

I got the moc sand satin, the one you got. It is a lot warmer than the first production models and the neck is thicker. I love it

[@Runner862]

Noway, a professional customize his gear for professional use? Wow

[@TheJoecoool]

i don't like silver sky pickups and what John Mayer have is totally deferent

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

Here's the f*cked up part... I don't even like his guitar sound as of late.

[@tomyates2551]

Great topic Justin. Couple of thoughts: I don’t know if it was just down to the recording but I wasn’t that massively impressed by tone in that Ballad LTH home video. Particularly the outro solo. It was a bit… lacklustre. Which perhaps wasn’t the greatest advertisement for these ‘100% stock’ silver sky’s. Also, the argument about John saying the silver sky’s we can buy are what he’s playing on stage and the authenticity of that statement is interesting given that (as one of the rumours goes) he left fender after they wanted him to make it seem like he was only using Fender amps on stage. But what you say about how it’s likely to be mainly just a lag between what John’s playing and then what’s released to the public makes sense. Hearing about the three year timeframe just makes me want to joke about how “yeah, cause that’s just how long it takes PRS to build and ship them”, but I think that’s maybe a tad harsh given how COVID is still delaying supply chains around the globe. Still, how many months has it been since they announced Roxy Pink? Loads and they still aren’t in stock (in UK anyway).

[@shankrl1]

The Ballad solo tone was incredible lol what are you talking about

[@JustinJeske]

I'm with Tom on the thoughts on the tone from the Ballad. I didn't like it really at all. Thin and dull are the two ways I'd describe it the more I listen to it haha. You throw the rig he used for LTH live in Henson Studio for that solo and it would blow it away. Hell the live tone as it is I prefer. And as a result I think it's more of a knock against his amp setup honestly, he is missing the TR and Dumble DNA from his sound and that is a massive portion of his tone. But tone is all in the fingers..... 😉. Yeah PRS has been behind even before the pandemic with production it seems like, my Nebula was quoted months away from the start before it all happened. Now it's just insane. Approaching Two Rock wait times and they are a much bigger company which to me is honestly rather ridiculous. I didn't order a Roxy Pink because of the quoted wait times on them that I heard from dealers. By the time I got it, the Sob Rock era would be half done and I wanted one to get through the whole era with haha. The only other thing to keep in mind I guess is that the Silver Sky outsold all USA made Fender Strats this year on Reverb. That's just crazy... shows how much of an impact this guitar has made and how the model is now such a big part of the story of the guitar itself. So for them to have to keep up with that level of demand is also something I don't think they ever expected. But they need to get ahold of it and start catching up cause you shouldn't have a guitar COLOR that is announced and have to already wait 9 months for it when you order on the first day possible.

[@tomyates2551]

@@shankrl1 I just found it a little thin compared to what we usually hear John solo with.

[@eddiesidorov8635]

So we are getting "stock" silver sky's, just a few years after him :)

[@emmanuelwood8702]

This video is pointless. Just speculation nothing substantive.

[@darkestfugue]

id like to see a silver guy with dots and some transparant finishes

[@skaterade9043]

In conclusion, find your own tone. It will save you lottsa money and time

[@thegreatbeyond9063]

Great stuff as always Justin!... Ive recently (4 days ago) done a 'Blender mod' to my strat..... with a 'no load' pot so it can be set to be totally stock sounds when disengaged, but then the 'all three' and 'Tele' sounds are available when required with the blender. With some of the sounds Im getting I think some of the Sob Rock guitar sounds are made using this!!!. And, as an old touring backline and guitar tech, I think we would be a little foolish if we were to think JM and Rene Martinez aren't tinkering with some of his SS's to make them even better. I really think you should try the Blender mod as I have described it, as having the complete set of sounds that Strats are capable of just seems to be something everyone should do!... If you like yourself some Strats!.. ;)

[@jerryodom7358]

Who cares. They all sound great. And are much better than a Fender Strat. Anyone that lives in the Nashville, Tn. Area and wants to trade their Silver Sky, I have 2-VHT D-50 amps I’ll trade for it. Send me a reply. Thanks.

[@BrianElliot]

I'd be down for an HSS Silver Sky. Maybe with pickup splitter?

[@guusverschuuren8495]

That’s not something prs would release in the Silver sky range under john’s name. He never uses strats with humbuckers

[@limerot]

Another storm...in a wateglass...

[@DaveSwart]

5:30 “I never chested on you… last year.” Huh?

[@oxringoxo]

i think something that people miss, is what the guitar GOES INTO! Dumble SSS and a Two Rock. You will not plug a Silver Sky into a 15watt tweed and get that sound. Best advice i can give is run 2 keeley katana boost pedals, one that is always on, and one as a drive boost. Where in the chain, i will leave that fun for you to find. But 2 keeley katana boost for FET and a centaur OD pedal will be as close as you can get with smaller more affordable amps. The other thing is, that tone is in his hands, his touch and attack, more than the gear. The gear is only about 20% of the equation here tops.

[@vesnakamenecki3470]

John Mayer is awsom,Genius♥️

[@johndodd4375]

Who cares you've still got to play it..

[@ralex3697]

I’m sure his are custom builds.

[@Spidouz]

Sorry but you’re way off if you think John Mayer is using different guitar specially tailored from guitar out of the shelves. During the design phase, he will receive multiple versions with the modifications he requested and discussed with Paul Reed Smith and once he got the “good” one, he would keep using the one he got. Sometimes he gets new colors, new finishing, etc… so the specs would vary, but once they agree on the specs, they rarely change. The only reason it would change would be for production purpose, like difficulties to get some materials from suppliers, etc… that’s where they would try to find an alternative and do some tests until they found the right alternative that is possible and would satisfy John Mayer. But it doesn’t mean that the Silver Sky you’re getting from the store is different from the one he gets. I’ve seen plenty of video where John Mayer just grab a random Silver Sky and still sound like him on a Silver Sky… You could have his entire rig and still sound like YOU on his rig, and not sounding like HIM on his rig. People that get stuck in this idea that you suck because you don’t have THE gear is fundamentally wrong… you will never sound like him, regardless the gear you’re buying, it doesn’t mean it’s because the gear in stores are different, but just because a large part of the tone is in your fingers. When the guitar tech of John Mayer is testing his rig, he sounds like his guitar tech, and not John Mayer… and yet, a minute later, John Mayer will grab the guitar and sound like him.

[@JustinJeske]

If you actually watch the video and listened to my points, I’m certainly not “way off”. I didn’t say he was using something differently tailored to his needs, but I provided very strong evidence as to why most of his personal models won’t be 100% identical to what you buy in store.

[@tomix1970pl1]

Both of them are for plim, plam, plom.

[@todddale1417]

I hate to seem negative but this all seems very very obvious… of course he is going to have different pickups and whatnot. He is a self confessed guitar gear tweeker X1000000000 …. That being said, ultimately what does it really matter? There is a million variables to a live sound and if you are chasing the sound from a particular night or even tour for that matter… well imo your time would be much better served with playing guitar

[@JustinJeske]

The amount of people who don't understand the topic of the video is immense. It might be obvious to you that John is a tweeker to that level, but it's even more apparent and obvious there are a lot of people who don't understand this. People who get it already isn't who I made this for

[@pcruth]

It’s set up differently, and he has a half million dollar amps. That’s the difference.

[@riffraff1350]

To be fair, the average player would get exposed and sound like complete shit on those amps.

[@samnewton5959]

I have a friend who says the pickups were changed on the 2020 models. There does not seem to be any way to confirm. As you noted, PRS seems to be vague on the subject. I personally do not own a Silver Sky but have been looking to get one. I appreciate your vid.!

[@brendanmullan9794]

PRS headstocks look dumb. So do the inlays. Also it sounds a lot like another guitar that doesn’t have those problems.

[@JustinJeske]

Then don't buy it 😂

[@abfranklin8492]

Who cares?

[@etidancal]

Something else to consider, because we all think about the type of guitars, pedals, gear, wires, etc. This guitar is being played by Mayer, it is going to sound incredible and even better than we can play it even if any of us takes his current guitar and gear. Personally, i don't get too worried about it, I have a Fender Strat that of course modified to look like the NOS BLK1 and i try to get his pedals but i also can't get his amps, we all do what we can.

[@PaleCaretaker]

Ofc not

[@potatoheadhaoy]

I think it's safe to assume many artist signature models are not perfectly consistent with what you see them play live. Not just because artists get special treatment or whatever, there's many variables due to them being built en masse. There's prototypes, lot variation, personal mods... shit, even the "same model" can differ due to things like pot tolerances. My two cents: get a guitar because the specs it has suits your needs, not because of the name. Chances are you'll be disappointed if you do the latter, and furthermore, why would you want to sound like someone when you can sound like yourself!

[@llwonder]

the silver skies nearly sound the same between years. there's barely a difference tbh. the formula remains nearly identical

[@JustinJeske]

The difference between the pickups in the earlier models compared to the 2021’s is actually very noticeable.

[@alucardx86]

This is kind of irrelevant content. What matters is if you like the guitar, no?

[@JustinJeske]

You clearly don’t realize some people buy the guitar thinking/wanting exactly what Mayer plays. Of course it’s relevant 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@phowell333]

My personal opinion is that all artists play guitars with unique features - special wound pickups, among other things. The Silver Sky's best features are the pickups - everything else is kind of "cheap" feeling. My bet is that his personal SS guitars have unique pots, tuners, and the same balanced, but hotter, pickups. With Dead and Co. this summer he played both his Super Eagle and a Silver Sky, which are miles apart. PRS is making a killing profit-wise on the Silver Sky...cheaper production costs (solid painted finishes only, plastic tuner pegs and knobs, NO CASE) and one of the world's most popular player's behind it. I can't imagine what cost-savings features are left for the hinted upcoming SE version.

[@BartholomewCounty]

The truss rod covers are different, but if you want to swap your SE triangle for the correct 'oval' of a John Mayer signature Musician's Friend has them for $12.99.

[@sinjon]

I’m not sure how anyone can know the pickups in that picture became the ones on the new silver sky. You just talked about one-offs and prototypes, so there’s a good chance they never made it to the production model. “New pickups” doesn’t mean much. If John says he can walk into a GC and pickup the same guitar, I have no reason to doubt him. Maybe I’m being naive. Idk. As far as playing a different color on stage, we’ll, that’s just paint.