PRS SILVER SKY SE as good as $8k STRAT?

#guitardemo #prssilversky #lentzreserve
What is the difference between a boutique Strat costing 10x that of a mass produced one?
In this video I compare a $8,250 Lentz Reserve S-type guitar with a $849 Paul Reed Smith Silver Sky SE. What differences can you hear? Which do you prefer?
I include several sound comparisons, talk about the differences in specs, an share my observations at the end!
Rock on!
Jonathan

[@Chimp_No_1]

Really interesting and informative video ! Thanks !

[@RatherBeRiffing]

My pleasure - glad you enjoyed!

[@youKnowWho3311]

Great vid. Shocking how well the SS SE sounds in the context of a mix. We really are in the golden age of guitar building.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Completely agree!

[@esq6881]

I find this channel very inspiring and relaxing. Beautiful guitars you’ve been able to showcase and yet still able to get great sounds out of affordable gear as well. Though that 5 way switch is trying its best to distract us!

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you for the kind words! Definitely time to clean that 5-way!

[@Chimp_No_1]

Well said !

[@ulissespacifico]

Another amazing review!! What a beautiful guitar I been thinking about go the Enporium check some Fenders Custom shop strats for awhile. They are only 37 Miles from my house I definitely going to stop by some day. Keep rocking buddy. Amazing tone and playing.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks so much! Definitely worth checking out their shop. The staff is friendly and you can try guitars silently in headphones or downstairs in the amp room.

[@norseman61]

Another great video! I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the PRS hung in there tone-wise. Not at the Lentz level, but great just the same. However… how is no one mentioning the incredibly scratchy selector switch on the PRS? It was LOUD whenever you switched pickups. That Lentz is superb, however. I LOVE the resonance of a light guitar, and how you can feel it “thrum” through the body. There is so much more to a guitar than just tone. That “feel” is THE key, and can completely dictate how (and what) you play. Alas, I don’t have a “budget for no compromise”, so I’ll enjoy the Lentz vicariously through your video! Thanks, and keep up the good work.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Well said and thank you! I completely relate to the feel factor and how the symbiotic relationship between player an instrument can influence creativity, confidence, and expression. And yes those SE pots already need a cleaning - so scratchy!

[@carrielittlecplaster1620]

excellent content, filming, playing here. i subbed. Man, i love me some prs, but that other one... WOW

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks for the kind words and sub! The Lentz is next level. I was worried that didn’t translate well in the video so I’m glad to hear you though so as well.

[@IndyRockStar]

Thank you for introducing me to Lentz. I was on the verge of ordering a Fender Masterbuilt Strat. Now, I have new decision to make.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Enjoy the process of choosing - the Lentz is definitely worth considering!

[@2500BC]

I recommend lentz and i have two fender mb’s

[@onlyguitars]

As always fantastic video! That lentz is outstanding! Very nice one. I've had multiple strats during the past years, inluding SS core and a SS SE rosewood as well, and the Silver sky SE for that price range for a great strat style guitar is a no braner in my opinion. Is very very good, the playability is outstanding just like any PRS, and I agree that QC on SS SE has some details but completely worth for the price and spend that extra bucks to polish the frets, work on the fret ends and to roll the edges a bit more, and change the nut if you feel like it. The pickups are great and has that Silver sky character that is lovely. Is NOT for me that vintage strat tone I notice in the FCS or Nash guitars Ive had or played, but is very good indeed. So having a vintage style strat like your Lentz and a silver sky SE, I think both have their thing, and the PRS is completely worth it. What I like about the silver sky vs strats in general is that they tend to fight you when you play, but the silver sky plays like butter. That lentz seems to also have a superb playability compared to strats in general so seems fantastic, but the PRS at that price and how it plays damn! Is really amazing how good the SE's are. And something I've noticed for other 2 SE PRS I have, is that the other ones, a DGT and Paul's guitar the frets seem to be more polished and that they took more time on those details. The SS seems was more rushed, so maybe since its once again a top selling guitar ths year, they had to push the production a bit and that compromised a bit on those details, but its still much better than lets says epiphones.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks for the kind words! I agree wholeheartedly with your comments and matches my experiences well! I will add that the Lentz action is set a bit higher than I prefer, but it still feels great and the tone is so perfect I decided to embrace it!

[@dragan4658]

Another informative and entertaining presentation. Obviously the Lentz is a masterpiece however the Prs can be tweaked to make it a bit more refined. At under $800 the Prs is one of the best guitars for the money. Im looking at adding a Prs or two to my collection of just under 20 guitars to date and thats ecause this is the best silver sky video Ive seen. Thanks for sharing!

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you for the kind words and high praise! Agree - I love both guitars for what they are and the SS SE is tough to beat for the price.

[@TrevorrNourse]

Beautiful review, such quality content. There is a difference, but neither bad in anyway. Lentz a true work of art and PRS more like a work in progress. A few hundred bucks will fix issues you called out. Thank you for sharing that incredible guitar.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

My pleasure and thanks as always, Trevorr! Well said and completely agree!

[@Matt-pc5pp]

Hey Jonathan, I would like to start off with saying I absolutely love your videos. You’re one of my favorite guitarist to watch on KZbin. You really inspire me and I would love to see a video in the future about petals. I was wondering if you had recommendations for lefties that would like a silver sky quality guitar? Am I stuck with vendor?

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to let me know as it motivates me to keep going! Unfortunately I don't know much about lefty options.

[@DiegoHenaoV]

Amazing playing! I had an idea of adding a suhr humbucker to the SS.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! I love that idea and would love a SS HSS. Let me know if you do it! Neal Schon modded one like that.

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

Thank you for taking the time to make this VIDEO. George Amodei :)

[@RatherBeRiffing]

My pleasure, George!

[@cmonsterz]

Interesting comparison, Jonathan. You did a great job of explaining where the differences between the two are. It is fairly obvious why there is a massive price difference. This said, I have both an SE Silver Sky (maple) and a Core Silver Sky. There really Is a huge difference between the SE and the Core. The Core is roughly four times the price of the SE. I actually call my Core SS “The Bliss Machine” if that’s a better indicator of what I think (after having owned a dozen Fenders). But the SE is an astonishingly good guitar for the money. I am curious what a comparison between a Core Silver Sky and the Lentz would yield….😊

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! I love that you found your "bliss machine"! I'd like to have a Core to add to the comparison mix.

[@jed1mindtricks857]

Agree, i have the SS core golden mesa, and its way better then the SE, no comparison tbh. Best strat style guitar ive ever played.

[@macauley70]

great video ..Thank you very much for the time dedicated and attention to detail. I would like you to do them more frequently, but there are only 24 hours in a day and we have to work to eat, right?.hehe.. The word is inspiration.There are guitars that you don't know exactly, afraid that when you play them they inspire you to create and play better. They have that mojo that is difficult to define. They don't necessarily have to be more expensive (although they usually are haha).. . greetings from the sunny Barcelona

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Greetings and thank you! I wish I had time for more videos and glad to know there is demand for that. If they don't inspire me to play an write, I sell them!

[@armandor.594]

Someone below said this video are relaxing. I agree. Cheers from Italy.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TCMx3]

Lentz arent cheap (though there are a couple of companies out there charging even more for bolt neck guitars), but the one I had had THE best paint job I've ever seen on a guitar. Just flawless. And yeah the wood selection is going to be a large part of why they can charge what they do. What I think would be an interesting question is what would PRS charge for a Private Stock Silver Sky? My suspicion is that it wouldn't come in at much less. Arguable that all these high end 4K+ strats are overpriced. But we've deforested so much of the world that now decent wood + paying a genuine artist level craftsman like Scott Lentz Sr or similar to live a decent life in California how much should they even cost? I sold the one I had because of the maple fretboard, not my favorite and it was too much to have tied up in a guitar I wouldn't play. Would like to get another one at somepoint. I currently own a core SS and I think it's a nice guitar for the price, probably the best strat you can buy at that money if you ask for a discount. All good instruments. The SE seems nice too. Folks should just choose with their ears and fingers IMO. I do wish that guitars like Lentz were more accessible to more folks though, but that's not Lentz's fault. In the 50s Fenders were insanely expensive relative to salaries, probably more so than a Lentz today, but many regular folks were able to make those happen.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Great points! Glad to hear you had the same experience as me with Lentz quality. Agree about choosing with ears an fingers at the end of the day!

[@iswahono3603]

long time no see.. more uploads please

[@brucehazen8982]

Having Peet's Sumatra varietal coffee, as I wake up ... Honestly, the only difference I really heard was the well-known slight midrange bump of the Silver Sky pickups ... and perhaps I'm mishearing but it sounds like the pickup switch needs some contact cleaning(?) ... But did I hear a $6,000 (or whatever it was) quality difference? No. I heard a player who's put in a lot of hours, and gotten really good. For someone like you, the better you get, the more 'transparent' the instrument and gear becomes. I'd advise any aspirant guitarist to just take the modest guitar they have, make sure it's set up playably, and just ... play. Put those 10,000 hours in. There's the biggest reward

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Well said! I could hear some difference in my studio, but not so much on KZbin. Agree, as fun as gear is, there is no substitute for doing the work when it comes to good tone!

[@idontgrillonwed]

Agreed. Gear KZbin has us chasing gear when money spent on lessons and gigs is better spent. Most of the differences I could hear would be corrected with $100ish in wiring components and a DAW.

[@dallionaire8947]

Love this channel. Not gonna lie didn’t hear much different between the two lol

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! I was surprised how subtle the differences were upon playback.

[@fredcarter7003]

Wow, great video

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you!

[@BeastMadeReviews]

Wonderful video as always, Jonathan! Do you have a "main" axe? Do you have one guitar you play the most? Since it's morning as I watch this, I'm going with some Christmas blend coffee from my local shop. :)

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks as always! Sipping my coffee now while on break for holiday! I rotate axes often to keep things fresh. However, I do tend to favor my Yaron Bone 59 and Gustavsson Bluesmaster 59 LTD most. I plan to feature both of those soon in a video. As for S-types, my Xotic XSC-2 has been a long time favorite, but the Lentz has over taken it!

[@BeastMadeReviews]

@@RatherBeRiffing That Lentz is FIRE!

[@michaelschneider7590]

⁠@@RatherBeRiffing Interesting choices! I was not familiar with these but both seem to be “holy grail” guitars much like the Nik Huber Orca you demoed recently. (All three over $10,000….) So, I’m curious what your favourites would be at other price points. Best ones in the vicinity of $2.5K, $1.5K, and $500 would be really interesting! And useful, too. As you showed nicely here, the SE Silver Sky is pretty amazing, but what are some other great finds that are accessible…?

[@ErikStone1]

I'd be curious to see a comparison between the Lentz and a US-made Silversky. My S-type guitar is a US Fender Jeff Beck signature model. It has crazy ball-bearing rollers on the metal nut. It's insane, but I love it.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Me too! Will do if I can access a US version. I always wanted to try a Jeff Beck Strat!

[@fadiinspace]

This i the second video i watch from this channel and I’m really interested in the music played. Is it available on any format?

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Not available currently. I compose all of the music featured on my channel and plan to release it over time. I'll post more about it here when the time comes.

[@PetesGuitar2303]

Would love to hear the comparison between the Lents and an Oswald S type guitar,being both small companies, and built end to end by the same luthier. That Lents sounds amazing.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks! I wish I had another boutique s-type to compare it to.

[@ohmicronD]

I have a Lentz T style and it is a brilliant guitar. It is not so much about tone (which is great), but the feel is something special. Maybe you had same experience, but it seems it is hard to stop playing a Lentz. Just feels so good. Great playing!

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Totally agree! It's inspirational to play and hard to put down. The feel is everything, which can't be conveyed in the video.

[@arnolddealiii4259]

Wow, that Lentz is quite a beautiful instrument. Ultimately I don't think the tones tell the entire story of the playing experience and how it would influence the player. I myself am a less than semi professional weekend warrior so to me the Silver Sky probably is adequate for my purposes, but the Lentz is just something else. I wouldn't be able to tell from the sound clips which guitar was which, however I did think I heard a little more 60 cycle hum from the silver sky but maybe I'm crazy. Also I don't know how good my headphones are for making critical comparisons but to my ears they both sounded like a Stratocaster.

[@brighteyedsmiles]

Same here. I’m beginning to learn and my PRS SE is the perfect fit for where I am in my journey!

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks! They do sound similar on KZbin. Differences were more apparent to me in my studio. Agree about the experience and how it influence the player. That is always my top priority in choosing a guitar and unfortunately difficult if not possible to convey on KZbin.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

@brighteyesmiles It's a great one! ;-)

[@anotherstart1]

The Prs se silver sky for me is the best sss guitar regardless of price point. A used one is in the $450-600 range and you would never need to spend any more money again.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

I’m a big fan of the SS too!

[@deddiev1718]

Bro I’m with you I have some really nice expensive guitars and it’s hard to go back. There are a few diamonds in the rough that are good for being very affordable

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Agree!

[@Macmax7077]

Lentz all the way and I own a PRS

[@RatherBeRiffing]

It’s spectacular!

[@joesaxon6566]

SS SE held it's own pretty darn well.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Agree!

[@joesaxon6566]

@@RatherBeRiffing Just bought the same SS SE, picking it up tomorrow!

[@RatherBeRiffing]

@@joesaxon6566 Congrats! Let me know what you think!

[@joesaxon6566]

@@RatherBeRiffing I've owned about 4 of the rosewood models in the past so I love the guitars anyway, never been a maple board fan really but thanks to your video and a few others I saw I decided to give it a chance and I really like it so far. Neck profile is so different from the rosewoods even though PRS pretends they are the same. Really like the snap! I hear a difference...

[@idontgrillonwed]

2 hours on the bench with some fret files and some polishing compound would get that SE even closer. Add in a hand cut nut and a switch craft jack and cts pots and you are done. I even saw one the other day with decent flame in the neck! 2023 is a pretty insane time to be playing guitar.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Agree - so many amazing guitars at all price points! I may just try your suggestions - thanks!

[@ARRITDOR]

I have a Sire S7 FM incoming. I know - $800 Indonesian guitar - I don't expect it to match a Lentz, Suhr, or LSL. But I keep reading good things about the brand and I'm a Larry Carlton fan. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the S7 or H7.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Haven’t tried one yet but am curious to do so. Let me know what you think of it!

[@tbone2451]

Some beautiful playing ! I currently have a 2011 American standard Strat. But I feel the brightness isn’t the sound I’m after. I tweak the tone knobs and pickup height. Would you say the se is a warmer sounding strat. And would it be a step down, because I’d have to sell the fender unfortunately.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! I think the SE is well balanced tonally. I played a bunch and they didn’t strike me as too bright. That said, they are brighter than say a humbucker equipped Gibson style guitar.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thank you! I think the SE is well balanced tonally. I played a bunch and they didn’t strike me as too bright. That said, they are brighter than say a humbucker equipped Gibson style guitar.

[@pb1964]

despite the fact you compared an Armani made to measure suit to a mass produced one, the SE didn't come out bad...

[@RatherBeRiffing]

I like that analogy! Agree - the SE hung in there.

[@pb1964]

@@RatherBeRiffing planning to buy one... even if I won't ever play as good as you...

[@TheUnknownReject]

What's up with weights? I've seen so many people say good guitarists say they need to be hefty to cut through in a studio, and then some others and even the same ones, say in some cases the the lighter weight ones cut better in the studio. So which in your experience is true? I don't really care but it is interesting to me.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

I’m not sure. I prefer lighter as I find it resonates more against the ribcage when playing which I enjoy more from a playing experience point of view.

[@2500BC]

Lentz is a different category of instrument and a lot of it is not going to be audible on youtube - theres more to it. Did u mention scale length difference?

[@RatherBeRiffing]

I completely agree. It was quite frustrating that I couldn’t really convey how inspiring the Lentz playing experience is. Both guitars are 25.5” scale.

[@2500BC]

@@RatherBeRiffing oh ok thought i saw a spec sheet w 24.xx

[@WeldmanJones-gj7dl]

PRS is a nice instrument, but sounds dead next to the more expensive option. Coming from a broke blue collar, I think it’s completely justified to spend 10 grand on a handmade instrument. Violinists easily spend that much, why not a guitarist? Can’t put a price on art. Thanks for the video.

[@kamarienedwards1757]

I can only justify this with acoustic instruments, not electric instruments😢

[@perseusbelle]

I think there's something wrong with the audio. I would like to hear what you have to say about the guitars, but there's an unbearable high pitched noise during all of your dialogue in the video. Not making fun of your voice, there is legit a high pitch frequency I think around 11Khz might be an issue with the mic or audio interface? All I know is it's quite painful to my ears and I only hear it on this video not on any other youtube videos including your other videos.

[@RatherBeRiffing]

Thanks for letting me know! I'll investigate.