PRS SilverSky SE Revisited

[@davidjoel111]

I own a core Silver Sky, I’ve played 3 different SEs and they are amazing, its incredible how consistent they are with quality. If SE silver sky were available the time I bought the core it would’ve made me think twice.

[@Paul-D]

They do seem proper consistant probably a benefit of the new factory at the cort site

[@donefinished]

Same here. The playability and tonality on the core is a lot better IMO. Not $1600~. Over all I'm sure you're just as pleased with your CE as I am im sure.

[@itsalwayssomething7490]

I also bought the core, and probably wouldn't have, had the SE come out. I mean, I still have a great guitar. It's a good thing the McCarty has an SE, because I hear people say how incredibly close it is to the core in feel and sound. And god forbid I spent $4000 for something I can get for $850. So, I preordered that one. Obviously, the core models are absolutely gorgeous and perfect. The quality of guitar you can get for under $1000 now compared to when I started playing the guitar is remarkable.

[@revelationsoundstudio]

The pickups on the Core model have a more open sound. More chimey. Locking tuners, and the nitro finish is nicer. The SE has a little more of a plastic look that you will notice when you A/B them.

[@stevemartin5076]

This is the guitar I wish I had in high school. 20 years ago

[@Paul-D]

When i was in highschool the equvilent of an 800 guitar mightaswell of been a Ferrari hahaha. That was 16 years ago so im nearly there, i know what you mean though.

[@MascarasMil]

I liked mine so much I upgraded to the John Mayer signature. And I didn’t want to sell her, so I gifted her to my best friend.

[@revelationsoundstudio]

They updated the pickups on the American Silver Sky several times and added larger frets like the current SE. I like the latest Silver Sky the best.

[@gottbean5440]

Great review guys. I've had my SE SS for over 2 weeks and I absolutely love it. I did get the Dragon Fruit. Please don't judge me 😉

[@Paul-D]

Now the dragonfruit is 599 here im tempted to get it and refinish it in nitro a different colour. Would still be a KILLER deal!

[@gottbean5440]

@@Paul-D that would make a great video on your channel 👍

[@rick00770]

I got the dragon fruit cause that’s all they had at guitar center, in more light it looked pink, but played awesome , I took it back , then regretted it, I could have lived with it . Finally got hold of a stone blue later. But nothing wrong with the dragon. I’ve seen lot of good players with that color.

[@rick00770]

Awesome guys , still got my silver sky se. Love it. I’m still a fender guy but why not have both. Thanks always enjoy your gear reviews.

[@mpalmerw1]

Lovely solo at the end guys

[@Paul-D]

Thanks dude

[@johnl.6930]

Good job. An honest straightforward evaluation on a very popular PRs model. Thanks for this video!

[@Paul-D]

Thankyou

[@w448877]

Amazing review. Thanks for your support

[@guitarmanmark]

Nive vid, just got a moon white one, very nice. I have a bit of inside info that later in 2023 there will be a maple neck version

[@Paul-D]

nice one :). The white and blue are by far the best so far I think, I am expecting some colour rotations in 2023, I thought perhaps the maple neck version may become part of that. It's actually surprising they didnt launch with the maple neck version given how nice rosewood neck quality Strats have become far more scarce these days haha.

[@handle433]

Will they add new colors too? Maple neck and new colors would be great!!!🎸

[@Foofang65]

I’m am completely blown away by the se silver sky. Looking to get a second one.🤪✌️

[@Paul-D]

Especially the price theyve been the last year or so. Tough to beat for sure

[@MrRafaztar]

I have been looking at these , thanks 🙏

[@Paul-D]

If you like the look of them which as far as i can tell is the only major divider you really cant go wrong. The neck carves are very very nice and the guitar is quality. If you can only see a strat type guitar with a fender headstock then the fender wont really let you down either. Its all gravy 😁😁😁

[@larryadams1873]

I own an Se Silver Sky. I’ve owned an Eric Johnson Strat, an EC Strat as well as multiple other American Strats. I’ve owned around 13 -15 Strats in total. My SE Silver is a better guitar than all my Fender Strats. It sounds amazing, plays and stays in tune always, and is just a better guitar for the money. The neck is to die for. I love Fender but the SE Silver Sky kills anything Fender has.

[@Paul-D]

Glad you get on with the guitar - If we knew the prices would drop 30% for months on end at the time of filming I think I would've been even more enthusiastic about it haha.

[@toreyjonesmusic]

Damn that’s a bold statement and I love it! I love my Dragon fruit Silver Sky SE! Never owned an American Strat but I’m planning on buying the Maple Neck SE

[@Chris_OConnor]

That comment about the neck gets me, i saved enough to get a SE Silver Sky or a Fender Player or even the Vintera but what is most important for me by all is the neck. Imo that's the most important thing about a Guitar.. so as you mentioned you've own multiple strats from fender and compared to the SE SS is it more of a C shape?? Or a modern C?? Because PRS calls it just "635JM"

[@larryadams1873]

@@Chris_OConnor It’s a fully C like a 62-63 Pre CBS Strat. I’ve played a bunch of those and it’s a lot like them

[@Chris_OConnor]

@@larryadams1873 thank you so much for that fast reply!! Appreciate it. Alright that sound good to me, so know I better find a store near me to finally try one out.

[@kennytamburro317]

Your friend Steve is one excellent guitar player ! Not fan of PRS , but I like everything about the silver Sky . Seems like the se series is as popular as the USA model . Nice video !

[@Paul-D]

He is pretty good haha. I was put off PRS for a while when i thought all their necks were that horrible wide thin haha. But now ive got to play enough of them i think theres a prs for everyone whos willing to look. Cheers for watching

[@mattnixon588]

Everytime you see the colors I feel like the change in hue slightly even the moon white … and especially the dragonfruit

[@lauriemacquanan2141]

Good review guys... on the yellow getting bumped n nicked, good thing you don't mind bcbon the rosewood comparison the guitars bumped.

[@Paul-D]

Haha well spotted. You cant be precious about these things right 😅

[@DavidHorne-hx4df]

Also My Silver Sky SE gets here today. I have the Hollow Body 2 Piezo. My Strat, Tele and Gretsch have been in the cases since I started playing the Hollow Body 2...best guitar I have had...and I have had a lot!

[@Paul-D]

Nice been wanting to try one of those myself even though I hate piezo tones hahaha

[@PoseidonJ0e]

Nice review, I got mine in July and it just keeps getting better, by the way do you have that version of Sultans of Swing on a video so I can learn how to play it ;-)

[@Paul-D]

They do seem to wear in really nicely and quite quickly too. That would be a steve question haha. Pretty sure he played it like the record though

[@dukenukembubblegum7311]

Man that moon white is gorgeous, only problem is I have a white strat already 😂

[@Paul-D]

I like the new black one haha.

[@CraigGriffiths]

Do have proof, but the reverse PRS head stock lengthens the G string, which may improve stability.

[@nostro1001]

Good vid fellas...little to say otherwise. 😎 However, perhaps this may have sounded better with another (Fender most likely) amp? I'm thinking the dsl may have a rather 'cold' sounding clean setup? I assume that sound wasn't the guitars. 🤔 Liked the aesthetics of the vintage white, which is about the best looking PRS I've seen, coming from a non PRS person. 🙃 Cheers. 👍

[@Paul-D]

Funny enough we did comment on its difficult to get a fendery clean from the marshall when we was setting up haha.

[@nostro1001]

@@Paul-D Aaah.. So it wasn't me just being nit pickety, but my ears. Thanks Pauly (& of course Steve). 😎

[@Paul-D]

@@nostro1001 it takes a particularly trained ear to spot it especially with the way youtube compresses sound files so well spotted!

[@kaneo67]

I am only 2 minutes in but knowing you bought another one is so cool cos that's exactly what i did. I think tuning stability is my number one reason but its a combo of sound, playability and tuning stability. They sound like a really high end strat. They play great,but some adjustments had to be made by me, it's actually made me a more precise player and i am learning to not press down so hard with my fretting fingers. Not the guitars fault, just an adjustment by me cos of the small frets. The tuning stability is unsurpassed by any guitar i have ever owned,and i owned a SS core model before these

[@kaneo67]

I just watched the rest and very good review thanks. the guy with the cap is a really naturally good guitar player, cheers

[@Paul-D]

Interesting you say about the fret size, they are indeed smaller then medium jumbo say but they are fair bit bigger then Fenders 'Narrow Tall' Spec. So much so in fact - i plan on refretting my own Fender 60s RI as im finding them just too small haha. Thanks for watching this video :)

[@kaneo67]

@@Paul-D are you sure? i know you said that in the vid but i had two fender roadhouse deluxes and the frets were far higher. i know that they were more narrow but definately higher. when people say small frets they sometimes mean different things. yeah i have watched your videos before , and watching more now

[@mitchmartin4507]

I'm waiting for Sweetwater to Send the blue one. Looking forward to it 🎸🎶

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

Final assessment after a day’s playing. Didn’t touch the relief as it felt spot on. Lowered the action and also the pickup height. The pickups were set too high which was strangling the tone and causing some buzz. The guitar is playing almost like a dream. I can’t believe how good these pickups now sound and the playability is fantastic. Now feels like a very high end guitar. I will take the guitar into my tech to cut the nut lower but my advice to anyone sitting on the fence on this guitar is buy it at £599. Seriously, the quality of this guitar plus a nice gig bag is about as good as it gets.

[@Paul-D]

Glad your getting on with it 🤘

[@timpark8198]

Interesting to see the neck tint. Newer guitars I have looked to buy are lighter which is a shame and stopped me pulling the trigger. I think they also have a slightly thinner neck carve now. Only models with this issue were the Stone Blue in colour all the others still had the darker vintage tint - maybe due to the popularity of the grey/blue colour. Iooks like it's not a colour issue but an build date thing ...

[@Paul-D]

I have been hoping to come across a few more to check the neck tint variation. The darker is certainly more appealing. Maybe it is indeed a build date thing and it's done. PRS do make incredibly regular changes to their line up probably even more so than brands like squire. I bet the 2023 Silversky SE will have a few more differences too

[@tamasdr.dobranszky1100]

Hi, very nice review, I enjoyed it very much, just as the previous silver sky one. In the shop I bought mine, they had all 4 colours from the same shipment. Some had yellowish necks, some were lighter coloured. Also all 4 colours looked nice and special in real life. I have one question: How does the ss se compare to the sterling cutlass ct50, especially quality wise, materials? Thank you!

[@Paul-D]

Ahh interesting that seems to be the only main inconsistancy is that neck tint.. I would put the SS above the CT50 in terms of quality - but it should be too its a considerably more expensive guitar. The CT50 is a much lighter guitar though just down to its slimmer body, roasted maple neck etc.

[@tbone2451]

Another great review guy’s. I’ve been wanting to try the se silver sky for months now, they just aren’t available in stores by me. Unless ordered. I’m currently playing a 2011 American standard Strat. But I’m always looking, I wouldn’t be able to afford both. So my question is, which is better, or which would you prefer. Thanks!

[@Paul-D]

In value terms alone the USA standard strat is worth atleast as much as a new one of these, and if you got a used one you would have change out of the USA strat. So that answers the monetry comparison. In terms of which is better i really think you would have to try one as its a personal choice. I will say though these silversky SEs have absolutely lovely neck carves, some of the best ive felt on any strat honestly. All the hardware seems great too. But my favourite single coil pups are still the 57/62 set. Good luck with the search/choice!

[@tbone2451]

@@Paul-D Thanks so much for your reply, appreciate it!

[@plantagenant]

Now if only they did one in Fiesta red with snot green Kluson tuners ..( and no sodding bird inlays!)........

[@Paul-D]

Haha it wouldnt surprise me if we see them do it at some point. They’ve all just gotta keep selling after-all

[@sthrel]

What song are you playing at 10:20? Great review

[@Paul-D]

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I Could Have Lied or sort of anyways haha

[@DavidHorne-hx4df]

I crazy here...What is the name of the tune at the end? I hear it in my head without words and I'm going bonkers in Statesboro.

[@Paul-D]

Wicked Game ;)

[@MultiCugel]

I watched it no problem. Great sounds must be a nice amp too. I've been thinking of getting one of these SE's. Seen reviews saying they are as good sounding as the usa ones. Are they all light? I love light guitars lol.

[@Paul-D]

We used the DSL40 so a nice budget valve amp 😁 They seem to all be pretty light. They do have additional routing to a typical fender which shaves abit more weight. But ive not come across a heavy one, my blue fender strat is 9lbs hahaha.

[@MultiCugel]

@@Paul-D my strats heavy too, thanks for reply.🙂

[@CapableFox64]

@@MultiCugel Most are light. Some under 7 lbs. mine is “heavy” at 7 lbs 9 oz. Only seen a few heavier on sweetwater. None over 8, so they’ll be lighter than fender. Also note that the silver sky is physically smaller in body size than a strat. One point, the SE is somewhat dark sounding. If you want super vintage tone, I’d lead towards a made in Mexico instead.

[@MultiCugel]

@@CapableFox64 Thanks Lee I'll have to check them out in store. I've got a strat for the 'chime' so having a darker guitar would be fine.

[@CapableFox64]

@@MultiCugel great! I think of mine as that middle ground between strat single coils and covered PAF pickups on a tele deluxe. I have a chimey fender, silver sky se, tele deluxe with uncovered PAF and a Burstbucker LP. Definitely covers all grounds.

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

3 months into my silver sky SE and guess what, I hardly play it. I can’t get used to the bridge pickup, it sounds really nasally. It’s made me appreciate my American original 50’s Stratocaster more than ever. I don’t know, I just find the SE really sterile sounding. I feel a sale coming on. Bloody guitars 😂

[@Paul-D]

No way haha, to be fair i cant remember the last time i used the bridge pickup on my strat 😅 If you really like the neck, feel weight etc would be worth looking at a pickup swap? But yeh man you can easily get through alottttt of guitars haha

[@lafemmeparallel]

I agree on the sterile thing, i love neck pick ups but on this one it sound thin. But its incredibly comfy to play

[@jasonmaltz7040]

I just bought a blue one and literally just got unboxed it and gave it a bit of a setup. There’s a lot of fret buzz. I’ve been able to eliminate a lot of it with a truss rod adjustment and adjusted the action but I still get a lot on the low E string from around the 8th fret all the way up the neck. Curious if you experienced any of this issue? I love PRS guitars and own a CE25 as well as an S2 Mira. Wanted this one to scratch my Strat itch.

[@Paul-D]

Theres always an element of pot luck, including on guitars alot more expensive then even this one which is annoying haha. If youve done the basics best thing to do is get a fret rocker across the frets and see if you have any high/low frets, chances are there will be but its a matter of how much by.

[@markcollins3424]

I bought and returned one for similar issues. Buzz on low E as well as G strings (after setup), and tuning was quite unstable.

[@stofftierparty]

sounds awsome :) sry which amp have they been using

[@Paul-D]

From memory im fairly sure we used my boss katana head on this vid

[@stofftierparty]

@@Paul-D thank u so much funny i liked this sound with silversky se best think im gonna buy this guitar and the katana mk2 100

[@tjmetz2472]

I can’t remember the name of the outdo song you guys are jamming too, what is it?

[@Paul-D]

Wicked Game 🙂

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

At £599 I’ve just taken the jump. Hopefully arriving tomorrow. I really don’t like John Mayer’s music; it’s just too middle of the road for me, but I do like the tone of these guitars. We will see. Will it be going straight back or will it be a keeper?

[@Paul-D]

Nice one! At 599 i really think its an unbeatable deal NEW for NEW

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

@@Paul-D yeah, definitely worth a punt. Just received the dreaded email saying unfortunately due to…. now arriving Monday. Oh well, I can wait another day.

[@Paul-D]

Ahh thats always abit of a downer. Cuz you know it means another day with careless courier staff. What colour did you go for?

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

@@Paul-D just arrived. I went for the moon white (yellow in my eyes). First impressions after a 15 minute play, really nice neck and the rosewood is exceptional, really dark and very smooth. The nut isn’t cut deep enough but it’s ok. Got a bit of buzz but I’ll let the guitar settle down before I look at that. All in all, for £599 I think this is a great guitar. Not sure I would have said that at the full price though. I’m like you, I’ve got a white, ash American original 50’s Strat and playing that next to the SE shows the quality difference. The SE definitely has something different going on though and I think I like it. I can’t see it going back that’s for sure.

[@siah7422]

so do you uear a difference? did you prefer one over the other?

[@Paul-D]

I think as the line up goes on, this year and next - youll definitely hear difference between the years as PRS tend to make subtle changes more than most. In this case all pretty minor other then what was visually shown :)

[@denmar355]

I’d guess the 2021 model was built during the worst of times with covid in Indonesia. Shortage of employees etc.

[@Paul-D]

True id guess the volume was impacted much more then quality. In fact on the whole id even guess 2022 has impacted QC more on brands as a whole as they push volume to catch up

[@Bikingmad]

Random question but what strap is that on the stone blue?

[@Paul-D]

I think it was an ernie ball one ill have to ask steve when next see him

[@Bikingmad]

@@Paul-D thanks man think I’ve found it, you were correct with Ernie ball 😁

[@jeffmazzei8520]

Everyone makes a Fender better than Fender

[@Paul-D]

Hahahaha sometimes this is scary true

[@andrewdarnley4608]

Both these guitars sound way too glassy for my tastes. Did you compress the signal our are they all like that ? I'm not convinced about PRS pickups if this is how they'd sound, I'd have to pull them out. But I suppose that opens a can of worms.

[@Paul-D]

No extra comp then KZbin adds, although it is quite a bright mic i used. We did another vid where compared it to a fender AVRI so that might context the sound better for you 😁

[@benlemcke2863]

If you watch the Andertons videos, they use it with a bit darker tones and it can sound pretty thick as well. I wouldn’t worry about it much.

[@benallmark9671]

Why can’t I watch this video ?

[@Paul-D]

Not sure?? Is it working now?

[@benallmark9671]

@@Paul-D yes it is , thanks for getting back.