GEAR REVIEW
[ PAUL REED SMITH SILVER SKY | Jeffrey B. Scott ]
KEY FEATURES
3 PRS 635JM single-coil pickups
Bolt-on Neck
25.5” scale length
7.25” neck radius
Paul Reed Smith has been hard at work again. has sparked a ton of online conversation and
Collaborating with Grammy-winning artist John controversy. That notwithstanding, what you
Mayer, the company known for their stellar have here is a great guitar from start to finish.
craftsmanship and fantastic finishes has offered
up the Silver Sky as an idealized realization of The Silver Sky is equipped with 3 PRS 635JM
the modern electric guitar. single-coil pickups and nails great classic
tones in all 5 positions, leaving you with more
The first thing you notice with the Silver Sky options and actual choices beyond bridge or
is how familiar this body shape is, and that neck only. Even the middle position and the
two hum-canceling slots are not only usable
but excellent, and I’ve never played a single-
coil guitar where the selections were more
balanced. It was unreal how switching from one
position to another yielded no leaps in volume,
and even between the extreme ends of neck
and bridge positions, the sonic character of
each position stayed intact, without feeling like I
had to compensate for volume or tone. Not only
that, the quality of tone in each position makes
you feel like somehow Mr. Smith designed a
pickup specifically for that selection!
The Silver Sky delivers in the feel department,
too. The bolt-on maple neck was comfortable
and familiar, the neck carve is based off of a
combination of Mayer's and Smith's favorite
vintage instruments. And for me, the 7.25"
radius wasn't radically unfamiliar territory either;
chording and single-note lead lines were all
easy to play.
I had the opportunity to use the guitar in both
studio and live situations and was extremely
happy with the results.
Studio tracks were recorded using live amps
(PRS Sweet 16) and plugins (Waves CLA
Guitars, Waves GTR, and Positive Grid BIAS
FX) and the guitar responded well to each
scenario. Playing clean, the sustain is excellent,
and individual notes seemed to almost have
a studio-compressor-like feel, as even softly
played notes still rang out clearly. Overdriven
tones and solo leads felt strong and gritty,
without ever feeling brittle or thin. In fact, my
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May 2018
WorshipMusician.com