John Mayer is a guitar legend who has been killing it for decades in front of crowds around the planet. Some years ago, he took his guitar proficiency to one of the most legendary bands in history, The Grateful Dead.
In a recent press release, PRS announced the Dead Spec Silver Sky, a heavily modded signature guitar that can serve John’s limitless imagination with new tones.
Only 1,000 of these guitars are being made and sold worldwide. Read on to learn what this guitar is capable of and why you should go get one while you can.
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John Mayer Needed More for Dead & Company
John Mayer’s career is known for covering many different musical styles with extreme proficiency and a unique sense of melody through a very personal voice. Once he joined the Grateful Dead on tour, he had to step into a huge pair of shoes; Jerry Garcia’s shoes.
Jerry was one of the most revered guitarists and composers of his generation. A music explorer with a relentless commitment to excellence and a one-of-a-kind approach to guitar playing.
But beyond all of that, and getting a little into our own nerd territory, Jerry had a very unique tone coming from a very unique instrument (besides his fingers and excellent taste, of course).
According to Paul Reed Smith, the moment he heard that John was looking to replicate the exact sound of Jerry’s legendary Alembic guitars, he called John Mayer and told him he could have a prototype ready to ship to him in five days.
When John got the prototype, he said: “After playing the Silver Sky designed for the 2023 Dead & Company summer tour, I realized the guitar was special. It quickly became apparent this wasn’t just a tool for one particular job but could be extremely versatile in other players’ hands. I’m excited to hear the music that’s made on these guitars.”
So, next thing we know, there’s a limited run of 1,000 units going for the entire planet of this one-of-a-kind PRS guitar.
Let’s dive into the details.
Swamp Ash Body
To begin with, the Silver Sky is normally an alder guitar. This is in line with Fender’s tradition because alder is the most used wood in the entire Fender catalog. Well, for that fierce, cutting Dead sound, the guitar needed some extra spank. Therefore, the body of the Dead Spec Silver Sky is made of highly resonant, lightweight swamp ash.
Another cool takeaway from the swamp ash body is that the guitar is finished in very light nitrocellulose in a color called Moc Sand Satin that sinks into the wood grain giving you not only a visual experience of the swamp ash but also a tactile one. You can feel the wood grain with the tips of your fingers.
A Whole Lot of Brass (and Midrange)
The guitar Jerry Garcia played in the Dead had many brass parts which helped the guitar’s midrange a lot and added generous warmth. Well, that’s exactly the direction that PRS took with this guitar by giving it a brass nut (something uncanny on a PRS guitar) and a hold-down bar that helps keep the strings more in touch with the nut.
The brass nut allows the midrange of the instrument to get warmer adding more lows to the midrange and enhancing its sweet factor.
No Tremolo but More Sustain
Speaking of midrange warmth, this version of the Silver Sky sports a tremolo system by PRS entirely made of brass. But this tremolo system is non-functional since it’s being held down by six springs on the pickup side and two more on the strap side. That way, the bridge is constantly making contact with the body.
But that’s not all, because there is no cavity for the springs when you flip the guitar. On the contrary, what you can see is that the brass bloc of the tremolo is being held in place by a perfectly routed cavity made for it.
The entire tremolo feels as if it was part of the guitar adding to its resonance, tone, sustain, and warmth to the Silver Sky’s spanking, treble-infused tone.
The Alembic Blaster Preamp, Supercharger Nitro
With all that midrange warmth going on, you might be tempted to think that the guitar’s tone can get a little muddy. Well, there’s yet another aspect of the guitar that differs from the regular Silver Sky model and that is the Alembic Blaster preamp.
The preamp is conveniently accessible through a small toggle switch located on the brass input jack plate. It can add from 3 to 14db to the signal and that’s adjustable via a small screw you can find inside a tiny hole at the same location. By moving the screw to one side or the other, you can increase or decrease the booster level.
According to Paul, when the preamp is engaged, the warm midrange this guitar is capable of opens up delivering a clearer version of the same tone.
Isn’t that what we’re after when we buy one of those booster pedals?
Well, imagine instead of having to walk up to your pedalboard to start a solo, simply flick the switch on your guitar and be ready to go.
Jerry Garcia’s Spirit is Smiling Somewhere Right Now
Jerry Garcia left this world in 1995 but his legacy lives on through the band playing his tunes and touring for arenas full of fans. Jerry’s amazing guitar tones, riffs, and songs he left behind are still brought to life by one of the best guitar players on the planet.
This Dead Spec Silver Sky does its part to keep Jerry alive by carrying the same spirit and mojo the man left us but with a different take on an instrument that’s more of a music-making tool than a museum piece.
Jerry would have liked us to keep it weird and keep it real. The Dead Spec Silver Sky is a great instrument with a unique tone and lots of possibilities that can take your playing to new, different, unexplored sonic territories.
Only a thousand are being made from November 2023 to March 2024. Get one while you can!
Happy (weird and psychedelic) playing!
P.S.: In case you want to check it out, recently, Fender launched the “Alligator” guitar, a replica of one of Jerry’s heavily modified Strats. A guitar well into the six-digit price tag (if you can find it).
