This cheaper version of John Mayer’s signature S-style update plays and sounds like a million bucks.
A truly exceptional S-style instrument in the vintage tradition, with superb tones and playability, an improved cutaway, and a bridge-pickup-dedicated tone pot.
None.
$849
PRS SE Silver Sky
prsguitars.com
Budget renditions of established-model guitars used to make me skeptical. There was often a hitch: rough frets, pickups that were let-downs, funky pots, etc. But over the past decade-plus, the quality of guitars built in Asia by the major brands has continued to improve. PRS’s lower-priced version of their John Mayer signature model, the SE Silver Sky, is a premier example.
Apples to More Affordable Apples
The original PRS John Mayer Silver Sky arrived in 2018 sporting three of the company’s Mayer-co-designed 635JMR single-coils, all voiced the same for even tone. Its C-shaped maple neck—with maple or rosewood fretboard—vintage-style 7 1/4"-radius, bone nut, alder body (with gracefully slanted lower cutaway for easy high-fret access), 6-point tremolo bridge, and locking tuners make it a thoughtful take on Fender’s stalwart early-’60s Strats. And it quickly earned a rep as an exceptionally comfortable and great sounding instrument. At $2,459, it is also an expensive one.
But damned if the PRS SE Silver Sky doesn’t sound and feel like a clone at about a third of the price. The only substantial differences I could find were a poplar versus alder body, an artificial bone nut, a China-manufactured 2-point tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners, 635JMS pickups (with the S indicating their Indonesian origin), and a slightly flatter 8 1/2" fretboard radius that makes string bending a cinch. The original Silver Sky’s secret weapon is also intact: The lower tone dial controls the bridge pickup. Fender’s Stratocaster provides no tone control for the bridge pickup. That means that when the sound in position 1 gets ice-picky, there’s no recourse besides dialing back your guitar volume (which in vintage circuits also cuts highs), your amp, or switching pickups. Not so here. If not for the distinctive PRS headstock and the diving-bird inlays, it would be easy to mistake this guitar for a very well-built Strat. And the SE Silver Sky is, indeed, priced the same as Fender’s Player Stratocaster.
Ready, Steady, Go!
Our test guitar emerged from its sturdy gigbag in beguiling stone blue—a PRS shade that recalls a cross between Fender’s seafoam green and daphne blue. The SE Silver Sky also comes in dragonfruit, moon white, and evergreen shades. Thanks to a careful medium-low action setup, it was ready to go from the moment I popped in the tremolo arm. The 22 smoothly finished medium-jumbo frets felt inviting and comfortable. They beg for string bending and really digging in, and there is no string buzz. I’ve encountered the same perfect playability on the necks of other PRS instruments I’ve played, so I expected nothing less.
In all 5 pickup settings and with all three amps, the Silver Sky kicked my ol’ dependable Strat’s ass.
The back of the neck has a satin finish for easy mobility. The bridge has individual saddles, of course, and four springs, to help with intonation and tuning stability. The 3-knob control set is laid out like that of a standard S-style, but the input jack’s plate is slightly arched, to make plugging in a little easier.
Playing the Light Fantastic
I have a ’73 Stratocaster with a nice, traditional voice I use as a template for evaluating S-style guitars. The poplar-body PRS SE Silver Sky weighs 7 1/2 pounds, compared to my ash Strat’s 8 1/2. I A/B’d both guitars plugged into a Carr Vincent, a ’64 Supro Tremo-Verb, and a ’72 Marshall Super Lead. I was bummed, though, because in all 5 pickup settings and with all three amps, the Silver Sky kicked my ol’ dependable Strat’s ass. Playing campfire chords and some chord-and-lick riffs, the PRS neck felt faster and more comfortable than my old friend’s, and while I managed to knock the Silver Sky out of tune a bit by bending strings hard while using the whammy bar, it was more stable than my Strat. The vibrato, by the way, has just enough resistance to require a bit of practice, but you can negotiate lovely surfy and textural bends.
Just for fun, I tuned the Silver Sky to open G and open D for some old-school fingerpicking with slide. It was a blast to really dig into the strings and snap the notes—listening to them sustain and fade with buttery, lingering beauty, holding high notes that sang with sustain from a Tone Bender clone, and adding shiver from the tremolo arm’s sway. And while I don’t typically spend a lot of time on the highest frets, the slanted cutaway in the treble horn makes it easier to play radical, over-the-pickups slide.
As great as the playability is, the 635JMS pickups are the Silver Sky’s stars. Compared with my Strat’s 20-year-old Seymour Duncans, they were bolder, more articulate, and responsive in every position, yielding fatter lows, more ringing highs, and mids to die for. And the volume and tone pots were wide ranging. In the 2 and 4 slots, the typical S-style quack and tubular sound qualities are well defined, the center setting is lush, and being able to easily dial back the brightness in the bridge pickup is a gift, yielding tones that cut without drawing blood from the eardrums. The Silver Sky’s well-sculpted sounds also work beautifully with modulation, fuzz, and overdrive pedals. It was a pleasure listening to its already transporting voice with long analog and digital delays.
The Verdict
The PRS SE Silver Sky is a pro instrument with a very competitive $849 price. It’s ready for the stage or studio, with a weight made for multiple-set nights, a fretboard that begs to be played, super-responsive controls, and definitively S-style tones. If you’re already an S-style fan or looking to add that voice to your palette, you should try the SE Silver Sky. It could be love.
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PG contributor Tom Butwin reveals his favorite songwriting secret weapon: the partial capo. Watch how the Shubb C7 and C8 can simulate alternate tunings without retuning your guitar—and spark fresh creative ideas instantly.
Shubb C8b Partial Capo for Drop-D Tuning - Brass
The C8 covers five of the six strings, leaving either the low E or high E string open, depending on how it's positioned.
- Standard setup: Placed on the 2nd fret while leaving the low E string open, it simulates Drop D-style sounds—except you're still in standard tuning (key of E). You get that big, droning bass feel without retuning.
- Reverse setup: Flipping the capo allows the high E string to ring, giving you shimmering drones and new melodic options across familiar chord shapes.
- A flexible tool that lets you simulate alternate tunings and create rich sonic textures—all while keeping your guitar in standard tuning.
Shubb C7b Partial Capo for DADGAD Tuning - Brass
The C7 covers three of the six strings—either D, G, and B or A, D, and G—depending on how it's flipped.
- Typical setup (D, G, B): Creates an open A chord shape at the 2nd fret without needing your fingers. This frees you up for new voicings and droning notes in the key of A.
- Reversed setup (A, D, G): Gets you close to a DADGAD-style tuning vibe, but still keeps you in standard tuning—great for modal, spacious textures often found in folk or cinematic guitar parts.
Use it alone or stack it with the C8 for wild, layered effects and truly out-of-the-box inspiration.
His credits include Miles Davis’ Jack Johnson and Herbie Mann—next to whom he performed in Questlove’s 2021 documentary, Summer of Soul—and his tunes have been covered by Santana and the Messthetics. But it’s as a bandleader and collaborator where Sharrock cut his wildest recordings. As groundbreaking as Sharrock’s music could be, his distorted tone and melodic tunes helped bring rock listeners into the jazz tent. Our callers let us know how much Sharrock meant to them and why he’s one of the “top guys of all time.”
Designed for players who demand flexibility without sacrificing tone, the Aquanaut fuses the rich warmth of classic analog delay with the extended range and clarity of modern digital designs. Featuring up to 600 milliseconds of delay time, the Aquanaut easily covers everything from tight slapback echoes to lush, ambient textures and rhythmic soundscapes – all with a simple, intuitive control layout.
Unlike many digital delays that can sound sterile and detached, the Aquanaut retains an organic, analog-inspired voice. Repeats are smooth and musical, gently fading into the mix to create depth and dimension without overwhelming your dry signal. Whether you’re chasing vintage tape echo, adding subtle space to your solos, or building massive atmospheric layers, the Aquanaut keeps your tone clear, present, and inspiring.
Berserker Electronics Aquanaut Delay/Echo
Key features include:
- Up to 600ms of delay time for expanded creative possibilities
- Analog-voiced digital architecture for warm, natural-sounding repeats
- Ambient-style echo that enhances, not distracts from, your core tone
- Simple, intuitive controls for delay time, feedback, and blend
The Aquanaut is available direct at www.berserkerpedals.com and Reverb at a $149 street price.
Though Lou Reed seemed to only use a handful of chords, his shrewd right-hand strumming created limitless rhythmic variations.
Beginner to Intermediate
Beginner to Intermediate
- Focus on syncopation.
- Add muted strums to enhance your rhythm playing.
- Learn how to modify complex rhythmic patterns into smaller, more comprehensible figures.
Though usually more lauded for his lyrics than his guitar playing, Lou Reed had a distinctive style of strumming that can make replication a challenge and seemingly impossible for beginners to comprehend. With a combination of syncopations and muted strums, Reed’s rhythm guitar—from his time with the Velvet Underground to his solo career—has a groove and feel that all guitar players can learn from.
We’ll start with a relatively simple strummed hook that shows Reed’s roots. Ex. 1 is a variation on “There She Goes Again” from The Velvet Underground and Nico, which was recorded in 1966 and released in 1967. This strum was clearly inspired by Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike,” as it duplicates Gaye’s intro almost exactly, albeit in a different key. (It is worth mentioning that “Hitch Hike” also inspired the Beatles “You Can’t Do That.”)
Ex. 1
Ex. 2 is the samething but performed with cowboy chords instead of barres.
Ex. 2
With Ex. 3, a la “Sister Ray” from 1967’s White Light/White Heat, we get into Reed’s more syncopated strums. Note that after the first beat, the emphasis of each strum is on an upbeat, including the changes from G to F, then from F to C, followed at the end by a typical Lou Reed-ism of strumming while in mid-change (though in all fairness, many guitarists do this). Thus, the last upbeat notes, which imply a G chord, are in fact a byproduct created by the switch, not a specific chord.
Ex. 3
Ex. 4 is the same strum but capoed at the 5th fret, using cowboy chords instead of barres.
Ex. 4
Our final Velvet reference, Ex. 5, comes from “Sweet Jane” (Loaded, 1970), which is a song I loathe teaching to students as it is deceptively tricky—it was the inspiration for this lesson—and can make one feel demoralized. True, the song has only four chords, but the syncopated switching and muted strums can cause problems for many players, and not just beginners. Take your time to get the nuances of the switches and mutes.
Ex. 5
Better yet, start with Ex. 6, which is a simplified version of Ex. 5, using cowboy chords instead of barre chords, as well as a more straightforward strum. True, it does not conform completely to the original, but it is a worthwhile starting point. Once this is mastered, try playing Ex. 5 with the open-position chords before moving onto the barres.
Ex. 6
Solo Years
Ex. 7 is a take on “Walk on the Wild Side” from 1972’s Transformer, arguably the most famous Lou Reed song. Here we’ve graduated from eighth-notes to 16th-notes in the right hand. Once again, the muted strums play a vital role.
Ex. 7
Like the previous two examples, you might want to start with the simpler Ex. 8, although the only change is that the mutes have been omitted. This example demonstrates how essential the mutes are, as the feel changes completely when you leave them out.
Ex. 8
Ex. 9 also comes from Transformer and is a variation on“Vicious.” Additional syncopations and muted strums, both different from “…Wild Side,” complicate what should be carefree.
Ex. 9
Ex. 10 is, again, a simplified alternative.
Ex. 10
Examples 11 and 12 demonstrate two options for fretting chords, using Reed’s “Leave Me Alone” from Street Hassle (1978) as a vehicle.
Ex. 11
Ex. 12
Our last example, Ex. 13, is based on Reed’s late-’80s “comeback” hit, “Dirty Boulevard” from New York. Here we not only get syncopations, but a rhythmic variation in the chorus—same chords, different rhythms. Pay attention to that quick, almost-ghosted B note on the “and” of 1 in measure two. It almost seems like a mistake but it adds so much.
Ex. 13
The Lou Reed Legacy
When most fans think of Lou Reed, the first thing that comes to mind is his pioneering subversive, transgressive, and poetic lyrics. But, clearly, that is not all there is to his work. In truth, Lou Reed is an incomparable musician whose guitar playing should not be underestimated. So, take this lesson as a starting point and search out more of his idiosyncratic strums. You will be well rewarded.
