The "Official Silver Sky" Thread

MrKite said:
Like this ?

L1000816.jpg~original
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It’s like the 4 ages of man!
 
SkyNoob said:
OK, here is a belated NGD for my Onyx Silver Sky.

The guitar is on the light side compared to the ubiquitous S-type guitar that it is supposedly modelled after. 6lbs 15oz to be exact. Balance is great.

The finish is very good, and thin, at certain areas you can see the sanding marks below. This could be considered good or bad, depending on your point of view. The metallic black (Onyx) has a nice silver sparkle in it that is much more obvious in the flesh than in pictures.

The nitro finish on the neck is glossy but has a very very slight satin in it. Almost imperceptible unless you compare it to the S-Type equivalent, then it becomes obvious. The finish is polished flawlessly and glass smooth.

The hardware like the bridge, strap pins, heel plate, and especially the jack cup and the tremolo block are top notch quality items. The plastic tuner tips are a little disappointing, but they are very functional and positive when tuning, so one can't really complain. The bird inlays are just plain off-white and have no swirl or any effect in them. The pickup covers are nicely rounded/radiused at the edges. The pickguard is pure white, would have been nice if it had some tint to it, though.

I like the headstock shape. Has the familiar transitions at the bass and treble sides like S-types.

I did not like that new strings get caught at the tremolo plate/block transition when you try to put it through the hole.

The tremolo scews through body into the rear cavity are so neat. No splinters. Good effort.

The neck profile is like my pre-CBS '63, except that it has much more "reverse" asymmetry and has a wider fretboard, so the strings don't fall off the sides and you have more playing room at the edges. I've conversed with a couple of owners on the forum and I have confirmed that the treble side has more meat and shoulder than the bass side. PRS customer service has also confirmed this to be true. @Shawn - I didn't intend to imply that you were lying, just wanted to have empirical evidence from actual owners in the field to see if they notice it - true or false was really meant to be yes or no in the scientific sense - rather than truth or falsehood (lying). At first I couldn't understand why some others could not perceive it, as it was glaringly obvious to me, but I have accepted that is subjective.

The sound is tremendous. It is punchy and dynamic and has such a broad range, it's amazing. However, I am not sure if such a rich timbre is good for recording, performing or for effects - as I play mostly clean or with a touch of crunch. There is too much treble at 10, though - same as what PaulsGear mentioned in his NGD above - and I find that I play it permanently with the tone at 8, then it sounds "normal".

This guitar rivals my pre-CBS Strats. I have a '61, a '62 and a '63, and at the moment I find myself grabbing the Silver Sky more than them.
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I wish I had a pre-CBS strat to compare! You have 3, lucky you! :)

Did you get the commemorative case? It's very cool but very heavy and a bit unbalanced but anyway, I am lucky I got one of the first 500! :)
 
mankdinzoo said:
I wish I had a pre-CBS strat to compare! You have 3, lucky you! :)

Did you get the commemorative case? It's very cool but very heavy and a bit unbalanced but anyway, I am lucky I got one of the first 500! :)
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Only the first 500 came with hard shell case? What do the others come in?
Never understood why PRS sends high end gear in a gig bag. Sure they’re nice, but hard shell is nicer.
 
horax said:
Only the first 500 came with hard shell case? What do the others come in?
Never understood why PRS sends high end gear in a gig bag. Sure they’re nice, but hard shell is nicer.
Click to expand...

The new bag is nice and beefy. So much more convenient to haul around. All my cases live in the storage locker.
 
horax said:
Only the first 500 came with hard shell case? What do the others come in?
Never understood why PRS sends high end gear in a gig bag. Sure they’re nice, but hard shell is nicer.
Click to expand...

After the first 500 units, they ship with a premium gigbag. If you search in the earlier posts on this thread, photos of the gigbag were posted. Looks like a very nice gigbag and if you gig/jam a lot, it's probably more convenient than the hardshell case (very heavy).
Anyway, Suhr does that too (gigbag) with their more 'affordable' models I believe.
 
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mankdinzoo said:
After the first 500 units, they ship with a premium gigbag. If you search in the earlier posts on this thread, photos of the gigbag were posted. Looks like a very nice gigbag and if you gig/jam a lot, it's probably more convenient than the hardshell case (very heavy).
Anyway, Suhr does that too (gigbag) with their more 'affordable' models I believe.

Edit: here is a screenshot of the PRS website taken a few weeks ago. It has since been updated but look at the last paragraph about the first 500 guitars! :)

G08r54dHB4jENd860q7l19NOXiatnbPvf8-gpBkcxSs
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Here's a bunch of pics of the bag

http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/ngbd.30681/
 
horax said:
Only the first 500 came with hard shell case? What do the others come in?
Never understood why PRS sends high end gear in a gig bag. Sure they’re nice, but hard shell is nicer.
Click to expand...

My Private Stock leaves the house in a gig bag. I guess I'd prefer a case for storage or shipping but that's about it
 
NGD and new member. While I've owned many PRS' in the past (and currently own an SE One), I was so excited to try the SS. Ordered this on Wednesday and got it today. I must say I am insanely impressed. I'm a pretty finicky guy that switched from bass after 27 years to play some guitar. S-style guitars have always eluded me until I played the Eric Johnson signature. For me, that guitar is perfect. But, knowing what Paul and Co. are capable of, I knew this was going to be something really special. Sadly, I didn't get one of the first 500, but I don't care for hard cases as they just get put in my closet and I use gig bags. I haven't taken many pics because I've been playing it all day long. Since I'm new, it seems I can post any pics. :( I went with Onyx though. I was torn between Horizon and Onyx, but opted to go for the later. Mostly because it was in stock and I didn't want to wait until July or so...
 
mankdinzoo said:
Same problem with mine.

I thought it was a grounding issue but I checked the wiring and all is good. After doing some research, it seems a common thing with plastic pickguard/single coil equipped guitars. Especially in the winter when relative humidity in your house is crazy low.

Easy but short term fix: rub the pickguard with a anti-static sheet (the ones you put in the dryer). This reduced for me the pop static sound when touching the screw by 95%.
Long term fix: completely shielding the back of the pickguard (I don't know why they did not do that with the Silver Sky but only the switch/pots area is shielded). But maybe it would be better to contact PRS customer support first...
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Thank you! I just got mine and am having the same problem. Back in my bass playing days, my jazz basses often would do the same thing. I'm just comforted in knowing that it's not a one off issue with my SS.
 
Chris Mortera said:
Thank you! I just got mine and am having the same problem. Back in my bass playing days, my jazz basses often would do the same thing. I'm just comforted in knowing that it's not a one off issue with my SS.
Click to expand...
Just of interest, is this to do with the scratch-plate screws earthing through a metal sheet under the scratch-plate?
 
mankdinzoo said:
I wish I had a pre-CBS strat to compare! You have 3, lucky you! :)

Did you get the commemorative case? It's very cool but very heavy and a bit unbalanced but anyway, I am lucky I got one of the first 500! :)
Click to expand...

I got one with the hard case. It's crazy heavy and probably one of the worst hard cases I've owned. Totally unbalanced and unnecessarily heavy.

My Silver Sky resides permanently in a Mono Vertigo gig bad.
 
Alnus Rubra said:
Just of interest, is this to do with the scratch-plate screws earthing through a metal sheet under the scratch-plate?
Click to expand...

No. Static electricity is a common occurrence on guitars with pickguards in dry environments.

SkyNoob said:
I got one with the hard case. It's crazy heavy and probably one of the worst hard cases I've owned. Totally unbalanced and unnecessarily heavy.

My Silver Sky resides permanently in a Mono Vertigo gig bad.
Click to expand...

Haha, welcome to the world of PRS hard cases.
 
I don't get all the moaning about the hard cases. Rectangular hard cases are for shipping and storage only. Never seen a Strat guy showing up to gig with his Fender hard case. Those are bulky, ugly and not cool. (Maybe it is different with a pro player in touring band and an bunch of roadies...)

Just use a good gig bag or even better something like this:

https://www.hiscoxcases.com/product/ef-fender-electric-guitar-case/

and you are good to go.
 
SkyNoob said:
Can't see the screenshot. What does it say?
Click to expand...
My bad, I made a pretty rookie mistake and did not realize that you could only post links, not actually attach a picture.

So here is the original text that was on the PRS website back in March 2018:
"The PRS Silver Sky will start shipping on March 20, 2018. The first 500 guitars to ship to dealers and distributors worldwide from PRS Guitars' Maryland, USA factory will include a commemorative hardshell case. The Silver Sky model will then ship in a newly-designed, premium gig bag."
 
Chris Mortera said:
Thank you! I just got mine and am having the same problem. Back in my bass playing days, my jazz basses often would do the same thing. I'm just comforted in knowing that it's not a one off issue with my SS.
Click to expand...

You'll see in the link below that the pickup cavity and pickguard are not shielded.
https://www.thetonegeek.com/single-post/2018/03/22/PRS-Silver-Sky-Building-John-Mayers-Tone

According to this guy, it might be a design decision:
" I also agree with PRS engineers about their lack of shielding in the body cavity. I do believe adding shielding is a double edge sword. It will decrease interference, but also shifts the magnetic strength map around in crazy ways. The way PRS did it, is like the 60's strats and the open body approach is interesting and likely a design que from the historic Stratocasters. "

Then I guess this statement will polarize, a bit like tonewoods. :)
 
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