Ok,
So now I've had the Satin Moc Sand for a few days and ready for a fuller review.
My god this thing is amazing. The neck felt good in store and then once home, but it's getting better every day. The satin neck is a dream. I have a similar satin neck on my fender player mustang bass, but this one is next level. I don't know how PRS manages all these micro details. Both necks are satin maple. Yet somehow the PRS has this elevated feel that adds even more pleasure to the satin. And that's kind of the deal with the SS all over. Just a collection of micro details that add up to something really magical. I've got chunky hands and this and the pattern vintage are the best feeling necks I've felt in ages (hint PRS PLEASE make PV in satin on the SE Hollows...)
Silver Sky's have been covered to death so I won't go over the tone, neck carve, etc, but focus on what I know so far about the satin finish since that's not out everywhere.
Have you slept in really good sheets? Like not fake high thread count stuff, but the real deal? That's how this satin feels versus say a satin from Gretsch or some of the others I've felt recently. Hell, I had a Chris Cornell 335 satin that was double the price of this yet felt 3 times cheaper. This finish feels like a chinchilla against my arm. It's not super porous/grainy feeling like the cheaper satins. This is carbon fiber. You can just feel that it's satin for sure, but you just glide over the surface. Just super smooth. Again, the best way to describe is like super good sheets. You know there are threads there somewhere but your skin just glides over it. That's how this satin is.
Unless your arm's sweaty. Then not as much. Still pretty good, but worth playing under an air con for full effect. I'm in Bangkok so it's ALWAYS hot and muggy. But as long as I'm not just out of the shower or back from a walk it's a joy to play. And this would be worse with a gloss finished guitar...so not really a point of issue for me.
THIS WILL RELIC. I sat the guitar on the carpet because I was lacking a stand. It immediately chipped on the back. Just a super tiny one where there was a fraction of a dog bone or something on carpet. But a normally finished guitar would not have broken a sweat with this (I have other guitars that are on the floor constantly). I personally believe S guitars SHOULD show wear though. I don't know I just grew up seeing super beat up ones, so shiny ones to me mean you don't really play LOL (I kid...mostly). But yeah satin and nitro...to me if you're buying this, you're wanting it to age. If you're hoping this will stay pristine...you're definitely barking up the wrong tree. Get you one of the many bowling ball finished PRS's that exist and be happy.
But if you'd like to one day have a journeyman strat. This is the way to go. At 6lbs 6 ounces my version is lighter than many 330's I've played. And you add that silky smooth feeling on my hands on forearm...there's no other guitar I'm reaching for. I'm curious to see how the finish will change. My house is all glass and BKK again is constant sun. So I might accelerate the wear and tear a bit if I'm not careful (which I kind of don't plan to be). So we'll see. I have a nitro Troublemaker Tele Ice Blue that's already greening after two years slightly. I expect this one to change a bit too, but we'll see.
Oh and the color on the satin. It's def a baby light silver. But also often more sand/gold in the right light. You wouldn't think a satin gray guitar would be a chameleon...but it is. It's almost aged firemist in some lighting and then pure gray in others. Here's a link to a couple quick cell phone snaps I did on the floor (probably scored myself another chip here LOL). Any questions I'll be glad to answer. Oh one thing I don't know if it's the shipment over here or what. But the nitro doesn't have that super sweet smell I was hoping for...I guess that's my only complaint LOL.
TLDR not for collectors or those who want their guitars to survive a nuclear winter. But for those who want a guitar to wear with them as they play, I can't imagine better. As someone who detests glossy guitars, this is near perfection (I say near because I imagine without the gloss coat you can't pull off most of the metallics correctly? would love a polar blue satin...)
https://imgur.com/gallery/oVO7hIm
