“Steve Vai goes, ‘I’ve been thinking about this a long time. He’s a really good guitar player.’ That’s unusual’”: Paul Reed Smith on the time John Mayer was hailed by a shred hero – and why he found it strange

John Mayer is one of the most universally acclaimed electric guitar players of our time, and now he has another shred icon to add to his ever-growing list of high-profile fans: Steve Vai.

The blues/rock/pop leanings of Mayer’s music may seem like a world away from Vai’s own catalog, but game clearly recognizes game, and as Paul Reed Smith has now revealed, the latter once singled out the PRS Silver Sky mastermind for very high praise indeed.

Speaking to Everything Mayer, Smith spoke of Mayer’s unique brilliance, and discussed how his abilities are all the more impressive when you consider he, unlike other guitarist, didn’t originally approach the instrument like other conventional players.

“He didn’t come from the guitar playing world,” Smith says, “He came from the singer-songwriter world. Steve Vai was in my booth one day, and he goes, ‘You know, I’ve been thinking about this a long time. He’s a really good guitar player.’”

Praise from an esteemed player of Vai’s ilk, though, struck Smith as somewhat strange, owing to the fact the two virtuosos originated from two very different ends of the six-string spectrum. However, that, Smith says, has worked to Mayer’s advantage and made him the player he is today.

Paul Reed Smith On Working With John Mayer - Exclusive Interview (May 2025) - YouTube

Watch On

“That’s unusual,” Smith says of Vai’s comments. “He [Mayer] came from a different place, right? And when he was here, he was singing melodies all day long.

“What was stunning was that, any tune he’d ever heard, if he’d never played it, he could sit down and play. He had a photographic memory for tunes and replay what the chords were in his head.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ I said, ‘You’re just a melody machine.’ He said, ‘Well, I hear them all the time.’”

After leaving the ranks of Fender, Mayer found a new guitar-building partner in Smith, with whom he designed the best-selling PRS Silver Sky. A number of offshoots – included the SE Silver Sky and Dead Spec Silver Sky – have since arrived, further cementing the influence that the pair’s partnership has had on the wider guitar world.

And, for those of you still wrapping your head around the Vai/Mayer connection, wait until you hear about Short and Sweet – the Spinal Tap song that the two guitar heroes worked on with Phil Collen.

In related news, Smith recently discussed why he isn't fussed about chasing Fender and Gibson and sat down with Guitar World to reflect on the making of the Standard 24.