A social media post from BlackSmith Strings suggests a more affordable version of the Strat-esque guitar is finally in the works
(Image credit: BlackSmith Strings via Facebook/Guitar.com/Future)
In 2019, MusicRadar asked PRS COO Jack Higginbotham when there might be a more affordable SE version of John Mayer’s signature Silver Sky guitar introduced into the line.
“I like the way you did that: ‘When?,’ Higginbotham responded. “Maybe you’d better turn off your voice recorder...”
Higginbotham was seemingly dropping hints about things to come in the future, and it appears that future may be now, with guitar string company BlackSmith posting a photo on its Facebook page of a product spec sheet labeled PRS Silver Sky.
What makes this spec sheet particularly interesting? It reads “PT Cort” – the name of the Surabaya, Indonesia facility where the SE line is now manufactured.
The photo has been deleted from the BlackSmith page, but Guitar.com managed to nab a screengrab before it disappeared.
(Image credit: BlackSmith Strings via Facebook/Guitar.com)
The photo also offers other revealing details, including specs that read “42*57, 22F, R216,” which reference a nut width of 42mm, heel width of 57mm and a fingerboard with 22 frets and a 216mm (or 8.25 inch) radius. That last spec, it’s worth noting, differs from the Silver Sky’s usual 7.25-inch radius.
The “DHP-24” description, meanwhile, refers to a particular fretwire gauge.
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The now-deleted photo offers some cause for excitement among Silver Sky fans who have been hoping for a more affordable version of the US-made model, which currently lists for upwards of $2,000.
As for whether this indeed heralds a coming SE iteration, or just a test model or other one-off guitar, remains to be seen.
We'll keep you updated as soon as more details become available…
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
