When John Mayer said he’d never produce a Sunburst version of his PRS Silver Sky, many guitar fans were left feeling a tad disappointed.
However, thanks to one individual who has given his own Silver Sky a complete aesthetic overhaul, we can now see what a sunburst variant of this hugely popular signature guitar would actually look like – and it’s quite a sight to behold.
But what’s more, the Silver Sky’s daring owner hasn’t just given his electric guitar a fresh lick of vintage-inspired paint – he’s completely transformed it into a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Number One Stratocaster.
The mod job was shared in an Instagram post from John Priest – owner of UK guitar store Peach Guitars – who received pictures from a rather adventurous customer, who in turn had decided to fashion his Mayer model in the style of SRV’s iconic Strat.
The unnamed player even attempted to painstakingly recreate the heavy wear and tear of the original Strat, going as far as to equip it with an ‘SRV’-branded pickguard, a ‘Custom’ sticker below the bridge and giving the headstock what looks to be a coat of vintage-esque varnish.
On the rear, “S. R. Vaughan” has also been carved into the wood below the tremolo cavity. Heck, even the gig bag has been customized. He's probably strung it with the thickest strings possible, too.
As far as transformations go, the Number One/Silver Sky hybrid really is quite something, and probably the most comprehensive Silver Sky overhaul we’ve seen to date – that includes Zach Myers' heavy relic model, Neal Schon’s Super Silver Sky and the single humbucker ‘John DeLonge’.
“Ok, this isn’t my doing,” Priest said in his Instagram post. “A peach customer sent me these pics of his #silversky and I thought I’d share. Is it wrong in every way possible or do you dig it? I think a Sunburst Silver Sky would work nicely.”
There’s another guitar the PRS Silver Sky Number One reminds us of: John Mayer’s very own signature Fender Stratocaster, which itself was said to be inspired by the SRV model. Notably, that guitar also had a sunburst finish and a dark pickguard.
With Mayer making clear his preference for using sleek 21st century finishes in his signature range, this custom mod job might be the closest thing we get to seeing a sunburst Silver Sky.
Having said that, the Sob Rock guitarist has recently pulled his Black1 and Monterey Fender Stratocasters out of retirement.
Is Mayer swaying back towards classic Fender aesthetics, and if he is, could he be tempted to rethink his stance on a sunburst Silver Sky? We certainly hope so. Only time will tell.
