PRS confirms launch date, specs of John Mayer signature SE Silver Sky

UPDATE (01.11.22): The SE Silver Sky has officially launched – watch John Mayer's demo and get the all-important price.

Just before Christmas, PRS and John Mayer set off a firestorm of anticipation with a joint Instagram post that seemed to point to the imminent release of a lower-cost, SE version of Mayer's signature guitar, the Silver Sky.

Now, in a new Instagram post, PRS has confirmed that the SE Silver Sky will indeed be launched next Tuesday, January 11. Additionally, the company revealed the electric guitar's full spec sheet, which we can now compare and contrast with that of the original Silver Sky. 

For starters, the SE Silver Sky is built with a poplar body, rather than the alder found on the US-built Silver Sky. The SE does, however, retain the maple neck and rosewood fretboard of the original Silver Sky (the latter guitar can also be purchased with a maple fretboard). The rosewood 'board, of course, comes with the Maryland company's trademark bird inlays.

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While the 22 frets and 25.5" scale length of the SE mirror those of its predecessor, its fretboard radius, 8.5", is a departure from the US-built Silver Sky's 7.25".

The SE Silver Sky is armed with a trio of 635JM "S" pickups, fit-for-the-SE-line versions of the pickups Mayer and Paul Reed Smith painstakingly developed for the guitar. With a single volume and two tone knobs, plus a five-way blade switch, the control department remains the same as well.

Other similarities to the original Silver Sky include nickel hardware, the onboard PRS steel tremolo and vintage-style tuners (non-locking on the SE, locking on its predecessor).

Finally, there's a quartet of super-smart finishes – Ever Green, Stone Blue, Moon White and Dragon Fruit – that aren't available on the SE Silver Sky's more expensive sibling.

That's all we've got for the time being, but mark your calendars for January 11 – PRS is promising a full release of the guitar, with demos, on that date. With how well this thing is kitted out, we'll be very eager in particular to see the SE Silver Sky's sticker price, and how it'll stack up to its mid-priced competitors.

For now, keep your eyes on PRS.