John Mayer’s PRS Silver Sky signature guitar has proven to be incredibly popular with fans in recent years, but one luthier has taken it to interesting new heights – reimagining it as the "Golden Sky".
Jay Faires, commissioned by Grammy-winning producer/guitarist Eric Krasno, has converted a prototype SE Silver Sky, complete with a custom neckplate and plenty of wild electronic accoutrements to boot.
Without getting into the weeds of the mod job, it's clear that Faires has bestowed this electric guitar with some serious kit. Its stock single-coil pickups have been replaced with three humbuckers, which are joined by a rather switch-heavy control panel with two individual jacks.
Unfortunately, there’s no specific breakdown of the work done, but there are four mini-switches, likely operating split coils and phasing for the pickups. There’s also a battery compartment in the back of the guitar, which could be for active pickups or something like a built-in gain boost.
With its three-humbucker layout and smorgasbord of switches, it injects the Silver Sky with a serious Jerry Garcia ‘Tiger’ vibe. Not surprising, since Mayer himself honors Garcia’s music in Dead & Company. That, and Faires and Krasno bonded over a shared love for the Grateful Dead. A Tiger/Silver Sky mash-up, then, makes total sense. And we’re all here for it.
There looks to be plenty of similarities in the layouts. The Tiger had 12 different voices, and the Golden Sky seems to have stayed close to that crazy template.
“I have been a fan of Eric’s since age 13, discovering his band Soulive and keeping up with his playing ever since,” Faires writes on Instagram. “It didn’t come as a surprise to discover that he, too, had a deeply-rooted love and appreciation for the Grateful Dead: the last time Phil Lesh & Friends came through Boston, Eric kindly invited me to see the show.
“What I didn’t know at the time was that it would be the last time I got to see Phil Lesh play. That experience meant a great deal.
“It was fitting that we later started chatting about the conversion work I do,” he continues. “He mentioned he had a prototype SE Silver Sky that would be a fun platform to make something extra special – and the rest is history! The Golden Sky is now complete and in Mr. Krasno’s hands.”
As a scroll through his Instagram feed proves, Faires has a long history with Garcia-like mods, but it’s fair to say he’s outdone himself this time. He was the only man for such a madcap job.
Meanwhile, tube amp loyalist John Mayer, who has surprised the world by releasing a signature plugin with Neural DSP, has explained what finally convinced him to put his faith in digital emulation.
