New Silver Sky prices are wildly all over the map and I can’t get my head around it. The same new guitar in 2 different colours can vary in price by up to £1000 at times. They also seem to fluctuate up and down with seasonal dealer/manufacturer linked sales that suggest maybe the guitars aren’t selling, yet at the same time there’s always a bunch of hype around new colours, and they’re often on the best selling lists of Reverb and whatnot. 🤷🏼♂🤔 Anyway, I reviewed the SS when it launched in 2018 and earlier this year got chance to spend time with my good friend & colleague’s Nebula & Horizon Red, so thought I’d do a little retrospective review. Whilst I still don’t personally like the SS, it’s certainly very well made and sounds great, and I’m really glad it exists in the current new-guitar market. When they dip below the £2000 mark, the Silver Sky is kind of hard to beat, as the USA-made pro musicians guitar. It just needs to outgrow the potential Mayer stigma and offer a more modern spec, maybe. Anyways let me know what you think of the Silver Sky? Did you hate it at launch and come around over the last 6 years? Any ideas what the deal is with the pricing strategies?
I tried the SE version and thought the neck was a little large for myself but no doubt will suit many other players. The USA version looks nice thou as a strat alternative thanks for review mate!
@@markdoolan3424 the USA spec is a bit different to the SE, I think SE is a bit more modern but not sure about the neck shapes though tbh, been a little while since I tried the SE. Yea I think you're right it's great to have a high quality USA Strat alternative at a fair-ish price. Thanks for watching!
I’ll get a nebula when the market crash deepens. It’s not a high priority on my GAS list but at the right price I’d give it a go. Like many PRS’ through the years the pricing seems to be way off for this right now, way too high.
Got a core silver sky, sold my strat. I appreciate the fact they kept the birds and headstock. People complained when it came out that it looked too much like a strat. Now they complain about differences. I love mine.
I think what I like about PRS is that they seem to kept prices pretty stable and quality high, whilst allowing really good quality instruments in their SE range to give all musicians a chance of getting really good instrument. Gibson for example seem to find another excuse to charge you an extra £2000 every three years to get closer to a 59 Les Paul and charge £1500 for an Epiphone which is just insane. Plus a lot of us know what Gibson and quality control is like…
Superb observation, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Stable pricing and high QC. Sure, the custom 24s have crept over 3.5k or whatever, but still when you compare to what Fender and Gibson are offering at that price point I don't think it's apples to apples. It used to the that PRS were the dentist and lawyer guitars, but surely its now masterbuilts and merflabz that are in that category?
Hah yea I think a lot of people do, given the price they go for used. Mike is got in super early when it was announced for the normal price. Lucky lad!
Wonderful playing David. There are two mysteries in the universe I've accepted I will never understand....Dark Matter and the "controversy" around the Silver Sky. SS is a stellar value and simply a great guitar. I had to spend almost double the price of a SS on a master built Michael Tuttle strat to "beat" my SS. I sold my SS and I regret it. SS is an awesome gigging guitar. I've created an alert for a 2024 Black T-shirt SS on reverb :)
I think I understand the hate to a degree, on the one hand it’s just another strat copy, but on the other it’s sort of wildly bold departure, and guitarists do not like change! Personally I don’t hate it, I think it’s kinda cool aesthetically, I just can’t get on with the specs. Congrats on the dead spec 👍🏻
The low prices on some core Silver Sky’s is likely to be linked to the legacy of mass over production by many big guitar manufacturers like PRS who reacted to the ‘COVID guitar boom’ by ramping up production to supply demand. Post pandemic sales dropped right off and now they’re left holding excess guitar stock that they are allowing their dealers to discount down to help shift these guitars. PRS did the same with the SS SE’s 2023/24, some were down to circa £500 in some dealerships.
Phenomenal playing David, so much taste. About Silver Sky, this ugly and raw headstock does not belong to the stratocaster guitar type. Caanot get my head around it.
I wanted to join the crowd and be able to say these guitars are all hype in the worst way possible. I bought one, and oh boy, I love it. It’s undeniably better quality than any production fender. It’s more akin to custom shop guitars, with vintage specs at a lower price tag.
It's important "but it's not for you". The "Sky" is NOT important to most Strat enthusiasts. It's another copy and sales are going down so we adjust price to the market.
That’s an interesting take. I’d be interested to know sales figures. It doesn’t feel that way observationally, but of course that means little in reality. You could be totally right about adjusting the price for it. However, like I say in the video this is seasonal, and the prices fluctuate a lot. Re: strat enthusiasts. I don’t think that is particularly relevant. My point in the video is that it’s important for working musicians that want a USA made high quality 3 single coil for under 2k to have that option. All things being equal the SS at 2k is a considerably ‘better’ guitar than an avrii, putting aside taste and aesthetics. Thanks for the view/comment 👍🏻
Also Uk prices include tax so nothing to add unlike most of our USA friends. Montana (where I just purchased a guitar!), Oregon, New Hampshire, Delaware, Alaska excepted….. price you see is the price you pay.
yea that's what's so mind boggling right now. I asked Mike (the owner of the nebula) and yea on most states it would be plus sales tax. That would take the actual real terms price to be more expensive in the US than the UK right now. Which I just can't wrap my head around after shipping, import tariffs etc. et
Have you reached out to Peach Guitars about this trend? I’m curious if there’s an excess of inventory on their end as well as the PRS factory. No doubt we’ll see a price increase in the future as inflation is inevitable.
I haven't spoken to Peach, and talking to Cordy we thought it might be as you say, excess stock shifting, but on reflection it just seems to be as you say, a trend. Similar for the SE line too. Also, the current stock at peach all looks pretty full and just-in? After uploading I noticed Anderson's start cutting some of them to 1999 also. Definitely feels more factory led than dealers blowing out and taking a cut to get rid? Super curious, but hey ho, it's a decent price for a decent guitar.
Reed Smith has likey realised he can’t keep his business growing by selling highest end guitars .. like Taylor did years ago he’s gone down to making cheaper guitars albeit they’re ok. Silver Sky is not for me in my eyes it’s a fender Strat with a different headstock and neck profile. I’m amazed Reed Smith agreed to do a basic copy of fenders bread and butter guitar .. I wonder what he’d think if fender copied his best selling guitar model ? Hmmm
Everyone copies everyone. Fender would be hypocritical for basically copying competitors with their Troublemaker line. The bottom line is, PRS makes better guitar buck-to-buck than Fender America. Yeah, Fender has the "designs", but can they shape a fretboard of 7.25" without choking out of a bend? Nope. But PRS can. And funny thing is, Fender Japan which incarnated from making "knockoffs", constructs better guitars than their western counterparts. Lol.
Yea that’s my point re: the guitar market. Certainly in the uk working musicians wages have been pretty stagnant and therefore gear feels (and is) exponentially more expensive.
This has largely been my experience, the 2k and under fender stuff can’t compete with the PRS at the same price, in regards to fit, finish, playability etc. Taste and aesthetics are another matter perhaps.
I think it very much depends on which American made fender and Gibson we're talking about. the SE stuff is certainly very strong, but the consistency is not as strong as the core line iirc. But yea, probably on par at least.
Not yet, ordered it from their website yesterday. I haven't seen any polar blue ones in the flesh yet, so...not sure about some of the Silver Sky colours anyway.
ah that's interesting, mind me asking was the sale a factor in you pulling the trigger or would you have done it anyway? I quite like the polar blue, the dodgem blue is also pretty nice.
It was. I am located in Germany too - here some of the maple ones are 2499€, the rosewood variants are 2999 at one or two small retailers, the bigger ones (Thomann, Music Store,...) have them for 3199 €. Even taking VAT etc. into consideration, Peach is cheaper. I bought them mine for 1665£ excl. VAT, which in the end should run me 2400-2500 €. Again, this is cheaper than the rosewood ones here. Plus, each guitar is weighed and photographed individually. Still, bit of a risk because I would lose around 100£ if I decided to return it. Also, quite a hassle..
@@crigonalgaming1258 I don’t own any of either, but I have enjoyed playing White Falcons, Country Gentlemen etc far more than any PRS I’ve tried. Mind you, I have a lot of old ES guitars, and don’t play metalz, so I suppose I’m more inclined towards the Gretschs because of that, too. Country, Surf, Rockabilly - I see Gretschs being used in a lot more styles I like, and that’s even putting the age and place of origin of the brand aside. Fortunately, there are lots of different horses available for all the different courses. ☺️ We’re absolute,y spoilt for choice …
@@kierenmoore3236 I love my dad's Gretsches and especially their Made in Japan stuff, but they have been out of the big 3 regardless of genre as far as American manufacturing goes. They basically own no factory making guitars, with Fender making and distributing. They even sold Bigsby to Fender. They have no skin in the game at all. I own no PRS either, but their Silver Sky SE has been #1 in the past 3 years when it comes to most sold units according to Reverb. It only makes sense that PRS would be third, because they are the third in moving volumes in manufacturing. If you've seen the VMA's, everyone is using PRSes. PRS is the brand choice for hired guns, studio and touring pros alike.
I did cut a chunk out of the original video talking about I wish they'd offer a core SS with a 'modern' spec, or basically the SE spec in the core line.
maybe like a shitty car colour - sometimes its been sitting there too long - or theres a mortgage payment this month and its got to go. keep the newer dated one and move the older one - non selling stock is dead stock/money. Or everyone wants the black satin so they'll pay a pile more? guitar buyers are a fickle bunch. If mayer wasn't the guy behind this guitar it wouldn't be such a big seller so i don't think it will ever transcend - not for 30 yrs anyway. Everyone buys a gibson les paul tagged guitar but maybe forget Les Paul was a guitarist who put his name on it.😃 rre prices - if people keep buying things then sellers/manufacturers get the idea people may pay more - they do until they dont. SO make hay whilst the sun shines.
It certainly would be, but neither of them are mine, the owner loves them! I think rosewood is fine, but agree a darker board would be nice, this is pretty Pau ferro light looking. I've not heard complaints about the tuners, are they not great or is it just the aesthetic you don't dig?
Oh wow, ok so given today's exchange rate, that actually makes them a smidge cheaper in the UK right now! Is that sweetwater price including any sales taxes?
What happens to the value of a signature guitar when a guitarist gets cancelled? Look at builder Ron Thorn. If he’s found guilty, do his guitars lose value? I hesitate to purchase any guitar tied to one person’s name.
Great intro track David! :) I don't think there is anything "important" about this guitar. PRS made too many of them during the pandemic, and now have to discount them since fewer people are buying guitars. Honestly I don't really see who the Silver Sky is for, aside from PRS/Mayer fans. There are so many better options at every price point these days. An Ibanez AZ Prestige from Japan has WAY better value IMO. Stainless steel frets, locking tuners, flatter fretboard, super nice roasted maple satin neck, bridge humbucker, and their new wiring that gives you so many tonal options... Even the non prestige models are great!
Thanks, glad you like the track! That's interesting, do you have any source for the quantities made during pandemic, and that we're still trying to move that through the chain? A lot of the stock seems fresh in, and it feels like this type of sale thing happened before, and might be seasonal? There are certainly great options at the very low and very high end these days, I think the middle ground of the magical 2k is a bit thin though. Certainly for USA made stuff. I love Ibanez but have personally found the QC isn't in the same league as PRS, but nothings perfect and we can all have a bad day in the office on Friday at 4pm! Anyways, thanks for watching! :)
Imagine automakers (for example) copying a Ferrari, changing two or three things, calling it a new name and charging twice the price for that, and not even admitting they copied a Ferrari 🤣
What if said copy drives faster than Ferrari? Big oof. Fender can't even make a 7.25" neck bend without choking at the bend. PRS can. And that's why it's #1 seller on Reverb. It is what it is.
@@crigonalgaming1258 Well, maybe it is the best seller because people are getting rid of them? After all, most sales on Reverb are of used items, but if you like 7.25 radius and, more power to you, I personally don't like copies.
@@GerryBlue Now that's a bad argument, because if it's used, people STILL have the option of going Fender used anyway, and they still opted for PRS lol. The SE doesn't have a 7.25" radius so that's an option. It's superior than Fender really with almost all accounts and forum boards anecdotally supporting so. People go for PRS because of the build quality, QC and attention to detail, unlike Fender's current factory of churning out guitars like a fast food restaurant. If the copy Bugatti goes faster than the Ferrari, you know what the racers will pick 🙃
Yea pretty sure silver skies are all nickel frets. I personally prefer stainless steel, but I can understand why someone might prefer nickel in this type of guitar. Still a legit option?
Fender produces much more stetic appealing guitars. Huge variety and awesome colors and woods and finishes. King in the market. Anyway, silver sky is a great guitar but nothing special. And I see the point of your video. The guitar keeps QC and price with inflation so that is a great point.
Yea, thats exactly why I made the video, my thoughts on the guitar haven't really changed, but my thoughts on the value of it has. I thought it was pretty great guitar back when it launched, but at the time there were others similarly priced I would have chosen over it, Suhr perhaps, or maybe even some Fender custom shops. Fast fwd 7 years and Suhr have almost doubled in price and Custom Shops are minimum 3.5k foot in the door. Yet the SS have, if anything, has gone down in price when on these odd seasonal sale discounts. So, taking QC into account it seems way better value proposition for a USA made 3 single coil. Aesthetics however, yea subjective. I personally don't mind the SS at all, but totally get why many found/find it off putting! Anyways thanks for watching 👍
@@DavidBeebee yes, I agree with what you say. It is a great value for the money. I have a PRS and the quality is great. Not a SS fan though due to the headstock. But I had several times in mind about getting one. Maybe the SE version. Seems SE has also great QC. But just player II series arrived....lol
Id rather have a proper strat headstock. easier to change strings. As all the PRS modifications are pretty irrelevant to playability and sound, the Silver Sky is a step backwards in design as far as im concerned.
@@Iron-and-strings agreed. The locking tuners on the SS are some of the best I've used, and the break angles on the SS, due to the tilted back headstock vs the flat strat headstock, are superior, and, as a bonus, don't need an ugly string tree. That said, I still love strats, but there's no mistaking that the SS is much more modern and objectively an improvement over the strat design in so many respects.
Ive just seen that nebula color is about 5K to 8K. That is a huge overpriced guitar just for the color!!. It may be better to buy a normal one and change the color in a Luthier specialist. For those prices you have much more beautiful fender custom or artisan or masterpiece or NOS or even some ultra/deluxe special edition. Just check the ultra amethyst 70th anniversary, less than 3K!!. I guess PRS would sell it for 15K.... I like PRS but the silver sky only competes so so in my opinion if you are ok with that headstock that to me destroys the look of a strat. The QC of PRS can be better but nothing you can solve with a Luthier for a perfect adjustment.
Yea, the Nebula is an anomaly due to the ltd edition colour. Personally agree, I certainly wouldn't pay that for it, but a guitar is only worth what the market will bare I guess. It does however underscore the point I make in the pinned comment about the prices being all over the map. Even new, SS vary quite a lot over here in the UK for what basically amounts to a colour option. I was saying that basically if it dips below 2k it seems like a decent guitar for a decent price, where the QC is a level above the American Fender stuff. I don't mind the 3 per side, but I do understand why people can't get past the headstock though.
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Performance Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eh5hItD4Mr0/mqdefault.jpg)
New Silver Sky prices are wildly all over the map and I can’t get my head around it. The same new guitar in 2 different colours can vary in price by up to £1000 at times. They also seem to fluctuate up and down with seasonal dealer/manufacturer linked sales that suggest maybe the guitars aren’t selling, yet at the same time there’s always a bunch of hype around new colours, and they’re often on the best selling lists of Reverb and whatnot. 🤷🏼♂🤔
Anyway, I reviewed the SS when it launched in 2018 and earlier this year got chance to spend time with my good friend & colleague’s Nebula & Horizon Red, so thought I’d do a little retrospective review.
Whilst I still don’t personally like the SS, it’s certainly very well made and sounds great, and I’m really glad it exists in the current new-guitar market. When they dip below the £2000 mark, the Silver Sky is kind of hard to beat, as the USA-made pro musicians guitar. It just needs to outgrow the potential Mayer stigma and offer a more modern spec, maybe.
Anyways let me know what you think of the Silver Sky? Did you hate it at launch and come around over the last 6 years? Any ideas what the deal is with the pricing strategies?
I tried the SE version and thought the neck was a little large for myself but no doubt will suit many other players. The USA version looks nice thou as a strat alternative thanks for review mate!
@@markdoolan3424 the USA spec is a bit different to the SE, I think SE is a bit more modern but not sure about the neck shapes though tbh, been a little while since I tried the SE. Yea I think you're right it's great to have a high quality USA Strat alternative at a fair-ish price. Thanks for watching!
It's awesome guitar 🎸 indeed 👏 😀 👌 😄
I’ll get a nebula when the market crash deepens. It’s not a high priority on my GAS list but at the right price I’d give it a go. Like many PRS’ through the years the pricing seems to be way off for this right now, way too high.
Got a core silver sky, sold my strat. I appreciate the fact they kept the birds and headstock. People complained when it came out that it looked too much like a strat. Now they complain about differences. I love mine.
Great playing man
Thank you Chris! 🙏🏻🎸🐝
I think what I like about PRS is that they seem to kept prices pretty stable and quality high, whilst allowing really good quality instruments in their SE range to give all musicians a chance of getting really good instrument. Gibson for example seem to find another excuse to charge you an extra £2000 every three years to get closer to a 59 Les Paul and charge £1500 for an Epiphone which is just insane. Plus a lot of us know what Gibson and quality control is like…
Superb observation, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Stable pricing and high QC. Sure, the custom 24s have crept over 3.5k or whatever, but still when you compare to what Fender and Gibson are offering at that price point I don't think it's apples to apples.
It used to the that PRS were the dentist and lawyer guitars, but surely its now masterbuilts and merflabz that are in that category?
Sounds great man!
Thanks dude!
Love the Nebula. By far the best looking silversky. Wish I got in on time 😢
Hah yea I think a lot of people do, given the price they go for used. Mike is got in super early when it was announced for the normal price. Lucky lad!
Wonderful playing David. There are two mysteries in the universe I've accepted I will never understand....Dark Matter and the "controversy" around the Silver Sky. SS is a stellar value and simply a great guitar. I had to spend almost double the price of a SS on a master built Michael Tuttle strat to "beat" my SS. I sold my SS and I regret it. SS is an awesome gigging guitar. I've created an alert for a 2024 Black T-shirt SS on reverb :)
Thanks for the kind words! agreed on the value right now.
I'm so grateful to own one of the 1000 "Dead Spec" Silver Sky's…And it's just stunning…I can't understand the hate? 🙄
I think I understand the hate to a degree, on the one hand it’s just another strat copy, but on the other it’s sort of wildly bold departure, and guitarists do not like change! Personally I don’t hate it, I think it’s kinda cool aesthetically, I just can’t get on with the specs. Congrats on the dead spec 👍🏻
The low prices on some core Silver Sky’s is likely to be linked to the legacy of mass over production by many big guitar manufacturers like PRS who reacted to the ‘COVID guitar boom’ by ramping up production to supply demand. Post pandemic sales dropped right off and now they’re left holding excess guitar stock that they are allowing their dealers to discount down to help shift these guitars. PRS did the same with the SS SE’s 2023/24, some were down to circa £500 in some dealerships.
Phenomenal playing David, so much taste.
About Silver Sky, this ugly and raw headstock does not belong to the stratocaster guitar type.
Caanot get my head around it.
Couldn't agree more. I bought a SS SE, it was fantastic in every way, I just couldn't look at that headstock. Returned it.
What headstock would you prefer? It’s a PRS at the end of the day. Maybe just buy a Fender? Haha
@@allstopblue5717Indeed!!!
@@allstopblue5717 only rounded fender headstock (small and big) belong to strat type body :)
Thanks for the kind words! Yea I'm starting to see it's still a lot more of an antagonising guitar than I realised!😂
I wanted to join the crowd and be able to say these guitars are all hype in the worst way possible. I bought one, and oh boy, I love it. It’s undeniably better quality than any production fender. It’s more akin to custom shop guitars, with vintage specs at a lower price tag.
I had a few Silver Skys before SE and Core too, amazing quality guitars, I prefer them to my Fenders.
It's important "but it's not for you". The "Sky" is NOT important to most Strat enthusiasts. It's another copy and sales are
going down so we adjust price to the market.
That’s an interesting take. I’d be interested to know sales figures. It doesn’t feel that way observationally, but of course that means little in reality. You could be totally right about adjusting the price for it. However, like I say in the video this is seasonal, and the prices fluctuate a lot.
Re: strat enthusiasts. I don’t think that is particularly relevant. My point in the video is that it’s important for working musicians that want a USA made high quality 3 single coil for under 2k to have that option. All things being equal the SS at 2k is a considerably ‘better’ guitar than an avrii, putting aside taste and aesthetics.
Thanks for the view/comment 👍🏻
Also Uk prices include tax so nothing to add unlike most of our USA friends. Montana (where I just purchased a guitar!), Oregon, New Hampshire, Delaware, Alaska excepted….. price you see is the price you pay.
yea that's what's so mind boggling right now. I asked Mike (the owner of the nebula) and yea on most states it would be plus sales tax. That would take the actual real terms price to be more expensive in the US than the UK right now. Which I just can't wrap my head around after shipping, import tariffs etc. et
Prices are low for these on eBay used, I picked up a used black one for £1250, definitely a buyers market at the moment and a fantastic guitar!
Have you reached out to Peach Guitars about this trend? I’m curious if there’s an excess of inventory on their end as well as the PRS factory. No doubt we’ll see a price increase in the future as inflation is inevitable.
I haven't spoken to Peach, and talking to Cordy we thought it might be as you say, excess stock shifting, but on reflection it just seems to be as you say, a trend. Similar for the SE line too. Also, the current stock at peach all looks pretty full and just-in? After uploading I noticed Anderson's start cutting some of them to 1999 also. Definitely feels more factory led than dealers blowing out and taking a cut to get rid? Super curious, but hey ho, it's a decent price for a decent guitar.
@@DavidBeebee well they haven't gone down at Wildwood Guitars. They are still priced @ $2700.
Reed Smith has likey realised he can’t keep his business growing by selling highest end guitars .. like Taylor did years ago he’s gone down to making cheaper guitars albeit they’re ok. Silver Sky is not for me in my eyes it’s a fender Strat with a different headstock and neck profile. I’m amazed Reed Smith agreed to do a basic copy of fenders bread and butter guitar .. I wonder what he’d think if fender copied his best selling guitar model ? Hmmm
Everyone copies everyone. Fender would be hypocritical for basically copying competitors with their Troublemaker line.
The bottom line is, PRS makes better guitar buck-to-buck than Fender America. Yeah, Fender has the "designs", but can they shape a fretboard of 7.25" without choking out of a bend? Nope. But PRS can.
And funny thing is, Fender Japan which incarnated from making "knockoffs", constructs better guitars than their western counterparts. Lol.
Beautiful playing btw ❤ u can make an aliexpress guitar sound great 😊
Hah! Thank you kindly sir 🎸🙏🏻👍🏻
Would love the white one but my confidence buying on line has gone after recent (other brand) disasters.
How many $100 gigs does it take to pay for it?
Yea that’s my point re: the guitar market. Certainly in the uk working musicians wages have been pretty stagnant and therefore gear feels (and is) exponentially more expensive.
For me better than fender pro2
This has largely been my experience, the 2k and under fender stuff can’t compete with the PRS at the same price, in regards to fit, finish, playability etc. Taste and aesthetics are another matter perhaps.
Even the SE version are equal to American made fenders snd Gibson guitars
I think it very much depends on which American made fender and Gibson we're talking about. the SE stuff is certainly very strong, but the consistency is not as strong as the core line iirc. But yea, probably on par at least.
Bought the 7lb Polar Blue one from Peach
oh right, you have it yet? how is it?
Not yet, ordered it from their website yesterday. I haven't seen any polar blue ones in the flesh yet, so...not sure about some of the Silver Sky colours anyway.
ah that's interesting, mind me asking was the sale a factor in you pulling the trigger or would you have done it anyway? I quite like the polar blue, the dodgem blue is also pretty nice.
It was. I am located in Germany too - here some of the maple ones are 2499€, the rosewood variants are 2999 at one or two small retailers, the bigger ones (Thomann, Music Store,...) have them for 3199 €. Even taking VAT etc. into consideration, Peach is cheaper. I bought them mine for 1665£ excl. VAT, which in the end should run me 2400-2500 €. Again, this is cheaper than the rosewood ones here. Plus, each guitar is weighed and photographed individually. Still, bit of a risk because I would lose around 100£ if I decided to return it. Also, quite a hassle..
Wow thanks for that, that's really interesting. Good luck with it hope works out and you don't lose out!
Silver Sky sounds great it’s just ugly as fuck with the birds and headstock. The sound and playability is great
I’d put Gretsch third, ahead of PRS.
Or Rickenbacker.
@@LXS-ud6yf Fair … except that Gretsch is almost 50 years older, and I think has a higher profile these days? I’m too old to know that, though … 😏😉
I love Gretsch but nope. Gretsch is manufactured by Fender, they have no skin in the game for not having their own factory.
@@crigonalgaming1258 I don’t own any of either, but I have enjoyed playing White Falcons, Country Gentlemen etc far more than any PRS I’ve tried. Mind you, I have a lot of old ES guitars, and don’t play metalz, so I suppose I’m more inclined towards the Gretschs because of that, too. Country, Surf, Rockabilly - I see Gretschs being used in a lot more styles I like, and that’s even putting the age and place of origin of the brand aside. Fortunately, there are lots of different horses available for all the different courses. ☺️ We’re absolute,y spoilt for choice …
@@kierenmoore3236 I love my dad's Gretsches and especially their Made in Japan stuff, but they have been out of the big 3 regardless of genre as far as American manufacturing goes. They basically own no factory making guitars, with Fender making and distributing. They even sold Bigsby to Fender. They have no skin in the game at all.
I own no PRS either, but their Silver Sky SE has been #1 in the past 3 years when it comes to most sold units according to Reverb. It only makes sense that PRS would be third, because they are the third in moving volumes in manufacturing. If you've seen the VMA's, everyone is using PRSes. PRS is the brand choice for hired guns, studio and touring pros alike.
Buy an SE on reverb for 500 bux. You get a better radius and the same everything else.
I did cut a chunk out of the original video talking about I wish they'd offer a core SS with a 'modern' spec, or basically the SE spec in the core line.
maybe like a shitty car colour - sometimes its been sitting there too long - or theres a mortgage payment this month and its got to go. keep the newer dated one and move the older one - non selling stock is dead stock/money. Or everyone wants the black satin so they'll pay a pile more? guitar buyers are a fickle bunch. If mayer wasn't the guy behind this guitar it wouldn't be such a big seller so i don't think it will ever transcend - not for 30 yrs anyway. Everyone buys a gibson les paul tagged guitar but maybe forget Les Paul was a guitarist who put his name on it.😃 rre prices - if people keep buying things then sellers/manufacturers get the idea people may pay more - they do until they dont. SO make hay whilst the sun shines.
Huge purchase to find that its not for you... I love the nebula but why o why it doesnt have ebony and great tuners is the $64,000 question.
It certainly would be, but neither of them are mine, the owner loves them! I think rosewood is fine, but agree a darker board would be nice, this is pretty Pau ferro light looking. I've not heard complaints about the tuners, are they not great or is it just the aesthetic you don't dig?
@@DavidBeebeeThey appear to look cheap for the pricetag, thats all 😉 Gotoh all the way...
Haha fair enough. Oh I 100% on the gotoh, my Fibenare’s all have them!
Ebony? On a strat style guitar?
@@allstopblue5717Yep... That PRS has features not exactly of what a strat is ie thatbhead stock so why not use ebony and grovers. 😊
Nuce
at sweetwater they are all $2,750, all colours , you could buy one and have a weekend away for that price
Oh wow, ok so given today's exchange rate, that actually makes them a smidge cheaper in the UK right now! Is that sweetwater price including any sales taxes?
What happens to the value of a signature guitar when a guitarist gets cancelled? Look at builder Ron Thorn. If he’s found guilty, do his guitars lose value? I hesitate to purchase any guitar tied to one person’s name.
Great intro track David! :) I don't think there is anything "important" about this guitar. PRS made too many of them during the pandemic, and now have to discount them since fewer people are buying guitars. Honestly I don't really see who the Silver Sky is for, aside from PRS/Mayer fans. There are so many better options at every price point these days. An Ibanez AZ Prestige from Japan has WAY better value IMO. Stainless steel frets, locking tuners, flatter fretboard, super nice roasted maple satin neck, bridge humbucker, and their new wiring that gives you so many tonal options... Even the non prestige models are great!
Thanks, glad you like the track! That's interesting, do you have any source for the quantities made during pandemic, and that we're still trying to move that through the chain? A lot of the stock seems fresh in, and it feels like this type of sale thing happened before, and might be seasonal?
There are certainly great options at the very low and very high end these days, I think the middle ground of the magical 2k is a bit thin though. Certainly for USA made stuff. I love Ibanez but have personally found the QC isn't in the same league as PRS, but nothings perfect and we can all have a bad day in the office on Friday at 4pm!
Anyways, thanks for watching! :)
@@DavidBeebee I don't have hard data, I'm only speculating based on the popularity this guitar has had on Reverb the last couple of years.
Imagine automakers (for example) copying a Ferrari, changing two or three things, calling it a new name and charging twice the price for that, and not even admitting they copied a Ferrari 🤣
What if said copy drives faster than Ferrari? Big oof. Fender can't even make a 7.25" neck bend without choking at the bend. PRS can. And that's why it's #1 seller on Reverb. It is what it is.
@@crigonalgaming1258 Well, maybe it is the best seller because people are getting rid of them? After all, most sales on Reverb are of used items, but if you like 7.25 radius and, more power to you, I personally don't like copies.
@@GerryBlue Now that's a bad argument, because if it's used, people STILL have the option of going Fender used anyway, and they still opted for PRS lol. The SE doesn't have a 7.25" radius so that's an option.
It's superior than Fender really with almost all accounts and forum boards anecdotally supporting so. People go for PRS because of the build quality, QC and attention to detail, unlike Fender's current factory of churning out guitars like a fast food restaurant. If the copy Bugatti goes faster than the Ferrari, you know what the racers will pick 🙃
Definitely not worth the asking price now .
No ss frets? Lmao
Yea pretty sure silver skies are all nickel frets. I personally prefer stainless steel, but I can understand why someone might prefer nickel in this type of guitar. Still a legit option?
Fender produces much more stetic appealing guitars. Huge variety and awesome colors and woods and finishes. King in the market. Anyway, silver sky is a great guitar but nothing special. And I see the point of your video. The guitar keeps QC and price with inflation so that is a great point.
Yea, thats exactly why I made the video, my thoughts on the guitar haven't really changed, but my thoughts on the value of it has. I thought it was pretty great guitar back when it launched, but at the time there were others similarly priced I would have chosen over it, Suhr perhaps, or maybe even some Fender custom shops. Fast fwd 7 years and Suhr have almost doubled in price and Custom Shops are minimum 3.5k foot in the door. Yet the SS have, if anything, has gone down in price when on these odd seasonal sale discounts. So, taking QC into account it seems way better value proposition for a USA made 3 single coil. Aesthetics however, yea subjective. I personally don't mind the SS at all, but totally get why many found/find it off putting! Anyways thanks for watching 👍
@@DavidBeebee yes, I agree with what you say. It is a great value for the money. I have a PRS and the quality is great. Not a SS fan though due to the headstock. But I had several times in mind about getting one. Maybe the SE version. Seems SE has also great QC. But just player II series arrived....lol
Id rather have a proper strat headstock. easier to change strings. As all the PRS modifications are pretty irrelevant to playability and sound, the Silver Sky is a step backwards in design as far as im concerned.
I hold the complete opposite opinion. In my eyes the prs is head and shoulders above the competition
@@Iron-and-strings agreed. The locking tuners on the SS are some of the best I've used, and the break angles on the SS, due to the tilted back headstock vs the flat strat headstock, are superior, and, as a bonus, don't need an ugly string tree. That said, I still love strats, but there's no mistaking that the SS is much more modern and objectively an improvement over the strat design in so many respects.
Ive just seen that nebula color is about 5K to 8K. That is a huge overpriced guitar just for the color!!. It may be better to buy a normal one and change the color in a Luthier specialist. For those prices you have much more beautiful fender custom or artisan or masterpiece or NOS or even some ultra/deluxe special edition. Just check the ultra amethyst 70th anniversary, less than 3K!!. I guess PRS would sell it for 15K.... I like PRS but the silver sky only competes so so in my opinion if you are ok with that headstock that to me destroys the look of a strat. The QC of PRS can be better but nothing you can solve with a Luthier for a perfect adjustment.
Yea, the Nebula is an anomaly due to the ltd edition colour. Personally agree, I certainly wouldn't pay that for it, but a guitar is only worth what the market will bare I guess. It does however underscore the point I make in the pinned comment about the prices being all over the map. Even new, SS vary quite a lot over here in the UK for what basically amounts to a colour option. I was saying that basically if it dips below 2k it seems like a decent guitar for a decent price, where the QC is a level above the American Fender stuff. I don't mind the 3 per side, but I do understand why people can't get past the headstock though.