The “Dead Spec” Silver Sky
Introducing the “Dead Spec” Silver Sky
A twist on a well loved model, we are thrilled to introduce the PRS “Dead Spec” Silver Sky. Paul Reed Smith and the PRS team designed this guitar for John Mayer during his time with Dead & Company on their last tour. It pays homage to Jerry Garcia’s iconic “Alligator” guitar, both in its tone and with the addition of unique features. Below, get a closer look at the “Dead Specs” and see what John himself had to say about the development of the guitar, and how he knew it was something special.
“After playing the Silver Sky designed for the 2023 Dead & Company summer tour, I realized the guitar was special. It quickly became apparent this wasn’t just a tool for one particular job but could be extremely versatile in other players’ hands. I’m excited to hear the music that’s made on these guitars.” – John Mayer
Below, Paul Reed Smith shares his take on this unique new model:
Featuring a Swamp Ash body in favor of the traditional Alder to keep it lightweight, the “Dead Spec” Silver Sky is finished in Moc Sand Satin nitro which sinks into the ash to give the model its characteristic revealed grain. Another significant deviation from the original Silver Sky is the bridge, a modified PRS patented Gen III Tremolo screwed into the body, effectively rendering it a string-through hardtail bridge. Keeping the tremolo’s brass block in the equation adds a musical warmth to the guitar. At the other end of the strings are a brass nut and string retainer bar, which also contribute to the guitar’s resonance and tone.
Perhaps most notably, the Dead Spec Silver Sky’s jack plate has been swapped out for a brass-plate Alembic Blaster preamp. This preamp can be used as a straight boost but has an internal pot that allows players to add between 3 – 14 dB of gain to the guitar when turned on. This not only gives the Dead Spec Silver Sky added punch while maintaining crisp note separation, but it compensates for the capacitance that comes with long stage cables as well. The circuit is bypassed when in the off position.
Have a listen below where PRS Product Specialist Bryan Ewald demos the guitar:
The PRS “Dead Spec” Silver Sky will be made in a limited quantity of 1000 pieces, with just 225 pieces available in Europe and the UK. Shipping November 2023 – March 2024.
Each of the MT 100’s three channels is built from its own unique circuit with dedicated preamp tubes to ensure the voicing of each channel is exactly as intended. The Clean channel (like the MT 15) stays pristine and chimey – try it with split or single coils to hear it sing. The Gain channel (also like the MT 15) gets lush heavy tones with massive bass response that is never muddy. And, the added Overdrive channel (modeled after one of Tremonti’s favorite personal amps) brings an incredibly flexible gain structure and musical midrange response to this already versatile amp platform. Select your channel on the amp face or via the included footswitch – both feature matching channel lights so you’ll never lose your place. All three channels share the same preamp tube type (12AX7’s) for ease of servicing.
