The PRS “Dead Spec” Silver Sky was designed for John Mayer’s prominent work with Dead & Company’s last tour. Paying homage to Jerry Garcia’s iconic “Alligator” guitar tones, the Dead Spec Silver Sky is a modded version of Mayer’s signature axe with significant spec changes.
The foundation of the “Dead Spec” Silver Sky is a lightweight Swamp Ash body (rather than alder) finished in Moc Sand satin nitro that is thin and strikingly sinks into the ash wood grain. The bridge is a modified PRS patented Gen III Tremolo that has been screwed to 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.
Features
- Body Construction: Solidbody
- Body Wood: Swamp Ash
- Top Carve: Flat Top
- Finish: Satin Nitro
- Number of Frets: 22
- Scale Length: 25.5"
- Neck Wood: Maple
- Neck Construction: Scarfed
- Truss Rod: PRS Double-Acting
- Neck Shape: 635JM-R (Rosewood Fretboard)
- Neck Depth at the 1/2 Fret: 55/64"
- Neck Depth at the 12 1/2 Fret: 63/64"
- Neck Width at the Nut: 1 21/32"
- Neck Width at the Body: 2 15/64"
- Fretboard Wood: Rosewood
- Fretboard Radius: 7.25”
- Fretboard Inlay: Birds
- Headstock Logo: Signature, Decal
- Neck/Body Assembly Type: Bolt-On
- Bridge: PRS Patented Tremolo, Gen III, Surface-Mounted
- Tuners: Vintage-Style, Locking
- Hardware Type: Nickel
- Nut: Brass w/ String Retainer
- Treble Pickup: 635JM
- Middle Pickup: 635JM
- Bass Pickup: 635JM
- Controls: One Volume and Two Tone Controls with a 5-Way Blade Pickup Switch
- Preamp: Alembic Blaster, Brass
- Strings: 10's