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 ax 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. The circuit is bypassed when in the off position.

“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

Specifications

Body

• Solid lightweight swamp ash body
• Flat top construction
• Moc Sand Satin nitrocellulose finish

Neck

• Bolt-on maple neck
• 25.5" scale length
• 635JM-R neck profile
• Rosewood fingerboard
• 22 frets
• 7.25" fingerboard radius
• PRS bird inlays
• Brass nut with string retainer
• PRS double-acting truss rod

Hardware

• Modified PRS Gen III steel tremolo fixed to the body
• Brass sustain block
• Vintage-style locking tuners
• Nickel hardware

Electronics

• PRS 635JM treble pickup
• PRS 635JM middle pickup
• PRS 635JM bass pickup
• Alembic Blaster onboard preamp with mini toggle activation
• Master volume
• Two tone controls
• 5-way blade pickup selector

Additional Features

• Thin satin nitrocellulose finish
• Lightweight resonant construction
• Factory strung with PRS Signature 10-46 strings
• Includes PRS hardshell case
• Limited edition production of 1,000 instruments worldwide
• Weight 7.6lb