How to tell a fake PRS John Mayer Silver Sky guitar from the real thing
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Unfortunately, the guitar market is replete with fakes and copies of respected brands. We’ve all seen our fair share of copies of famous models by Fender and Gibson. This week, a bunch of suspiciously cheap instruments advertised as PRS John Mayer Silver Sky guitars have turned up on the internet. The only problem is, they’re not. Not sure if the Silver Sky you’re just about to pull the trigger on is the genuine article? Here’s how to spot a fake.
Fake John Mayer Silver Sky
The images below show images of guitars being sold as John Mayer Silver Sky models. But we’re 100% certain that they were not built by PRS in Maryland, USA. Obviously, we’re not going to share the links to the pages and auctions here. But if you’re on the market for a PRS Silver Sky and come across a guitar that’s selling at a low price, be careful.
Poorly fitted Bird inlays and incorrect fret size · Source: Beware these fake John Mayer Silver Sky guitars
How to tell a fake PRS Silver Sky
The first thing to watch out for is the price. I’ve seen these offered for as little as USD 299 each, way below the full RRP of an American made PRS model. Avoid anything sold as a hand-built guitar for such a low price. If the price seems to good to be true, it probably is.
Beware these fake John Mayer Silver Sky guitars – Check out the lack of scoop in the lower horn · Source: Beware these fake John Mayer Silver Sky guitars
The Scoop
If you take a close look at the photo above, you can make out that the scoop on these fakes isn’t deep enough around the bottom horn. It looks less pronounced as the PRS original (see below). Another telling detail is the control knobs. The fake has Fender-style skirted knobs with Volume and Tone written on them, while the real deal has no text labels on the knobs. Also, check out the jack input socket. The fake uses a regular Stratocaster jack plate, whereas the original PRS model has a different design.
A real PRS John Mayer Silver Sky · Source: PRS
Do Not Buy This Fake Crap
Here are two more images of the fake versions. You can clearly see they’re missing some details, like the lack of logo on the headstock and name on the neck plate.
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- No headstock logo · Source: Beware these fake John Mayer Silver Sky guitars
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- No logo on neck plate · Source: Beware these fake John Mayer Silver Sky guitars
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- A genuine PRS Silver Sky with headstock signature · Source: thomann
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- Genuine PRS Silver Sky with name on the neckplate · Source: thomann
The Real Silver Sky
If you want a genuine John Mayer Silver Sky, go to the official PRS page below and check the specifications to make sure you’re getting the real thing. If you want to buy one, we recommend going through an official PRS dealer. Seen a fake model for sale? Let us know and we’ll pass it on to the folks at PRS.
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9 responses to “How to tell a fake PRS John Mayer Silver Sky guitar from the real thing”
Actually, if the fake guitar were of decent quality at a price point of USD 299 I would buy it. And if the headstock does not say it’s a PRS then the manufacturer of these guitars is no more infringing on PRS copyrights than PRS is infringing on Fender or Gibson copyrights.
Actually, the headstock and PRS birds are all copyrighted. See link for official details here https://www.prsguitars.com/copyright.php
I don’t think so. MusicStore, one of Europe’s largest music instrument retailers, is selling a guitar range called Fame Forum IV. The guitars are manufactured in the Czech Republic and sold under MusicStore’s inhouse brand, Fame.
These guitars use the exact same headstock as PRS, and yet I don’t see PRS sueing them. In fact, MusicStore is an official seller of PRS.
I’m very sure PRS can’t enforce copyright over the headstock shape because somewhere on this planet someone could claim prior art. And as long as the “fake” guitars don’t say PRS anywhere – and the photos in this post indicate that they don’t – they are not infringing on any copyright. Besides Fender’s, that is. 😉
Actually no, Fender (for example) is able to enforce copyright only in the headstock, thats why you wont see any strat copy with the fender headstock design in it. Same goes for PRS, The guitar that you´ve mencioned may be very close to the PRS headstock design but im sure it isnt the same exact one.
Garbage article. I saw this on reverb months ago and the seller never tried to pass it off as a genuine silver sky.
I’d have reported that as a fake to Reverb.
Inception was originally based on this post.
True story.
I’ve reported the John Mayer to fender as a fake strat.
So if PRS fights these when the headstock doesn’t even say PRS, that’s ok to you, but when Gibson does the exact same thing it’s bad? Interesting double-standard you have here, Jef.
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