Why John Mayer Left Fender
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2024
- John Mayer left Fender in late 2014 and teamed up with the guys over at PRS guitars to release his new silver sky. For a long time people wondered and debated what exactly lead to that split. John did a podcast with Jeff Ross and at the end if you didn't watch the whole thing Jeff asks John why he left. Baxter and Jonathan give you some context to what was going on at the time and who the players involved where.
Link to the podcast episode here - • John Mayer's First Pod...
Link to John Cruz talking about Jessica Simpson here - • Fender Custom Shop Roa...
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I was typing a similar response, but deleted it when I saw yours. Funny stuff!
Old, old news boys. On the other hand, it’s great to see Tim Burton and Chris Stapleton talking about gear.
good to see them both staying six feet apart and wearing their face coverings too!
Wow a personal attack? Lame. Go troll somewhere else we don’t need the negativity on UA-cam right now. People are dealing with enough and to see posts like this is truly disappointing. Says a lot about your character Greg Johnson...
Scott Rogers you’re sweet. Thanks for the compliment. No person was actually attacked or harmed by the comments. I’m sorry you are having such a rough time that UA-cam interaction harshes your buzz. Maybe a break is in order? Being humorless is no way to live life, and I hope you find your sense of humor sooner than later.
Greg Johnson haha thank you for the laugh - thought maybe my sense of humor had left me but nope, it’s still here. You be you 👍
Scott Rogers yes. If there’s one thing that’s on display in your judgmental comment toward me it is your ... sense of humor 🤔
It’s like when a maturing young man develops emotional intelligence and leaves the superficial hot girl, for the fun kind hearted nerdy girl.
Yes, and yet the new girl looks identical, except her hat is different. :) I miss John and Fender.
@Tony Dean Smith there are many stylistic differences between the Silver Sky and the Strat besides the “hat”. John still plays his legendary black Strat every time he performs Gravity.
Apophis392 for sure! Either way, I love John and everything about his music and guitar playing!!! It won’t be long before I also grab a Silver Sky. :)
Analogy doesn't make sense because I'd associate PRS with a superficial hot girl and fender with a kind hearted and mature one.
80386 how come?
John Mayer: "I want to make a guitar of the future"
* designs the 1963 Fender Stratocaster *
😂😂
Working at one of the major guitar corps in the 2000s, I had an encounter with JM. It was, according to his manager, an "emergency that needed to be fixed immediately". He needed to find a guitar for a show that night. Everybody working at the store was excited to see JM & have a cool story to tell. He made us shut the store down, get all the employees, besides the "one or two who know what a guitar is", to "stay in the back & mind their business" & after a few hours, he stormed out without choosing a guitar. Our manager agreed to allow him to borrow 3 guitars to be returned after the show. We all lost prime selling hrs during a Saturday afternoon and that's not a great way for a commission employee to make a living. He proceeded to trash the store & the employees in a local papers interview. He said we lacked understanding and never will since guitar salesmen are failed musicians.
Point is, he was petty & entitled & I can totally see him blame everyone else but himself for sagging guitar sales.
Ngl fender sucks. I used to love them. Now I hate that brand. They are frauds. No value for money. Better invest on a prs or an ibanez.
@@Nairrrrrrr Lol no
Wow, that does not sound like a very positive experience...😬
I’m not sure where John is living these days, but early in his career he lived in Atlanta. I personally knew several different people who had interactions with John at the various businesses where they were employed. Every single one of them tell a similar story to yours.
I'm sure he's very up his own arse. Most people seem very happy to work with fender
Fender lost the opportunity to build the perfect strat, they refused to modernize and bring their quality assurance back to what it used to be. They rely solely on their name and past accomplishments to continue to sell guitars. Leaving Fender was one of the smartest moves John could have made.
The Silver Sky is just a Strat with a built in Klon-ish boost to the mids, it's really not that impressive of an instrument for its price. Go try Fender's American Professional series Strat, it's phenomenal. I especially love the push-pull pot that allows you to blend the bridge and neck pickups and get a Tele-esque tone.
Chad Long it actually has a mids scoop, and the knobs serve a purpose now. I tried the American professional man, after playing a Silver Sky, the American professional feels and sounds like a cheap instrument man. As for the bridge/neck blend; it’s too bright and thin of a sound of a sound for me to get those tele tones!
@Tong Zou it’s the perfect blend between vintage looks, feel and modern reliability. Yeah their ultra series has upgrades like noiseless pickups, locking tuners and a two point trem. I had all these features on my player series strat and still paid less money, I just installed them myself.
It’s a decent instrument but it still feels cheap and sounds sterile after playing a PRS.
The silver sky is more like their custom shop models; yet you don’t have to pay 5 grand and up.
@Tong Zou I agree with you 100%, those are also amazing instruments and fundamentally better than fenders.
What was the point of bringing that up?
I don't know if it's that bad but Fender definitely relies on its name and history to sell guitars. It's not a company built on innovation. That left with Leo, really.
These guys hit on the real truth:
Mayer wanted a full production signature Strat since they typically make a lot of money for other artists like Clapton and so forth. The problem was his specs were too close or dead on to the SVR Strat so he had go to PRS To get a deal.
Mayer talks a good game about creating a Strat of the future BUT the Silver Sky reproduces the 63 Strat sound with hot single coil pickups with the same rosewood fretboard and radius. The PRS if anything is a throwback to the 60’s but not forward thinking.
It’s all about money. Mayer is a business savvy guy.
Mayer is a financially savvy guy so money matters to him. Just look at his watch collection. He only buys brands that appreciate in value.
They didn't hit on anything. They lazily spouted old news
Every Silver Sky is a '64 Strat with mojo. That's something that Fender has never been able to do on a full production run because their manufacturing and QC isn't up to the task. There are GREAT Fenders out there but their existence is almost accidental.
I played a PRS SS for a year. It's absolutely not like any Fender Strat I've played. It's very modern in comparison. Idk SRV pups... But kayers are mid-scooped as he said "Mids don't sound musical to me"
I had heard that John was frustrated that he wasn't allowed to use the exact specs of the SRV Strat because the Vaughan family apparently has some kind of exclusive rights to those. That's why his "Black 1" is actually black because it's literally pretty much the exact same paint pattern that was one Stevie's Number 1 but just hidden in a different color scheme. Ironically, it helped to give John's Number 1 an iconic look as well and sort of a case of necessity being the mother of invention to me. Although John also said he wanted the guitar to have no paint on it because he believes having it be pure wood does something to the sound and he cited Bonnie Raitt as an example of that. I've not played a Silver Sky and have never really been that much of a PRS fan but I'd like to get my hands on one just to check them out. I will say though that I think the PRS headstock does look kinda goofy on a Strat body.
Picked one up years ago and I hated the flat radius fretboard. It makes it harder for me to play Barre chords. Prs has become a modern classic though so there must be something to them
That’s total bullshit. Rene Martinez even told Mayer to get the gold Fender parts and make sure they were the exact same gold parts used in SRV’s, not the cheaper parts used on some other guitars. He had total freedom in making the Black 1 as well as Mi,e Eldred in making it all come to fruition.
The Silver Sky would be a great guitar if it cost $800-1,100, but for $2,300 it's ridiculous. The mids are boosted. That's about it. If you really have to have that tone, take a regular Fender and plug it into a Soul Kitchen or some other Klon clone. You'll save yourself $1,300.
I personally don't like signature guitars I think a good manufacturer would make models that as soon as you picked the guitar up you would go yeesss this is what I like. like John said in the interview he would like to go into any music store and purchase a guitar and recognize it right away and feel at home.
Mayer's Black 1 has different pickups, a different neck carve and a regular tremolo so this isn't even close to being spec'd like SRV's Number One. Also, the signature SRV has totally different pickups than the original guitar and they're overwound. Why would Mayer want hot PUs in his? Besides a dermal similarity in missing some paint (which is just in a common pick/strum wear pattern) and gold hardware, I can't see how the two are alike.
Finally, Mayer inducted SRV into the R&R Hall of Fame. I'm pretty sure that if he wanted an SRV clone guitar as his signature, the Vaughns would have given him permission.
You were "on the phone all day with Fender talking about why John Myer left Fender" and you had absolutely nothing to share. Nothing conclusive. Nothing concrete. Nothing even from Fender. Just your own very loose, rambling conjecture that went absolutely nowhere. There wasn't one bit of new information because there was no actual information to be shared. Just a bunch of who knows and maybes. Really disappointing. Click bait.
Basically what journalism has become.
Add in ‘confidential sources’ and you will have a headline from CNN
The jist of what they were saying is that John lost his main rep at Fender, thought it was a good time to move on and get creative with a new company that would provide a more personal and hands on experience with redesigning his new signature model.
@@PaulProvosty and the rest is essentially speculation/rumors/assumptions
Two Boomer trolls creating clickbait
A thought that was the whole ethos of this channel?
When they started simping for John, I felt that
Casino Guitars I wanted to add one more point. Someone commented below how sad it was that people still feel the need to defend PRS. Here is my two cents. Earlier in the year you guys posted a video explaining that these guitar companies are not as big as many may think they are. I live in Maryland and I know that PRS isn't a huge corporation. What I appreciate is that they take pride in the quality and craftsmanship of their instruments. In a world where our phones, are TV's, and so much of our consumer goods are "disposable" they make a guitar that, in many cases could be a family heirloom. I know many people just troll for reactions but I just wanted to highlight an American company that we should be appreciating like many of the other traditional guitar companies.
Absolutely! Great point.
I live in Maryland as well and I TOTALLY agree with you. I've met Paul at a private stock release event last year for 6 private stocks with a "chessie fade" finish with looks like the Chesapeake bay. These are instruments and heirlooms to be handed down.
yeah but the s.e line. that is corprate. to the max. how bout tom anderson. ect ect
Videos like this make me miss working in guitar shops. Just hanging out and chatting music/instruments all day.
I love JM. He is an inspiration and the reason why many of us picked up a guitar. I was interested in the SS at first but ended up getting a Fender Ultra cause I preferred its neck and appointments better. It’s interesting that JM bonded with PRS when he could easily work with Suhr or anybody for that matter.
Paul Datta thanks for sharing your journey with this! I think John was probably great to work with almost anyone. Unfortunately for fender I think they just misstepped hard and he found a great new home!
Casino Guitars is it right to assume that the SS is technically JM’s second signature guitar with PRS after the Private Stock Super Eagle? If so, I consider that to be a JM “Tesla” while the SS is more “workhorse”. It’s very hard for someone on a budget to pick between the PRS SS, Fender MIJ Strat, Fender Ultra and a Suhr Classic pro. How do you guys dodge this question if it comes up in the shop?
@@PaulDatta I went with the suhr classic S because it has a compound radius fretboard.
That Prevent noise from hitting other strings when bending.
I recently discovered your channel…I really like your topics. I am surprised that you don’t have more subscribers. Thanks
Play top-notch versions of both Fender & PRS and you'll find there's no comparison. PRS is building the best mass produced (even though numbers are less than Fender) guitars hands-down. I own multiple examples of each...Fenders are great. PRSs are outstanding
MorGuitarz we would have to agree with the quality of the PRS machine/) they make amazing overseas pieces as well and it’s hard to find a better guitar at that price anywhere!
my prs se singlecut is an absolute dog compared to my mexican fender, and the Japanese strat i own just blows it out of the water
Totally agree. I was always a Fender guy until I discovered PRS. I no longer own any Fender guitars, but several PRS.
Couldn't agree more. Played Fender for 20+ years, and currently own 3 American Strats; a '77, '86, and '99. My Silver Sky destroys every single one.
Fenders with mojo are magical but rare and often very, very expensive. Every Silver Sky is a '64 Strat with mojo. Is there anyone who wouldn't buy that for $2500?
The strat is my favorite guitar hands down. They aren’t without their problems. They can be temperamental but when they are one on point there isn’t any like it. I still love you Fender. Forever and always
Leo Fender almost got it right way back then. Have you tried a G&L? Leo fixed most of the problems Fender wouldn’t let him fix before he left the company.
Tom Anderson Guitarworks has modernized/maximized all aspects of the classics. And the three sided neck pocket has taken them over the top! So good. But I do still love the classics!! I had a CS Danny Gatton Signature that was so fierce, and a Jason Smith master build Esquire that sang like human. The Alan Hamel Tele is classic & magic. But a good Strat has "that" sound.
Someone commented on the JMOD NAMM video - That “Paul looked like a Sith Lord admiring his new apprentice”....it’s literally all I think when I see Paul now. 😂🦹🏻🌑
Lmfao
This makes sense now.
Thank you for research!
Besides leaving Fender, he's also left Katy Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tay Tay and many more! Maybe he just likes variety? If Baxter were single I'm sure he would share John's pains. It's tough being suave and that good looking!
mark106t9 mayer also left two rock
How do I get a CG T-shirt?? Nice work guys!!
The cool thing about Paul is that he's never satisfied with his guitars he's always improving them that's different than Gibson and Fender
I think you have that wrong. He's never satisfied because he's not Gibson or Fender. He missed the boat.
You know it's true.
Could talk / when not playing about Fender guitars all day. Love listening to your Fender talks!
Thanks!!
My Silver Sky was so good I sold my Custom Shop Strats. I'm always on the lookout for great Fender Custom Shop instruments, and still own a couple Teles, but the Silver Sky is amazing. PRS setups are some of the best in the biz, and they nailed the sound and feel.
MetalThrashingMatt we hear you there and think they did nail it with the silver sky! Hats off to John and thanks for sharing your thoughts here!
What are you talking about, while the Silver Sky is a great instrument it has very little to do with a Fender Strat sound wise, it sounds way more modern and high resolution, and lacks that vintage style low res warm sound
Different animals
@@sccanj I hear that all the time, but it sure as hell sounds like a Strat to me. Seems it sound like one to Tim Pierce too.
Cool story bro
@@Starch1b2c3d4a it is pretty cool isn't it
I love y'alls channel. I live in NC and would love to come visit your shop one day.
Jeff Ross plays guitar. He play guitar couple times when he's on roasting show
Jeff Ross sucks 😂
I think it started with the Super Eagle build. JM wanted(needed) a guitar that was capable of achieving Garcia's tone and Paul was happy to accommodate. My guess he got it right, and they were off and running. JM also says in the video that he wasn't happy that Fender(a huge corporation) was basically only willing to give him a couple of guitars a year. Which to me seems pretty short sighted. You make signature versions with this guys name on them. Let him sell them for you.
Do you think there will ever be an SE version of the Silver Sky?
There are PRS SEs EG models that have a similar strat body... Funny thing is they predated the silver sky for a decade.
To own a guitar shop do you have to have a little bit of a crush on John Mayer?
I’ve got a Mayer strat as my main guitar since 2009. Love it only vain thing is that it looks like a cheap classic vibe from a distance lol but I gotta admit I salivate at the silver sky I’d love to have one.
Any idea if PRS will release a non John Mayer spec Silver Sky (that would compete against a Ibanez AZ or Suhr)?
No matter what they do that headstock will never look good on a Strat type guitar. And PRS doesn't do a compound radius fretboard.
Look for the EG3 model and there's your Non John Mayer Silver Sky.
images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--nBicetGu--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1525185932/pqldkkrltmymqvvb6fbh.jpg
Compete with ibanez? Ibanez's cheapest guitars are better than any American strat or prs.
@@kbar3612 Nope, I owned several Ibanez GIO series and they drove me mad with how lousy they were.
@@kbar3612 Riiiight... BAHAHAHAHA!!! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Isn't the Jeff Ross podcast episode like a year old?
He's so forward thinking he reinvented the strat. Hey John, I think the wheel needs some of your forward thinking.
IMHO this was a non class move by both John Mayer and PRS himself. If John wasn't willing to go to a new body design, then he shouldn't have done this thing at all.
I lost respect for both PRS and JM over this. Fender are much better humans than Gibson so I hope there's no lawsuit, but rather, there should just be some nods and winks and, maybe, throw a little shade at PRS over this.
@@WarrenPostma I agree 100%
@@WarrenPostma Why would Fender have any grounds to sue PRS? The S-style body is free for anyone to use in their designs, excluding the original headstock design and a few other aspects, I imagine.
So many other guitar manufacturers have built strat-style guitars, like Suhr. Why would PRS and JM lose your respect with this move? Actually, why would they even care at all?
It's more like he updated the strat (which IMHO his PRS model does in some subtle ways). Further, by all accounts, it sounds like he would have been willing to do that project with Fender if they were interested.
@@WarrenPostma I don't think there would be any grounds for a lawsuit. It's a well established fact that Fender doesn't own the body design for the Strat.
Literally tons of companies build their own version of Fender's legacy designs with no issue, they just can't use the headstock or trade dress without a licencing agreement.
I heard that another reason he left was because fender didn’t care what amps he used, but they wanted him to have a set of deluxe reverbs on stage to promote them. Which considering John has a 3-4 amp setup with a dumble, a two rock and some other things I don’t know that it would have fooled a lot of people.
That's funny you mentioned the tuner thing. I was just thinking about that (while trying to hook the tuner to the headstock of my C24. Great headstock but who knew the tuners like that were coming.
If I may, my biggest disappointment with John is that his signature Strat was released years ago (2004 I believe).
to my knowledge, other than the "bigger than my body" video, he NEVER used it. He used his SRV, the Hendrix Monterey Strat, and mostly The Black One...
Compare that to someone like Jim Adkins, Brian Setzer, or Johnny Marr, who actually use their off-the-shelf wignature models.
John's signature guitars are always just copies of another guitar. His Signature strat was a copy of his SRV strat with the string tree in another location.
His signature Martin is a copy of a Clapton 000 Martin, and even the Silver Sky is just a copy of a vintage 63/64 Strat he has been playing live for years...
I believe a true gear-head guitarist is wasting their time with a signature model anything... Like Joe Bonamassa for example... Dude has SO MANY "signature model" products out there, and he changes his rig every single tour...
If you want people to buy your signature stuff, I feel you should play the gear every single night and (like Jim Adkins said of his Tele) "I can walk into guitar center, buy one off the wall, put my gauge strings on it, and play a gig with it..."
ChrsGuit That’s basically exactly what John Mayer said in his video for Guitar Center. He wanted to have a guitar that he could walk into any Guitar Center where he’s playing a gig and pick a Silver Sky off the wall and know it will sound like all the others. Maybe he knew that wasn’t the case with Fender?
@@TheBigDean18 I really don't know on that one... however I do know he does play his signature Martin every night, and when I saw him at Bridgestone Arena a few years back (the show where Chris Stapleton made a guest appearance), He was on the Silver Sky almost all night minus Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. For that tune, he brought out the 63/64 Strat. The Silver Skies sounded killer and consistent but for some reason that Strat sounded better. I've only seen him live twice, and the first time was in 2008. He played the Black One and a bunch of other stats all night, but occasionally pulled out some randoms like a PRS McCarty...
I was always kinda bummed, since I bought his signature Strat in 09, and he never seemed to use it...
When the Blk 1 Strat came out a short time later I was bummed cause I would have waited and gotten it had I known. As for the Silver Sky, I wasn't on board... thinking it was just another guitar he'd never use... Seeing him live changed my mind, but I'm definitely not the "Super Fan" I once was. I quit buying his albums after Battle Studies. Heartbreak warfare had Jeff Beck style parts and he used a Jeff Beck signature strat. Half of my heart had a Fleetwood Mac vibe and he used a Rick Turner/Lindsay Buckingham model....
When he started doing the Neil Young thing, I just felt he was trying too hard to be something else...
he went to the "Born and raised" cowboy Neil Young thing
@@ChrsGuit If it's any consolation, the Black 1 clones don't really sound like the original. That's kind of why he left Fender. He didn't want a #1 guitar that had unique mojo that consumers could never have access to. Silver Skys have very little variation so if you play one, you're really playing the same instrument he is.
A Slash Les Paul? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had thought that the Les Paul was already a "signature guitar?"
I mean people talk crap about Gibson, but Fender is legit giving every pop artist a signature guitar while other artists who can actually play for the “guitar” genre don’t have one.
Because it's about what guitars they think they can sell as opposed to what artists "deserve" one. That said, it seems like they've been paring back their artist models quite a bit over the recent past.
@@timf7413 well it didnt work out because the shitty pop sigs aren't selling very well
*shawn Mendes entered the chat*
@@mcspankies1799 Serious question: what artists are you talking about? Looking through Fender's current artist model line up, I honestly can't find one endorsed by someone I would consider purely a pop act.
@@timf7413 You haven't heard of that pop music guitarist Ritchie Blackmore? lol
Am I the only one waiting for PRS to do a telecaster ?
Also if you were making a prs tele what do you name it? Sky-vision? Broadsky (those ideas are terrible)
It's really funny how worked up people get about the Silver Sky. I remember when it first came out and people were resulting to name calling over this guitar. The months went by and the anger settled down and people actually got their hands on one and realized it's actually a quality instrument. As a guitar lover I'm just really happy there is so much competition and variety in the guitar world. I love my Fender Custom shop guitars and I love my PRS Guitars. I will say if I could only save one guitar in a house fire it would be my PRS 408 10 top. Or maybe my Fender Custom Shop Nocaster. No maybe it would be my Martin D28 Modern Deluxe. Ok I'm just going just have to burn up with my guitars.
Marlon Hester that was one of the more thoughtful lay downs of the whole thing! Thank you for sharing:) we couldn’t agree more and live how the sky has become part of the market now!
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting my fender down yet either!
IMHO it was a vocal minority of (frankly) guitar snobs who were causing most of the stink and it became impossible to sustain that level of controversy once the Silver Sky actually became a fairly popular model.
I don't personally care for the silver sky. Being that it's an over $2k PRS, I'll assume it's built well, no matter the specs, shape color etc. I expected something more to get excited about from PRS, but then again, I didn't buy one. I bought the S2 Vela semi hollow. Great guitar.
Hows that guy in the picture playing a guitar on a surf board? I mean think about how hard that would be, the mechanics of it all.
I like it...every time I go in a shop I test it, I try to find something wrong...but just cannot. The pickups are sweet, defined and puchy, the 7,25 radius idea it is intimidating...but in reality it playes easier than a F 9,5 C shape...at least for me. If I have to find something, the colours, despite the story behind...are not my cup of tea. I only really like the red one...but unfortunately I have an American Original 60 CAR...if they would do a Sonic Blue...I will pull the trigger in a second...nitro and and hardcase for the current price would be perfect and would sell loads. Last bad tought....somehow recalles me of a CE USA series...I had one and they are great guitars....but....Cheers Flavio.
so how is the silversky not just a strat styled prs?? doesn’t really seem like making something for the future.
To me the main problem is at the price you pay for it you would expect a beautiful flamed maple top - like most other PRS guitars. Not just a solid paint job, like any other Strat copy! ;0/
Podcast just the other day? It was a year ago...
Justo ayer estuve buscando un video que hablara de esto! finalmente lo tengo jajajaj
What about the HeadStock??
I’ve heard John say that he doesn’t get a commission on the Silver Sky. I’m not sure it’s a guitar for the future though-it’s a 60s-voiced Strat with Tesla colors and a PRS headstock and body scoop under the upper frets. People seem to dig ‘em though. I actually did like the headstock from the get go, but prefer the sound of his personal #1 black Fender Strat.
The Black 1 is the only guitar of its type. The CS recreations are $20,000+ and still don't sound like it. There's no point in comparing any other guitar to it.
@@riffraff1350Interesting… The Silver Skies were designed to sound like his black Strat (including replicating the exact pickups), but definitely fell short.
@@AnkurWow No, they're not. They started with that to understand its signal-to-noise ratio but went on to fine tune their tone. As Mayer has said on numerous occasions, Strats have a massive amount of treble that causes unpleasant ice picking that needs to be rolled off to make the instrument listenable. The 635JMs are designed for him to be able to use the entire knob and not limit it to 5 and compensate with pedals.
@@AnkurWow actually the silver sky isnt trying to emulate the BLACK1 guitar, but the '64 strat one. The tones are more similiar
Love my AVRI strat, and I love my Silver Sky. Room for all
I just got a silver sky se and i really love it!
Oh really? And I had thought it was because Chris Buck (Kid Cut) - the new kid in town, won a cutting contest.....
Jeffrey Ross did a lot of standup back in the day. Sometimes, he'd read some free-form poetry. In a blending of John Mayer's songs about women, and Ross' poetic prowess, I figured I would share my favorite Ross poem from his comedy routines:
"I ran into my ex-girlfriend the other day.
Then I backed up and ran into her again."
It's good for a chuckle.
Thanks for the videos, as always, Casino. Gives me a welcome break in my busy day to feel like I'm in the shop for a few! Keep up the great work!
In the same vain as John Mayer’s standup ....
“Who does Brad Pitt think about to finish when Angelina is giving him head?”
what i dont get is how you people can be so butthurt over guitars, like yeah it looks like he made a strat but with another company, which part of that gets you righteously offended?
I couldn’t have said it better myself bro. YES, PRS made a better strat; people can’t seem to understand that.
Liked the vid. More stuff like this please. :)
supergoat thanks a bunch! We have quite a few of these on our channel. Please feel free to check em out and let us know what you think!
There should be a ? At the end of the video title because I still don't know why 😂
Id read that he saw the Quality issues with some of his signature guitars and they also were not too interested in refining the model. HE called with ideas and got nothing. Thanks for this video, i was curious if anyone knew anymore.
So why did he leave Fender?
They fired his favorite guitar builder.
He's a crybaby
Basically he said that they got rid of the guy he was able to call up and talk with and get things done. Sounds like Paul replaced that relationship and made it easier for him to have input in his guitars again.
The best reasoning I’ve read was that Fender wanted to dictate what amps were on stage at his concerts. As He’s a ‘fender man’ they didn’t want his Dumble or PRS JMod Amps on stage, prob part of the endorsement contract.
It was time for him to leave fender anyway - his signature Two Rock is amazing, it’s everything a fender amp was but better. Perhaps he was wanting the same in a guitar? Wish he went with G&L or Suhr instead, as I hate the Silver Sky.
I had also read that the guitar he wanted to build with fender, he wasn’t allowed to - certain electronics or finishes ... as, they were used on other signatures (SRV etc...).
All the excuse your giving for this guy comes down to the same thing he's a crybaby (basically) 😂
I believe another element of leaving fender were the new logistics of contracts. Supposedly to be a fender endorsed musician means to be playing fender instruments AND amplifiers exclusively. And we all know John is a Two Rock and Dumble guy as much as he is a fender guy, and supposedly he would still be allowed to play through those amplifiers during shows but they would be on the back line and fender amps that were powered off would be showing on stage, but obviously that would be lying to his fans and he’s not that kind of person. It sucks when corporations take the fun out of doing something so freeing
5:40 JM did a long Instagram video at the height of the controversy (I'm guessing at the behest of PRS). He said he wanted a combo of a 1961/1963 (*) vintage Strat, but with today's quality assurance and manufacturing consistency, as the vintage guitars are hit-and-miss. So I'm not sure that JM is looking toward the future?
(*) the years may not be quite right... I'm going from memory
This is kinda how I felt about it too. 🤷♂️ Thanks for watching!
1963+1964
I like the silver sky but I am just wondering how the inherent problems of a 7.25" radius where notes choke out is addressed they must have solved this as John clearly bends a lot. I have to admit the fretboard radius is really holding me back from wanting one. I am sure I am wrong but I guess the only way to see if I like it is to play one. My problem with Fender is the lack of putting stainless frets on all of the new guitars or at least more of them I am not in love with the ultra luxe to be honest.
If the fretwork is good, it wont choke out.
Fender doesn't like going outside their formula which is great for diehard fender fans but as a corporate company fear going outside the comfort zone. They have branched out a little with alternate reality but that's just mixed and matched Fender inside the box stuff. Not that they don't make good guitars but just the same guitars.
It's the same with Custom Shop stuff. The choices are really limited and it's just mix and match.
Paul and John both being total guitar nerds just came out and built a better Strat than Fender makes! Fender makes great beat up copies of their old guitars but the PRS Silver Sky kills it!
Would love a silver sky SE
That's what I'm waiting for.
Since PRS SE are no longer made in Korea, it will be much like a Classic Vibe Squier.
Maybe wayyy down the line.
Check PRS SE EG models
I say thus with all the good vibes possible: if possible, save up, little by little, 5 bucks here 10 there. Save up enough to get a real PRS Silver Sky. Used ones are around 1600 or so. You can have one sooner than you think. That's what I did.
I think the guitar nerd angle is most likely. He is a perfectionist and likes to tinker with things and see where it takes him creatively, and PRS is kinda the same way.
I'm not really wild about Silver Sky .
But thet Super Eagle is a different story.
594 as well.
I love Gibson , Fender. Collins .
PRS as well.
Mayer went with the Money.
And is Business Savy.
I don't blame him.
I'm sure when he's home chilling.
From time to time.
He visits those Fenders.
It would be different if it wasn't so freaking much like a strat. I know it's got differences but pretty darn similar in many ways.
Companies jettison employees at their will so there seems be no reason for people who use those products to do the same without having to justify it. Like you mentioned John Mayer has bargaining power and he used it. We all wish we had that and all the other things Mr. Mayer has.
Well a change of guitar could be a good thing, Gibson and fender are awesome we are lucky too have these two giants still making guitars, I think fender first because fender made the amps to go along with, but Marshall did well with Gibson, and vox has really done well when u think about it
Can't wait for more current updates, like why the Beatles broke up
'The Cure' in the next 25 yr
I think the biggest difference would be for John is communication as PRS is run by a man who's name on it who's a guitar player at heart john can meet him discuss his vision and provided creative freedom with the experience and knowledge of PRS they can happily proceed while on the other hand fender is a corporate suits imagine if John has to choice to hang out with leo if he was in this time he never would have left :) just my two cents you guys have a great show I recently staring following and I am surprised why you don't have a huge subscribers count you are very cool specially your sense of off comic humour I get to know by watching few videos, come on guys share their videos on your Instagram and FB
His story doesnt make sense:
Feels fender are stuck in the past and leaves so he can have a new pioneering style guitar.
Joins PRS and makes a strat copy.
What am I missing?
I think John got a smacked arse and run away to PRS Land,, he should ring J Cruz and ask him to make him an awsome axe or 12, he could call it a Twatocaster😂
He never said he wanted to build a completely new guitar, only to tweak a few specifications on the Strat, which is more or less what he and PRS did.
@@timf7413 Fender Custom shop couldnt do a few 'tweaks'?
Story still doesnt make sense.
@@weavdogg I'm sure they could, but perhaps not as a signature model, which seems to be the issue.
@@timf7413 i guess Im underestimating how much of a spoilt brat this mayet guy is
Kind of funny you mention that Gibson and Fender are based on the past, yet, PRS announced they'll be doing nitro lacquer on all instruments, which won't wear as well as their prior finish. You never hear Paul even mention other brands in interviews except for Gibson and Fender.
Never bought a guitar based on who plays it. I bought a Fender Eric Johnson, heard one song of his on the radio a long time ago, just like everyone. I bought it for the features. I bought a PRS Custom 24 because of the quality and sound, if you are buying a guitar solely based on the fact that (Enter Rockstar Name Here) thinking you might play like him, good luck.
Finally!
Get it while it lasts. I don't see Paul Reed and John Mayer having a long term relationship. Paul likes to be in charge. But, thanks for my Silver Sky. I'm loving it!
I wish Paul R. Smith would have stuck to his guns, and said,
"No. I won't abandon my own research and design priciples to build you a Strat copy with my name on it. I'd love to have you playing a PRS, but it needs to be one if MY guitars, not one of Leo's."
Didn't Santana do the same with Gibson?
Why did Guthrie Govan leave Suhr?
I still prefer when John plays a Strat but I understand his reasoning. The PRS does have a fatter sound but it is missing the Fender bell like magic. Either way he could make anything sound good. He also doesn’t play Two Rock anymore which I love. Guitarists especially great ones tend to always be tweaking their rig.
@@0megalul309 I have heard that too.
Silver Sky is a great guitar no doubt, but the only thing Strat like are the aesthetics, because it sounds way more modern, like a high resolution guitar, it lacks the vintage vibe and warmth of a Fender or vintage style Strat
Very different animals
I agree that it's a different animal than a Strat once you hold and play it but I think it's quite vintage sounding -- or, at least I've heard 63/63 Strats that have a similarly thick tone. In any case, it's certainly not the scooped tones we normally associate with many pre-CBS Stats.
Maybe in next video they make they will tell us why Justin Timberlake left *NSYNC
Andres Salomon that honestly made us smile:) and the travesty of that departure is still compounding over the years! One day they will reform...one day!
🤣🤣🤣
Fender wouldn’t let John let him play his Dumble on the front line without a series of unused Fender amps on stage. This pissed John off probably the most as he thought it was deceiving the public. Fender’s
Ad campaigns in the last two years especially in Japan and on UA-cam are super deceitful too. Their Japanese campaign interviews famous Japanese guitarists on why they play guitar. They give the guitarist a Fender guitar and the room
is filled with Fender guitars but the problem is all of the musicians I’ve seen in these interviews actually play Yamahas, Alteros, FGNs, Gibsons, etc. Enrino Yumiki was in one she is no joke a Yamaha sponsored guitarist till this day.
I can't get past the Strat body with a PRS head. It ain't right.
Forgot Myname we have heard that from a few:) it’s one it takes us awhile to get used to as well:)
Come on you guys Paul had been chasing John for several years wanting to get him to play PRS. John did play a PRS model while he was playing with the Grateful Dead.
Paul knew the caliber of player John is a was willing to do/make anything Mayer wanted to get an endorsement. Paul knew the world of young players out there would buy what
their hero is playing. $2,300.00 would give John a stipend off each guitar sold and get the endorsement. John after relenting to the deal had to come up with a story, after all what
are all the people who bought Mayer Model Stratocasters going to think? Don't you think ANY of the fender endorsees could get any of the Custom Shop builders at any time with
a phone call and discuss ideas? Of course it's their business. PRS is no better than any of 20+ other builders. Suhr, Grosh, Anderson
or Fender at less money. John made ALL his top hits using a Stratocaster and there are probably 100 Stratocasters sold for each Silver Sky sold.
It's not the guitar it's always the player. Just because you can put a 16 year old in an Indy car will not make him a pro driver John Mayer will sound great on any good guitar....
he's a businessman making bucks.
If you can't tell the difference in quality and consistency between a production Fender and a PRS (at least pre-pandemic PRS) I have nothing to say.
I never wondered why. Just figured its the same story as every other celeb product endorsement.
Company B offered a better deal than Company A.
In this case its even the same product, just with a different logo.
Exactly! I think PRS did an signature Amp and Guitar series, not just a single Signature Guitar model like Fender, and PRS releases in multiple colorways (widening the market appeal) With new colorways released each year.
Possibly he makes a percentage of every sale, as well as licenses his name each year to be used. PRS products are likely more affordable than a USA Signature Strats and Two Rock Signature Amps.... so more units worldwide will be sold.
PRS likely give a larger share. To bad the PRS Silver Sky sounds like absolute crap, and the JMOD amp isn’t great, no where near the sound of his Two Rock
I would also imagine that PRS don’t have any promotional restrictions on John. As Fender would likely have massive legal teams, and have non-compete clauses.
In general that would for sure be the case. However, in this case, I think it was John that reached out to Paul and not the other way around. Also Paul told him that as part of their deal he didn't care if John still played his Fenders on stage but some have said Fender didn't want John playing other brands. I don't know if the Fender part is true but I do know Paul told him he didn't care if he still played Fender.
@@SimpleManGuitars1973 personally i wouldnt want a deal with any company who tried to dictate which guitars i can use on stage. And it doesn't even make sense. People arent going to stop buying his signature models just because he did a show with a les paul or something. Anyone paying those ridiculous prices for signature models is probably a collector. Not a player seriously trying to be exactly like the artist.
John Mayer wants to be on the cutting edge of guitar design. He doesn want to get a new fender and be like here is the next version of the station wagon.. what does he do? Signs a deal with PRS and makes a fender lol
PRS simply makes a better guitar!
Not even close
How often did he try to establish a relationship with his new connection at Fender before giving up? Is he forward-thinking when he had PRS build a guitar from the '60s? The changes aren't anything new or special...are they? And if he left for more money, that sucks. He has made a lot of money and has time to make more through work, not bs "new model guitars". Just my opinions. Great segment Guys. Thanks for sharing the research!
Thanks for the video link. I agree that the J. Simpson story probably had no impact. John may have been rubbed wrong by some other comments, but he would have to be thin-skinned imo.
Even if he is making more money, I doubt that was the primary motivation given that he still fills arenas as a solo act and Dead and Co. play stadiums. IMHO he seems like a guitar nerd who probably did genuinely want the opportunity to make more tweaks to his signature model than Fender probably wanted, especially at this point.
I'm ready for John to move on too Double Trouble and step in for SRV.
That would be actually he's best decision ever. I don't know why he's with that jam band (Grateful Dead). I mean If you hear them without John, sounds like the most boring band ever.
Because double is down with Kenny Wayne. Plus, I have a feeling a bunch of the old heads of the blues didn’t fully accept John Mayer into the club. He was there at the beginning of his career but then he just fell off. Especially the cringe clip of Mayer kissing bb’s ass in stage and BB pretty much told him to shut up already.
I thought he left because Fender didn't like him using non-Fender amps on tour and wanted him to cover them up. There is probably more than one reason including the artistic direction points brought up in the video. If they had some other options besides the bird inlays and that headstock along with a selection of single coils in their SE range, I would consider getting a couple. Perception is they are a white guy dad-rock guitar. Spoken as a white-guy dad-rocker.
So you guys turned me on to Peach Guitars so I went and checked them out. And I admit I thought it was cool they got to hand select wood. But it was sort a boring video and I skipped ahead a lot. And I’ve seen some others and learned about some guitars you don’t see here in the states.
Still you guys rock.
As the video started, I went to the mirror to comb my hair...
Leandro Limeres well done sir, well played:)
Those pickups are dope in his sig series PRS, that's why. Not rocket science.
You don’t dump fender over a pickup.
@@CosmicHippopotamus PRS won't even sell the pickups a la carte they're so good so yeah you would.
Some negative comments - that’s surprising. It’s just some info they are passing along for our enjoyment. I personally appreciate it. For all you experts out there with supposed first hand knowledge and something to say - hope you feel great about yourselves. Karma is real my friends - wait for it...
Love this guys hair 😎 and he can play
Mike Eldred is a great guy.
I'm shopping intensely for a strat. It's come to my attention that the last 10 years of strats use tuners invented in the 50s. It looks like the machine heads from 90s fenders are superior. I'm torn bc the American strats from the last 10 years are better looking for my tastes.
You can always switch out tuning machines
@@DanFlorida Hi Dan, I ended up buying a MIM player strat last year and I love it. Your advice is correct for anyone looking for upgraded tuners w 2 point trem. Cheers!
The missile goes where the money is, doesn't matter what happens. Fender weren't treating John right and he got a better deal at PRS plus he gets to play exactly what he wants. Business to set himself up so that he gets a cut of every sale where as Fender were paying him a salary, giving him a guitar and pissing him off.
I remember that Mayer tweet when he announced he was leaving Fender. I thought it was a shame they couldn't work it out. Here's why: Fender electric guitars will always be cooler and have more mojo than PRS. Don't get me wrong, Paul Reed Smith is a great builder, guitarist, and businessman judging from everything I've read about him and I think he makes great guitars with awesome QC. And it made sense for PRS to do an endorsement deal with Mayer. But what is the image you have of PRS guitars? To me, they're the guitars doctors and lawyers play, while Fender has a guitar for every price point and every budget. I'll readily admit I probably cannot afford a PRS, even if I wanted one. But Fender has two things that PRS doesn't: 1/ That cultural association with all the cool rock music we know and love: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Rory Gallagher, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and all the others all the way down to Kurt Cobain and into the 21st century. Culture and history are important, and perhaps it's unfair to compare Fender and PRS in those terms, but when I was a teenager and starting to play guitar the gold standard for electric guitars was Fender and Gibson, with Gretsch and Epiphone in second place. Humans are creatures of habit and that's why we make these associations. Brand recognition is real and Fender is one of the most powerful brands in America, second possibly only to Coca-Cola.
Daniel, I understand where you are coming from, but I believe the "Doctor and Lawyer" guitar is an old stereotype that has little basis in reality, now-a-days. PRS has a large variety of price points for their products. You should take a look
@@rosewoodsteel6656 It's not actually an old stereotype. It's still very much in play. I used to work for a music store and in most instances, the guys coming through the door to buy the custom shop models from Fender, Gibson, or PRS (in the $4k-$5k price range) were doctors, dentists, lawyers, I-bankers, etc. For a while, Gibson even marketed their high end guitars to that demographic. Now, of course the average buyer is not going to buy those guitars. They're going to go for something more reasonable that fits their budget, usually under $1k. Those guitars sell in much greater quantities. The only thing I'm suggesting is that even though PRS has broadened their product line in recent years, they still haven't shaken the reputation of being a boutique brand. Nothing wrong with that on one level-they seem to be doing well as a company-but on another level, it's just the kind of guitar your Dad is going to buy to play Dad rock on.
@@danielstoddart Good point, Daniel. I will say though, PRS has broadened their product line much in the last few years (not sure when you worked in retail sales). They have many, "non-core", high quality, over-seas guitars selling for under 1K. Their Maryland made, S2 lineup is in the $1,069 to $1750 price range. BTW, I'm not sure why they would want to shake their reputation of being a boutique, since boutique usually signifies high quality. :) And, have you noticed the price of Gibson's lately? Ouch!
So, your heroes played a Fender so every artist into infinity should play one as well? That probably figures into an artist's thinking before they come into their own but mostly, I figure that's a fan's mentality. A fan tries to recreate the work of an artist. An artist learns from the past but creates in their own unique vision.
Mike Eldred, not Eldridge!