The Silver Sky's basic design combines a Fender Stratocaster-style body with PRS's headstock and signature birds-in-flight fretboard inlays.

"[1] While a Fender-endorsed artist, Mayer sought to design a guitar with greater consistency in production quality while having room to develop and build on his own ideas, but he found Fender unreceptive.

[2] On social media, Mayer teased the upcoming release of the guitar, while leaked photos of prototypes being used at gigs led to significant public anticipation.

Upon its official release in March 2018, the Silver Sky made, as Guitar wrote, "the kind of waves that went beyond the wildest dreams of even the most ambitious marketing department.

"[4] The Silver Sky features an overall design similar to a Strat, including its three single-coil pickups, alder body, 25.5" scale length, and bolt-on maple neck, but departs from Fender's guitar with a reverse PRS-style headstock with three tuners per side, birds-in-flight fretboard inlays, and a carved treble horn to aid access to the upper frets.

"[3] Two years after the introduction of the USA-made Silver Sky, PRS and Mayer began developing a version for the brand's affordable, foreign-made "SE" line of guitars.

"[2] Company founder Paul Reed Smith noted that the public perception of the Silver Sky changed dramatically for the positive when Mayer live-streamed its first demo.