PRS Silver SKY SE | MAPLE or ROSEWOOD?

#paulreedsmith #silversky #guitarcomparison
In this video I compare the PRS Silver SE Rosewood fingerboard vs. Maple fingerboard guitars.

I do several sound comparison, talk about differences in tone, differences in neck profiles, and do an AB shootout in the context of a mix.

I hope the video can help you decide whether Rosewood or Maple is right for you.

Happy to answer any questions in the comments!

Rock on,
Jonathan Z

My signal chain: Two Rock Bloomfiled Drive and Blankenship Twinplex in stereo, two Suhr Reactive Loads, and OwnHammer Impulse responses (Friedman 4x12 cab).

[rainerklama]

You are are a fantastic player, i just bought a silver sky se in moon white, so your tone examples inspired me very much, and now i have a lot to explore, thank you man, rock on !

[thebrysmith]

Definitely hearing the difference on that gorgeous position 4 comparison.
I'm also looking forward a comparison between the two versions of the PRS NF3 SE.

[cmonsterz]

Fantastic video, Jonathan! I have a maple board Silver Sky and a rosewood Silver Sky. Tonally, the maple is brighter than the rosewood version. As for the neck, both of mine feel VERY similar to each other. I do prefer the rosewood just a little bit. I think that I’ve recommended this to you before, but I think that you’d be surprised by how much nicer the Core version is. It’s certainly worth the price.

[brianhensien]

What’s really cool about these videos is that it’s clear you are enjoying the process and the sounds. Not sure who’s having more fun- us or you! As always, thanks for the great content!

[Elbenito]

Thanks for the head to head. This is really great content. I'm a maple neck Strat guy, I prefer the sparkle and snap, but I find a rosewood board lends itself better to the 635 S pick-ups in these SEs.

[KyleCastroTheDrummerBoy]

Those guitar are all awesome and beautiful my dear friend!!

Love and respect Kyle!! 😊🥁🇵🇭

[ghostierockstar]

Johnny, another amazing video with great content and passion. Not only are you a great guitarist and content creator but Kudos to you for your video editing skills. The visuals of your videos keep the viewer engaged and wanting more. Keep um coming 🎸🤘🏼🔥

[robertlucas]

The overland gray with gray birds and knobs with maple fretboard looks great under low light. I love both guitars you demonstrated, I have the dragon fruit but wish the black or gray was out before I bought it since I love those looks but I still love mine. Great playing and video.

[briansguitarsCT]

Great vid Jon! See you at the shop soon.

[introvertarist]

Nice Video! Very high quality content. In 3 months time I'll be able to get my SS SE as they releasing lefty versions! I think I'll go for grey with maple neck. But piano black is also tempting! Wondering how manufacturing process looks as some necks are quite dark (which I love BTW) but some of them are so bright!

[digits]

If all is same - then Maple is a more balance sound across frequencies - Rosewood is a little Bass heavy. If I had to choose one - it would be Maple.

[Chris_OConnor]

Thank You for doing this!
Your playing is so smooth and inspiring!
I was excited for this video because I'd like to learn more about the Neck!
Sound wise the Maple version speaks also more to me. And because there is no guitar store near me I'll order the Maple version and give it a try. The color is also beautiful and matches great with the Maple fretboard.

[josephlerz]

Got the Ever Green Rosewood, it's awesome but I wanted a classic colour so I eventually got the Moonwhite Rosewood too. Wishing to sell the Ever Green if I can.

[derekclacton]

The perceived wisdom from guitar magazines was always ‘maple - brighter, rosewood - warmer’ when it came to their sounds. I think there’s a likely logic to that in terms of maple being relatively hard and rosewood softer. There’s certainly a difference in look and feel and sometimes we can hear with our eyes, as well as our ears (!) but your demo demonstrates that there is a tonal difference too 👍

[bluesrock]

Excellent playing! You had a great mix of styles and tones. I found the maple to have a bit more presence than the rosewood. Whether that was better or not depended on what you were playing. I feel that the rosewood sounded better to me on the clean and bluesy pieces. The maple seemed to cut a bit better on the rock. I think the difference was clearest on the clean tones. The biggest difference between the two for me is feel. I have owned one maple boarded guitar. My fingers always felt like they were sticking to the fretboard whenever I did a vibrato.

[davidriggs]

They both sounded great. More lower mid on the rosewood and upper mid on the maple. I have a number of guitars with each board and I pick each for how they feel and sound in the context of what I am playing. The differences in your case are very smal and either guitar suits your excellent playi. A good play adapts his approach and ity is the feel of the board that can matter more in the end as you allude to'

[denmar]

In my headphones the brighter and faster attack of the maple board is quite noticeable. I like the maple board. Which bugs me because I own the rosewood neck.

[ThePapaJohnKing]

I hear the typical differences … but they are subtle imho . And with amp or other eq adjustments you could probably get the characteristics snap or warmth out of the either of them . The neck feel would likely make up my mind . My main guitar for decades is a real ‘58 Strat … So for a modern alternative … I’d try to find a rosewood that I loved the feel of .

[josephkung]

In the context of the hybrid picking passage, the maple board does fit the myth that it sounds brighter and snappier, (subtle), but in the recording, it somehow sounds louder than the rosewood. In the mix context, I think if you played the whole mix and was never told that there were two guitars, I doubt anybody would notice.

An interesting experiment would be to see what EQ and compression would be needed to get the maple SE to sound like the rosewood SE and vice versa. My guess is that it would not take much to get them to sound the same. The differences are already rather subtle. To the RW, apply a little comp using a Cali76 which can also boost the treble a bit and you are there!

This is my main tonewood point -- The woods do make some difference, but the post signal chain: pickups, electronics, effects, amp, EQ, speakers, cab, mic, mic pres, etc. have much more impact to the tone and thus make it a moot point. Get the one that looks and feels best!

BTW, great playing as always!

[ChrisSearls]

I have always thought of Maple vs. Rosewood of more of a feel thing than an obvious tone difference. I can see now that the Maple is a bit brighter.