“I was like, ‘Let’s freshen up the electric guitar.’ 60 years later, you’re still putting out tributes to the station wagon”: The story of John Mayer’s Fender fallout – and how it gave birth to the Stratocaster’s biggest rival

Singer/songwriter John Mayer performs on stage at Viejas Arena on September 11, 2019 in San Diego, California.

John Mayer is one of the greatest Fender Stratocaster players of all time. Ironic really, considering he rarely actually play a Stratocaster. At least, not anymore.

Instead, he plays the Silver Sky, the signature guitar he developed with PRS, after he famously left Fender in 2014 and took his ideas for an elevated S-style to a company that he felt was willing to turn them into a reality.