What's wrong with a PRS Vela? (other than being a PRS, obvs)

grungebob

@chris78  I have to disagree with you here buddy. I think the Vela does metal, very well indeed. The articulation works very well with high gain. 

TTBZ

grungebob said:

@chris78  I have to disagree with you here buddy. I think the Vela does metal, very well indeed. The articulation works very well with high gain. 

This one sounds pretty good to me



@TTony you're right, the SE did start like that and wish it continued. Mind you the older models go for really cheap, I still really fancy a Soapbar II doublecut.

chris78

In that case, it’s even more versatile than I thought. I thought the pickups were too low gain for metal but that’s some serious playing

Moltisanti

chris78 said:

It’s a fantastic gigging guitar. The d single coil has a bit of strat about it. It’s got strat chime but it’s also more hifi and handles gain very well.
 Joe Knaggs reckoned the starla pickup was the best he ever made at PRS. It’s gretschy but more tv Jones powertron than classic. 

It won’t do metal that well, but it’s a superb indie guitar and very pedal friendly. I love it for black keys stuff as an alternative to the goldfoils in my Asher.

In short, they’re a bloody bargain. I’ve just spent too much money on a reclaimed that arrived yesterday having had 3 “standard” versions before that I’ve sold and regretted at various points. The thing I’ve not liked is the poly finish on the necks, but a satin or the reclaimed takes care of that. I’ve also had a studio that @TTony is now the owner of and I think he’s enjoyed the studio, which is very similar.

that's crazy, i remember buying my first PRS (a USA Custom 24) new for £1799, and i thought that was a lot of money

ICBM

It is a slightly odd-looking guitar... a bit like a shape that was intended as a bass and then a guitar version was made - it doesn't quite work visually, even though it's probably very comfortable. It does look far better in the plain solid colours though, it's dreadful in the see-through cherry.

The bridge looks terrible - cheap, clunky and out of place with the rest of the design - it reminds me of the one Ibanez used on the very low-end Roadstars - as Funkfingers says it really needs a vibrato, probably a Jazzmaster-type one but a standard PRS one would be OK.

It's better than the Starla though... a friend of mine had one of those, it sounded very good but the shape was all wrong - it felt huge and that odd sharp angle on the upper bout was surprisingly uncomfortable - and the Bigsby didn't seem right on a PRS. Putting the same pickup in a sleeker design seems like a good idea to me.

sgosden

ICBM said:

It is a slightly odd-looking guitar... a bit like a shape that was intended as a bass and then a guitar version was made - it doesn't quite work visually, even though it's probably very comfortable. It does look far better in the plain solid colours though, it's dreadful in the see-through cherry.

The bridge looks terrible - cheap, clunky and out of place with the rest of the design - it reminds me of the one Ibanez used on the very low-end Roadstars - as Funkfingers says it really needs a vibrato, probably a Jazzmaster-type one but a standard PRS one would be OK.

It's better than the Starla though... a friend of mine had one of those, it sounded very good but the shape was all wrong - it felt huge and that odd sharp angle on the upper bout was surprisingly uncomfortable - and the Bigsby didn't seem right on a PRS. Putting the same pickup in a sleeker design seems like a good idea to me.

Can confirm it is incredibly comfy to play, stood or sat. 

I've considered swapping the bridge... but not entirely sure what gain I'd get.

 

crunchman

I had the Satin version for a while.  It's a very good guitar but I had about 8 or 10 electrics at the time, and that was one of the ones I got rid of when thinning down.

The last 2 PRS guitars I got rid of were Satin S2s.  I think they sound better than the Core Series do.  Those really thick maple caps on the Core Series don't help the tone.

ICBM

sgosden said:

I've considered swapping the bridge... but not entirely sure what gain I'd get.

Difficult, if it's not going to be unsightly - there aren't too many other ones that would completely cover the footprint of the stock one.

Although...

https://www.kahlerusa.com/flat-mount-tremolos-bridges

Whitecat

ICBM said:

It is a slightly odd-looking guitar... a bit like a shape that was intended as a bass and then a guitar version was made - it doesn't quite work visually, even though it's probably very comfortable. It does look far better in the plain solid colours though, it's dreadful in the see-through cherry.

The bridge looks terrible - cheap, clunky and out of place with the rest of the design - it reminds me of the one Ibanez used on the very low-end Roadstars - as Funkfingers says it really needs a vibrato, probably a Jazzmaster-type one but a standard PRS one would be OK.

It's better than the Starla though... a friend of mine had one of those, it sounded very good but the shape was all wrong - it felt huge and that odd sharp angle on the upper bout was surprisingly uncomfortable - and the Bigsby didn't seem right on a PRS. Putting the same pickup in a sleeker design seems like a good idea to me.

Except unfortunately it's not the same pickup, at all... looks the same but sounds very different. The original Starla pickups were based on TV Jones Classic Plus Filter'trons, which is what they used in the prototype and nearly used in production, apparently, until Joe Knaggs wanted to try his hand at something in-house. Ended up with a very, very good pickup - IMO one of, if not the best PRS has ever done. 

But for the S2 Paul wanted something a little more rough-around-the-edges and allegedly redesigned the pickup to sound like "a Teisco Del Ray on steroids"... so a little more aggressive and not quite as articulate.

Anyway, I love the Starla, it's my all-time favourite PRS model... I think I like it so much because the vibe just isn't very PRS, but to me they are such a cool-sounding guitar and have quite a versatile range of tones.

DiscoStu

Velas look great.
The big question on these though: dots or birds?

Whitecat

DiscoStu said:

Velas look great.
The big question on these though: dots or birds?

Birds aren’t an option anymore IIRC... but some early ones may have them. 

stonevibe

Dots

sgosden

Got dots on the Vela , simple birds on cu24, and bats on the SE  

I like a plain fretboard. Missus likes the birds. 

kentuckyklira

TTBZ said:

grungebob said:

@chris78  I have to disagree with you here buddy. I think the Vela does metal, very well indeed. The articulation works very well with high gain. 

This one sounds pretty good to me



@TTony you're right, the SE did start like that and wish it continued. Mind you the older models go for really cheap, I still really fancy a Soapbar II doublecut.

Tone is in the beard!

mrleon83

Vela’s are awesome , I got mine for £575 , and it’s my  favorite  guitar out of the ten I have ... I’ve had five core models and I honestly didn’t feel any difference in quality. The model I have has the satin finish and is incredibly resonant. Super versatile too ... 

ICBM

DiscoStu said:

The big question on these though: dots or birds?

When is that ever a question?

Correct answer, always: moons. Dots will just about do if moons aren't offered.

Whitecat

I’m not sure you can get moons on anything anymore...

Philly_Q

TTony said:

TTBZ said:

I kinda feel like the S2 line is more what the SE line should really be, ie more stripped down plain versions at a more affordable price. S2 should be where you get birds, fancier tops etc.

My recollection is that's where the SE range started.  Certainly, my SE Santana II is pretty plain.  But a damn fine guitar.  Over the years, the SE range seems to have migrated ever-upwards with spec "upgrades" and then matching price increases.  The recently announcement SE Hollowbody with piezo is (IIRC) £1399.  No doubt it's a great guitar (based on my non-piezo version), but there's a lot of competition at that price point, and from guitars of similar quality.

I guess the S2 trades the bling of the upper-end SEs for better quality, but less visible materials?

I think of the SE range as Epiphone and the S2 range as the lower end of Gibson USA, like LP Studios and the old Faded series.

So you can go for SE if you want blingy but affordable (and still a very good guitar), or S2 if you want playability and functionality but don't care about the bells and whistles.

Unfortunately they have - as usual - blurred the lines by constantly tinkering with the ranges.  I think there are now too many SE models and the most expensive ones are too far up the price scale.  And too much bling is creeping into the S2 range - the S2 McCarty 594 really shouldn't have birds and binding!

The best thing they did in the S2 range was the satin finishes.  They get knackered-looking quickly and they're the very antithesis of the core range.  I've got an S2 Singlecut Standard which I really like, but I wish I'd got the satin version (and of course I wish it had a slightly bigger neck). 

If it was up to me, I'd make the entire S2 range plain mahogany, no maple tops, no birds, all satin nitro finishes.  And I'd bring the Mira and Starla back into the S2 range, satin finishes, 22 frets and big fat fuck-off necks.  That'd be me sorted.

DiscoStu

I agree, dots definitely look better given the more retro vibe of the Vela. They had optional birds (extra money) when they launched, I thought they jarred a bit tbh.

https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/pnr1.png

DiscoStu

What colour Velas do you guys have? I'm really digging the Antique White.