A question about the Reclaimed Wood Limited Series

[Heath10]

Hello, I understand the CE 24 in the reclaimed wood series contains parts made in Korea, does the Vela also contain Korean parts or is it 100% US made & parts?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Yes it does. But what's even worse is that they both have wood from South America!

 

[bodia]

Yes it does. But what's even worse is that they both have wood from South America!

Gasp!.....

 

[Ovibos]

The pocket sized supercomputer I am writing this on was made in China.

Designed in California tho...

 

[dogrocketp]

It's not Korea bad, USA good. It's Korea good, USA- heavy on the awesome sauce.

 

[ivandolz]

Hello, I understand the CE 24 in the reclaimed wood series contains parts made in Korea, does the Vela also contain Korean parts or is it 100% US made & parts?

As far as I know, the CE24 has less Korean parts than the S2... but as people are saying, the important thing is if they are good, not their origin.
The CE24 is more expensive as I understand because it is less "stripped down" from the custom than the S2. The CE is a custom bolt-on.

 

[garrett]

Hello, I understand the CE 24 in the reclaimed wood series contains parts made in Korea, does the Vela also contain Korean parts or is it 100% US made & parts?

Heya, Heath.

The CE has Korean made bridge and tuners.
The Vela (and the entire S2 series) has Korean made tuners, pickups, volume pot. I can't confirm the origin of the other parts.

The real question is, how well to they work and sound? And the answer is, pretty darn good!

 

[ivandolz]

They are also made in the US, but in different lines. CU and Customs in th same one and the S2 in another building.

As Garret said, the important thing is how they play, how they sound and how They are finished.

 

[rugerpc]

They are also made in the US, but in different lines. CU and Customs in th on the same line and the S2 in on another line in the same building.

As Garret said, the important thing is how they play, how they sound and how They are finished.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

They are also made in the US, but in different lines. CU and Customs in th same one and the S2 in another building.

I hear they make those employees park in a different lot and eat lunch separately too.

 

[FenianEMT]

If memory serves, one of the key differences between the S2 line and the Core line (outside of a few parts being manufactured outside of the U.S. on the S2 line) is how the necks are made. The Core necks are carved from a single piece of wood. The S2 necks are made from three pieces. This allows PRS to produce the S2 necks much more quickly and less expensively. But the impact to the player should be minimal. I certainly can't identify any difference in quality between the neck on my S2 Vela and the necks on my Core 594 and Hollowbody 2. I think somebody from PRS made the comment that the three-piece necks actually hold up better in strength testing than the one-piece necks do.

Also, I'm pretty sure the production areas for the two types of necks were within about ten meters of each other in the same building.

 

[bodia]

I hear they make those employees park in a different lot and eat lunch separately too.

True! Been there, seen that.

 

[alantig]

If memory serves, one of the key differences between the S2 line and the Core line (outside of a few parts being manufactured outside of the U.S. on the S2 line) is how the necks are made. The Core necks are carved from a single piece of wood. The S2 necks are made from three pieces. This allows PRS to produce the S2 necks much more quickly and less expensively. But the impact to the player should be minimal. I certainly can't identify any difference in quality between the neck on my S2 Vela and the necks on my Core 594 and Hollowbody 2. I think somebody from PRS made the comment that the three-piece necks actually hold up better in strength testing than the one-piece necks do.

Also, I'm pretty sure the production areas for the two types of necks were within about ten meters of each other in the same building.

I think the main difference is the S2 necks have a scarf joint that allows them to use less wood to make a neck. Instead of the wood for an S2 neck being as deep (front to back) as a core neck, it's shallower and they cut the part for the headstock off at an angle and flip it around to create the "bend" at the headstock. They've said the joint is actually stronger than a single piece of wood cut that way.

 

[dsenoj]

I think the main difference is the S2 necks have a scarf joint that allows them to use less wood to make a neck. Instead of the wood for an S2 neck being as deep (front to back) as a core neck, it's shallower and they cut the part for the headstock off at an angle and flip it around to create the "bend" at the headstock. They've said the joint is actually stronger than a single piece of wood cut that way.

In addition to less wood, I think it takes less time as well. I think I remember hearing they can complete an S2 or CE neck in about a week versus four weeks for a core neck.

 

[garrett]

In addition to the scarfed head (a time-tested and reliable method, btw), the neck heel is built up with a splice. They do the same on the new CE as well. They prepare the fretboard on the S2 prior to installing it on the neck. There are several other time-saving factors employed. We all know Time = Money. The whole S2 production process strikes me as an ingenious method to maximize quality while minimizing cost to a point where they could hit the mid-range price point.

They were very transparent about the processes when the S2 series came out. There was a page on the PRS site outlining everything, but it doesn't appear to exist anymore. Bummer, it was really good.

Wayback Machine for the win! https://web.archive.org/web/20140815114837/http://prsguitars.com/s2series/about/

 

[rugerpc]

Mr. Peabody!

 

[bodia]

Mr. Peabody!

Where's Sherman?

 

[László]

Where's Sherman?

I'm Sherman.

They spelled my name wrong in the cartoon.

 

[bodia]

I'm Sherman.

They spelled my name wrong in the cartoon.

I should have known!

 

[ivandolz]

Are both reclaimed made in the same line? I mean, is this CE24 made in the S2 line?