Now this (to me) is blatant plagiarism

[Huggy Love]

I was able to take a Knaggs hollow body for a test run at a local shop recently, expected a lot being he was behind the HB II design and it's my all time fav at this point. It sounded great but the ergonomics were a little off and the high E string slipped off the fretboard a couple times. Maybe the bridge spacing too close to the edge or something.

Since then I've kept an eye on what the former PRS employee has been putting out, but this (to my eyes) is blatant plagiarism...........without birds.

Knaggs Severn


PRS Vela

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I wouldn't be surprised if Joe helped design the Vela.

 

[Huggy Love]

I wouldn't be surprised if Joe helped design the Vela.

Could be.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Could be.

I mean, I wanna say I'm positive he did but... Joe also did the first EG, the Mira, the Starla, and by default probably influenced the entire S2 line with those bevels that have become part of the PRS cannon.

Joe has his own aesthetic and was one of the most prolific employees (IMO) next to PRSh. They parted on what I believe to be amicable terms, so I can't really look at it as plagiarism, but more of Joe just being who he is. The original Severn was also a PS known as the Chesapeake so... Yeah, there's some history there.

 

[jcha008]

I think the Severn came before the Vela, but I'm not positive about that. But I mean almost all guitars are a form of plagiarism when you think about it. Almost every double cut design is an offspring of the strat and the singlecuts all came from the Les Paul. Not really a big deal imo.

 

[veinbuster]

They parted on what I believe to be amicable terms, so I can't really look at it as plagiarism, but more of Joe just being who he is. The original Severn was also a PS known as the Chesapeake so... Yeah, there's some history there.

If I recall correctly, Joe left with rights to the Chesapeake.

 

[Huggy Love]

I mean, I wanna say I'm positive he did but... Joe also did the first EG, the Mira, the Starla, and by default probably influenced the entire S2 line with those bevels that have become part of the PRS cannon.

Joe has his own aesthetic and was one of the most prolific employees (IMO) next to PRSh. They parted on what I believe to be amicable terms, so I can't really look at it as plagiarism, but more of Joe just being who he is. The original Severn was also a PS known as the Chesapeake so... Yeah, there's some history there.

I could easily see/feel/hear the relationship between his hollow & the HB II, but I'm not just being prejudice when I say it fell a bit short of the HB. Maybe his designs are what keep him going but the execution of construction wasn't up to PRS standards IMHO, at least on the hollow body I demo'd.

 

[xjbebop]

I've seen a few other guitars with "vela" design cues that existed before the vela....so there's that...

 

[tabl10s]

Does anyone remember the story I posted about the acoustics last year and how they came to be? The designer(Steve Fischer)has guitars that look like the Angelus with a slight difference in the bracing and sound(I asked).

 

[László]

Almost every double cut design is an offspring of the strat and the singlecuts all came from the Les Paul. Not really a big deal imo.

Actually, the first double cutaway solid body guitar was designed in 1949 by Bigsby, who also had the first headstock shaped like the Fender headstock (gasp!). This was 5 years before the Strat.

The singlecuts didn't come from the Les Paul; there were single cutaway electric guitars in the 30s and 40s, and Maccaferi was making acoustic single cutaway guitars used by players like Django Reinhardt earlier than that.

Not a whole lot new to see.

As far as the Mira shape, it was designed by Joe Knaggs for sure, I remember when it came out I followed the guitar's story and bought one right away because I thought it was so damn cool.

 

[IKnowALittle]

Actually, the first double cutaway solid body guitar was designed in 1949 by Bigsby, who also had the first headstock shaped like the Fender headstock (gasp!). This was 5 years before the Strat.

I believe that what is considered to be the first modern production electric solidbody guitar made was a collaboration between Paul Bigsby and Merle Travis.
Travis wanted a different shape to the headstock than the standard "three-a-side" and he sketched his idea for a "six-to-the-side" out on a napkin at a bar with Bigsby.
This was the result ... http://gretschpages.com/forum/other-guitars/merle-travis-bigsby-guitar/4154/page1/.

Travis also had Bigsby install one of his necks on Travis' D28. Which is in ample evidence here.

Thom Bresh (Travis's son), has Merle's original D28 in his possession and used it on this instructional video ...

One of my favourite Merle songs ...

 

[John Beef]

The Vela didn't come out until 2015 or so.

Thanks to the Way Back machine we can see the Severn on Joe's site in 2010.

https://web.archive.org/web/2010100...esapeake-electrics/chesapeake-electric-severn

 

[garrett]

Yeah, how could PRS rip off the Severn like that?

Seriously though, Joe's influence is all over PRS, so I think they'll always be intertwined in some way. I think Joe is good as long as he stays away from birdies and dragons and the other PRS trademarks.

 

[geese_com]

Here's a story in Music Radar from 2008 showing the PRS Chesapeake Severn.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/prs-launches-new-guitars-and-amp-range-175065

It even mentions Joe Knaggs in the little blurb about the guitar.

 

[Huggy Love]

Here's a story in Music Radar from 2008 showing the PRS Chesapeake Severn.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/prs-launches-new-guitars-and-amp-range-175065

It even mentions Joe Knaggs in the little blurb about the guitar.

Interesting stuff, seems like it was a PRS commissioned private stock design that went with Joe when he left and he kept using it.
A lot of mfgs force ex employees not to produce designs they did for them thru legal methods to prevent competition. I guess PRS has no issues there.

 

[shinksma]

Interesting stuff, seems like it was a PRS commissioned private stock design that went with Joe when he left and he kept using it.
A lot of mfgs force ex employees not to produce designs they did for them thru legal methods to prevent competition. I guess PRS has no issues there.

Well, as mentioned, PRSh and Joe Knaggs had a good working relationship, and they parted amicably, with Joe being allowed to produce the designs that were his passion while at PRS. At the time PRS was not leaning very hard to the Strat-like features (flat top, single coils, classic strat control layout), preferring to stick with the "traditional" PRS look and sound (mostly DCs but very HB-based, carved tops - i.e. the CU22/24).

I don't think PRS lost many sales due to the "competition" of Knaggs, and I have a huge amount of respect for the gentlemen involved for being so darned good about it.

Now if PRS starts producing strats for JM with wildly figured flat tops with wood inlays, and steamships as fret markers, then that might be a sign that maybe PRS wants to get in on the Knaggs market.

 

[IKnowALittle]

I believe that it isn't an "either/or" situation. Likely, most guys that want them would have both.
I really like some of the stuff coming out from Knaggs at the moment, but would want to see, feel and play one before I committed.
Up here in the Great White North, that's pretty much impossible.

 

[solacematt]

I like the body carve on the Severn better, but the pickguard and configuration more on the Vela

 

[Spikedog007]

I absolutely love Joe's double purfling on some of his guitars (I don't know if he was the first to do this but Carvin seems to have ripped it off now).

Anyway you look at it, the man has a great eye for aesthetics