NVD ~ getting in on some SH action!

[Jimi D]

I've been watching a local Kijiji ad for a while lately because though I've had a few Velas and settled on one a few years back, I've always had a hankerin' for a semi-hollow version. So the seller dropped the price to something reasonable a few days back and I took the plunge and added a Vela Semi-Hollow to the stable yesterday. 2020, basically NOS (unplayed, unmarked), in beautiful, understated McCarty Tobacco Sunburst. Here she is with her sister:

Weighs in at 5 lb. 9 oz., which is 10 ounces less than her solid body sibling and only a couple ounces heavier than my lightest PRS. And this guitar is crazy resonant, rings like the proverbial bell.

The seller told me he had it "professionally set up" before putting it up for sale because it basically sat in the gigbag under his bed since Covid and the strings needed changing; whoever did the set-up knocked it out of the park, because it plays beautifully strung with .10s, and I'm loving how it feels so far. Gonna sit down, plug in and listen to some side by side with both them this morning, just for fun...

 

[bodia]

Hell yeah! That’s killer….congrats

 

[Russ73]

Fantastic! Love my satin Vela...mines under 6lbs as well....rock that thing!!!

 

[dmatthews]

Gorgeous. Love me some semi hollow. Congrats!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations, beautiful.

 

[Moondog Wily]

Killer score! Cheers to many more!! They look Grrrrrrrrreat together ;~))

 

[DISTORT6]

HNVD! Congrats

 

[Jimi D]

After spending a few hours playing both Velas yesterday, I have to admit I'm kind of amazed at how noticeably different they sound. The solid body has a harder attack, more defined thump in the low mids, pushes the amp (tweed) with more authority, and generally comes across as though the pickups were a hotter wind than those in the semi-hollow... The SH, on the other hand, as a comparatively scooped mid, less defined bass, an almost Ricky jangle in the middle positions, and a softer, airy bloom to the notes that the solid body lacks. Though they definitely sound as though they come from the same family of guitars/pickups, I've heard 335 vs LP comparisons with less clearly audible differences... Each one really is it's own thing; similar, but not the same by a long shot....

 

[Prina]

Great looking pair of Velas! Interesting hearing the comparison of the two with the scoop & bloom on the SH.