One piece bodies .... Vela

Wailing

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Hi folks

I am new to this forum having recently buying my first PRS guitar... It’s a 2017 satin black vela.. A fantastic guitar.. I noticed it’s a one piece body, am I guessing correctly that all Vela’s have one piece bodies? They are of such a high quality (apart from the volume pot but that was easily rectified) I am led to think PRS only use single piece bodies. With lockdown I cannot go to local shops to compare.. so I will be grateful for your knowledge on the matter
 
There are exceptions...like this...
vela-sun.jpg
 
Its the Vela bridge... they use it on the majority of the Vela's (I hear there have been some one offs with wraparounds)
 
Hi folks

I am new to this forum having recently buying my first PRS guitar... It’s a 2017 satin black vela.. A fantastic guitar.. I noticed it’s a one piece body, am I guessing correctly that all Vela’s have one piece bodies? They are of such a high quality (apart from the volume pot but that was easily rectified) I am led to think PRS only use single piece bodies. With lockdown I cannot go to local shops to compare.. so I will be grateful for your knowledge on the matter

Not to say there can't be some exceptions out there, because they don't specify number of pieces, but one-piece bodies are definitely the norm for their USA mahogany based guitars.

Note that the S2 neck will be three pieces of mahogany: shaft, scarfed headstock, spliced heel block. Plus the rosewood fretboard, of course.
 
I have a Vela and it is a one piece body. The Velas are seriously GREAT guitars. I have 3 core models and my Vela, and the Vela gets as much play time as the others. It's a different vibe and a very different sound than the core models.

I still say if an SG and a Tele had hot, sweaty guitar love one torrid night......the Vela is what would have resulted.
 
Railhammers are incredible!
Fun fact- I bought the antique white one from Zach of Mythos Pedals... you can see it in a couple of his older videos...
He upgraded the electronics and installed a boutique PAF that just wasn't working for me.
 
Are you sure that they all/mostly come with a 1 piece body? With that finish, it can be hard to tell. Makes me even appreciate it more. It's an amazing guitar at that price point.

Disclaimer: I'm a bit OCD when it comes to glued bodies (the back piece, specifically) on mid range/expensive guitars, whether they sound and play great or not.
 
It’s easy to see any signs of joins on the satin finished guitars as the grain is quite prominent... I have not had sight of the ‘shiny’ Vela’s.
 
Disclaimer: I'm a bit OCD when it comes to glued bodies (the back piece, specifically) on mid range/expensive guitars, whether they sound and play great or not.

They do! I've got a WL 509 with a Swamp Ash body. All of PRS Korina and Swamp Ash bodies are 2 or 3 piece. Too hard to find a big slab. Plus, they do a great job matching.

6fY2jfh.jpg




And here is my WL 594 SH with a Korina back. It is a 3 piece back, but you try and find three pieces


fC4wNkZ.jpg
 
I do like the ascetics and bragging rights of one-piece bodies, I've never experienced any noticeable difference in tone, voicing, reliability, or playability between the two.
Keep in mind any guitar with a normal LP type build (one or two piece back + one or two piece book matched top) has plenty of glue involved.
My two 513's are good examples of this...

YTQaLz6.jpg


dkqVcid.jpg
 
I do like the ascetics and bragging rights of one-piece bodies, I've never experienced any noticeable difference in tone, voicing, reliability, or playability between the two.
Keep in mind any guitar with a normal LP type build (one or two piece back + one or two piece book matched top) has plenty of glue involved.
My two 513's are good examples of this...

YTQaLz6.jpg


dkqVcid.jpg
Love!
 
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