PRS Vela Review

Julian

It's a '59 with 4 knobs
Joined
May 3, 2021
Messages
170
Hello,

I'm supposed to be studying right now so I thought it would be a great time to post a pros and cons list regarding my PRS Vela. Feel free to disagree, I'll be updating this when more things come up to mind. I got the satin white model.

Pros:
- Type D is a great single coil. It's got more girth than strat neck but not quite P90.
- DS-01 humbucker is super versatile, especially when flipped to have screws facing the bridge. Coil tap in this configuration also sounds incredible, its got character and sounds like a mean b*tch.
- Design takes some getting used to, but I've started to love the exotic look of it. Nothing looks like it on the market
- Offset body means you get less of that heel joint block than in traditional prs designs
- Perfectly balanced. This baby fits so snug when sitting down.
- Perfect, stable intonation.
- Satin finish plays and looks great. Workhorse vibes
- Locking tuners, great pots
- Exactly what we've come to expect from PRS build quality wise.

Cons:
- The bridge is super temperamental with pick attack. If you pick the string just "right", there is some sort of airy-ness that really compromises the tone. It's like the string is bouncing on the saddle. I've found that either playing light and heavy picking would sound incredible, but i'd have to be more conscious about my playing for "mid" picking.
- Not sure what the thought process was behind having the slugs of humbucker face the bridge out of factory. Wayyy too much twang in split and sounds more cohesive in both regular and split when flipped to have screws facing bridge. Then again it's such an easy mod that not really worth complaining about.
- Wish it had bird inlays :(
 
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I just happened to buy a Vela the same day you posted this review. The bird inlays were a big deal to me and I was in the right place at the right time to pick up 1 of 5 of an exclusive run with a local dealer. I bought it the moment I saw it and walked out with it. They were special ordered over a year ago, and luckily for me, one person backed out because he didn't want to wait any longer. The white birds on an ebony fretboard look phenomenal! I think they should do this more often.

The serial number shows a model year of 2022, but the build date on the tag is 01/23/23. Smells fresh!

I feel very lucky to have walked into this tiny guitar store on exactly the right day.

I'm not normally keen on the look of the Mira but this could change my mind. That's gorgeous
 
I'm not normally keen on the look of the Mira but this could change my mind. That's gorgeous
Thank you man. I wish I could take more credit for it than walking into a guitar store the day after a cancelled order came in. I think they should put something like this into production for your very reason.

It even looks a wee bit better without the imgr compression. If anyone has any ideas on a better way to embed the pictures, please let me know. I'm brand new to the PRS board.
 
Thank you man. I wish I could take more credit for it than walking into a guitar store the day after a cancelled order came in. I think they should put something like this into production for your very reason.

It even looks a wee bit better without the imgr compression. If anyone has any ideas on a better way to embed the pictures, please let me know. I'm brand new to the PRS board.
Don't know that the picture posting could be improved considering this is from the future - "Built on 2/23/23" according to the first picture caption above. Long and short on pic posting is, needs to be hosted somewhere else. There are services other than imgur, and I personally use my own server space to host my pix. There are some good details in the threads of this post: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/sharing-pictures-on-prs-forum.47818/

Hot Vela either way! Love the silver finish!!
 
Don't know that the picture posting could be improved considering this is from the future - "Built on 2/23/23" according to the first picture caption above. Long and short on pic posting is, needs to be hosted somewhere else. There are services other than imgur, and I personally use my own server space to host my pix. There are some good details in the threads of this post: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/sharing-pictures-on-prs-forum.47818/

Hot Vela either way! Love the silver finish!!
Don't know that the picture posting could be improved considering this is from the future - "Built on 2/23/23" according to the first picture caption above. Long and short on pic posting is, needs to be hosted somewhere else. There are services other than imgur, and I personally use my own server space to host my pix. There are some good details in the threads of this post: https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/sharing-pictures-on-prs-forum.47818/

Hot Vela either way! Love the silver finish!!
Yeah, I fixed that so it's no longer from the future. I was having all kinds of problems using that site to post anything it's not very friendly. Sorry about that. It now reflects that it was made in the recent past which eventually the post would have reflected but it would have taken another 3 weeks.
 
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