Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Spare me please!
There's a Vela on its way!
- Thread starter Mike J.
- Start date
Spare me please!
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
C’mon, get off my (baby) back!
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Hey calm the ham!
gush
Where is that speedo pic
Is this some sort of devious trick??One of those, I don’t have
gush
Where is that speedo pic
Seasoned response
Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
A dose of Vela could make you tender in the loins! Just don't play it on the New York strip!!
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
Hanger tough!
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
I wish! That would take my enabling to a whole new level!
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Now you’re making me blue!
dmatthews
Dave's not here
Don't skirt the issue
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
I wouldn’t dare show my rump!
Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
Are you guys trying to roast someone? If you are, poke em with the tri tip to see if they are done!
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Or you could consult a medium.
Moondog Wily
Howlin' At The Moon!
Well done!
dmatthews
Dave's not here
That leaves me out... I'm an extra large.
You guys are killin' me with some of your comments here! Okay, steaks done!
Finally got the guitar in my hands around 4:30PM. The boxes and the Vela felt no more cooler than a guitar and bass I have in on their guitar stands, so I figured good to go.
Wow!! I mean c'mon! This guitar is drop dead gorgeous with the Tobacco Sunburst. I'll try to post some pictures this week but the pictures Sweetwater sent me are much lighter than I'm seeing with the actual guitar. But it still looks great. No complaints.
The high E and low E were both about a 1/2 out of tune with the other strings barely out. Intonation is damn near dead on.
There's a very, very slight string to fret buzz on the G string but it's not choking the notes by any means. But no way am I going to start fooling around with adjustments. It's a new guitar and I want to give it plenty of time to settle itself in before I do any kind of truss rod and string height adjustments that may be needed.
Using a scale in increments of 32nd's, from the bottom of the low E to the top of the 12th fret, I have 3/32's. High E is 2/32.
Action is a touch higher than what I'm use to but it's pretty comfortable. Again, I'm leaving adjustments alone for a while.
Pickup height's: Bridge pickup. From the bottom of the low E string to the top of the pole piece screw: 3/32. High E is 2/32.
Neck pickup. From the bottom of the low E to the top of the pole piece, 5/32. High E is 4/32.
I was really curious about the pickups output so I checked them with my multimeter.
Bridge pickup full: 6.95. Split: 4.85.
Both pickups full: 3.48. Split: 2.86
Neck pickup: 6.89
Keep in mind I'm using the guitar with a Line 6 Pod Go that I use for serving our Lord at church. With my back and knees acting up on occasion this old guy HAD to lighten up the load considerably. And I've learned to get some pretty good sounds from it. The bridge pickup is exactly what I've been looking for. Has some Tele vibe to it, its stronger than a Tele pickup and clearer than the humbucker I'm use to from my Epiphone SG Pro. Lot's of detail when using clean, overdrive or with distortion. The B and high E strings are not wimpy like the are on my Tele. Just the right amount of strength that I was hoping it would have. Doesn't have that "mid-hump thickness" like the SG has. I would say the mids are more relaxed sounding to my ears, but I wouldn't say "scooped."
I'm going to have to experiment with the pickups heights or more specifically, with the neck pickup height. I say that because in its current state the neck pickups volume is much, much lower than the bridge pickup volume when using a clean tone. Doesn't balance out. But when I kick on some overdrive it seems to balance out pretty good. But of what I can tell (when using a clean tone) the neck pickup is nice and clear, full and doesn't seem to have that droney, boomey bassey quality that drives me nuts with humbucker neck pickups. So I've got some experimenting to do along those lines.
For me, the playability is outstanding. I was having trouble playing certain chord shapes on my SG but I'm not having that problem with the Vela. I think (in part) that the Vela's 10" radius is more accommodating than the SG's 12" radius. Not knocking that SG. I was lucky to find that particular guitar and other than the pickups being questionable it really is a very good guitar. The SG's neck is also wider than the Vela's. Measuring across the SG's first fret is 1.740 where across the first fret on the Vela is 1.708. So the Vela is already feeling like home.
I've noticed I've got to be careful with the placement of the Vela's volume knob as I've accidentally lowered the volume while playing. Not use to that knob being so close to my hand.
The gig bag? Well, thanks but I'm going to invest in a case. Winter is here and the last thing I want to do is to have the guitar in a gig bag if I accidentally slip on some ice.
It's a keeper!! I can tell already that tonally this is the guitar I've been looking for. Once I get the neck pickup height to my liking I'll be ready to go. I already did a recording test with it. Been working on a bass and guitar part on an original song that one of the guys at church wrote. I used my SG and the tone wasn't quite what I wanted. Without touching the settings I tried the Vela and the sound I was after was right there! I was amazed!
But you know what the really cool thing about this guitar is? In the name Vela there's an abbreviating of my parents names. My dad (Al) passed in June of 2016 and my mom (Elaine) passed in March of this year. So when I look at the Vela name on the headstock, there's my mom and dad. Elaine: Vela. Al: Vela. Yeah, dad's name is backwards but dad had a great sense of humor so it's very fitting. But there they both are side by side. Love you mom and dad. Miss ya both.
Finally got the guitar in my hands around 4:30PM. The boxes and the Vela felt no more cooler than a guitar and bass I have in on their guitar stands, so I figured good to go.
Wow!! I mean c'mon! This guitar is drop dead gorgeous with the Tobacco Sunburst. I'll try to post some pictures this week but the pictures Sweetwater sent me are much lighter than I'm seeing with the actual guitar. But it still looks great. No complaints.
The high E and low E were both about a 1/2 out of tune with the other strings barely out. Intonation is damn near dead on.
There's a very, very slight string to fret buzz on the G string but it's not choking the notes by any means. But no way am I going to start fooling around with adjustments. It's a new guitar and I want to give it plenty of time to settle itself in before I do any kind of truss rod and string height adjustments that may be needed.
Using a scale in increments of 32nd's, from the bottom of the low E to the top of the 12th fret, I have 3/32's. High E is 2/32.
Action is a touch higher than what I'm use to but it's pretty comfortable. Again, I'm leaving adjustments alone for a while.
Pickup height's: Bridge pickup. From the bottom of the low E string to the top of the pole piece screw: 3/32. High E is 2/32.
Neck pickup. From the bottom of the low E to the top of the pole piece, 5/32. High E is 4/32.
I was really curious about the pickups output so I checked them with my multimeter.
Bridge pickup full: 6.95. Split: 4.85.
Both pickups full: 3.48. Split: 2.86
Neck pickup: 6.89
Keep in mind I'm using the guitar with a Line 6 Pod Go that I use for serving our Lord at church. With my back and knees acting up on occasion this old guy HAD to lighten up the load considerably. And I've learned to get some pretty good sounds from it. The bridge pickup is exactly what I've been looking for. Has some Tele vibe to it, its stronger than a Tele pickup and clearer than the humbucker I'm use to from my Epiphone SG Pro. Lot's of detail when using clean, overdrive or with distortion. The B and high E strings are not wimpy like the are on my Tele. Just the right amount of strength that I was hoping it would have. Doesn't have that "mid-hump thickness" like the SG has. I would say the mids are more relaxed sounding to my ears, but I wouldn't say "scooped."
I'm going to have to experiment with the pickups heights or more specifically, with the neck pickup height. I say that because in its current state the neck pickups volume is much, much lower than the bridge pickup volume when using a clean tone. Doesn't balance out. But when I kick on some overdrive it seems to balance out pretty good. But of what I can tell (when using a clean tone) the neck pickup is nice and clear, full and doesn't seem to have that droney, boomey bassey quality that drives me nuts with humbucker neck pickups. So I've got some experimenting to do along those lines.
For me, the playability is outstanding. I was having trouble playing certain chord shapes on my SG but I'm not having that problem with the Vela. I think (in part) that the Vela's 10" radius is more accommodating than the SG's 12" radius. Not knocking that SG. I was lucky to find that particular guitar and other than the pickups being questionable it really is a very good guitar. The SG's neck is also wider than the Vela's. Measuring across the SG's first fret is 1.740 where across the first fret on the Vela is 1.708. So the Vela is already feeling like home.
I've noticed I've got to be careful with the placement of the Vela's volume knob as I've accidentally lowered the volume while playing. Not use to that knob being so close to my hand.
The gig bag? Well, thanks but I'm going to invest in a case. Winter is here and the last thing I want to do is to have the guitar in a gig bag if I accidentally slip on some ice.
It's a keeper!! I can tell already that tonally this is the guitar I've been looking for. Once I get the neck pickup height to my liking I'll be ready to go. I already did a recording test with it. Been working on a bass and guitar part on an original song that one of the guys at church wrote. I used my SG and the tone wasn't quite what I wanted. Without touching the settings I tried the Vela and the sound I was after was right there! I was amazed!
But you know what the really cool thing about this guitar is? In the name Vela there's an abbreviating of my parents names. My dad (Al) passed in June of 2016 and my mom (Elaine) passed in March of this year. So when I look at the Vela name on the headstock, there's my mom and dad. Elaine: Vela. Al: Vela. Yeah, dad's name is backwards but dad had a great sense of humor so it's very fitting. But there they both are side by side. Love you mom and dad. Miss ya both.
dmatthews
Dave's not here
Freakin' awesome, and congrats!
andy474x
Knows the Drill
I had a feeling you’d like it! Congrats!
Sybo
Jim
My Velas , I put a 1/4” rubber washer on the volume pot shaft and then put the knob back on. No more “ knocking “ my volume down. Great trick for rambunctious hands/ Velas.
My Velas , I put a 1/4” rubber washer on the volume pot shaft and then put the knob back on. No more “ knocking “ my volume down. Great trick for rambunctious hands/ Velas.
That's a good idea. Thanks for the tip!
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