Vela Question

AZGiant

AZGiant

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2019
Messages
256
Really trying to understand the market for this product, in the range PRS offers. Meaning, is it more of a jangley tone or more rock? I have like most of us the full compliment of PRS guitars and just started researching Velas, as that is one I do not own.

Currently I own:

Torero
Santana
Custom 24
McCarty 594 S2
Paul's Guitar (signature)
Swamp Ash Special
Tremonti Signature
Tremnoti SE
Zach Meyers
S2 Standard
Bernie Marsden

Any thoughts, feedback, how you use it in your playing etc. would be appreciated. I am not sure if it is a full range, can handle it all, or is it more of a focused tone like other guitars (Teles, Strates, LP, etc.)

Thanks

Axe
 
For me, it’s about the more ‘vintage’ style and sounds the Vela is capable of. The pickups have an almost Gretch tone to my ear, and the offset body is light and comfortable. FWIW, I actually swapped the pickups in mine to a mini-humbucker/alnico 2 humbucker arrangement because in its stock setup, the sounds I was getting were crossing over into Telecaster territory, and since I have a few teles, I wanted a 2 humbucker guitar to round out my set of guitars. My Vela is super comfortable to play, and is played often.
 
AZGiant said:
Really trying to understand the market for this product, in the range PRS offers. Meaning, is it more of a jangley tone or more rock? I have like most of us the full compliment of PRS guitars and just started researching Velas, as that is one I do not own.

Currently I own:

Torero
Santana
Custom 24
McCarty 594 S2
Paul's Guitar (signature)
Swamp Ash Special
Tremonti Signature
Tremnoti SE
Zach Meyers
S2 Standard
Bernie Marsden

Any thoughts, feedback, how you use it in your playing etc. would be appreciated. I am not sure if it is a full range, can handle it all, or is it more of a focused tone like other guitars (Teles, Strates, LP, etc.)

Thanks

Axe
Click to expand...
I own a custom 24, sc245, p245, DC3, 277 se baritone and the vela.

The Vela fills a in between jangle and full on rock space in many of my recordings. The neck pickup is phenomenal for bluesy rock soloing.

You can see it in action live here in one of my bands live recordings


It’s one of the Most unique guitars I own. The neck is super fast and the guitar is the lightest of all my PRSi making it very comfortable to play live
 
intothevoid said:
I own a custom 24, sc245, p245, DC3, 277 se baritone and the vela.

The Vela fills a in between jangle and full on rock space in many of my recordings. The neck pickup is phenomenal for bluesy rock soloing.

You can see it in action live here in one of my bands live recordings


It’s one of the Most unique guitars I own. The neck is super fast and the guitar is the lightest of all my PRSi making it very comfortable to play live
Click to expand...
Thanks man and that is kind of what I was hoping for. Not a Gretsch guy as I like the sound but playing one is a bear. and if it pushes towards a Tele that is fine, just not a fan of playing a Tele.
 
The vela will slot in nicely. The neck tries to capture vintage single tones. The humbucker is more jangly. Better suited for vintage hard rock or alternative, not something for metal. It probably could cover country, but to me, that’s what a tele/nf53 is born for.
 
dankilling said:
For me, it’s about the more ‘vintage’ style and sounds the Vela is capable of. The pickups have an almost Gretch tone to my ear, and the offset body is light and comfortable. FWIW, I actually swapped the pickups in mine to a mini-humbucker/alnico 2 humbucker arrangement because in its stock setup, the sounds I was getting were crossing over into Telecaster territory, and since I have a few teles, I wanted a 2 humbucker guitar to round out my set of guitars. My Vela is super comfortable to play, and is played often.
Click to expand...
Dan I am going to go out on a limb and say the semi-hollow sounds more like a Gretsch?
 
I think the Vela is Vela is aimed at the alternative crowd. It is more Gretsch than anything else. But the Vela is also its own thing. It, as typical of PRS, is very versatile. I used mine, 100% stock, for downtuned doom metal.
 
I own two Velas. For clean-ish tones you get a fairly Gretsch-like jangle/chime out of the bridge pickup and a warm, throaty but clear tone out of the neck pickup. The bridge pickup split gets into Tele-ish territory. With gain, the bridge has a ton of snarly attitude and the neck gives you a smoky, bluesy tone. The Vela is like nothing else PRS makes, the only thing remotely similar is the Starla but the Vela is still its own thing. IMHO it’s the coolest guitar in the current lineup by a mile. And as different as it is, it still plays like a PRS so you’ll feel right at home.
 
I have the Vela semi hollow body so I can't compare it to a solid body Vela.

I agree with one reviewer who said "it's a little bit Gretsch and a little bit SG."

I'll tell ya one thing. The middle position tone is to die for! I play at church and I use that position a lot. Add some ambient reverb with a bit of delay and it's heaven! I use it with a Pod Go and I've come to really favor the Twin Reverb model along with a 2X12 IR cabinet. Everytime I play I get compliments on how good it sounds. Sounds darned good with some OD pedals I have going into the Pod.

The neck did take me a while to get use to. All in all (and in my humble opinion) it's on the smaller side. I actually prefer a neck that's a bit wider and that has a bit more depth to it. So it was a challenge getting use to but now it's good.

I'm 70 years old with a glitchy back and knees that are acting up. So the lightweight of my Vela is a huge plus for me.

The bad? Gotta be honest here. The tone control was scratchy from day one. Tried some tuner clearner but it made no difference. It's to the point now when I turn to tone from 10 to 1, I hear no difference until I get to 2, then it's instantly muffled. One of these days I'll get around to replacing both pots and the selector switch.
 
Yes I did install core level pots and pickup selector. I kept the same pickups. I like the unique sound.
 
Also I’m biased. I was lucky to get a limited satin

Qq1OuOT.jpg

I agree whole heartedly that the neck is throatie. In a good way for me. It can cause some hum, but I accept that with a great single coil neck. It sounds different than the bass pickup of a Paul’s guitar (comparing to both the core and se versions). The bridge pickup really sets it apart from other prs. It’s very versatile.
 
Vela is really versatile..I've been able to get a ton of tones out of her. It really can wear many masks. I have most of the guitars you do and the rest I've owned but have moved on from. Vela fits perfectly in your line up.

I agree with a lot said above and by some of the responses you get the idea of her ability to do a lot. The neck pickup is fat single coil and awesome. The middle position is a fav of mine, the bridge dirty sounds amazing, and split it for some teleish sound or even more middle position sounds. The neck is killer, and I really dig mine is semi hollow and satin.

Get one and you'll understand!

Screenshot_20220816-100405_Galleryd4159c5d8cc3d3f6.jpg
 
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I actually play hard rock with my solid body Vela satin...unique tone different than my standard 22s and Mira but sounds killer with gainy stuff...I actually rip and shred on mine...very clear
 
My next Vela will be a single HB (old 57/08 I have in my parts bin) similar to Jerry Cantrell’s Rampage.

I wish I could get a satin white with birds.
 
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