What is your favorite new PRS S2 guitar? 🟢My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com 🔴Reverb: tidd.ly/4aFiyhC 🐕 Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
ANY GUITAR built by PRS is a great guitar, even the used ones being sold in the used market today. 😎🎸 (I paid $300 plus tax & shipping for for mine in March 2024)
PRS manufacturing is amazing, fit, finish and materials selection are second to none. Once you own a PRS your cost expectations of standards level raises considerably.
@@mikeomatic9905 I totally agree with you and feel your pain. +20 years ago I let our 12 year old Son use my Les Paul Custom as his main learning guitar. Years on he requested a new guitar as a High School Graduation Gift (which seemed reasonable). Our Son had never really bothered to shop for guitars as, well, he had a Les Paul Custom he was using and didn't feel the need. Talk about ruined expectations........... Holy Cow, I'd figured he would need a PRS Wood Library to "step-up" from his current guitar............. Thankfully, our Son is a big Off-Set fan and wanted a '66 RI Jazzmaster w/block inlays, we found an excellent MIJ example that has served him very well all these years later............and I got my Les Paul back too. I haven't played a PRS yet that wasn't a truly great instrument, PRS the Man is our generation's Leo Fender (IMHO).
I own 3 PRS Guitars all 3 are S2 Models. The fit and finish on a PRS is second to none and I have owned many different guitar brands. Thanks for the review and all you do!!!
PRS are classy and well crafted. Two of my four guitars are PRS and if price were no object, I would own only PRS. I've got a 2023 model S2 Vela Satin and it's absolutely perfect. The satin finish is lovely, lightweight, resonate, stays in tune. My only gripe were the pickups, I swapped the import bridge pickup for a Dimarzio PAF and it's fantastic.
S2 MCCARTY 594 looks very interesting. I did play the core and loved it. Those 58/15 LT pickups are amazing for blues and crunchy rock, probably the nicest pickups I ever played also, that pattern vintage neck is fantastic, it`s chunky but rounded, it fit perfectly in my hand.
I picked up a used SE Starla Stoptail that has two of those DS humbuckers, really underated pickups. PRS runs the tap/split through a resistor (and sometimes a capacitor) so it sounds more like a single coil.
@@AD4M1873there are surely Gibsons that have better QC than PRSs. But if you gave me a random PRS and a random Gibson, there's no amount of money I would bet on the Gibson being better.
@@mikeomatic9905 a Gibson guitar will always have something wrong with it, whether it be small or large. It’s pretty much guaranteed that a Gibson never leaves the factory being 100% perfect. Whereas with the USA PRS models, it is unusual for there to be a flaw. So with Gibson, you expect or should expect something to be wrong with it and with PRS, you’d be surprised if something was wrong with it. By the way, I love Gibson guitars but I always buy them used now as I hate buying a new gibson and having to return it because of QC issues. At least if I buy used, I can’t complain that there is something wrong with it
I own 4 PRS guitars including an older semi-hollow Vela, but my Vela has the original single-coil in the neck with the same humbucker as this one in the bridge. My semi-hollow is actually 5lbs, 12 ounces so even lighter than this one. Having over 20 guitars in my corral to choose from the Vela has been one of my top 3 favorites ever since I bought it. The most comfortable guitar I own. Kind of curious why PRS changed the neck pickup because I really like the single coil in mine.
I have 4 PRS's as well. One Silver Sky (Core), one Dustie Waring (CE), a McCarty single cut SE, and and a Custom 22 SE. There is no difference in quality between the SEs and the American made ones. The CE is my favorite of the 4. It just plays like a dream. Suprising, I like the SS the least, only because of the neck radius. I love the way it sounds. I would love to get the Vela but have too many guitars, and can't justify the purchase.
@@itsalwayssomething7490 I have 4 other PRS guitars. My 1st one was PRS S2 Custom 24. 2 Se models Tremonti and Semi hollow Custom and an SE Paul's Guitar
3:29 "Yeah, it's got that whole resonant thing, where the body and the neck vibrate....."....yes Trogly, that is actually how well constructed and put together guitars work! That is why i don't like boat anchors where the "whole resonant thing" goes lost in kilos of unneeded fancyness...🎸🤘🏼🎸
I have the previous model Vela and prefer that it doesn't have bird inlays for some reason. And yes it's very very light and it doesn't neck dive at all.
I have that same one in this color. Totally agree about the bird inlays. I prefer the dots but the upgraded pickups kind of annoyed me and make me feel like I missed out.
Awesome Guitar! Their Narrowfield Pickup is their version of a "noiseless single coil". When you think about it that way....to me anyway, it is one of the best sounding noiseless single coil style pickups I personally have ever played.
That being said, I am a bit bummed they stopped putting the Dynasonic pickup in these. I thought it has a great vibe, and a good Strat-like sound. It also wasn't especially noisy, as far as single coils go. The Narrowfield is still a fantastic sounding pickup. Just quite different.
Brightness is because of the bridge pickup, they aimed for a tele sound. But this guitar is unique on its own. I have a 2017 vela and I love it :), I changed the bridge pickup to a gibson 57+.
I've owned two Velas and they were absurdly nice. Even more so considering the price. Only moved them on because they were redundant among my collection.
@@garethhawkins4710 oh you know, got the GAS bad. One of those Eastman double cut jr's in antique varnish came in the shop I worked at, and it found its way in
I have a black 2021 Vela Semi Hollow - mine came with dots and the import pickups. The guitar is amazing and flawless but I could not get on with the pickups. I ended up putting a set of SD Phat Cats in mine (Humbucker sized P90s) and it makes the guitar perfect. I hope the pickup change here has done the same. And yes the neck and rub areas get shiny.
My 1981 Carlos acoustic has brass saddle, bridge pins, nut, tuning keys, and even the fret markers as well. Someone had left it abandoned in a storage locker!
I do like PRS guitars but I have not played enough of them to really know what model would be best for me budget aside. Still this one is pretty nice overall, though I personally would pick a different color for a vela model. Also I don’t know if you heard or not but Gibson has recently come out with the Theodore Standard. Hope you get around to trying that one out when you can and give your thoughts on it.
Sounds great. Lovely pick ups. Can't bring myself to love the PRS body styles except for maybe the Mira or single cut 594. Too prog rocky looking imo. Really nice guitar overall tho
awesome piece! as for many other PRSs: if the glassy brightness hits too hard, it is always a good idea to turn down the volume to 8 to get a more balanced tone
Thank You! I’ll have to take an another look at this model again, as I love Tele’s! And humbucker/ NF combo is interesting, along with locking tuners, thin neck, nice bridge, light weight, it checks most of the boxes for me.
Back when the S2 series was first introduced, a good friend of mine got one. We played it all weekend. Later on he let me hold it for a couple weeks. I always loved it! Fit and finish was spectacular. I’ve never owned a PRS. But one day I do plan too.
Had one of the older Vela models for a few years. Toured with it, absolutely loved it. The weight is fantastic for stage as you mentioned. Ended up selling it because I wasn't playing guitar as much as I used to, but man... it was fantastic. Solid review. Your cons were not unwarranted. Overall I think it's a wonderful guitar.
I’ll take a higher quality 2K guitar with no case over a 2K guitar is only being sold for the name (with a case) any day! Personally i found their gig bags to be significantly better than a lot of hard cases out there and they are much more gig friendly 🤷♂️
@@bryanh3057 agreed on your first thought. Spot on…Second thought I only play for my own and families enjoyment. So I prefer a case. Be well and play well friend.
I have a Zach Myers. I freaking love that guitar. The pickups are just awesome! Admittedly the neck can be a little chunky for me after playing my other guitars.
snappy, twangy, growly, yet very balanced. my initial good impression could just be the trusty youtube compression. either way, sounded cool on this end
@6:10 prs originally started combining the chrome and brass hardware on their Artist package guitars which were the first beyond 10 top package for production
I would certainly take this over any super deluxe Epiphone or even many factory Gibson guitars considering the hit or miss nature of Gibson's manufacturing. PRS is much more uniform in their QC and general excellent quality and playability.
Seems like a pretty great guitar, since you got it for free I would keep it. It looks and sounds cool and that whole unplugged resonant thing is sometimes hard to come by. I think you got a winner there.
I know you're a Gibson guy - I used to be, but PRS is smoking everyone right now in terms of craftsmanship quality, tone, consistency and design. I've switched from a guy who had a Gibson Les Paul, a couple of Strats, a Tele, a Hollowbody Jazz Box, all name brands, to someone who's sold or is selling all that stuff and buying all US PRS Guitars - they are in their "Golden Era". My only gripe with the S2 is the non-recessed cavity covers. You find a seam - PRS uses one piece Mahogany bodies on US guitars. One piece necks on Core, three piece as you pointed out on S2 and Bolt on US versions.
I like when you review PRS, I actually like their guitars. I have all SE’s because they are third the price of core models and just as good I think. I’ve played hundreds of guitars and most brands and prefer PRS SE even over Gibson and Fenders. Just because it’s made in Indonesia or Korea, doesn’t mean they’re bad. Just like I prefer a Mexican Fender over the USA ones and had them both. Sold all the US made and kept the Mexican one. I have the DGT SE and it’s an amazing guitar. I really like that S2 you have there. I’ll definitely be getting one soon. Love the vids, keep up the amazing work.
Umm… silly question… did you peel the film from the pickguard? The film will fog out quickly and sometimes I’ve noticed that PRS sometimes has two films on their pick guards. My first Silver Sky had two layers of film.
I have a semi-hallow vela - I put 64-16 strings on it and tune it to B. Sounds amazing. I don’t like small necks, but the carve of the vela is an exception, it’s almost soft v.
My crazy history with PRS is that they feel amazing. QC is tops in the business. Look beautiful. I just haven’t been able to bind with any of the ones I’ve bought or tried. I want to LOVE them. To my ear, the pickups are never satisfying.
Thinking of the bridge design with a fairly thin plate where the string rests on also. Wondering if that would affect the resonance vs routed through the body, or having a much thicker brass sustain bridge similar to G&L
I have that guitar from the previous generation (2022 model). I purchased the semi hollow version. The only differences I see are the bird inlays, and the neck pickup. It has the same DS-01 humbucker (absolutely phenomenal pickup). The neck pickup is a Type D single coil. Looks like a TV Jones pickup. It’s damn incredible! I’d love to hear that narrow field through my own equipment, but I doubt it would be worth a trade. My only beef is I wish I had the bird inlays (always loved them). In fact I told my wife when I ordered it that I just wish it came with birds. The question: are the birds and Narrowfields worth the trade? I doubt it.
You mentioned the different colors for the volume and tone pots, so I went surfing around on sweetwater, and surely enough, all of the Velas look like this. I’ve never noticed that before.. EDIT: I did sell the one prs I had. It was a 35th anniversary core model, and I didn’t like the pickups. They had too much twang for a humbucker. Sure, I can change out the pickups, but in spending 3500 for it, I didn’t want to have to change anything on it.
You should try to tour the PRS factory. I went shortly before they ended due to COVID and it's an impressive operation, from raw wood , pickup manufacture and finish all under one roof. And you can have crab cakes for lunch
I own a S2 McCarty, CE 24, and a 10 top McCarty. I’ve owned a few SE models as well. I can say that the S2s are best value overall. The CE models are good but a little more for a similar top but all American electronics is a bit of a stretch. At that point jump to a Core. All models within their range are outstanding.
Saw the same model recently and definitely caught my attention. I have a weakness for “if I only had one guitar this could do it all” type guitars ..and this seemed to fit that bill. I just don’t need any more “one guitar to rule them all” guitars. But if I had a couple grand to spend on a “one guitar” this would be right up there.
I'm lean more towards to the Gibson camp but I've got an S2 Studio from a few years ago and it's a great guitar. The trem system absolutely stays in tune. I did put mini hums in the middle and neck as the singles it came with were a bit noisy. The only issue was a finicky pickup selector but a little deoxit seemed to fix that. Mine has a beefier neck and the fit and finish was what you'd expect from the PRS name. Great guitars for sure. I may pick up the semi hollow version just to add to my collection.
I really liked the sound of the Vela. Now is a great time pick one up. Hear how resonate the guitar is unplugged, I bet the semi-hollow would be great.
I've had one since 2021 and I love it. Older model so it's got dots and a d type and starla for the pickups. Kinda shocked to see them going for 1750, mine was 1130. Hate to say it, but for 1750, I'd save up some more and get a custom 24 S2 now. My neck buffed up in about 2 months, but very playable and feels great. And mine weighs 6 lbs even, so it looks like they are super light across the board.
I’ve never picked up a PRS, whether in SE range or core expensive, that didn’t feel and sound great. My personal opinion, they revolutionized QC. Years ago I purchased a used SE 245 for next to nothing and then got the Zach Myers trampass green when they initially released. Both are amazing guitars, but the Zach Myers feels like it costs more than it did. Plus that bridge with its saddles is so comfortable and that’s what I’m most used to now. I did replace the pickups with brushed nickel covered SD’s and it looks even better (to me). I kept the pots and everything else. Great guitars! Edit: I like that PRS has not only kept their SE ranges affordable, compared to the other brand, but they’ve so far refused to sacrifice the fingerboard with Laurel. They always have a rich looking piece of rosewood for that board!
Check out the new SE CE 24 standard satin. I love my PRS SE CE 24 cherry red satin...$499 and it has a rosewood fretboard, maple neck and solid mahogany very resonant body. It plays well, sounds great at any price point. It's virtually the the same guitar as the SE 24 only does not have the flamed maple top....BUT it has the same electronics and has a floating bridge... Bought mine last February..
Agree with wanting a thicker neck. I returned a Vela for that reason. The one I tried had a noticeably thin neck. So much so my hand began to cramp after playing it a while. Might have been something with me but I’d really high hopes for that guitar as on paper it looked great.
I picked up an S2 Starla for a steal a few years back. When you said you could tell it was going to be a good guitar when you picked it up was the same reaction I had when I played the Starla. The thing was a beast of a guitar. The only reason I sold it was because someone offered me twice what I paid for it.
Thanks for the review. It seems like it's greatest scores are exactly where they count. I like it enough that I'm going to go out and see if I can find one at the local guitar shops.
If PRS was going to ditch the dot inlays for the birds on a bunch of the s2's, I wish they could have at least used the shrunken down birds like on the silver sky. Those giant inlays just look tacky on an opaque body. Glad I bought the pre-update standard 22
I have the 2023 model and it’s amazing. I use it for high gain stuff. Sounds great out of my Mesa Boogie DC-5 combo with a TS9 and out of my 2x12 dual rectifier Road King II combo. It can chug
Thanks for the video! Question: can the bridge section be replaced with a trem system of some description or is the routing and screw holes incompatible with most systems?
@@steveparish9210 i have never gone to that site before, I cant afford anything they put out but I like Trog. Just went for the first time after I commented. I still like that Amanita Muscaria one and the relic'd Trini Lopez has some Trent Reznor vibes to it. Maybe someday :)
That's correct - USA MOD Collection and USA Demo Shop had no new offerings this week. Can't make an episode on 4 UK MODs haha. We will catch up with them next week (hopefully)
So it's a one piece neck with a two piece neck heel? They did it with the McCarty S2 for a few years, so it would make sense. You can tell from how loud it was unplugged that it would sound great plugged in. I've bought used guitars that didn't sound great amplified because it sounded good unplugged.
What is your favorite new PRS S2 guitar?
🟢My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com
🔴Reverb: tidd.ly/4aFiyhC
🐕 Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
Why does this guitar remind me of an ovation breadwinner? 🤮
Would that be a better choice than a Strat for my hands ? I have diabetic neuropathy the neck looks extremely wide compared to a Stratocaster.
ANY GUITAR built by PRS is a great guitar, even the used ones being sold in the used market today. 😎🎸 (I paid $300 plus tax & shipping for for mine in March 2024)
The new McCarty 594s. They’re super nice and if you’re looking for a Les Paul alternative, the McCarty 594 is it.
I just got a Vela Satin, and it's rapidly becoming one of my favourite guitars.
I liked mine so much I bought a second one, and now my other guitars are dealing with abandonment issues. 😂
@@Plexi417 I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a semi-hollow one as well.
PRS manufacturing is amazing, fit, finish and materials selection are second to none.
Once you own a PRS your cost expectations of standards level raises considerably.
I'm actually somewhat cursing myself for getting an SE 15 years ago as my second guitar. It's absolutely ruined my expectations for other guitars.
@@mikeomatic9905 I totally agree with you and feel your pain.
+20 years ago I let our 12 year old Son use my Les Paul Custom as his main learning guitar. Years on he requested a new guitar as a High School Graduation Gift (which seemed reasonable). Our Son had never really bothered to shop for guitars as, well, he had a Les Paul Custom he was using and didn't feel the need.
Talk about ruined expectations...........
Holy Cow, I'd figured he would need a PRS Wood Library to "step-up" from his current guitar.............
Thankfully, our Son is a big Off-Set fan and wanted a '66 RI Jazzmaster w/block inlays, we found an excellent MIJ example that has served him very well all these years later............and I got my Les Paul back too.
I haven't played a PRS yet that wasn't a truly great instrument, PRS the Man is our generation's Leo Fender (IMHO).
Yeah, I'd confidently say they are the best quality mass produced electrics being made. I really appreciate their attention to fretwork.
you got some good taste.
I would have picked that one.
I like that.
I own 3 PRS Guitars all 3 are S2 Models. The fit and finish on a PRS is second to none and I have owned many different guitar brands. Thanks for the review and all you do!!!
PRS are classy and well crafted. Two of my four guitars are PRS and if price were no object, I would own only PRS.
I've got a 2023 model S2 Vela Satin and it's absolutely perfect. The satin finish is lovely, lightweight, resonate, stays in tune. My only gripe were the pickups, I swapped the import bridge pickup for a Dimarzio PAF and it's fantastic.
"Smells like potatoes" was NOT on my Trogly bingo card 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I've had a limited edition 1 of 5 PRS S2 Vela semihollow for close to two years and it is my favourite guitar.
Fantastic instrument.
great playing in the demo, those pickups sound great! i might have to get one of these after watching this.
Just love PRS quality, all there range even the SE series is stunning for the price.
I like it. Let's just make it PRS Sunday from here on out😊
Fender Friday and PRSunday! Sounds like a good weekend to me
My uncle just gifted me a 2019 prs hollow body se in the grey. I love it
S2 MCCARTY 594 looks very interesting. I did play the core and loved it. Those 58/15 LT pickups are amazing for blues and crunchy rock, probably the nicest pickups I ever played also, that pattern vintage neck is fantastic, it`s chunky but rounded, it fit perfectly in my hand.
I picked up a used SE Starla Stoptail that has two of those DS humbuckers, really underated pickups.
PRS runs the tap/split through a resistor (and sometimes a capacitor) so it sounds more like a single coil.
QC is so much better than a Gibson!
Facts
@@ironnads7975you’re joking right? If not, you’ve clearly never owned a Gibson & PRS
@@AD4M1873there are surely Gibsons that have better QC than PRSs. But if you gave me a random PRS and a random Gibson, there's no amount of money I would bet on the Gibson being better.
@@mikeomatic9905 a Gibson guitar will always have something wrong with it, whether it be small or large. It’s pretty much guaranteed that a Gibson never leaves the factory being 100% perfect. Whereas with the USA PRS models, it is unusual for there to be a flaw. So with Gibson, you expect or should expect something to be wrong with it and with PRS, you’d be surprised if something was wrong with it.
By the way, I love Gibson guitars but I always buy them used now as I hate buying a new gibson and having to return it because of QC issues. At least if I buy used, I can’t complain that there is something wrong with it
@@AD4M1873i had a lot of Gibsons.. and the QC on them was a joke!!
I own 4 PRS guitars including an older semi-hollow Vela, but my Vela has the original single-coil in the neck with the same humbucker as this one in the bridge. My semi-hollow is actually 5lbs, 12 ounces so even lighter than this one. Having over 20 guitars in my corral to choose from the Vela has been one of my top 3 favorites ever since I bought it. The most comfortable guitar I own. Kind of curious why PRS changed the neck pickup because I really like the single coil in mine.
Cool I have a Vela in the ice green color. Such an easy guitar to play
I have 4 PRS's as well. One Silver Sky (Core), one Dustie Waring (CE), a McCarty single cut SE, and and a Custom 22 SE. There is no difference in quality between the SEs and the American made ones. The CE is my favorite of the 4. It just plays like a dream. Suprising, I like the SS the least, only because of the neck radius. I love the way it sounds.
I would love to get the Vela but have too many guitars, and can't justify the purchase.
@@itsalwayssomething7490 I have 4 other PRS guitars. My 1st one was PRS S2 Custom 24. 2 Se models Tremonti and Semi hollow Custom and an SE Paul's Guitar
This looks like a fine instrument for daily playing and playing live. I love the Brass Saddles. Great choice Trogly.
It had nice resonance when unplugged.
3:29 "Yeah, it's got that whole resonant thing, where the body and the neck vibrate....."....yes Trogly, that is actually how well constructed and put together guitars work! That is why i don't like boat anchors where the "whole resonant thing" goes lost in kilos of unneeded fancyness...🎸🤘🏼🎸
Cool comment
But, but, it's Sunday!?! Demo/mod shop day!
Yeah, I was looking forward to that!!
USA MOD Collection and USA Demo Shop had no new offerings this week.
@Trog That stinks. Thanks for the heads up Trogly.
prs is better than gibson anyway
I have the previous model Vela and prefer that it doesn't have bird inlays for some reason. And yes it's very very light and it doesn't neck dive at all.
have a few SE models 2 with birds one with dots. buddy of mine absolutely hates the birds. lol I prefer them myself.
I have that same one in this color. Totally agree about the bird inlays. I prefer the dots but the upgraded pickups kind of annoyed me and make me feel like I missed out.
@@nersesgarabed781I don’t think you did. The original neck pickup is way cooler than the Narrowfield.
Yeah the birds look dumb on the Vela, especially the satin ones. Bad call by PRS.
Awesome Guitar! Their Narrowfield Pickup is their version of a "noiseless single coil". When you think about it that way....to me anyway, it is one of the best sounding noiseless single coil style pickups I personally have ever played.
That being said, I am a bit bummed they stopped putting the Dynasonic pickup in these. I thought it has a great vibe, and a good Strat-like sound. It also wasn't especially noisy, as far as single coils go. The Narrowfield is still a fantastic sounding pickup. Just quite different.
Lovely lovely lovely , dig the finish , the pickups , and overall style , though Ide rather have the semi-hollow version I think...Thanks Trogly !
Brightness is because of the bridge pickup, they aimed for a tele sound. But this guitar is unique on its own. I have a 2017 vela and I love it :), I changed the bridge pickup to a gibson 57+.
I've owned two Velas and they were absurdly nice. Even more so considering the price. Only moved them on because they were redundant among my collection.
I love that model PRS. I hope I can obtain one someday!
I used to have a ‘21 vela semi-hollow in that color, it was amazing
Just curious......if it was 'amazing' why did you 'used' to have it?
@@garethhawkins4710 oh you know, got the GAS bad. One of those Eastman double cut jr's in antique varnish came in the shop I worked at, and it found its way in
Love the finish on this!
I have a black 2021 Vela Semi Hollow - mine came with dots and the import pickups. The guitar is amazing and flawless but I could not get on with the pickups. I ended up putting a set of SD Phat Cats in mine (Humbucker sized P90s) and it makes the guitar perfect. I hope the pickup change here has done the same. And yes the neck and rub areas get shiny.
High end Epiphone or S2 Vela???......S2 Vela thank you very much 😅
Yep. Not even close. Haha
I agree 100%. The Epiphone's aren't even in the same league as the S2's in my opinion.
I agree as well guys S2 is so far above the new Custom shop Epi,s 👍🤘🎸
Fun Fact: every place the string touches is brass (even a brass infused nut)…Mr. Smith says it helps tone, sustain and resonance!!!
Did he get the idea from a brass band?
@@ChrisShortyAllen ….probably 🫤
My 1981 Carlos acoustic has brass saddle, bridge pins, nut, tuning keys, and even the fret markers as well. Someone had left it abandoned in a storage locker!
Yes, if you look at a Paul’s Guitar (basically his signature PRS) they put brass rods in the wraptail bridge under each string.
The frets are made from brass?
Resonant guitars are usually special examples and play exceptionally well.
I have Vela Reclaimed Wood since 2017 and love it a lot. Such a responsive guitar! And gigging with this featherweight is so effortless 🖤
Got one too, since 3 yrs or so! Love the pickups. Tho thinking about upgrading it. More powerful bridge pup and a more telestyle neck pickup :-)
I do like PRS guitars but I have not played enough of them to really know what model would be best for me budget aside. Still this one is pretty nice overall, though I personally would pick a different color for a vela model.
Also I don’t know if you heard or not but Gibson has recently come out with the Theodore Standard. Hope you get around to trying that one out when you can and give your thoughts on it.
Warning the pattern is not a c neck, its a soft v neck. I love the pattern style!
One of the best carves ever. I love Regular PRS neck
The bird inlays are always a dealbreaker for me, but a lot of positives here
Bring back the Crescent Moons!
Up until this year they had dots, so there’s always the used option. The Velas are absolute killer guitars.
Sounds great. Lovely pick ups. Can't bring myself to love the PRS body styles except for maybe the Mira or single cut 594. Too prog rocky looking imo. Really nice guitar overall tho
awesome piece!
as for many other PRSs: if the glassy brightness hits too hard, it is always a good idea to turn down the volume to 8 to get a more balanced tone
Thank You! I’ll have to take an another look at this model again, as I love Tele’s! And humbucker/ NF combo is interesting, along with locking tuners, thin neck, nice bridge, light weight, it checks most of the boxes for me.
I don’t mind that finish a bit, looks great new and I bet it’ll look cool at it starts to wear through!
Back when the S2 series was first introduced, a good friend of mine got one. We played it all weekend. Later on he let me hold it for a couple weeks. I always loved it! Fit and finish was spectacular. I’ve never owned a PRS. But one day I do plan too.
That guitar is such a keeper!
Had one of the older Vela models for a few years. Toured with it, absolutely loved it. The weight is fantastic for stage as you mentioned. Ended up selling it because I wasn't playing guitar as much as I used to, but man... it was fantastic. Solid review. Your cons were not unwarranted. Overall I think it's a wonderful guitar.
Good lord, that is beautiful.
2k for that and no case. No thanks.
I’ll take a higher quality 2K guitar with no case over a 2K guitar is only being sold for the name (with a case) any day!
Personally i found their gig bags to be significantly better than a lot of hard cases out there and they are much more gig friendly 🤷♂️
@@bryanh3057 agreed on your first thought. Spot on…Second thought I only play for my own and families enjoyment. So I prefer a case. Be well and play well friend.
I really like the Zack Meyer semi hollow model. It played great and sounded great as well. At that time it was on sale at GC and others for $849.
I have a Zach Myers. I freaking love that guitar. The pickups are just awesome! Admittedly the neck can be a little chunky for me after playing my other guitars.
One of the coolest PRS i've seen. Never been a big fan, but this example looks really cool!
Probably the coolest model they’ve ever made, imho.
snappy, twangy, growly, yet very balanced. my initial good impression could just be the trusty youtube compression. either way, sounded cool on this end
I'm waiting for Paul to say that the brass volume pot has an effect on tone.
@6:10 prs originally started combining the chrome and brass hardware on their Artist package guitars which were the first beyond 10 top package for production
I would certainly take this over any super deluxe Epiphone or even many factory Gibson guitars considering the hit or miss nature of Gibson's manufacturing. PRS is much more uniform in their QC and general excellent quality and playability.
the S2 Vela series completely annihilates most options beside E-II/ESP in its price range. I really hope Gibson USA steps their game up.
More PRS please! Sounded very interesting.
Seems like a pretty great guitar, since you got it for free I would keep it. It looks and sounds cool and that whole unplugged resonant thing is sometimes hard to come by. I think you got a winner there.
I know you're a Gibson guy - I used to be, but PRS is smoking everyone right now in terms of craftsmanship quality, tone, consistency and design. I've switched from a guy who had a Gibson Les Paul, a couple of Strats, a Tele, a Hollowbody Jazz Box, all name brands, to someone who's sold or is selling all that stuff and buying all US PRS Guitars - they are in their "Golden Era". My only gripe with the S2 is the non-recessed cavity covers.
You find a seam - PRS uses one piece Mahogany bodies on US guitars. One piece necks on Core, three piece as you pointed out on S2 and Bolt on US versions.
I like when you review PRS, I actually like their guitars. I have all SE’s because they are third the price of core models and just as good I think. I’ve played hundreds of guitars and most brands and prefer PRS SE even over Gibson and Fenders. Just because it’s made in Indonesia or Korea, doesn’t mean they’re bad.
Just like I prefer a Mexican Fender over the USA ones and had them both. Sold all the US made and kept the Mexican one.
I have the DGT SE and it’s an amazing guitar.
I really like that S2 you have there.
I’ll definitely be getting one soon.
Love the vids, keep up the amazing work.
Umm… silly question… did you peel the film from the pickguard? The film will fog out quickly and sometimes I’ve noticed that PRS sometimes has two films on their pick guards. My first Silver Sky had two layers of film.
I have a semi-hallow vela - I put 64-16 strings on it and tune it to B. Sounds amazing. I don’t like small necks, but the carve of the vela is an exception, it’s almost soft v.
These are the best tones I’ve heard out of all your videos I’ve seen. Might have to get myself one of these new Velas.
My crazy history with PRS is that they feel amazing. QC is tops in the business. Look beautiful. I just haven’t been able to bind with any of the ones I’ve bought or tried. I want to LOVE them. To my ear, the pickups are never satisfying.
Thinking of the bridge design with a fairly thin plate where the string rests on also. Wondering if that would affect the resonance vs routed through the body, or having a much thicker brass sustain bridge similar to G&L
The Vela sounded great, but the overdriven tones were out of this world!! Thanks.
Beautiful Guitar!
I have that guitar from the previous generation (2022 model). I purchased the semi hollow version. The only differences I see are the bird inlays, and the neck pickup. It has the same DS-01 humbucker (absolutely phenomenal pickup). The neck pickup is a Type D single coil. Looks like a TV Jones pickup. It’s damn incredible! I’d love to hear that narrow field through my own equipment, but I doubt it would be worth a trade. My only beef is I wish I had the bird inlays (always loved them). In fact I told my wife when I ordered it that I just wish it came with birds. The question: are the birds and Narrowfields worth the trade? I doubt it.
This is the first PRS I've been interested in.
You mentioned the different colors for the volume and tone pots, so I went surfing around on sweetwater, and surely enough, all of the Velas look like this. I’ve never noticed that before..
EDIT: I did sell the one prs I had. It was a 35th anniversary core model, and I didn’t like the pickups. They had too much twang for a humbucker. Sure, I can change out the pickups, but in spending 3500 for it, I didn’t want to have to change anything on it.
You should try to tour the PRS factory. I went shortly before they ended due to COVID and it's an impressive operation, from raw wood , pickup manufacture and finish all under one roof. And you can have crab cakes for lunch
I own a S2 McCarty, CE 24, and a 10 top McCarty. I’ve owned a few SE models as well. I can say that the S2s are best value overall. The CE models are good but a little more for a similar top but all American electronics is a bit of a stretch. At that point jump to a Core. All models within their range are outstanding.
I love my 2016 Vela, but now I want to switch out the pickups to this new configuration.
The way the line of the pickguard is interrupted to include the humbucker mount kinda bothers me. Everything else looks amazing.
Saw the same model recently and definitely caught my attention. I have a weakness for “if I only had one guitar this could do it all” type guitars ..and this seemed to fit that bill. I just don’t need any more “one guitar to rule them all” guitars. But if I had a couple grand to spend on a “one guitar” this would be right up there.
I'm lean more towards to the Gibson camp but I've got an S2 Studio from a few years ago and it's a great guitar. The trem system absolutely stays in tune. I did put mini hums in the middle and neck as the singles it came with were a bit noisy. The only issue was a finicky pickup selector but a little deoxit seemed to fix that. Mine has a beefier neck and the fit and finish was what you'd expect from the PRS name. Great guitars for sure. I may pick up the semi hollow version just to add to my collection.
Nice. How was the set up?
I really liked the sound of the Vela. Now is a great time pick one up. Hear how resonate the guitar is unplugged, I bet the semi-hollow would be great.
I've had one since 2021 and I love it. Older model so it's got dots and a d type and starla for the pickups. Kinda shocked to see them going for 1750, mine was 1130. Hate to say it, but for 1750, I'd save up some more and get a custom 24 S2 now. My neck buffed up in about 2 months, but very playable and feels great. And mine weighs 6 lbs even, so it looks like they are super light across the board.
I’ve never picked up a PRS, whether in SE range or core expensive, that didn’t feel and sound great. My personal opinion, they revolutionized QC. Years ago I purchased a used SE 245 for next to nothing and then got the Zach Myers trampass green when they initially released. Both are amazing guitars, but the Zach Myers feels like it costs more than it did. Plus that bridge with its saddles is so comfortable and that’s what I’m most used to now. I did replace the pickups with brushed nickel covered SD’s and it looks even better (to me). I kept the pots and everything else. Great guitars!
Edit: I like that PRS has not only kept their SE ranges affordable, compared to the other brand, but they’ve so far refused to sacrifice the fingerboard with Laurel. They always have a rich looking piece of rosewood for that board!
Great sounding guitar...looks good too. :)
Check out the new SE CE 24 standard satin. I love my PRS SE CE 24 cherry red satin...$499 and it has a rosewood fretboard, maple neck and solid mahogany very resonant body. It plays well, sounds great at any price point. It's virtually the the same guitar as the SE 24 only does not have the flamed maple top....BUT it has the same electronics and has a floating bridge... Bought mine last February..
I really like this Vela body shape, but I'm offset body guitar guy anyways.
That bridge design is pretty awesome. Very much like a string thru but in some ways even better.
Agree with wanting a thicker neck. I returned a Vela for that reason. The one I tried had a noticeably thin neck. So much so my hand began to cramp after playing it a while. Might have been something with me but I’d really high hopes for that guitar as on paper it looked great.
Everytime a PRS is reviewed on the show. I envision Elvis shooting his TV saying Ah this show ain't no good!
I picked up an S2 Starla for a steal a few years back. When you said you could tell it was going to be a good guitar when you picked it up was the same reaction I had when I played the Starla. The thing was a beast of a guitar. The only reason I sold it was because someone offered me twice what I paid for it.
Good sounding guitar!
Thanks for the review. It seems like it's greatest scores are exactly where they count. I like it enough that I'm going to go out and see if I can find one at the local guitar shops.
If PRS was going to ditch the dot inlays for the birds on a bunch of the s2's, I wish they could have at least used the shrunken down birds like on the silver sky. Those giant inlays just look tacky on an opaque body. Glad I bought the pre-update standard 22
Yeah the birds are a deal breaker for me. They look dumb on the Vela.
I wanted to like my Vela, but it just didn't give me the sounds I wanted. Mine was 5 lbs 10 oz!
Showing just one guitar on Sunday is the equivalent of having Oscar Meyer cater your Wedding. 😢😿 bologna
Hahahahaha
I have the 2023 model and it’s amazing. I use it for high gain stuff. Sounds great out of my Mesa Boogie DC-5 combo with a TS9 and out of my 2x12 dual rectifier Road King II combo. It can chug
Looks ok and a nice bright sound.
Thanks for the video! Question: can the bridge section be replaced with a trem system of some description or is the routing and screw holes incompatible with most systems?
A USA made guitar for only a few hundred more than Chinese epiphone stuff. Not even close, PRS for the win
My PRS is just pure butter, love it... however not a fan of this body style ..either way it's PRS and it will play nice...
No Sunday Mod/demo Shop review?
ikr thats been my sunday night ritual for a while. must be a slow week at gibz
There are no new guitars at the mod shop this week.
Tuned in Wednesday at 9 am, no new guitars, which was a first@@billyghostal
@@steveparish9210 i have never gone to that site before, I cant afford anything they put out but I like Trog. Just went for the first time after I commented. I still like that Amanita Muscaria one and the relic'd Trini Lopez has some Trent Reznor vibes to it. Maybe someday :)
That's correct - USA MOD Collection and USA Demo Shop had no new offerings this week. Can't make an episode on 4 UK MODs haha. We will catch up with them next week (hopefully)
So it's a one piece neck with a two piece neck heel? They did it with the McCarty S2 for a few years, so it would make sense.
You can tell from how loud it was unplugged that it would sound great plugged in. I've bought used guitars that didn't sound great amplified because it sounded good unplugged.
this is the hidden gem of PRS. it deserves a core. treatment
I love my Vela. I am sad they went away from the “D” style pickup in the neck position.
Me too, and I’m disappointed that you can’t get them with dot inlays anymore.
Killer workhorse axe. The build Q of PRS is lightyears ahead of Gibson, so this would be my pick for a straight-up rocker.
I would mind having one
Looks like the old Gibson super Strat.