PRS Satin S2 Vela Semi-Hollow - Vintage Cherry Review

Excellent guitar

This was the most comfortable electric guitar I've ever handled. Weight, minimal satin finish (no stickiness), body shape and neck. Frets were rounded and smooth. No flaws on the body, at all. Locking tuners and a bridge that made it easy to set string action. My problem with it was that I've suffered some hearing loss, especially on the low end, and that made this instrument a… read more bit too jangly sounding on my "bad days." I really wanted to keep it but had to return, which Sweetwater handled quickly and without questioning, at a minimal return shipping charge.

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A clear winner.

A winning design, executed very well and priced great. A winning design: You might have noticed that it's hard to find a guitar where the neck pickup and the bridge pickup each sound amazing, while also working well together in the middle pickup-selector position. All to often the neck pickup is too muddy (many humbucker type examples) or else the bridge pickup is too weak… read more and thin. Give me a guitar with a fantastic clear neck pickup tone (some Stratocasters) and a driving yet versatile bridge pickup tone. That is what the Vela offers. Neck pickup sounds fall between a strat and a P90 (but closer to a strat). The bridge pickup is pleasing and overdrives extremely well; it retains string clarity when driven yet also cleans up nicely. The pickups together offer a fantastic tone similar to a gretsch or a less bright telecaster. The bridge pickup when coil split is decent but I'm hardly ever a fan of coil splits. There is not a bad tone to be had in this guitar. The feel of the neck is a nice in-between size that will offend nobody. The offset waist makes seated playing easier. The overall low weight and great balance are amazingly comfy. Executed well: I bought the satin version because a shiny guitar isn't worth an extra $ in my opinion. Satin necks are just easier to play (less sticky) as well. The build is flawless. Could not be better. Stays fully in tune from top to bottom. Rock solid. Great Price: I have to admit this might be the perfect guitar for me. I always wanted a guitar with a neck pickup tone of a strat and a bridge pickup tone of a 335. This guitar is that dream, and the price knocks it out of the park.

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Uniquely Voiced and Beautifully Crafted

I had wanted a "sister" guitar to the PRS S2 Hollow that I had purchased from Sweetwater about 6 years ago. I love these guitars, and the S2 line is built right here in America. This guitar is wonderful. One reason for the semi-hollows for me is the weight. This one cannot be much over 6 lbs. for sure. The voicing is unique between the two pickups, and there is a bit more "spank"… read more than conventional humbuckers. But you can get most any sound you want with some tweaking here and there. Although this is my first guitar without a "high-gloss" finish, the grain is beautiful on this guitar, and I'm still not sure how they create this finish! If you order this, you will NOT be disappointed.

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