This New PRS is Surprisingly Fun! (S2 Vela Satin 2024)
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- Опубліковано 16 тра 2024
- 🟢My Website: www.troglysguitarshow.com
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📚Description: PRS recently revised their S2 line up to have USA electronics and asked me if I'd like a sample. I could choose whatever I wanted, but I thought the Vela with the satin finish looked like the best "raw player" and I've never had a Vela so why not? My suspicions were correct. This is a great players guitar, but the tones weren't exactly what I was expecting. The guitar is INSANELY light - great for a gigging musician.
🐕 Episode Guide:
0:00 Intro - Check Links in the Description
0:06 Checking Out What PRS Has Cooked Up
0:32 PRS Vela Model
1:15 The S2 Lineup
2:09 Price / First Impression / Case Candy
3:41 Inside Look / Specs
10:13 Acoustic Tones
10:44 Clean Tones
12:49 Dirty Tones
15:12 Final Thoughts
17:01 What to Watch Next!
🎞️ Videos Mentioned:
0:24 2021 PRS Silver Sky Lunar Ice John Mayer Signature
• I Got One of the First...
1:50 2024 Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop 1963 SG Custom
• Trying the New $1500 E...
2:03 New 2019 Limited PRS SE Sandblasted Top WYRON
• What's Up With These T...
7:10 2021 Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Majesty Enchanted Forest
• A Traditionalist Tries...
8:59 2019 Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute Doublecut Blue Stain
• The NEW DC Special | 2...
9:22 2020 Paul Reed Smith John Mayer Silver Sky Nebula
• PRS Ruined the Stratoc...
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What is your favorite new PRS S2 guitar?
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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)
"Smells like potatoes" was NOT on my Trogly bingo card 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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.
you got some good taste.
I would have picked that one.
I like that.
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.
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!!!
Just love PRS quality, all there range even the SE series is stunning for the price.
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.
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.
great playing in the demo, those pickups sound great! i might have to get one of these after watching this.
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
gorgeous guitar, love all the little details on the headstock.
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.
My uncle just gifted me a 2019 prs hollow body se in the grey. I love it
Love the finish on this!
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
I love that model PRS. I hope I can obtain one someday!
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 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.
Lovely lovely lovely , dig the finish , the pickups , and overall style , though Ide rather have the semi-hollow version I think...Thanks Trogly !
It had nice resonance when unplugged.
This looks like a fine instrument for daily playing and playing live. I love the Brass Saddles. Great choice Trogly.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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?
@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 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
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 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.
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 :-)
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.
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 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
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.
Looks ok and a nice bright sound.
Love that neck pickup!!
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
Beautiful Guitar!
Good sounding guitar!
That guitar is such a keeper!
Hey Trogly, thank you for the excellent review a little bit more in-depth than usual, not my style of instrument, but I would definitely check it out. I was digging the tones out of it kind of reminds me of a Firebird/Telly fire caster/telebird there I have coined it lol😂
These are great looking guitars. I've thought about acquiring one before-I can imaging the pickups not being right (which are a relatively easy change), but now seeing how that buffing on that satin finish and the pick guard would really annoy me if I owned one.
More PRS please! Sounded very interesting.
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 don’t mind that finish a bit, looks great new and I bet it’ll look cool at it starts to wear through!
Great sounding guitar...looks good too. :)
This is beautiful and different!!
I have 1 PRS, an SE Custom 24, it's great but it also has a fantastic acoustic ring to it like the one you reviewed here, it has the loudest acoustic sound of all electric guitars i own
This is the one PRS I'd been considering. I was looking to replace my Jazzmaster with this model but haven't found a place that has them to try.
Good lord, that is beautiful.
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.
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.
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'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.
Warning the pattern is not a c neck, its a soft v neck. I love the pattern style!
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?
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.
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 👍🤘🎸
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.
That bridge design is pretty awesome. Very much like a string thru but in some ways even better.
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
This is the first PRS I've been interested in.
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!
The chimney sound reminds more of Gretsch than Tele.
Also it appeared that the treble bleed worked well.
You should review more PRS guitars!
Good looking guitar! Heard nothing but good things about the S2 line.
snappy, twangy, growly, yet very balanced. my initial good impression could just be the trusty youtube compression. either way, sounded cool on this end
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.
Sounds great
Beautiful
That look nice!
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.
I really like this Vela body shape, but I'm offset body guitar guy anyways.
Love the subdued finish.
Oddly my only NEW PRS, an S2 McCarty with satin finish came smelling of the Chesapeake Bay. Stunk up my whole house, even after airing it out for several weeks.
I ended up having to clean and condition the fretboard multiple times. I think I figured out that it was whatever they used at the factory (which must have been ground up crabs, I guess :)).
Eventually got rid of that guitar and found myself a 2000 Custom 22 that I adore (and doesn’t smell).
Mine smelled of Ibanez lol
Is that from wood sitting at the docks? Now with the bridge collapse I wonder if PRS will have wood shortages?
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.
Dang, that's a crunchy sounding guitar! Love it.
The way the line of the pickguard is interrupted to include the humbucker mount kinda bothers me. Everything else looks amazing.
I really like that bridge, looks great and very well thought out.
The bridge is awesome!
I would mind having one
The Vela sounded great, but the overdriven tones were out of this world!! Thanks.
I've fallen in luv with this guitar. I have a sg gothic with the same finish and wood and it vibrates a lot when playing. My yamaha sg has the usual gloss finish, doesnt vibrate at all.
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.
You can see my core Custom 24 Artist pack in my profile pic I have had 3 core Custom 24s and 2 core Ce 24's and still pick up my Warmoth/Mjt parts strat over them every day. I just can bond with these beautiful well made guitars no matter how hard I try.
S2 Thinline custom 24 Vintage Burst 👍🎸🤘
Love it!
Nice. How was the set up?
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
The scratch plate reminds me of my Gibson Marauder.
I wanted to like my Vela, but it just didn't give me the sounds I wanted. Mine was 5 lbs 10 oz!
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.
the bright jangle is something modern guitars excel at like way better than a casino guitar...it is the bigger sonic bite...which in turn would possibly transfer better to a compressed form of music mixed the right way...goes with the bigger frequency grab...we expect from modern recordings...;listen to most older recordings..the middle an bass are usually not as big mostly due to what recording were recorded with years ago...
Great guitar for country. That bridge pickup is a bit too bright for much gain though. Gets fizzy pretty quickly.
I think with a darker humbucker in the bridge it would be a dream rock machine.
Looks rad …reminds me of my SG that’s all worn on the neck and arm spot .
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.
Killer guitar!
With the offset body it reminds me of Jazzmaster.