Spent the whole day with this one. Yes, it's from the less celebrated S2 range which gets the flak for not being entirely American. I was fully aware of that when buying the S2 models. In fact, I deem them as definite value-for-money instruments & the number grew. The Vela here was touted as the manufacturer's offset model & just by looking at it, it was done subtly. Whatever the case was, I sounded impressive at the store so it was worth spending money on.
I've always liked the locking tuners despite the top access being a hassle. It's something that works effectively without putting the entire neck totally out of balance. The nut slots in this one are some of the best coming from the S2 line.
The reason I brought this out was to try this set of strings. The new Signature series & whatever 'signature' there implies, these are good, definitely above average strings. They are neither too flabby nor too stiff, the tension is just right for a slightly thicker gauge set.
The only thing about the S2 that bothered me was the default bridge pickup. Np, it wasn't useless but it couldn't get a good metal type of tone going. After a few effects pedals & amps, I concluded that it wasn't meant to serve a distortion-inclined master; a good AC/DC affair at best. I understand where the Vela is coming from, it is supposed to be a tone monster serving a dose of honky tonk in some pickup settings/ selections so without hesitation, the default humbucker made way for a Seymour Duncan C5 & that was an instant hit. The C5 gave the instrument some added bottom end to offset the inherent brightness coming from those brass saddles. It also avoided an intrusive top end (unlike a JB/ Distortion/ Dimebucker) so bringing this guitar into metaldom is a pleasant affair.
