do you still have the guitar man. I actually do own a Vela, and i'e been thinking to get one of those as a "strat" alternative. I do have Strats but I'm not sure how this one may compare exactly. would you say that the next is on the thin or the thick side of things? thanks a lot, I enjoyed your vid!
Thanks for your review of this guitar. I grabbed one when they came out here in Alberta Canada, not even really knowing what I was buying. Just knew I liked it. I was out Fender Strat shopping one day but came home with this S2 Studio in tobacco burst and I love it. 👍
Glad you like it! I've still got mine - for a minute I was thinking about trading it for a Vela, but no Vela was available at the time. Since then I blocked the tremolo (more and more, I'm a hardtail guy), but the 'weird' (uncommon) pickups have become an asset, bringing great character to my tone. (TOAN!)
Thank you for your kind comment! The S2 line really is an incredible bargain if you don't have to have (or can't quite afford) the "creme de la creme".
Hi, thanks for the comment - and sorry for the delay, I haven't made any new vids for a while, and don't log in for channel management very often. Short answer: Yes, it's a keeper. If you can find one, grab it. Longer answer: as you know it has the Dyna-sonic-style pickups, plus the Starla bridge pickup which (I believe) is designed to be in the Filter-tron style. So with all these Gretsch type pickups it cuts like a Gretsch in the mix. Since I made this video, I've started playing in church where we do Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation-style songs, so it excels in that genre. Plus the 5-position switch makes some very distinctive sounds - more so than a lot of other guitars - so I find I'm switching a lot for different textures. One possible drawback: the pots spin very easily, so I have to be careful not to bump them while playing - every once in a while, it'll go all muddy because I swiped the tone pot a little. Also, the guitar is a bit noisy, and I've put a noise gate in my chain to fix, but without the gate, it's easy to spin the volume down after playing. Good luck!!
Seems to be a really versatile guitar. I hear some Fender and Gretsch influences for sure, which is a huge plus in my book. How does the neck feel compared to some of the current offerings from Fender?
You know, to be honest I'm not that sensitive to neck size and shape - it feels very nice, and maybe a tiny bit slimmer than the neck on my American Professional Tele, but I couldn't describe it in terms of C-shape or D-shape or anything like that. About 20 years ago, I built a Tele from Warmoth parts, and got the 'fat' (or 'thick' or whatever they called it) neck, which was all the rage at the time. When I played it was, in fact, weirdly large and unwieldy for me ... so much so that I haven't played it much since. It was THAT much of an outlier - every other neck I've played - PRS, Fender, Kiesel, Reverend, acoustic, whatever has been more comfortable compared to that one.
I believe the Studio should have the PRS pattern regular neck as all S2s until the new S2 594 that will be out soon all have that neck. I have a Vela which is like this minus the trem and middle pickup. It's amazing, feel and sounds. Great review GA! This definitely seems like an amazing guitar!
For this video I was playing through my Line 6 Helix LT's "Cali Texas" model (clean channel) which is a model of the Mesa Lone Star amp. So PRS>Helix>Focusrite Scarlett>Garage Band is the full signal chain.
do you still have the guitar man. I actually do own a Vela, and i'e been thinking to get one of those as a "strat" alternative. I do have Strats but I'm not sure how this one may compare exactly. would you say that the next is on the thin or the thick side of things?
thanks a lot, I enjoyed your vid!
Thanks for your review of this guitar. I grabbed one when they came out here in Alberta Canada, not even really knowing what I was buying. Just knew I liked it. I was out Fender Strat shopping one day but came home with this S2 Studio in tobacco burst and I love it. 👍
Glad you like it! I've still got mine - for a minute I was thinking about trading it for a Vela, but no Vela was available at the time. Since then I blocked the tremolo (more and more, I'm a hardtail guy), but the 'weird' (uncommon) pickups have become an asset, bringing great character to my tone. (TOAN!)
I’d never thought that this s2 studio can take my breath away that made me stop thinking of private stocks. I love it sir.
Thank you for your kind comment! The S2 line really is an incredible bargain if you don't have to have (or can't quite afford) the "creme de la creme".
Sounds really good in every position!
Cool
Thank you!
has this guitar proven to be a keeper for you? i've been on the fence about getting one for a few years now
Hi, thanks for the comment - and sorry for the delay, I haven't made any new vids for a while, and don't log in for channel management very often.
Short answer: Yes, it's a keeper. If you can find one, grab it.
Longer answer: as you know it has the Dyna-sonic-style pickups, plus the Starla bridge pickup which (I believe) is designed to be in the Filter-tron style. So with all these Gretsch type pickups it cuts like a Gretsch in the mix. Since I made this video, I've started playing in church where we do Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation-style songs, so it excels in that genre. Plus the 5-position switch makes some very distinctive sounds - more so than a lot of other guitars - so I find I'm switching a lot for different textures. One possible drawback: the pots spin very easily, so I have to be careful not to bump them while playing - every once in a while, it'll go all muddy because I swiped the tone pot a little. Also, the guitar is a bit noisy, and I've put a noise gate in my chain to fix, but without the gate, it's easy to spin the volume down after playing.
Good luck!!
sound beautiful mate, gj!
Thanks!!
Seems to be a really versatile guitar. I hear some Fender and Gretsch influences for sure, which is a huge plus in my book. How does the neck feel compared to some of the current offerings from Fender?
You know, to be honest I'm not that sensitive to neck size and shape - it feels very nice, and maybe a tiny bit slimmer than the neck on my American Professional Tele, but I couldn't describe it in terms of C-shape or D-shape or anything like that.
About 20 years ago, I built a Tele from Warmoth parts, and got the 'fat' (or 'thick' or whatever they called it) neck, which was all the rage at the time. When I played it was, in fact, weirdly large and unwieldy for me ... so much so that I haven't played it much since. It was THAT much of an outlier - every other neck I've played - PRS, Fender, Kiesel, Reverend, acoustic, whatever has been more comfortable compared to that one.
I believe the Studio should have the PRS pattern regular neck as all S2s until the new S2 594 that will be out soon all have that neck. I have a Vela which is like this minus the trem and middle pickup. It's amazing, feel and sounds.
Great review GA! This definitely seems like an amazing guitar!
Amp?
For this video I was playing through my Line 6 Helix LT's "Cali Texas" model (clean channel) which is a model of the Mesa Lone Star amp. So PRS>Helix>Focusrite Scarlett>Garage Band is the full signal chain.