PRS Guitars CE 24-08 Swamp Ash Limited Edition - Vintage Natural (s/n: 9415)
Now Available at Northeast Music Center!
Limited to Just 200 Guitars Worldwide • Black Limba • Narrowfield & DS-01 Pickups • USA Made
Some limited editions take a familiar guitar and simply change the color.
This isn't one of them.
The PRS Vela Limited Edition Black Limba in Satin Natural, serial number S2089262, takes one of PRS's most distinctive designs and gives it an equally distinctive tonewood: Black Limba.
Limited to just 200 guitars worldwide, this Vela allows the natural grain, streaking and color variation of Black Limba to become the visual centerpiece. A thin Satin Natural nitro finish lets the wood remain front and center while complementing the stripped-down, player's-guitar personality that has always made the Vela different.
Add a maple Pattern Regular neck, East Indian rosewood fretboard, Narrowfield neck pickup, DS-01 bridge pickup, push/pull switching and PRS Plate bridge, and you have a PRS that occupies a space all its own.
This particular model has also become one of our personal favorites here at Northeast Music Center.
Available now with its PRS gig bag.
Black Limba is exactly the kind of wood that makes sense on a Vela.
Rather than the predictable figuring of flame or quilt maple, Black Limba develops naturally occurring streaks, grain patterns and color variations that can change considerably from one piece of wood to another.
That means serial number S2089262 has its own visual character.
PRS wisely doesn't hide it.
The Satin Natural finish lets the wood itself provide the color and visual interest, while the Vela's asymmetric body bevel gives the instrument an almost sculpted appearance.
It's organic, understated and very different from the highly figured carved-maple aesthetic most players associate with PRS.
That's one of the reasons we've always liked the Vela at Northeast Music Center.
It has its own identity.
The offset-inspired body, asymmetric bevel, plate-style bridge and unconventional pickup combination give it a personality that stands apart from the Custom, McCarty and Singlecut families.
The 25" scale length and 10" fretboard radius retain a familiar PRS foundation, while the Pattern Regular maple neck provides a comfortable feel with a little more substance than a Pattern Thin carve.
It's unmistakably PRS when you pick it up—but it doesn't sound or feel like PRS simply copied one of its other models.
The electronics are one of the best parts of the Vela.
At the neck is a PRS Narrowfield pickup, providing warmth and fullness while retaining definition and articulation.
At the bridge is the distinctive PRS DS-01 humbucker, which delivers the stronger output and authority you'd expect from the bridge position.
Together, they give the Vela an unusually broad personality.
The control layout remains refreshingly simple:
The push/pull tone control splits the bridge DS-01, opening another set of brighter, more articulate textures.
Rather than burying the player beneath switches and controls, the Vela gives you a small number of genuinely useful sounds that are easy to access while playing.
Clean, edge-of-breakup, roots, blues, alternative, indie, classic rock and heavier gain all feel completely at home here.
The Vela also uses a distinctive PRS Plate-style bridge, another feature that helps separate the model from PRS's tremolo and stoptail designs.
It's simple, direct and perfectly suited to the stripped-down character of the instrument.
Combined with the Black Limba body, maple neck and satin finish, the overall package feels immediate and responsive—the kind of guitar that encourages you to stop analyzing specifications and start playing.
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With all of the incredible PRS guitars that have passed through Northeast Music Center over the years, the Vela remains one of the models we find particularly interesting.
Why?
Because it isn't trying to be anything else.
The Vela takes PRS craftsmanship in a different direction: asymmetric body design, straightforward controls, an unusual pickup pairing and a distinctive bridge system. This limited edition then adds Black Limba, a wood whose natural character fits the personality of the Vela almost perfectly.
And with only 200 produced worldwide, this isn't a model we're likely to see hanging everywhere.
For us, however, the best reason to consider it isn't simply the production number.
It's a genuinely fun guitar to play.
That's why this Black Limba Vela has become one of our personal favorites at the store. It looks different, feels different and occupies a tonal space that complements rather than duplicates the more traditional PRS models.
For the player who already owns a Custom 24 or McCarty, it can add something genuinely different to the collection. And for someone considering a first USA-made PRS, it offers an unconventional entry into the Maryland-built lineup.
This PRS Vela Limited Edition Black Limba Satin Natural, serial number S2089262, is available now at Northeast Music Center with its PRS gig bag.