Relay Velvet

What it is

Relay Velvet is a warm, controlled, middle-driven guitar for players who put the instrument at the center of the room. It is voiced for clean and low-gain settings where the guitar carries melody, harmony, and feel instead of sitting behind a louder arrangement.

The middle pickup is not a blend trick. It is one of the main sounds the guitar is built around.

Pickup interaction

Category: Primary voice.

The 5-way blade gives the middle pickup its own position and uses it in the two adjacent combined positions. That makes the middle pickup part of the main selector map, not an add-on layer and not a shaper for the humbuckers.

That matters because Velvet asks you to use the middle position as a destination. It is the place you settle into when the guitar needs to be full enough to lead a small room, controlled enough to stay clean, and responsive enough to carry the performance without extra volume.

Controls

5-way blade

1. Bridge
2. Bridge + middle
3. Middle
4. Neck + middle
5. Neck

Tone (push-pull) - Velvet focus contour.

How it behaves

The Alnico II humbuckers keep the attack soft and the output moderate. The middle Retrotron Nashville gives the model its center: clear enough to stay defined, but not so sharp that it takes over the top end.

The result is a guitar that feels warm because the note attack is rounded and the mids stay controlled. It feels slightly compressed because the sound does not jump out with hard pick attack. It works best when the player is exposed: chord melody, blues phrasing, soul rhythm, small-combo work, or a jazz-club set where the guitar is the central voice.

Choose Velvet if you want a Relay that sounds complete clean, holds attention at modest gain, and does not need aggressive attack to feel present.

Who it's for

Jazz-club performers, blues and soul players, chord-melody players, and anyone who prioritizes feel over attack. Velvet is for situations where the guitar is not just filling a part; it is carrying the act.