I own a few Kiesel Vaders and have been a long time Carvin owner as well. I have always received excellent instruments that I would put up against any other guitar out there. I know some are not fans of the Lithium pickups that are standard on most models now, but I have my rig adjusted to suit...
Can you post some additional pics of the Kiesel? In the one shot you have posted the contrast looks totally blown out. Maybe one where we can see the grain of the wood on the body?
I own 2 CD's from his band (Nitro.F.R., Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S.) . They are laughably bad, though his technique is fantastic. The covers and inserts were more than worth the money i paid as far as chuckle factor goes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitro_(band)
I've been over at Shacknews.com (gaming site) in the chat threads since Aug 27th, 2002, under the same name. Lots of great people over there who could vouch for me that I have been playing online with for years.
Oh man, these are great. Though in all honesty, I still use the exercises from the real video ALL the time. I should pick up the DVD version one of these days.
I'd be happy to supply any info you need to show i'm on the up and up. Plus I should be well past the post requirement in no time. This place is great from the frontpage to the forums, i'm just sad that I didnt find it until now.