NGD - DC727 - Koa, Limba/Koa, Zebrawood

[Alex C]

Hello,

I'm a first-time Carvin/Kiesel owner with a new DC727 that I ordered as a graduation gift for myself after finishing grad school.


Here are the specs reproduced from the packing slip:

DC727   7 STRING GUITAR, FIXED BRIDGE
SS      RPL TO GRAPH TECH STRING SAVER
KOA     KOA BODY SIDES
/GD     Highly figured koa - see Jeff
          Jeff to pick out koa body sides
          Kiesel pickups, Kiesel logo black
TF      TUNG-OILED FINISH
RB      FULLY ROUNDED BODY EDGES
50      5 pc LMB neck w/ koa stripes
NWHO    NO HEADSTOCK WOOD OVERLAY
ZWF     ZEBRAWOOD FRETBOARD
NIN     NO TOP INLAYS-SIDE DOTS ONLY
STJF    STAINLESS STEEL JUMBO FRETS
R20     20" fretboard radius
32      TWO COIL SPLITTING SWITCHES
BC      BLACK CHROME PLATED HARDWARE

Chris Hong was my sales dude, and he was great to work with.

The sustain on this guitar is fantastic; even unplugged it rings out for days compared to my previous 7-string (an early-2000s Ibanez RG7421). The Kiesel pickups seem great, and everything sounded excellent on my existing Axe-Fx presets, especially the clarity on higher-gain stuff. (Pickups in the previous guitar were Crunch Lab and Liquifire.)

I was able to get some photos in direct sunlight as well as some indoors in a room with several windows. In the brightest light all of the intricate details of the figuring are visible, and in lower light everything is warmed up and becomes richer-looking, a bit darker brown and less reddish. It's like nature's version of Mystic Dream.


I'll include some pictures in this post, and a larger album is located here: https://imgur.com/a/mf3CQ#0

For color/contrast reference, here are two images from Kiesel's social media "Pics of the Day" during the latter stages of the build:

 

[beneharris]

Awesome.

 

[IChuckFinleyI]

Mmmmm Koa.....

 

[lewstherin006]

Congrats bro! I remember seeing this one on their website!

 

[Sang-Drax]

Mine (eventually) will have rounded body edges as well. Looks so classy!

 

[ferret]

Love it. I've got a soft spot for their rounded body DC models.

 

[Warg Master]

.... man that's perty!! Fantastic guitar... I ....ing love it!!

 

[MAJ Meadows SF]

I love how the Limba and Zembrano seem to flow together. Really cool touch! Great looking Koa as well.

 

[Esp Griffyn]

That is stunning, what a great looking guitar.

Do you get to decide what goes on the headstock? I know Carvin are pushing this Kiesel line for their "premium" items, but frankly I'd rather have "Carvin" on the headstock if I had the option.

 

[HaloHat]

They pulled some pretty damn sweet Koa for that build

Nice photos, thanks for sharing and HNGD

 

[Alex C]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm really enjoying this guitar.

Do you get to decide what goes on the headstock? I know Carvin are pushing this Kiesel line for their "premium" items, but frankly I'd rather have "Carvin" on the headstock if I had the option.

I'm pretty sure the DC727 would normally come with a Carvin logo. Chris (my sales guy) mentioned that because of the options I chose it was eligible for a Kiesel logo. I'm not sure if that was because of the limba/koa neck (which isn't a standard option and added 4 weeks to the build time) or because Jeff hand-picked the koa body wings.

 

[hairychris]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm really enjoying this guitar.



I'm pretty sure the DC727 would normally come with a Carvin logo. Chris (my sales guy) mentioned that because of the options I chose it was eligible for a Kiesel logo. I'm not sure if that was because of the limba/koa neck (which isn't a standard option and added 4 weeks to the build time) or because Jeff hand-picked the koa body wings.

Probably that (it's got the "off piste" option 50 tag), maybe the wings too. That is some serious wood going on there! And I bet that you get a really deep 3D effect going on through the oiled finish.

Love Koa, and a fantastic & tasteful build.

 

[Dakotaspex]

Sorry to kind of give this a bit of a necrobump, but beautiful guitar! I'm between a zebrawood or an ebony fretboard on a CT7 i'm about to order. How is the zebrawood doing you? Is it a tight grain? Feel good when playing fast, doing bends, etc?

 

[Alex C]

Sorry to kind of give this a bit of a necrobump, but beautiful guitar! I'm between a zebrawood or an ebony fretboard on a CT7 i'm about to order. How is the zebrawood doing you? Is it a tight grain? Feel good when playing fast, doing bends, etc?

Thanks! I chose the zebrawood mostly for cosmetic reasons; I just love how it looks. It has been great so far. This guitar has stainless steel jumbo frets and I play with a pretty light touch, so I don't know how much the fretboard contributes to my playing experience, but this thing feels silky smooth to me, especially on bends and sustained notes with vibrato.

Another factor in choosing zebrawood was the desire to get a unique combination of woods since I was custom ordering all of the options. A maple neck and rosewood fretboard are classics for a reason, but I wanted something a little different for this instrument.

 

[patdavidmusic]

Never had the chance to play a carvin, hot damn that looks ace

 

[viesczy]

That is GORGY!

How's the board feel?

Derek

 

[Eclipse]

Very nice guitar, great specs too!

 

[MaxAidingAres]

Is that white limba or black limba?

 

[Alex C]

Is that white limba or black limba?

I'm not familiar enough with black or white limba to be able to tell the difference. I asked for black limba when I called to order, so I assume that's what I got.

The spec sheet just says something like "neck: limba/koa".

 

[Camer138]

Wow. That neck and fretboard are pure sex!