NGD: Kiesel Vader 6 25.5" Candy Tangerine

[ferret]

Where to begin, where to begin.....

Pictures?

Hello box, we meet again.

Looks like they have Kiesel on the cases already.

Next to the SCB6's hard case for comparison.

FIRST LOOK.

Window is behind me, indirect sunlight.

Time for multiple angles!

Turned on the overhead light.

COMBO LIGHTING.

Back side!

Together?

Close up of the cut away for 25.5" scale, end of the bridge.

Close up of bridge pickup and the slanted front of the bridge.

Side by side:

Those neck heels:

Let's get up and close to that Kiesel designed end cap:

Ok, so my thoughts from the last hour or so! Or, rambling story time?

First, this is my second Kiesel/Carvin. Last year I ordered an SCB6, which I was really happy with (See signature and comparison shots above.). When the Vader was announced, I bowed out due to 27" scale only, with a stated promise to order if 25.5" was made available. Which of course, it is!

Let's talk Vader: This is my first headless. It's definitely way lighter than the SCB6 (Though that's also a walnut behemoth). Not having a lot of trouble adjusting to the lack of a headstock really, but I feel as though the neck is closer in, if that makes any sense. Almost as if the first fret is where I'd normally expect the second fret to be, due to the bridge being at the body's end shifting the whole thing down.

Tuners are VERY responsive. I asked for it to be tuned Drop C, it arrived slightly sharp, which was easily fixed.

However, the factory strings are a standard 9s set though (I think), and I play with Ernie Ball Slinky Top Heavy Bottoms. Definitely going to have to switch sets before I feel fully comfortable with it. Little too loose.

Bridge? The slant that Kiesel added to the headless bridge is great. Feels good for muting, no edge digging into palm, etc.

This is also my first "no inlay" guitar, and so far what I've found is I have no trouble playing on the wound strings, but I found myself searching a bit on the high strings. I'll adjust though, it wasn't too jarring.

Pickups? I'm not sure. I need to play with my amp settings a little bit, they were already garbage, and get those strings swapped. I'm horrible with tone so the best I can offer is they sound pretty good to me, but I don't have the right tone vocabulary to compare to my M22SD/M22N set on the SCB6.

Let's talk finish: We've got a custom color here, Candy Tangerine Orange (Or actually, Lambo Pearl Orange). This color was inspired both by my car (Mitsubishi Rotor Glow) and the various Parkers that pop up here with Candy Tangerine and black hardware. In person, under direct light, the guitar is a fantastic orange with a lot of sparkle/metallic to it. Off angle to light, it looks quite red though. Overall I am happy, though it is a bit more red than I expected.

And yes, btw. I know the strap was wrong in all these photos. I switched it around before playing. Was having a dumb moment when I opened everything.

Youngest posing with the Vader in front of the Mitsubishi!

 

[ferret]

Let's try to get some sunlight. It's a bit overcast today:

 

[ferret]

Oh, I forgot! I meant to repost my order form. Here's the options and what I paid, etc.

 

[JSanta]

YES! Looks fantastic. Seeing all of these NGDs is making my 40+ days feel a long ways off. Came out perfect, congrats!

 

[demorior]

Happy NGD!

I like the vaders in solid colors like this rather than transparent cause of the arm cut.
Looks gorgeous!

 

[raisingfear101]

Guitar looks awesome man. I'm loving all the up close pics too! I can't wait for mine to come.

 

[ferret]

Guitar looks awesome man. I'm loving all the up close pics too! I can't wait for mine to come.

I really wanted to get people some up close views of the new Hipshot hardware, and how that little "cut out" for the 25.5" scale looked.

 

[Chokey Chicken]

This is the one I was waiting for. That color, in my opinion, puts the Kiesel Racing Orange to shame. So nice. One thing I forgot to mention in my thread, and was reminded of after seeing the close shots of the bridge, is that the radius is super flat. That was the one thing I was worried about going into this guitar, but it's really quite comfy. The blank fretboard will come naturally to you rather quickly. It was less than a week after I got my first blank fretboard that I learned to make due.

Glad to finally see pictures of this one! I think this is the first 25.5 inch scale one I've seen in the wild. (unless I'm just super unobservant.) HNGD!

 

[ferret]

Three new insights to add:

One issue I was having with my tone was the fact that I'm stupid and the tone knob was turned down. I never even checked.... To the max fixed most of what I was hearing.

Secondly, it shound be noted that the ends of the strings at the end cap are exposed and sharp. I didn't cut myself or anything, but reviewing pictures I decide to gently run my finger past, you definitely don't want to jerk your hand past the end cap.

Thirdly, I was having some trouble with how the Vader hung. It felt weirdly low while standing, and my strap was slipping off my shoulder sitting. Adjustments to strap length didn't seem to be helping really, the length felt right. So I decided to try using the BOTTOM strap bottom. Boom. Instantly more comfortable for me, both standing and sitting.

 

[Chokey Chicken]

Huh... My strap was rubbing against my right forearm when I was sitting and it was getting irritated over time. Decided to try the bottom strap button and not only does it obviously solve that problem, it was indeed super comfy. (definitely leaving it there.) Weird. I thought it'd make it top heavy and want to flip over or something.

Also, yes, those string ends are sharp. I already harassed the wife with it, who has a bitter hatred for sharp string ends.

 

[ferret]

Kinda makes sense, though. A normal full body guitar would have the strap button centered. So the Vader makes you chose between raising it up, which lowers the guitar compared to normal (And then makes the strap loose when you sit), or going lower, which will raise the body up a bit while standing but is snug while sitting.

Hmm.

 

[feraledge]

I think you're hitting on my curiosity about how the guitar sits with the strap location. Would you mind taking a pic with the strap in both locations to show how it sits?

 

[Chokey Chicken]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you'd definitely prefer the strap on the lower button. On the upper button, mixed with the bridge being so far back, causes it to feel a little weird. It feels way more natural and like a standard guitar when using the bottom button.

 

[ferret]

I'll see about strap pictures tomorrow. I think the bottom button makes more sense the more I think about it though. I have this idea in my head about points of balance and angles and stuff and how the bridge has shifted like Chokey mentions, but I think it's actually "forward" in comparison to a full body electric, because it didn't move back, there's just less back... and yeah, so on.

.... also I wrote this an hour ago and forgot to push "Post"

 

[xzacx]

Man, these look so much better in solid colors. The "split" forearm contour on the figured tops is such a deal breaker. This is so much nicer!

 

[Daf57]

Very cool! Congrats, man!

 

[The Shred]

HNGD! That orange looks brilliant! Build quality fantastic as well!

 

[Haun]

Wow. These are starting to look better and better to me. Especially the solid colors. And the fact that they're US made AND cheaper than a Boden OS is making me quite the jumpy little boy...

Would you mind posting a picture of how it hangs in the strap, comparing the top and bottom strap buttons?

 

[MrHelloGuitar]

The GAS is killing me omg. This colour is perfect, man. HNGD!

 

[pkgitar]

Man, that is nice! Congrats!