The Carvin / Kiesel thread

[spudmunkey]

I've got trans wind red over ash with the Antique Ash finish, so in some lighting, it's so dark it's almost black, but get some light on it and it lights up what that sort of brush-stroke effect you describe.

Aries? (that's what mine is, too, if so).

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I've got trans wind red over ash with the Antique Ash finish, so in some lighting, it's so dark it's almost black, but get some light on it and it lights up what that sort of brush-stroke effect you describe.

Aries? (that's what mine is, too, if so).

Yup, Aries A7H

 

[Jeff]

Got my Kiesel in today. I can't take pics right now that do the top justice really. I got satin finish crimson red over a black limba top. So it's a really dark red but it isn't just solid red. Kinda has a paintbrush effect to it with multiple red tones.

I'm surprised the pickups sound as good as they do. Nevertheless, they will be swapped once my Guitarmory sets arrive.

The neck was thicker than I hoped even though I order the THNN option. It's not bad though at all. It's thinner my Schecter Apocalypse neck so I'm good. It'll be a nice variation among the neck profiles/thicknesses I have already.

Came packaged well too. The case is actually really really nice. The sucker nearly arrived in tune as well. The G string and top 3 (thickest) strings need a very very minuscule adjustment.

No finish or fretwork issues. Maybe the slightest bit of of fret sprout starting but that may go away in a few days. I swear I feel it less than when I did first out of the box even.

I wish their jacks were recessed.

The heel is surprisingly unobtrusive. I'm glad I went with bolt-on. The instrument feels great to play so far. Nice to have something different than my usual set-neck or neck-through configuration.

Overall, I wouldn't say the quality is insane or anything. It's good but it's honestly just like getting a good specimen of a production guitar and it being customized. I wouldn't be happy buying a Kiesel and it having any issues. It would instantly make it not worth it to me.

I'll post pics and more review-ness after I've had it for a while and once I've had time to properly photograph it.

How would you compare it to your plethora of Schecters?

 

[LeviathanKiller]

How would you compare it to your plethora of Schecters?

Same level of quality (if not better than) as my KM-7s which I absolutely love. So far I haven't noticed anything really that I can say yeah, Kiesel definitely did that better than on this KM-7.

As of right now, the satin neck kinda reminds me of the MK-IIIs I had. Fit and finish is excellent. My non-KM Schecters might have a spec or something in the binding or a texture on the nut where glue was sanded off. The KMs might even have the sanded nuts actually. The Kiesel is perfect though so far.

I had to get the bevel deleted in order to keep a consistent top appearance but if I had gone with a black limba body, definitely would have gotten the bevel. That part isn't as comfortable as my Schecter KMs or SLSs. Pretty on par with the harder edge of my Hellraiser Hybrid PT and Apocalypse.

 

[Jeff]

Same level of quality (if not better than) as my KM-7s which I absolutely love. So far I haven't noticed anything really that I can say yeah, Kiesel definitely did that better than on this KM-7.

As of right now, the satin neck kinda reminds me of the MK-IIIs I had. Fit and finish is excellent. My non-KM Schecters might have a spec or something in the binding or a texture on the nut where glue was sanded off. The KMs might even have the sanded nuts actually. The Kiesel is perfect though so far.

I had to get the bevel deleted in order to keep a consistent top appearance but if I had gone with a black limba body, definitely would have gotten the bevel. That part isn't as comfortable as my Schecter KMs or SLSs. Pretty on par with the harder edge of my Hellraiser Hybrid PT and Apocalypse.

The reason I ask is because I was also looking at the Schecter SLS C-1 with the snazzy amber fade, and Fishmans. Good feedback, thanks!

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I've got trans wind red over ash with the Antique Ash finish, so in some lighting, it's so dark it's almost black, but get some light on it and it lights up what that sort of brush-stroke effect you describe.

Aries? (that's what mine is, too, if so).

Pic please

 

[spudmunkey]

Pic please

First NGD photo, on its back, facing an overcast sky under a tree. It's even darker in person than it appears is photos:

Here's a pic in a brightly lit (albeit warm color temperature/poor CRI light) room, It's quite dark:

Here it is in another part of the same room, with a bit more natural sunlight:

Here it is bathed in studio lighting:

And just because, here's my "unboxing"

 

[spudmunkey]

Apparently they just came out with a new bass, shaped like their "Solo" t-type body shape.

I've never played one, but I can't imagine a tele-shaped 34" scale bass would balance well at all...

 

[crankyrayhanky]

First NGD photo, on its back, facing an overcast sky under a tree. It's even darker in person than it appears is photos:

Here's a pic in a brightly lit (albeit warm color temperature/poor CRI light) room, It's quite dark:

Here it is in another part of the same room, with a bit more natural sunlight:

Here it is bathed in studio lighting:

And just because, here's my "unboxing"

I like that red!
Also, I think that video invokes a custom 50 no return lol

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Apparently they just came out with a new bass, shaped like their "Solo" t-type body shape.

I've never played one, but I can't imagine a tele-shaped 34" scale bass would balance well at all...

The G&L ASAT basses balance fairly well, but a 5 or 6 string might not.

 

[tylerpond05]

I wish their jacks were recessed.

Some of their models have a recessed jack, but not all.

 

[spudmunkey]

Some of their models have a recessed jack, but not all.

None of their models have recessed jacks. Some have a plateless style barrel jack (basically, models where the side of the body isn't flat/broad enough for their standard plate, so models that have rounded body sides (Icon bass, DC127 with rounded body sides option) or have a bevel that runs around the perimiter (K series or Vanquish), or the body is just too thin (Chris Letchford model)), but it's not recessed.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Even flushmount would have been nice, but I feel like the protruding ones are just tacky looking

 

[spudmunkey]

Even flushmount would have been nice, but I feel like the protruding ones are just tacky looking

I'm of two minds. It looks a bit "much", but on the other hand...I beat the hell out of the paint job of a guitar that didn't have a plate. It was all dented and scratched around it. The plate holds up much better...but I suppose to some it's a bit like those carpet dashboard covers. While it might protect, it looks dumb.

 

[Albake21]

The only good part about their current jacks is the ease of working on it. Plus I like seeing the serial number on it. Personally the way the jack is installed is the least of my worries on a guitar. No doubt a recessed looks cleaner (and what I'm doing on my current build) but I don't really care either way.

 

[spudmunkey]

I've never played one, but I can't imagine a tele-shaped 34" scale bass would balance well at all...

The G&L ASAT basses balance fairly well, but a 5 or 6 string might not.

So the Solo bass is only made as a 20-fret. This is so that the body isn't either squished down, or doesn't have a super deep awkward-looking-cutaway. So the body is larger than it might otherwise be, while still seeming proportionately-shaped (compared to many other single cut basses).

 

[Seabeast2000]

I'm afraid your Kiesel box is now Option 50'd.

HNGD!

 

[spudmunkey]

I'm afraid your Kiesel box is now Option 50'd.

HNGD!

"Relic'ed" My NGD was 3 years ago. just took the opportunity to answer the request for pics.

 

[Jeff]

So a buddy brought his new Kiesel Zeus 7-string in this weekend. The build quality is pretty much flawless; I looked it over, and it's awesome. Low action, no buzz, Lithium pickups sound great. The headless aspect didn't throw me at all, compared to how lost I was on a seven string these days

 

[TheAegisInitiative]

Received my first Vader V6X build a week ago. Build quality was essentially flawless. Some of the cleanest wiring I’ve seen. Fretwork was excellent. Overall just a high quality instrument and sounded a lot meaner and fuller than I was expecting for such a tiny, chambered swamp ash bodied guitar. I still ended up selling it though. The body was so small I could just never get comfortable with it.