The Carvin / Kiesel thread

[spudmunkey]

I wonder if it's the same person that might be working on the internal OS? I've heard hints on FB that they've been working on revamping the "back of house" stuff for a while now, and some of those messages sounded more legit in the past 6 mo or so, and updating the website will only help so much until that mess is untangled and streamlined. The same guy who ran/runs the carvinmuseum.com website works(worked?) on the website itself. I'm not 100% sure if he (is/was) actually an employee or a contractor, but he lives in Tennessee (or at least did for years)

Although...at the same time, if anything changes with option codes, etc...expect an increase in mistakes, too. They have people there who have had "virtual builders" in their heads just from locking at a string of codes for a couple decades, and changing those up is bound to catch those people off every so often. Not a dig on Kiesel, that happened everywhere.

 

[Albake21]

I've heard hints on FB that they've been working on revamping the "back of house" stuff for a while now, and some of those messages sounded more legit in the past 6 mo or so, and updating the website will only help so much until that mess is untangled and streamlined.

The problem is, they have been saying this for so long now. I've almost given up at this point. It's just ridiculous to me as I guarantee their horrible website is hurting their business. People want an easy, streamlined order process. It's worth it in my opinion for Jeff to invest more into their website.

 

[spudmunkey]

Agreed. Even if they still don't have a "virtual builder", it still could be made much easier to use...but also there's lots of little things that could be done to make it easier to navigate, even ignoring the builder.

While the general "guitars" and "bass" pages have gone through some revisions in the past couple of years, and this is the best one, it's still clumbsy. There should be a way to "filter", or at the very least, re-arrange the quick links at the top into something more logical. Separate out the "Signature Models", for example, rather than having them sort of in the middle for no rhyme or reason. A bunch of the pages on the website are seemingly only accessible by using the "quick links" on the bottom of the front page. I think most people aren't even aware there's a gallery that you can sort by top wood, model, finish, etc. For a custom shop, a gallery should be a highlight, rather than buried in a tiny text link among dozens on the bottom of the page.

 

[Albake21]

I think most people aren't even aware there's a gallery that you can sort by top wood, model, finish, etc. For a custom shop, a gallery should be a highlight, rather than buried in a tiny text link among dozens on the bottom of the page.

My exact thoughts...

 

[MatiasTolkki]

This is why you never get an op50 build, to avoid dealing with shit like that.

 

[CapinCripes]

HOWEVER, I may be snagging a first or second year v220 used (with a kahler). Still up in the air.

Do it, best decision of my life.

 

[MatiasTolkki]

Do it, best decision of my life.

Yeah, i'd like it, just waiting to see what happens. I'd love it snag it though.

 

[laxu]

The problem is, they have been saying this for so long now. I've almost given up at this point. It's just ridiculous to me as I guarantee their horrible website is hurting their business. People want an easy, streamlined order process. It's worth it in my opinion for Jeff to invest more into their website.

You would be surprised by how crappy a site can be but still sell stuff just fine. As long as the order process is not completely broken, people are willing to put up with less than ideal workflows to get what they want.

I'm a web developer and currently working on a completely custom-made e-commerce service for a client as part of a small team and I can tell you it's a lot of work for both the frontend visible to customers and the backend handling all the orders. It's not cheap if you don't have in-house developers so I totally understand why they are not all that interested in overhauling the website.

 

[MatiasTolkki]

You would be surprised by how crappy a site can be but still sell stuff just fine. As long as the order process is not completely broken, people are willing to put up with less than ideal workflows to get what they want.

I'm a web developer and currently working on a completely custom-made e-commerce service for a client as part of a small team and I can tell you it's a lot of work for both the frontend visible to customers and the backend handling all the orders. It's not cheap if you don't have in-house developers so I totally understand why they are not all that interested in overhauling the website.

I mean at least they should put ALL standard, non-op50 options on the site, just so they dont have lame off-menu stuff that people have to ask about. I think that's unfair to customers, and I know for a fact that I dont wanna see that fool's face on a livestream, and to have to sit through hours upon hours of livestreams just to find out what's available is bullshit.

 

[laxu]

I mean at least they should put ALL standard, non-op50 options on the site, just so they dont have lame off-menu stuff that people have to ask about.

Oh I totally agree plus they should clarify what counts as non-returnable because to me it's weird that their NAMM models for example were non-returnable when they could have just been sold as "might have some signs of wear" guitars. Right now it's like secret menus of Chinese restaurants.

 

[MatiasTolkki]

Oh I totally agree plus they should clarify what counts as non-returnable because to me it's weird that their NAMM models for example were non-returnable when they could have just been sold as "might have some signs of wear" guitars.

What I've noticed is that in the last couple years, since about a year after the split, is the LARGE number of non-returnables in the GIS section. I agree with the NAMM models, why the heck should WE be responsible for something THEY made of their own free will?

 

[spudmunkey]

I look at it this way: The GIS is also just a menu of what they have available in-store. If they have it in the showroom, they also put it online. They had that Aries double neck online...but it sold from the store. They sold that Sapphire DC800. It sold from the store if I remember right.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

There's more non-returnable stuff in general.

They originally made off the menu, Option 50, stuff non-returnable because 9/10 times it resulted in a guitar that was objectively harder to sell. At least that's what employees had told me over the years when I asked for something that would fall in under Option 50.

Now it seems they just don't really want to honor the old return policy unless they absolutely have to. I get it, that thing was great.

It's also worth mentioning that with the rise of social media, it's more worth while to create in stock showcase/specialty builds to hype the brand.

 

[MatiasTolkki]

Just some minor complaining:

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT WHY DOES MY JB200 HAVE TO BE SO AWESOME?

Okay I'm done now.

 

[Hollowway]

I think most people aren't even aware there's a gallery that you can sort by top wood, model, finish, etc. For a custom shop, a gallery should be a highlight, rather than buried in a tiny text link among dozens on the bottom of the page.

+1. I've been going on that thing for at least a decade. It's a huge help, and, IMO, better than a virtual builder. If it were me, I'd put literally every build in there, and make that the highlight of the site. There are some really, really cool spec combos that I'd never have thought of on my own, but would love to copy. But, unless you camp out on their social media, and the "pics from social media" thread on the bbs (both of which I am guilty of) you'd never see so many cool, but atypical, builds. If there's one thing that Kiesel has that no one else does, it's a ridiculously high combination of specs. They should be promoting that. Most people buy with their eyes, so why not make that site super sticky with loads of eye candy?

 

[Soya]

And here comes the Japan bashing.

Relax, ease up a bit, and take a joke sometimes man. The full throttle reiterating of your opinions is well documented. You love Japan, we get it.

 

[Vinoo Matthew]

Is Kiesel a reliable, honest maker of high-quality guitars? I know Carvin's quality was impeccable, but I don't know much about Kiesel. I need to know because I live halfway across the world from the US and I find they're pretty difficult to communicate with on email - they probably prefer phone calls. Their acknowledgement email says, "Kiesel Guitars receives hundreds of emails every day, and it takes time to respond to them all."

 

[Spicypickles]

Their guitars are mostly known as Being fairly high quality, but their customer service seems to be the issue. If you keep it simple in the specs, nothing crazy and non-returnable, you’ll likely end up with a perfectly fine guitar. Their ratio of qc issues is likely the same percentage as most other companies.

 

[Vinoo Matthew]

Thanks, man. Appreciate that. I don't intend to ask for huge departures. S6 with a few options from the Guitar Builder Tool, nothing non-returnable except for a tele-style bridge.

 

[Albake21]

Their guitars are mostly known as Being fairly high quality, but their customer service seems to be the issue. If you keep it simple in the specs, nothing crazy and non-returnable, you’ll likely end up with a perfectly fine guitar. Their ratio of qc issues is likely the same percentage as most other companies.

Agreed, well said.