Tell me about Kiesel Guitars

  • Thread starter Thread starter yngzaklynch
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Oy... These comments. I have 2. A Vader VM7 and a DCM7. They flat-out rock. My other guitars have been collecting dust. They're not dead-sounding, quite the opposite in-fact. The neck profile is very comfortable and both guitars are super fast-playing. PM me if you want to more info.
 
Vrad":3shaaren said:
Oy... These comments. I have 2. A Vader VM7 and a DCM7. They flat-out rock. My other guitars have been collecting dust. They're not dead-sounding, quite the opposite in-fact. The neck profile is very comfortable and both guitars are super fast-playing. PM me if you want to more info.

Haha. This.


I have a Vader 7 and a Bolt with a Floyd. They're great guitars. Shocks me how much mis-information there is out there.

1. Everyone uses CNC. Handmade? C'mon.
2. Dead sounding? Hardly. You may not love the pickups. That's fair. In fact, I don't either. :)
3. Build quality? Top shelf. Do I prefer my Suhr Moderns? Yes, but only for reasons that matter to me.
4. Resale? Not great. But you paid less new then elsewhere most likely.
5. Tons of options. Yes, they have crazy fancy woods and finishes. Don't know why people would knock that though.
6. Some advice, if you can't stand the over the top kind of fan-boi-drank-all-the-Kool-Aid crowd: Avoid the forum. They mean well. But holy $hit can they be annoying.
 
I can't comment on yalls guitars and how they sound, but the 2 I had were super dead sounding, even compared to instruments that cost 1/5th the price. Obviously each guitar, each piece of wood is going to be different...but to say that the dead sound people have experienced is misinformation is just wrong. Also, on the CNC thing...I don't really think CNC vs handmade makes a guitar necessarily better in anyway. I realize most companies use CNC...its the only way to really mass produce guitars...but Jeff has posted multiple videos stating that CNC is better than handmade, you don't want handmade necks, etc...so that's all I was referring to with that comment.
 
dfrattaroli":1nc53ml4 said:
Vrad":1nc53ml4 said:
Oy... These comments. I have 2. A Vader VM7 and a DCM7. They flat-out rock. My other guitars have been collecting dust. They're not dead-sounding, quite the opposite in-fact. The neck profile is very comfortable and both guitars are super fast-playing. PM me if you want to more info.

Haha. This.


I have a Vader 7 and a Bolt with a Floyd. They're great guitars. Shocks me how much mis-information there is out there.

1. Everyone uses CNC. Handmade? C'mon.
2. Dead sounding? Hardly. You may not love the pickups. That's fair. In fact, I don't either. :)
3. Build quality? Top shelf. Do I prefer my Suhr Moderns? Yes, but only for reasons that matter to me.
4. Resale? Not great. But you paid less new then elsewhere most likely.
5. Tons of options. Yes, they have crazy fancy woods and finishes. Don't know why people would knock that though.
6. Some advice, if you can't stand the over the top kind of fan-boi-drank-all-the-Kool-Aid crowd: Avoid the forum. They mean well. But holy $hit can they be annoying.

I like CNC. It's consistent... I value consistency over "hand-crafted" any day of the week.
Exactly, you don't have to like the Lithiums. I happen to like them, but the next guitar I order (yes! #3) will have something different.
Yeah the resale blows. To be fair, a lot of the ones I see for sale have ridiculous color-schemes or features. Crazy tops... way too gaudy for me. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! :D

I don't go to their forum. I barely go to forums these days. I do follow them on social media and they have some good stuff going on there.

Anyway... like everything else... a lot of folks talking out their asses in this thread. I'm out.
 
rbasaria":21edyakd said:
I can't comment on yalls guitars and how they sound, but the 2 I had were super dead sounding, even compared to instruments that cost 1/5th the price. Obviously each guitar, each piece of wood is going to be different...but to say that the dead sound people have experienced is misinformation is just wrong. Also, on the CNC thing...I don't really think CNC vs handmade makes a guitar necessarily better in anyway. I realize most companies use CNC...its the only way to really mass produce guitars...but Jeff has posted multiple videos stating that CNC is better than handmade, you don't want handmade necks, etc...so that's all I was referring to with that comment.

Yes, I see too many people talking about "dead wood/tone" to just dismiss it. I can only speak on my axe which is great. I wonder if it is model specific? Bolt on vs neck thru? Maybe a setup issue? Pickups?

But the strange part is the new owner of your old guitar seems happy. Maybe he can chime in with any changes that may have been made since he got it
 
crankyrayhanky":105omtif said:
rbasaria":105omtif said:
I can't comment on yalls guitars and how they sound, but the 2 I had were super dead sounding, even compared to instruments that cost 1/5th the price. Obviously each guitar, each piece of wood is going to be different...but to say that the dead sound people have experienced is misinformation is just wrong. Also, on the CNC thing...I don't really think CNC vs handmade makes a guitar necessarily better in anyway. I realize most companies use CNC...its the only way to really mass produce guitars...but Jeff has posted multiple videos stating that CNC is better than handmade, you don't want handmade necks, etc...so that's all I was referring to with that comment.

Yes, I see too many people talking about "dead wood/tone" to just dismiss it. I can only speak on my axe which is great. I wonder if it is model specific? Bolt on vs neck thru? Maybe a setup issue? Pickups?

But the strange part is the new owner of your old guitar seems happy. Maybe he can chime in with any changes that may have been made since he got it

Yeah, Shask traded me his Gothic V for it, which I found much more resonant, responsive, and had a ton more sustain. I thought it was a neck through thing because I owned a couple of LTD Elites that were neck through that had the same issue. I was finding that my set neck guitars didn't have the same issue. Then I got my Gutierrez and it was a massive difference...it is also maple neck through, and has as much sustain and resonance as my Gothic V did...so I guess its not a neck through thing. Maybe its the kiln dried wood, maybe its just those select pieces of wood...I really have no idea.

And it wasn't the pickups. I swapped pickups with no improvement, and I have used the Lithiums in other guitars, and thought they sounded great.
 
I tried my friends Vader recently and it was a great guitar. Well built, resonant, no issues.
They did try to charge him $500 to not include their logo anywhere on the front of the body, and i've heard that their customer service /PR appears to be crappy in many cases, which isn't surprising since our friend engage was woking in in their PR team.
In regards to all the claims about them sounding "numb/dull", I would take that with a grain of salt; they're using the same woods and techniques others are using, so theres bound to be a bunch less than ideal builds, but for them to routinely be dull/lifeless/whatever is hard for me to believe.
Their headstocks are some of the worst in the business though IMHO (cosmetically speaking)
 
rbasaria":1b9b6m8w said:
crankyrayhanky":1b9b6m8w said:
rbasaria":1b9b6m8w said:
I can't comment on yalls guitars and how they sound, but the 2 I had were super dead sounding, even compared to instruments that cost 1/5th the price. Obviously each guitar, each piece of wood is going to be different...but to say that the dead sound people have experienced is misinformation is just wrong. Also, on the CNC thing...I don't really think CNC vs handmade makes a guitar necessarily better in anyway. I realize most companies use CNC...its the only way to really mass produce guitars...but Jeff has posted multiple videos stating that CNC is better than handmade, you don't want handmade necks, etc...so that's all I was referring to with that comment.

Yes, I see too many people talking about "dead wood/tone" to just dismiss it. I can only speak on my axe which is great. I wonder if it is model specific? Bolt on vs neck thru? Maybe a setup issue? Pickups?

But the strange part is the new owner of your old guitar seems happy. Maybe he can chime in with any changes that may have been made since he got it

Yeah, Shask traded me his Gothic V for it, which I found much more resonant, responsive, and had a ton more sustain. I thought it was a neck through thing because I owned a couple of LTD Elites that were neck through that had the same issue. I was finding that my set neck guitars didn't have the same issue. Then I got my Gutierrez and it was a massive difference...it is also maple neck through, and has as much sustain and resonance as my Gothic V did...so I guess its not a neck through thing. Maybe its the kiln dried wood, maybe its just those select pieces of wood...I really have no idea.

And it wasn't the pickups. I swapped pickups with no improvement, and I have used the Lithiums in other guitars, and thought they sounded great.

Not a dead neck thru in general, but specific to Kiesel neck thrus. Juggenrnaut neck thrus are awesome.
 
I've had good experiences with Kiesel guitars....I have two Aries models. The first one I got I custom ordered- no frills build w/ SS Jumbo frets and ebony board, hardtail black hardware, reversed headstock, gray gloss finish for less than $1100 (You can get them to throw in the case for free if you work at it). The second one I got was a custom build bought used for $800...another no frills, zebra wood board, SS jumbo frets, hardtail blackware, seafoam green satin finish. They play great and I never felt the need to change the pickups. I also have two Suhr Modern Satins. I wouldn't rate them as high, but I would still consider them to be quality builds, especially for the money. In order for me to hang on to a guitar, I really have to like it. With that said, I would consider them to be keepers with no future plans to sell. I feel that the Kiesels featuring less options are the better buy...at least for that brand. All their extra options don't do anything for me. And, the Aries seems best as a solid color with that severe bevel. The ones with the figured maple tops look kinda goofy to me.
 
Vrad":35oaxp6r said:
Oy... These comments. I have 2. A Vader VM7 and a DCM7. They flat-out rock. My other guitars have been collecting dust. They're not dead-sounding, quite the opposite in-fact. The neck profile is very comfortable and both guitars are super fast-playing. PM me if you want to more info.

I agree. The two Aries I have are quite lively sounding, not dead sounding. Others might be, but not the ones I own.
 
I have to agree with the dead thing. Always felt like they were encased in plastic. Just dead tone.
 
xzyryabx":13dnznsl said:
customer service /PR appears to be crappy in many cases, which isn't surprising since our friend engage was woking in in their PR team.

I worked in Artist Relations and social media, not PR, thanks for trying though. It's truly no insult on a forum to be accused of doing a stellar job. So thank you.
 
technomancer":3jjw5liy said:
They're usually solidly built guitars, and I think the "dead" guitars lately are probably because of wood that hasn't been dried properly / for long enough. Their volume has gone up and I think that has impacted this.

There could be some truth in your theory.

I've never owned a Kiesel but, have owned a number of post 2000 Carvin's. I notice they tend to have bad fret sprout in the winter. I had a theory about this being related to the wood not being dried properly.
 
The customer service, in my experience has been spotty. I won't go into details here.
 
Crunchtime":2n0ejbwj said:
technomancer":2n0ejbwj said:
They're usually solidly built guitars, and I think the "dead" guitars lately are probably because of wood that hasn't been dried properly / for long enough. Their volume has gone up and I think that has impacted this.

There could be some truth in your theory.

I've never owned a Kiesel but, have owned a number of post 2000 Carvin's. I notice they tend to have bad fret sprout in the winter. I had a theory about this being related to the wood not being dried properly.

Well that would explain why my Kiesel is working out...not much of a winter here near Phoenix and the weather will dry it right the f out. :lol: :LOL:
Maybe it needs a southeastern dryness? Kind of half serious
 
I have a 2011 carvin cs3 and a 2016 keisel cs6.I can't say enough good about either one .they are both amazing guitars.I bought the CS3 used because i was looking for a cheaper alternative to a LP axcess.I owned an axcess at the time and I wanted another but couldn't afford it .After I bought the carvin I quit playing the axcess because the carvin played and sounded better. (Yes I changed the pickups). I then sold the axcess so I could buy a kiesel cs6 built to my specs . Long story short I would put the kiesel up against any make in fit,finish,playability and tone.
I have been playing for 44 years and have owned over 50 guitars .Including PRS ,Suhr(have one up for sale now),Custom shop Gibsons custom shop charvels etc. you get the picture .
Only problem I had with the kiesel cs6 is I bough mine with the pups uncovered and when I went to change the pups and install some with covers I had to route the holes out some . I didn't have this problem with the cs3,it came with covered pickups .So i would suggest buying with covered pups just so the Routs will be bigger.
As far as sounding dead .....Not the 2 I have ,I constantly get compliments on how good my guitar sounds .I think alot of that is knowing how to match the right pickup with the right guitar .yes I go through alot of pickups before I finally settle on one. one size doesn't fit all .I don't care for Kiesel pickups but I've never left a stock pickup in any guitar I planned to keep .
Kiesel sells a lot of guitars,when you think about how many guitars they sell as compared to how many people complain ,the complaints are a really small number. Also you don't really see that many for sale used.I don't think its because of low resale ,lets face it if you had a guitar that you hated that bad you would take the loss count it as a learning experience and move on.I think its because most people love them .
Some of you may have seen me say this in other post but selling my Gibson LP axcess to buy a Kiesel CS6 was the best Guitar related decision I've ever made .One more thing ,I found a Gibson Axcess in a similar finish only without the SS frets and tongue oil neck and it was $7000 . I paid $2300 for my Kiesel .
Thats my CS6 in my avatar
i would buy another in a heartbeat
 
rbasaria":3tyqi4b0 said:
I bought 2 in 2015, I think...an SCB6 and a DC600. The guitars played and looked ridiculously great! The sound, though...they lacked sustain, almost at all, and I ended up finding that my LTD H400, which cost me $350, sounded and resonated a million times better than my 2 $1500 guitars. It was very disappointing.

zuXvxmGl.jpg


Ended up trading the SCB6 for a Gibson Gothic V shortly after getting the DC600 because it kept sliding off of my leg because the lower horn was a little on the short side. I have this problem with most single cut guitars.

I traded the DC600 to a buddy of mine for a 300 blackout AR pistol build. While the tone on both guitars was somewhat lacking, the tipping point for me on the DC600 was when I went to swap the Kiesel pickups with Dimarzio Dominions. Turns out, they used different length pickup mounting screws for the bridge and neck pickups. Ended up screwing right through the back of the guitar when adjusting the neck pickup height. Ended up having to repair that. Carvin did say they would fix it for me for $100, but when I initially emailed them, they said they do not use different sized screws. Then I sent them this picture, and they never addressed the screw size issue after that, just offered the repair.

AUmsGUE.jpg


Anyway. Sort of done with that company. The way the guitars sound and respond just make them not worth it to me anymore, no matter how much I wanted these guitars for YEARS before I was actually able to buy them. I will not purchase another.

so you didn't notice the screws were different sizes when you took them out ?
 
I have an a6, great guitar, far from dead sounding. plays aND sounds great. ebony board. alder with maple top, Floyd, some sort of cool looking white, yeah, mine is awesome. my other guitars are custom Jackson, knaggs kenai, PRS dgt, and a les paul. plays just as good as any of them, for the cash it cant be beat. I even like the pickups it came with.
 
I have bought and played tons of guitars. I currently play nothing but kiesel guitars. I still own a couple Ibanez prestige guitars, and a few American PRS guitars, but they all stay tucked away in cases. kiesel's customer service for me has been spot on and very professional. I currently own 5 kiesel's with two new builds currently in progress and every one of them play great. some people knock the CNC aspect of things, but to me it creates consistency. the guitars are still hand finished and hand sanded after the CNC process, as well as being fretted and set up by hand. I personally love the hybrid style of building with the cnc, and hands on aspects being combined. I can go from one to the other and not have to re adjust to a "different" feeling guitar. what first got me to give them a try was the fact they had a carved top with a Floyd rose and a 25" scale. I know for some the cnc process takes away from he traditional aspect of guitar building, and that's understandable, but for me it doesn't matter because I love the consistency from one guitar to the next.
 
sleewell2":3gc9d2jc said:
why do so many people say they sound dead? you don't hear that with many other similarly priced brands.

I owned a Suhr or two that would qualify as what I'd call dead sounding. But I've heard lifeless, sterile, dead, terms thrown around at every brand. Usually Gibson guys throwing it PRS though. I've played some PRS that didn't sound great, some AWESOME. IMHO every DGT I've played or owned counts as AWESOME.

All I can say about Carvin or Kiesel is the few I've played didn't make me want to buy one.
 
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