The Kiesel you all never saw...

mystixboi1

Kick Henry Jackassowski
in early February of this year, I ordered this custom Kiesel Aries 6. I was excited because they were finally offering a custom color shift. After many months of waiting(maybe 5 weeks after they said it would be done), I received the guitar and within 10 minutes it was packed up ready to go back.

In a nutshell, it played great, but the color doesn't pop like it does in this pic. It was more dark green and I couldn't really make out the color shift. It actually looked kind of cheap in real life.

As far as tone, it sounded full and the Lithium pickups were articulate.

As nice as the guitar was, it didn't have that mojo. There was no "it" factor. It was just there and didn't inspire my playing.

So back it went. Here is a pic:

3F52EA8A-88C9-4905-9F5B-D7F16BCB2F8A.jpg


24 fret bolt-on neck
scale length 25.5"
Stainless steel frets
fingerboard flamed maple with MOP diamond inlays, 14" radius
bridge Hipshot™ hardtail, strings through body
tuners Kiesel Guitars locking tuners, 19:1 ratio
neck width 1.68" wide @ nut, 2.22" wide @ 24th fret, .780" thick at 1st fret, .870" thick at 12th fret
dimensions 38.25" long, 1.65" thick body, 12.5" wide body

I'll also be candid. I've ordered a bunch of carvins and kiesels over the past decade or so. While they are making some great guitars, my suhrs, Prs and music mans are still way above them in just about every aspect. Also, I've seen too many threads on different forums and facebook of them dropping the ball in different customer service issues. It all leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
 
Given what some of these cost I’m amazed that they don’t have some kind of swatch service for colors. Especially with complex finishes like this, advertised on the web, where color reproduction is always going to be inaccurate.
 
10 minutes?

Is that a new record?

On a serious note, I have yet to hear a GOOD story about that brand. All I hear are disappointing ones.
 
Sorry It wasn't what you wanted
...it looks awesome in the pic.
I remember as a kid, the Carvin catalog would come in the mail and I'd be wishing I could buy one. Too bad the company has de-graded to this. I used to hold them in high reguard.
I too have read the forum post on TGP (I think) about how poor that guys guitar came out. Then when he complained he was told he was nitpicking...F that. For that money that shit needs to be perfect.
 
Sorry It wasn't what you wanted
...it looks awesome in the pic.
I remember as a kid, the Carvin catalog would come in the mail and I'd be wishing I could buy one. Too bad the company has de-graded to this. I used to hold them in high reguard.
I too have read the forum post on TGP (I think) about how poor that guys guitar came out. Then when he complained he was told he was nitpicking...F that. For that money that shit needs to be perfect.

There are no perfect guitars. Even the ones you think are, aren't. It's an imperfect medium made by imperfect people.

Funny story, I was talking to Bob Taylor about exactly this and he told me this story. One day he got an email from someone who bought a Taylor and was disappointed in a flaw he found. Bob simply emailed him back and said he was sorry but asked if he noticed the other half dozen flaws it most likely had. The customer emailed back amazed he had received a response directly from Bob and was in fact extremely happy with the guitar over all and finally had taken a minute to play it. rotflmaothwap0

Taylor is to me, a near untouchable bar of perfection so it was nice to hear they are human too :wink:
 
Bob simply emailed him back and said he was sorry but asked if he noticed the other half dozen flaws it most likely had.

Flaws are a fact of life. I have accepted this so well that I only buy used gear, because I can live with flaws.
 
On a serious note, I have yet to hear a GOOD story about that brand. All I hear are disappointing ones.

Just to be fair though. Most of the time that something is talked about in public, it's bad news.

Otherwise, most of us don't give it a second thought.

Even the OP here states the guitar was good, just not doing it for him. Preference over functionality issues.

Not trying to white knight Kiesel. But I do think they get an overly negative outlook on the web.
Think I've had 4 pass through my hands and can't say any were true dogs. Little sterile perhaps.
 
There are no perfect guitars. Even the ones you think are, aren't. It's an imperfect medium made by imperfect people.

Funny story, I was talking to Bob Taylor about exactly this and he told me this story. One day he got an email from someone who bought a Taylor and was disappointed in a flaw he found. Bob simply emailed him back and said he was sorry but asked if he noticed the other half dozen flaws it most likely had. The customer emailed back amazed he had received a response directly from Bob and was in fact extremely happy with the guitar over all and finally had taken a minute to play it. rotflmaothwap0

Taylor is to me, a near untouchable bar of perfection so it was nice to hear they are human too :wink:
Yeah, I hear you. I know that I said the guitar needs to be perfect at that price, but I know that perfection is usually not attainable.
I suppose it depends on what the flaw is...
 
Just to be fair though. Most of the time that something is talked about in public, it's bad news.

Otherwise, most of us don't give it a second thought.

Even the OP here states the guitar was good, just not doing it for him. Preference over functionality issues.

Not trying to white knight Kiesel. But I do think they get an overly negative outlook on the web.
Think I've had 4 pass through my hands and can't say any were true dogs. Little sterile perhaps.

The Lithium pickups are light years ahead of the old pickups. The older ones did sound sterile for sure though.
 
I like those flip flop paint finishes. Sucks they couldn't get it right. Keisel/Carvin seem to be pretty awful to deal with. Lots of QC issues and a general "fuck you" customer service attitude is enough to keep me from ever considering one of their guitars. I hear about people having bad interactions with them constantly, and although some of those are probably nitpick customers, the sheer number of complaints I see suggest the company blows.

You know you have a GAS problem when you start hiding guitar purchases from your guitar forum buddies. :)
 
I like those flip flop paint finishes. Sucks they couldn't get it right. Keisel/Carvin seem to be pretty awful to deal with. Lots of QC issues and a general "fuck you" customer service attitude is enough to keep me from ever considering one of their guitars. I hear about people having bad interactions with them constantly, and although some of those are probably nitpick customers, the sheer number of complaints I see suggest the company blows.

You know you have a GAS problem when you start hiding guitar purchases from your guitar forum buddies. :)

My biggest problems with this whole dealing are that when I called at the estimated due date, I was told by my rep it would be done a few weeks later. When I called a few weeks later and asked for an update, I was told it would ship the following week. Each week I called and I got the same response. I finally asked my rep to speak with someone else who actually knew what the deal was. They shop manager said it would ship within the week.

But more aggravating was that they have had it since August 2. The website says that returns would be processed within 2 days and refunds issued a few days after that. I'm still waiting. On top of that, the accounting rep told me that they didn't get it until August 10 and it would take a few days. I sent him the tracking number showing the true delivery date. He wrote back,"sorry. It should be processed within a few days." It's 2 weeks later...
 
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