A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Here we go with the second of two headless Kiesel NGDs this weekend (courtesy of a close friend who has ten of them and gave me an unbelievable deal on these two so he can order a few more).

This is arguably their most mean-looking headless model - the Type-X. Despite the sorta "extreme" body shape, it is incredibly comfortable both sitting and standing and unlike many other similarly shaped guitars you don't bump into anything because of super extended horns (lookin' at you, my beloved Jackson RR!).

Specs on this one include a black limba neck and body (this makes the 3rd Kiesel in my stable with that wood combo), a beautiful poplar burl top, transparent night burst finish (with California burst option), royal ebony fretboard with 14 inch radius and jumbo stainless frets, the Hipshot headless trem, and it's loaded with a set of Bareknuckle pickups. My friend didn't recall the exact model for the pickups but I'll probably be able to figure it out by measuring the output...guessing they're Aftermath or Warpig pickups. I love BKPs and have them in pretty much all my favorite guitars, so these unsurprisingly sound amazing. The Hipshot headless trem is also fantastic, great tuning stability and I greatly prefer these to Floyds.

Some pics here, and it's off to a studio session with these two newcomers!

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

golem wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:49 pm Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you sir! Really been loving this one, and the trem is really amazing. Probably going to sell my HB Dullahans since I can't imagine playing those over these new Kiesels.

Congrats and happy NGD.

tonebender wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:32 pm Congrats and happy NGD.

Thank you sir! Burls of a feather, these guys...

Nice guitar.

Changing your user name to Burl Ives any time soon?

The old X220 is my favourite Carvin ever. This headless variant is also very cool.

Again, wish I could get deals like this north of the border and....cut it out!

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:37 am Nice guitar.

Changing your user name to Burl Ives any time soon?

The old X220 is my favourite Carvin ever. This headless variant is also very cool.

Again, wish I could get deals like this north of the border and....cut it out!

Haha, thanks man. I honestly can't really get deals like this south of the border either typically...the only reason this worked out is because I'm very close friends with the person who sold them to me and he hates dealing with selling stuff so he offered me a crazy deal. Kiesel has done a really good job improving resale value for their instruments with the following they've built, you used to be able to easily get them at 50%-ish off new price given the fact that they're custom and customs have inherently low resale value but now it's not uncommon to see a Kiesel sell for something like 15-20% off new price.

These were each a couple hundred bucks less than even a base Zeus and Type-X would be, so even though I'm kinda out of room for guitars I had to grab them

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:28 am

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:37 am Nice guitar.

Changing your user name to Burl Ives any time soon?

The old X220 is my favourite Carvin ever. This headless variant is also very cool.

Again, wish I could get deals like this north of the border and....cut it out!

Haha, thanks man. I honestly can't really get deals like this south of the border either typically...the only reason this worked out is because I'm very close friends with the person who sold them to me and he hates dealing with selling stuff so he offered me a crazy deal. Kiesel has done a really good job improving resale value for their instruments with the following they've built, you used to be able to easily get them at 50%-ish off new price given the fact that they're custom and customs have inherently low resale value but now it's not uncommon to see a Kiesel sell for something like 15-20% off new price.

These were each a couple hundred bucks less than even a base Zeus and Type-X would be, so even though I'm kinda out of room for guitars I had to grab them

My last NGD was the same thing -- I just couldn't say no at the asking price, and it turned out better than I could have ever expected.

"But really, I'm cutting back!"

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 1:41 pm

slowhand84 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:28 am

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:37 am Nice guitar.

Changing your user name to Burl Ives any time soon?

The old X220 is my favourite Carvin ever. This headless variant is also very cool.

Again, wish I could get deals like this north of the border and....cut it out!

Haha, thanks man. I honestly can't really get deals like this south of the border either typically...the only reason this worked out is because I'm very close friends with the person who sold them to me and he hates dealing with selling stuff so he offered me a crazy deal. Kiesel has done a really good job improving resale value for their instruments with the following they've built, you used to be able to easily get them at 50%-ish off new price given the fact that they're custom and customs have inherently low resale value but now it's not uncommon to see a Kiesel sell for something like 15-20% off new price.

These were each a couple hundred bucks less than even a base Zeus and Type-X would be, so even though I'm kinda out of room for guitars I had to grab them

My last NGD was the same thing -- I just couldn't say no at the asking price, and it turned out better than I could have ever expected.

"But really, I'm cutting back!"

Haha yep, that's how it goes. I did get rid of about 5 guitars to make space for these 2, so I didn't do too badly.

Goodness!!! While I love the zeus, something about the color combo of that X!!!

That is insane. I love the back and that wood. And ys o the shape as a practical exotic and being just pointy enough. As a teen I got to tour the carvin factory with Mark keisel. It was amazing with lots of automation and precision building. It was like my more recent Taylor factory tour but ver 1.0. Back then carvin only had a handful of basic models. Nowadays they seem like more a full custom shop.
Mark and my dad were in the corvette club together so he invited us to the tour. I think he was in his 20s and I still remember his hot rod shirt that said "injection is great but I'd rather be blown"

Narsh wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 2:07 pm Goodness!!! While I love the zeus, something about the color combo of that X!!!

Thanks! Someone in a different thread described it as a nebula throwing up, which I think is pretty accurate . I like the Type X a lot but I will readily admit the Zeus is my favorite of my 3 headless Kiesels. Those bevels and contours really elevate the comfort factor...my Vader is incredibly comfy but the Zeus is even better in that regard. The Vader does stand out in terms of upper fret access though...it's still great on the Zeus and Type X but just ever so slightly better on the Vader.

nomadh wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 11:16 am That is insane. I love the back and that wood. And ys o the shape as a practical exotic and being just pointy enough. As a teen I got to tour the carvin factory with Mark keisel. It was amazing with lots of automation and precision building. It was like my more recent Taylor factory tour but ver 1.0. Back then carvin only had a handful of basic models. Nowadays they seem like more a full custom shop.
Mark and my dad were in the corvette club together so he invited us to the tour. I think he was in his 20s and I still remember his hot rod shirt that said "injection is great but I'd rather be blown"

Thanks, and that's an awesome story! I haven't had a chance to visit the factory but probably will next time I'm in Cali. Kiesel has come a very long way, Jeff can certainly come off a bit abrasive at times but it is undeniable that he catapulted that company to a whole new level with the changes he implemented (most importantly via their insanely boosted social media presence). Carvin was always underground, they made great stuff but they weren't really a known brand and I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that they had little to no online presence (even as recently as 2013 or so).