New Greg Howe model/shape by Kiesel

Mincer said:
Certainly the neck profile, the pickups, balance, and weight.
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Can't blame a guy for preference. Some also do not like the wider fretboards . Even with the OFR a carvin/kiesel has plenty of space outside the 1st and 6th strings.
Now balance and weight are totally dependent on the build selections, and as for pickups you might like the AH double-screws.
 
Mincer said:
I played dozens of Keisels at NAMM, which featured about 50 of the best guitars coming out of their shop. None touched a Suhr, Anderson, or Music Man. All about the same price.
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NAMM kiesels are all "show pieces" that have a lot of crazy overpriced cosmetic specs, hence why they were similar in price to a Suhr or Anderson. Spec one out sanely (i.e., don't pick the most expensive cosmetic option at every opportunity), and they'll come out much cheaper than those brands and closer to (and in some cases, cheaper than) ESP E-II prices.
 
Mincer said:
That kind of policy is reason enough to go with someone else.
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They have their own line of pickups and in particular the direct mount routs are very tight so many aftermarket pickups out of the norm won't fit without mods. Those of us who know the guitars will just order a guitar with what we like or order it with the standard pickups and swap. Kiesel Pickups bring decent money on Reverb in fact more than your normal Duncan. Bottom line they don't really want the hassle of opening the door to some of the off size stuff not fitting then having to mod the rout so upcharge for it. Lot of the target folks they are selling to will drop stuff in them that aren't your normal Duncan or Dimarzio. Try ordering a Suhr, PRS or Anderson with aftermarket pickups and see what happens. You also get into wiring for some of the active stuff ect it's just not something they want to do but will for a price. I like Kiesel Pickups over all much better than what Suhr, Anderson or PRS uses in their stuff. It,s all in ordering the RIGHT Kiesel pickups. I despise the Lithium line for example that they use as the default in most models now. However the Berrylium set in my DC 600 are killers., They are medium output A2 and really big open and sweet sounding pickups. The Marks singles I have are the equal at the least to the Antiquity Texas Hot and Surfer sets I have.
Here are 2 of my favorite Kiesel humbuker combos.
https://youtu.be/4f6-kSpr9_o
 
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Cynical said:
NAMM kiesels are all "show pieces" that have a lot of crazy overpriced cosmetic specs, hence why they were similar in price to a Suhr or Anderson. Spec one out sanely (i.e., don't pick the most expensive cosmetic option at every opportunity), and they'll come out much cheaper than those brands and closer to (and in some cases, cheaper than) ESP E-II prices.
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BINGO! Also Jeff likes super hot pickups that are to my ear very harsh and bright. So he sets up the show stuff like he wants them. Kiesel offers a number of REALLY good sounding pickups but you have to know whats what and order the right set.
 
So, if Kiesel only offered non-custom models with no ability to change the specs, you'd be fine with it? Because that seems strictly worse than the deal they offer now (which is a small amount of customization between several different menu items for a price similar to a nice production model guitar with similar specs).
 
I'd be fine with it if I actually liked their guitars. I haven't played one that I've actually liked, so it doesn't affect me either way.
 
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