Pierre
Stratologist
I played a friend's KxK about a year's back and it was quite impressive. It was also heavy as hell, and a 7 string, so I needed something else; but it did leave an impression on me.
Cue that 6DC that's been on Reverb a couple of times over the past year: https://reverb.com/item/3206165-kxk-dc-6-2014, https://reverb.com/item/5180102-kxk-6dc-2013-brown-transparent-flame-maple-bare-knuckle-warpigs. It ended up being lowered to what I felt was a good price, so off it went to my place.
FYI the KxK page for this baby: http://kxkguitars.com/instock6DC.html
You will notice that both these adds mention perfection, mintyness, etc... I tell a different story. I am EXTREMELY picky about build-quality, pedantically so (and much more so than people who claim to be all about details; this is not a diss, it's an observation). This is only in the interest of full-disclosure, and not intended to be digs at anyone, including the guilder or previous owners.
First: this is a very cool guitar. It's lightweight, pretty good looking (though it's not blue, but eh...), with good timber, great resonance, and it plays nicely as of right now.
Now for the details of it all...
SPECS!
* 25" scale-length according to what I could find/measure
* Specs for other 6DCs show a 16" radius, but this one is curvier. Probably 14" (not checked in details yet as I already put on a set of strings for a rough setup)
* Mahogany body and neck, and nice pieces too! Both body and necks appear to be two pieces, very well-matched
* Thick maple cap!
* Very lightweight (and this coming from a guy with only lightweight guitars: my heaviest is my Reiver HEADLESS!)
* Set-neck (i.e. the anti-thesis of what I would normally go for)
* Stainless steel frets
* Aluminum side-dots
* Volume, Tone, 3 way toggle
* What is advertised as a KxK bridge, but definitely looks like a Hipshot?
* BK Warpigs. Those things are AMAZING. I've been using BKs more or less exclusively since 2006 and this is the first time I try the Pigs; I am loving them.
HARDWARE!
I like those Sperzels. I'm normally a Schaller guy when it comes to locking tuners (I can't stand those Hipshot ones on my Aristides
) but those will certainly do.
There's some Dunlop straplocks (the bits that go on the straps weren't included but that's not a huge deal). These are my favorites so all good!
The bridge is perfectly straightforward and serviceable.
I really like those knobs! They're low-profile and don't kill the sleek looks of the guitar; but they rotate smoothly and with the right amount of friction. Super happy there too.
The toggle switch is sturdy and the feel is good.
BUILD!
The headstock + body are both, I feel, beautifully-shaped. I like it. A more evil PRS. It loses the old-lawyer feel of a fancy PRS and takes on a much more Modern vibe.
Speaking of the headstock: in spite of its murderous looks, it's spotless here and hasn't been damaged!
There's a beautifully-executed natural binding on both neck and headtstock.
The fingerboard isn't bound, but the frets are seated in a way that makes the fret slots invisible.
The carve is really pretty, and the knobs are recessed into it.
Overall: kudos!
The maple top is thick and has a very nice flame to it. The finish is quite dark which is a liiiiiittle bit of a shame because it hides the figuring somehow. But that's also kind of part of its charm, at least for me.
The color is... well I have no idea. The original KxK page called it 'Trans black top', but it's more of a nondescript brown. Different light/angle will make it seem brighter or darker:
The volute is beautiful; a raised 'V' shape which is, again, a KxK staple. Here it's art. There's no detriment to have it this way; it's a stamp of originality for the brand and one I dig.
The headstock's brand inlay is also cleanly executed.
I just checked again. Make that VERY cleanly executed
The output jack is recessed, which means angled plugs are a no-no. Not a huge deal, but it's there nonetheless.
This guitar does have a couple of... quirks.
I don't mean this in a particularly negative way. Just that there's a few things that could be different, so to speak.
For example: as with all KxKs that I ever saw (in person or pictures), there's a thick gloss clear-coat which stops right through the neck heel, and creates a raised surface. That, in itself, is common to a few builders and not something I'd care about.
For example: as with all KxKs that I ever saw (in person or pictures), there's a thick gloss clear-coat which stops right through the neck heel, and creates a raised surface. That, in itself, is common to a few builders and not something I'd care about.
What's different here is that this demarcation line extends to the neck! Though not, of course, to the fingerboard
The only true build flaw I can see is at the neck-joint: there's some glue that seeped under the coat. Not a big deal and you can't feel it.
Another quirk is around the truss-rod cavity. There's just not a lot of space there, which makes using long allen-keys impossible.
I tried to take a picture but without my SLR, it was tough and I didn't manage even without AF
FEEL!
This does play nicely. But... the nut looks like a stock graphtech blank put on the axe without much setup. String-spacing is ok, but string height/radius is all-over the place.
The strings were setup a little too low, and without 100% adherence to the fingerboard radius, but I have certainly seen way worse. But with the overly-high nut and too-low strings this created a weird playing balance over the neck.
The high E string is too close to the edge for me. And the bridge can't quite compensate for this. If this were a bolt-on this would be an easy fix but... set-neck.
The neck is either deadly flat, or with a tiny amount of back-bow. The new set of strings hasn't put on any relief and I'm waiting for the relevant allen key wrenches to adjust her on Monday.
Again; 90% of people would probably be happy or satisfied with it (I hate making generalization, so do feel free to take this with a grain of salt!).
Next week, I'll adjust the neck, get her setup properly at the bridge-end of things, and then proceed to adjust the nut to the correct radius/string depth.
SOUND!
There's a very satisfying chunk and depth to the unplugged sound. Not loud enough to hear if sat very close to the PC/TV, but good enough in any other unplugged circumstances.
Noticeably the low E has an extremely satisfying ring to it.
This is not the loudest guitar I own or have heard, but it's very good for 1.5k and has a lovely unplugged voice overall.
Plugged in those Warpigs are monsters.
They have a general thickness to the sound that extends to clean tones, and are responsive-enough for my needs. Obviously this isn't going to be my country guitar, so that's good enough for clean to low-distortion. It's more than good enough for high-gain.
I don't like toggle switches, but this one will stay (can hardly replace it with a blade switch now can I
). I will however re-do the electronics and put in a push-push or push-pull pot to split the pickups and get my favorite tone through it (inner or outer coils in parallel).
THOUGHTS!
Currently this is a decent guitar in need of a little TLC. I hope that once I find the time to work on what's needed, she'll be an outstanding one. The 'quirks' on it aren't damaging to playability, and the tone is excellent. There's a lot of potential there!
Cue that 6DC that's been on Reverb a couple of times over the past year: https://reverb.com/item/3206165-kxk-dc-6-2014, https://reverb.com/item/5180102-kxk-6dc-2013-brown-transparent-flame-maple-bare-knuckle-warpigs. It ended up being lowered to what I felt was a good price, so off it went to my place.
FYI the KxK page for this baby: http://kxkguitars.com/instock6DC.html
You will notice that both these adds mention perfection, mintyness, etc... I tell a different story. I am EXTREMELY picky about build-quality, pedantically so (and much more so than people who claim to be all about details; this is not a diss, it's an observation). This is only in the interest of full-disclosure, and not intended to be digs at anyone, including the guilder or previous owners.
First: this is a very cool guitar. It's lightweight, pretty good looking (though it's not blue, but eh...), with good timber, great resonance, and it plays nicely as of right now.
Now for the details of it all...
SPECS!
* 25" scale-length according to what I could find/measure
* Specs for other 6DCs show a 16" radius, but this one is curvier. Probably 14" (not checked in details yet as I already put on a set of strings for a rough setup)
* Mahogany body and neck, and nice pieces too! Both body and necks appear to be two pieces, very well-matched
* Thick maple cap!
* Very lightweight (and this coming from a guy with only lightweight guitars: my heaviest is my Reiver HEADLESS!)
* Set-neck (i.e. the anti-thesis of what I would normally go for)
* Stainless steel frets
* Aluminum side-dots
* Volume, Tone, 3 way toggle
* What is advertised as a KxK bridge, but definitely looks like a Hipshot?
* BK Warpigs. Those things are AMAZING. I've been using BKs more or less exclusively since 2006 and this is the first time I try the Pigs; I am loving them.
HARDWARE!
I like those Sperzels. I'm normally a Schaller guy when it comes to locking tuners (I can't stand those Hipshot ones on my Aristides
) but those will certainly do.There's some Dunlop straplocks (the bits that go on the straps weren't included but that's not a huge deal). These are my favorites so all good!
The bridge is perfectly straightforward and serviceable.
I really like those knobs! They're low-profile and don't kill the sleek looks of the guitar; but they rotate smoothly and with the right amount of friction. Super happy there too.
The toggle switch is sturdy and the feel is good.
BUILD!
The headstock + body are both, I feel, beautifully-shaped. I like it. A more evil PRS. It loses the old-lawyer feel of a fancy PRS and takes on a much more Modern vibe.
Speaking of the headstock: in spite of its murderous looks, it's spotless here and hasn't been damaged!
There's a beautifully-executed natural binding on both neck and headtstock.
The fingerboard isn't bound, but the frets are seated in a way that makes the fret slots invisible.
The carve is really pretty, and the knobs are recessed into it.
Overall: kudos!
The maple top is thick and has a very nice flame to it. The finish is quite dark which is a liiiiiittle bit of a shame because it hides the figuring somehow. But that's also kind of part of its charm, at least for me.
The color is... well I have no idea. The original KxK page called it 'Trans black top', but it's more of a nondescript brown. Different light/angle will make it seem brighter or darker:
The volute is beautiful; a raised 'V' shape which is, again, a KxK staple. Here it's art. There's no detriment to have it this way; it's a stamp of originality for the brand and one I dig.
The headstock's brand inlay is also cleanly executed.
I just checked again. Make that VERY cleanly executed
The output jack is recessed, which means angled plugs are a no-no. Not a huge deal, but it's there nonetheless.
This guitar does have a couple of... quirks.
I don't mean this in a particularly negative way. Just that there's a few things that could be different, so to speak.
For example: as with all KxKs that I ever saw (in person or pictures), there's a thick gloss clear-coat which stops right through the neck heel, and creates a raised surface. That, in itself, is common to a few builders and not something I'd care about.
For example: as with all KxKs that I ever saw (in person or pictures), there's a thick gloss clear-coat which stops right through the neck heel, and creates a raised surface. That, in itself, is common to a few builders and not something I'd care about.
What's different here is that this demarcation line extends to the neck! Though not, of course, to the fingerboard
The only true build flaw I can see is at the neck-joint: there's some glue that seeped under the coat. Not a big deal and you can't feel it.
Another quirk is around the truss-rod cavity. There's just not a lot of space there, which makes using long allen-keys impossible.
I tried to take a picture but without my SLR, it was tough and I didn't manage even without AF
FEEL!
This does play nicely. But... the nut looks like a stock graphtech blank put on the axe without much setup. String-spacing is ok, but string height/radius is all-over the place.
The strings were setup a little too low, and without 100% adherence to the fingerboard radius, but I have certainly seen way worse. But with the overly-high nut and too-low strings this created a weird playing balance over the neck.
The high E string is too close to the edge for me. And the bridge can't quite compensate for this. If this were a bolt-on this would be an easy fix but... set-neck.
The neck is either deadly flat, or with a tiny amount of back-bow. The new set of strings hasn't put on any relief and I'm waiting for the relevant allen key wrenches to adjust her on Monday.
Again; 90% of people would probably be happy or satisfied with it (I hate making generalization, so do feel free to take this with a grain of salt!).
Next week, I'll adjust the neck, get her setup properly at the bridge-end of things, and then proceed to adjust the nut to the correct radius/string depth.
SOUND!
There's a very satisfying chunk and depth to the unplugged sound. Not loud enough to hear if sat very close to the PC/TV, but good enough in any other unplugged circumstances.
Noticeably the low E has an extremely satisfying ring to it.
This is not the loudest guitar I own or have heard, but it's very good for 1.5k and has a lovely unplugged voice overall.
Plugged in those Warpigs are monsters.
They have a general thickness to the sound that extends to clean tones, and are responsive-enough for my needs. Obviously this isn't going to be my country guitar, so that's good enough for clean to low-distortion. It's more than good enough for high-gain.
I don't like toggle switches, but this one will stay (can hardly replace it with a blade switch now can I
). I will however re-do the electronics and put in a push-push or push-pull pot to split the pickups and get my favorite tone through it (inner or outer coils in parallel).THOUGHTS!
Currently this is a decent guitar in need of a little TLC. I hope that once I find the time to work on what's needed, she'll be an outstanding one. The 'quirks' on it aren't damaging to playability, and the tone is excellent. There's a lot of potential there!
