Solar: X2.6FR / Dismember

This body outline reminds us of the fact that Ola Englund (SOLAR Guitars owner) is a huge Dimebag fan. I see this design as inevitable. This new one has that very attractive orange finish with a matching colour for the 12th fret inlay. If you are interested, be informed that the bridge here is  Floyd Rose Special.

Here's another new one - a signature model for Dismember guitarist, Robert Sennebeck. The bridge here is an FR 1000 with a thicker-than-usual whammy block. 

Pics: SOLAR Guitars

Blue eve

Had been playing the blue one this New Year's Eve - wet weather since morning. Indoors & feeling blue. The simple genius of Kiesel is manifested in this Type X; it's more manageable in terms of handling. Make it smaller & headless - simple formula. 

That's right, blue selector tip & volume knob for this one. That see-through blue pick is a Northern Ghost Cloud model. Notice it has lots of grip space which tapers to a pointed tip. Darn good for super fast riffing as it helps you move quickly across strings. I have a thing for picks because they contribute to playing efficiency. I urge you to explore the different picks available out there, especially those not offered by the stores here. These are relatively affordable investments to fine tune your playing finesse. 

To those celebrating & counting down to the new year - stay safe. Cheers, everyone!

Typing

So the new Kiesel is a Type X. I was trying to spec out a V220 last year & had a query sent to them in November about some pickups configurations which was attended to but delayed. That was a good delay indeed because the Type X was released on Black Friday with an introductory discount. As I am a boring person with limited interest in an instrument's visual aesthetics, the choices were down to just this plain blue finish with a blank maple fretboard. 

OK so the roasted maple neck was a free add-on. This version looks darker than my Holdsworth version but they are both equally comfortable for my playing style. Counting from Black Friday itself till its official delivery date just last week, this one took a little too long but Jeff Kiesel pre-empted buyers that he was dishing out the discounts first before embarking on any actual production because the NAMM '20 instruments were on the priority list so it was all good.

Since the local currency here weakened against the USD just last weekend, it's gonna be a while before I purchase something from State side again.

Type X

Here's we go folks, the new Kiesel model announced early this morning- the Type X. It's another headless model so it's a niche appeal obviously, but the Kiesel camp knows it has a strong following in this market share. 

The Type X is a direct re-interpretation of the V220 which is one of the models listed in the current line up. The Type X scaled the design down in terms of length so the instrument is now less wieldy while still pointy. We also get the possible hint of the V220 not being a prime mover in the Kiesel scheme of sales so this happened & it's a very wise move I must say. Ironically, I was looking at the V220 specs & had some queries sent to Kiesel (some options are not on their custom build spec sheet, they entertain personal queries) but they couldn't get back to me on time. You know they are gonna have a promo clip of sorts for this, so here: