Antares

Kiesel has a new model in its lineup; the Antares. As you can see here, it's an offset design (think: Fender Jaguar / PRS Vela) quite clearly aiming at the shredders among us. I'm still trying to get used to that headstock design but everything else looks awesome. Loving the one-knob option.

Pic: Kiesel

Dino @ Kiesel

Fear Factory's Dino Cazarez is now in the Kiesel camp. His signature guitars are based on the headless Kyber model. No 6 strings in the mean time, just 7 & 8.

Pic: Kiesel

Heads

The more I look at these headstocks, the more I believe that designers out there are taking cues from one another. Maybe it's just me. (LEFT: Kiesel Aero / RIGHT: Ibanez Alpha).

Pics: Kiesel / Ibanez

Scaled down Becker

Kiesel has this scaled down guitar for your considerations before they cease operations for the holidays. If it looks familiar then it's the Jason Becker signature Numbers model but scaled down to 22.2" giving it a very similar dimension to the Jackson Minion model. This pedigree of instruments is more novelty than anything else. Depending on the urgency of the manufacturer, it might stay in tune because we all know too well that an instrument of this nature has a prominent weakness; it is unable to stay in tune. On this note, Jackson's Minion & Ibanez's Mikro models are amongst those that do stay in tune. More importantly, proceeds from this sale would contribute greatly to Jason Becker's medical maintenance which should appeal to us fans more than the instrument per se.

Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead.

Pic: Kiesel

Partial?

Not too long ago, Kiesel released the Kyber model. Now they have this headless version. Headless here is subjective. If we look at the picture above, there's a bit of headstock going on. This was done so that the guitar can still be mounted on wall hangars. This consideration was done by Parker guitars once upon a time for the same reason; allowing some materials there so that it could be wall-mounted by the headstock area. This aside, I feel the Kyber is more appealing with a headstock.

Pic: Kiesel

Kyber

The Kiesel Kyber is the latest offering by the manufacturer & according to them, it's their sleekest to date. The body is thin & light but still fulfilling in terms of playability. That bottom end there facilitates playing in the 'classical' position while sitting down. Those forearms look rather thin & susceptible to snapping but I trust the Kiesel camp knows what it's doing.

If you find that headstock disturbingly familiar, I'm leaving this Parker headstock here for your understanding.

Pics: Kiesel / flyclone

Headless Sunday

Wasn't motivated to leave the house in this scorching heat today. Indoors with the headless siblings.

Kiesel: Allan Holdsworth

One of my favourite / go-to guitars for inspiration. Used this one to play ideas really slowly before speeding up to taste. I'm not a fan of signature models (if you've been following the entries here closely) but the custom options meant I could trim this down to my specs; that's the only reason I bought this guitar.

Ibanez: Q54

Wasn't attracted to this because it's a headless guitar but because it sports a body contour very close to the Radius series. Was wondering if that kind of ergonomics would help me play differently but I believe it's more of the player, not the instrument. I am too used to the way I play so this was adopted to the guitar & not the other way round. There's something about Ibanez that makes me play fast & fumble all the time. Darn.

Wishing everyone a good week ahead. 

Non-festive indoor adventure

That's right - staying home. Expecting guests. Not bothered. I kinda miss playing this guitar so it's out today. New knobs.

Thanos

While we fall into the 2023 slumber as price hikes continue to dominate proceedings, Kiesel has unleashed a new model upon us - the Thanos. Actually, the Thanos had already existed as a bass, this is just a guitar spinoff. 

Pic: Kiesel

Snake Vader

This is a spin-off from yesterday's guitar-tivities. OK so it's another Snake-stortion episode. Had been playing the pedal with single coils so it's a humbucking adventure now. As you can see from the dial, it's hard clipping all the way. The guitar sounds good in other clipping modes but not 'metal' enough, whatever that means. I've never been thoroughly happy with a pedal, the EH Snake-stortion is quite a rare feat in this sense. Thusfar, tone had been kept in the treble register with all pickups. It's like the pedal is happy to let your hear added clarity without thinning out the overall tone.

Headless endeavour

 

Spent time with these two today; light stuff since yesterday's episode involved a very heavy guitar. I didn't realize that both are in the same colour family, fixed bridge & sporting a 5-way pickup selector. FYI, the Ibanez is the lighter between the two. Also, despite the fretboard hue difference, both are maple fretboards. 

The Kiesel - This Vader needer some getting used to. It's not the headless detail but that lacquered neck. I'm in no way a fan of glossed out necks but I endured many Les Pauls to appreciate their tone signatures so this one shouldn't be given a different treatment. No mods for this one less an Orange cap in the tone circuit.

The Ibanez - Let me be upfront with this one - it's  B-Stock. Perhaps one day I will get into the flawed details but not in this episode, definitely. I was OK with the default Ibanez single coils in this guitar but the humbucker was something else. Decided to overhaul the entire pickup line up. Very happy with the ergonomics, even the rounder neck profile is a hit with me. If it's within my means this year, would wanna try the 7-string version. Current pickups (Seymour Duncan): JB / Hot Stack x2

Copper pink Friday

I am in no mood to usher in the new year. It's when you have nothing to begin with, the enthusiasm to celebrate any occasion gets suppressed. In any case, I'm not the type to get all hyped up at the turn of the year any way. 

Spent the final weekday of the year at home playing the above guitars - the pink one because it's one of the smoothest bridge humbucking tone I own & the copper one because those are some of the best-sounding distortion-friendly single coils I've come across. Not being an ardent single coil fan, this means a lot to me. What do I have planned for the NYE tomorrow? Nothing much, might be more of the same that happened today.

Lyra

This dropped last week; Kiesel's Lyra (bolt-on) model, a collaboration between Kiesel & Greg Howe. Please be informed that the Greg Howe  signature model is still available, this is just an addition to the fold.

For the entire of last weekend, I was bothered by the Lyra name; it sounded terribly familiar; where have I seen / heard it before? Lyra is actually the brand name of the colour pencils kids use in school. So, there.

Pics: Kiesel / Artfriend

How long?

From the above pic, which guitar is longer?

The Les Paul is longer

It's rather obvious that the Les Paul is longer when it comes to end-to-end measurements. The LP features a headstock so it adds significantly to length.  

The Kiesel is longer

That's right, folks. When it comes to scale length, the Kiesel is longer. It is 25.5" as opposed to the LP's 24.75". Scale length here refers to the measurement from the nut to the bridge. 

Why is this important? It dictates tone. The LP, any LP for that matter, has its strength in the lower frequencies. It just gives off that kind of warmer sounding notes in the lower / lower midrange especially with overdrive in the mix. The Kiesel has that Strat-type snap for single note clarity but in this case, it's a little compounded by its overall dimensions. The weight is not that substantial to manifest what a Strat could. Also, the type of pickup matters. In this case, Alan Holdsworth preferred a deep sounding pickup in his guitars for his smooth legato works. So this is a reminder to everyone, myself included, when it comes to dimensions, scale length considerations should be factored in.

Hello, April 👋

2(HH)

Not one of the best Mondays but I have these guitars to see me through:

• Kiesel DC400
• Ibanez S1625

There's always this concern that a guitar without any single coil pickup options is not a versatile instrument. The guitars depicted above have no single coils but I enjoy playing them. Here's why:

• The Kiesel is equipped with a 5-way pickup selector. In position 4, the humbuckers are split, so I get two single coils working in tandem. In position 2, the neck humbucker is tapped to generate a pickup output very close to a single coil voicing
• The Ibanez is equipped with a 3-way selector that has no coil split options so it's a humbucking experience through & through. However, the Seymour Duncan '59 is able to emulate a single coil tone (a get by tone, nothing fantastic) at lower guitar volume settings

So folks, when there're no single coils in your guitar, it's really not the end of the world. A humbucker's split coil tone hold its own. I hear people dissing the split coil tone a lot, saying it's not a real single coil voicing. When you shut off one of the humbucker's coil you effectively get a single coil at work. The issue here is whether this appeals to you or not. Yes, compared to the actual single coil, an isolated coil of the humbucker is not the same in terms of dimensions; the reason why one would appeal more than the other. Some humbuckers, the vintage voiced ones especially, get very single coil-ish when you lower the guitar's volume. This is the reduced output effect, similar to a tapped output of a single coil. What's the point of tapping a humbucker's output, you may ask. It's making the humbucker emulate a single coil without humming. 

When I play a dual humbucking guitar, not having a single coil tone is the least of my worries - I have Strats to handle just that. I let my humbuckers fulfil their potential. They shoudn't stray from their true task.

McRocklin

... and Thomas McRocklin gets his own Kiesel signature guitar. Nothing really new, it's based on the Zeus model so it retains its bolt-on nature. Pickups are his own signature Fluence & this is perhaps the first Kiesel signature to feature a richlite fingerboard.

Pic: Kiesel

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!

Yin Yang

The latest Jason Becker model iteration from the Kiesel camp - the Yin Yang. It's something that doesn't move too far away from the previous versions but the marked difference here is the 24.75" scale length. You are expected to hear a more boomy bridge pickup performance with this measurement then again, it's really up to your set up. Also, there's a single coil in the neck position instead of a humbucker. There are (currently) no custom options for this model, it's strictly this iteration. Note that only the maple fretboard is  roasted, the neck is not. Some stuff (Bonus points to those who know which JB tunes were replicated for this clip):

Pic: Kiesel YT screengrab

Hyper

 

This is the latest by Kiesel, the Hyperdrive. Looks like a Jackson Kelly-esque take with a more compact outline but it's actually a reverse concept of one of their own models. I kinda like how such outlines are offered in a smaller, compressed size. If you have handled a full blown BC Rich Warlock / Ironbird / Beast or anything of that nature, you'd appreciate this compression. Basic build starts at USD1,649.

Goodbye, October... 👋

Fatigue Sunday

 

I bought this quite some time ago. I was gonna fix it into one of the Gibsons but held back & saved it for one of the single humbucking guitars. Then it got misplaced, was MIA until recently when I went looking for my keys. It's a Custom Shop Alan Holdsworth humbucker, the AH1B otherwise known as the Metal Fatigue, proudly wound by MJ herself. The thing is, it's given a relic look at the production end, the rusty  pole pieces are definitely not my thing. Since this approach worked for me for one of my SGs, I bought a plastic cover to give it a blackout look.

It looks like the Kiesel Holdsworth now sports a serious active humbucker but you know what's going on, really. Why did I swap the Kiesel humbucker out for this one since Kiesel custom voiced its pickup according to Holdworth's specs? I think you know by now that I'm a Duncan fan & I somehow believe that this version has something for me. It's that unspoken magic or just mere understanding of what the Seymour Duncan name has to offer when it comes to tone. Both pickups are capable of capturing the signature Holdsworth tone, that deep, bass inclined, semi-alien voicing which is almost synth like in its qualities. However, unlike the Kiesel version, the Duncan version is richer in harmonics & would serve metal dweebs like me when it comes to extreme distortion & quick solo bursts. So that was yesterday's indulgences. It's a quick trip to Beez's to get this installation done, was home in a jiffy to enjoy the 'new' tone.