Kiesel: Vader 6

This guitar was supposed to be my birthday present. Unfortunately, it didn't make it on my birthday due to procrastination. That's right, I deliberated late last year hoping the exchange rate would turn favourable but the opposite happened & I called the order off. 

I had been eyeing the Kiesel range in June 2016 after the local dealer here cleared away their Carvin stock since Kiesel would be taking direct orders online, eliminating any third party costs which would eventually be borne unto the buyers- thank you Kiesel! 👍 Prior to this, I was set to purchase  an offset Fender model, one from the American Pro range, which was also called off after seeing the prices compounded by some other complications that took place along the way (I do not wish to re-visit that episode). Along the way, Dhalif Ali invited me to try his Vader 7 & it somehow re-kindled my interest in all things Kiesel.

At that point in time, I had a month to go till my birthday so I keyed in the custom order but Kiesel don't rush their production, they don't wish to despite the circumstances; it affects quality & I was OK with it. Production was completed a week ago & final payment was made. I'm still playing this guitar & giving it thorough tests before putting up a deserving appraisal. This colour was intentional as it's the colour of that Fender I wished to purchase which also features a maple fretboard. Salt into the wound, you could say that 💣

I'm rather averse to buying guitars online. I need to play one in person before parting with good money. I need to be personally assured because guitars could be harbouring defects & the onus is on buyers to make sure they don't buy lemons. But we don't brush aside names like Kiesel in this consideration. They are guitar people & they make it their business to deliver their best, especially the fulfilment of specific instructions by the customers. These aren't regular production guitars, mind you. 

As this was my initial dealing with Kiesel, being adventurous was not it in any way. I kept things simple & objective. I'm not a sucker for eye-catching flame tops so a solid finish was chosen. I prefer no fretboard inlays & that was made clear here. That's about it, everything else was recommended specs & things turned out brilliant. They had a $100 promo back then for added specs & I took that opportunity to include stainless steel frets. On this note, I'm dead serious when I expressed intentions to veer online for my guitar needs. Things are made more feasible these days with the advent of technology, the rest involves an element of trust. If you choose to stick strictly to what's available in the stores, you are limiting your choices & that could be costly. Let's see now, if I have opted for that Fender, I would have needed to fork out $700 more as opposed to what I paid for this Kiesel Vader 6. Lesser money for a custom shop affair- why not?

Gunslinging revival

This may sound far-fetched & ridiculous but I dreamt of my BC Rich Gunslinger two nights ago. In that dream, I was laughed at because no sound came out of it. I couldn't recall if it was the amp's fault but it prompted me to bring this guitar out the following morning.

True enough, the pot was dead & I had Beez fixed in a new one yesterday. This time, it's a plain pot with no coil-splitting feature since I didn't use it much in this guitar.

I actually had this pack of strings in the guitar bag, no idea how long it's been hibernating in there but it's good to go. I'm not averse to the lesser known guitar string brands, I'm always game to try. Sometimes the obscure ones are full of pleasant surprises. 😁

Here's why I have no use for a coil split feature; I have a very high output pickup in there- the Lace   Alumitone Deathbucker. I would deem it as an angrier DiMarzio X2N with no practical clan applications, let alone hearing it in single coil mode. I also swapped the default bridge out to the Graph Tech Floyd Rose-esque model. The original bridge was a Floyd Rose Special which I find detestable. The FRS features very brittle zinc parts which gave way more than once. So dreams are premonitions after all. 

Edwards - Duncans

Edwards (a division of ESP) continues its collaboration with Seymour Duncan. Current models now feature next-gen Duncan pickups like the E-HR here, sporting a pair of Black Winter humbuckers.

Even the 7-string models are into it; the E-SN depicted above with the Pegasus - Sentient pairing.

ESP, in general, is a company that commits to its belief & trickles this into its extensive products. It's not trying to compete against other manufacturers who are specialists in what they do. 👍

Received

Finally, after a no-show yesterday. 

560 trio

An interesting find in the after-market, a trio of Ibanez RG560, respective prices as indicated (correct as at time of posting). 

Blackie, according to the seller has very good fret life, electronics were recently looked into by a reputable store here but it's missing the back plate cover & whammy bar. Pickups are Seymour Duncan/DiMarzio combos, no details were disclosed. Purple retains its default pickups but the hardware had all been swapped out with dings & nicks in the body. White's seller is currently using an older pic for this sale. The pickups indicated differ from those depicted. He's including a bag in the sale but there were no other details stated.

Perhaps you are interested in one of these, so which one would you choose?

One of the sellers here touted his guitar as a rare item. Granted the RG560 was one of the best in this tier during its heyday & had been long discontinued but the fact that three are currently offered in the after market makes this claim a little weak. Hardcore collectors would want original appointments in their instruments so modified, replaced & 'upgraded' features wouldn't score as well. Missing parts would compound the situation further. Providing minimum details for one's item implies disinterest & would invite apprehension from buyers. From the details disclosed in the ads, I wouldn't put my money firmly on any one of the instruments. The Ibanez RG560 is a late 80s release, expecting a flawless versions floating in the after-market is a ridiculous expectation. Unlike the Ibanez pickups of today, the ones manufactured back then manifested appealing tone so having those in the guitar to start with is a sensible consideration. Personally, I wouldn't place stringent scrutiny on the guitar body, the neck condition is more paramount in this case. Be informed that the RG560 sports a very thin Wizard neck & the owner who keeps this neck in check is likely to be a reputable seller. Last but not least, price considerations is the sticky bit- never agree to the price until you see the instrument in person. This isn't a current production model by any means so seeing is believing. 😐

FYI, I currently own the RG560 which was quasi-destroyed by a junkie relative. Forgiven but not forgotten.

PS: This post was never intended to disrepute any individuals concerned. The objective was to observe trending claims by sellers with regards to their respective re-sale items. Details were quoted with a bona fide intention to manifest accuracy as at time of posting. 

Box you!

Seriously- someone is selling an empty Ibanez box... 😱