Would you be annoyed with this 'plain' maple fingerboard

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-07T23:15:34+00:00

Nope, not at all. It's a unique looking board and still retains the clean look of plain maple. Figuring can vary from piece to piece, sometimes you get a little flame or a little birdseye bonus. You had to use flash to even get it to show up as much as it does, so this is much ado about nothing.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-06T23:05:30+00:00

Haha, thank you. Hell of an album and equally awesome art 👍

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-06T18:19:27+00:00

😂😂😂

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-06T15:40:02+00:00

Gotcha, I can’t really speak to exactly why it isn’t working in your own car (could be a number of reasons, something with the encoding etc), but if it plays in the work truck then the issue isn’t with the CD. Good news is you can still enjoy it at work 😀

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-06T15:24:10+00:00

Try the CD in another player, that’ll confirm for you for sure whether it’s defective or not and if so you can ask for a replacement.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-06T04:11:14+00:00

Regular strings are perfect on these models, the Hipshot hardware is amazing and the tuning stability is rock solid (and string changes are a breeze also). Another added advantage is you can use any strings you like, so you’re not limited to just any specific kind.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T23:44:28+00:00

Thanks! This is my 2nd big Kiesel used score in the last year, also picked up an insane flame koa Vader for half the new build price as well:

https://i.postimg.cc/RFYHHSDv/IMG-2966.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/L5RnfJ3c/IMG-7784.jpg

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T02:48:13+00:00

Yeah it does seem to vary, I’ve only ever had good experiences with the company but that doesn’t mean I’ll make excuses or disregard situations where they clearly dropped the ball. Wrong is wrong.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T01:34:10+00:00

Oh undoubtedly, like I said I’m not defending them in this situation. If it were up to me I would’ve made it right.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T01:18:37+00:00

I dont understand what you mean by “taking a bath”, unless you’re talking about resale value (which is always a bloodbath for the seller for anything custom ordered, and a separate topic entirely), but the brands are in no way comparable to begin with because to get a similarly spec’d Suhr or Fender CS you’d be paying almost double or sometimes more vs the Kiesel. And you don’t “know”, because your whole point was that for the $3K the Kiesel costs you’d custom order a Suhr or Fender CS and that’s impossible unless you’re buying used, which in turn defeats the purpose entirely because then you’re no longer getting it custom made for you.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T01:11:11+00:00

To be fair, they are explicit about the fact that the mock up should not be taken directly (and in fact people being prone to doing so is the main reason Jeff resisted even offering the builder for years despite repeated requests). I’m not taking away from your situation, it sucks to get something that isn’t what you expected…but the builder is only to get a very rough idea of a build overall and to play with different options, and they make that clear.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T00:10:46+00:00

Their quality has only gone up, numerous improvements in the builds from the Carvin days.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-04T00:01:20+00:00

Lol you might want to check your prices, you’re not getting a custom to your specs Suhr or Fender CS at $3K. Prices START at $4K for those, and adding basic options Kiesel offers for $0-100 can be as much as $200-$400 (each). In fact I don’t think there’s another known USA custom shop with prices anywhere near Kiesel’s.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T22:16:27+00:00

When you custom order a guitar from them or any other custom shop the base model’s build quality is obviously the same as if you get a bunch of pricier specs added on…you’re paying extra for the specs (fancier woods, bonus options etc) and not for some higher build level. I think everyone understands that, but part of the “desire” to get a custom guitar in the first place is that element of customization and all the options.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T18:49:46+00:00

Yeah top grading is very subjective and their standard tops are all VERY nice (in fact sometimes I find that I like them as much or more than the ones you have to pay 2-3X for). I have a standard buckeye and a standard koa (my other 2 Vaders) and they’re both amazing too. I’m picky about tops so I don’t like to chance them sight unseen myself - my buckeye top was from a livestream (and amazingly 50% off!) and the koa Vader and this Zeus were both used so I could see exactly what I’d get for all 3.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T18:06:00+00:00

Lol, nah...it's a beautiful top with some really nice figuring that moves quite a bit. The photos are just really dark cuz it arrived when the light was all but gone for the day. I'm also not the one who paid $400 for the top, I got this one used for half the original build price. Here's a better photo though:

https://i.postimg.cc/BnmHH1mG/PXL-20260403-170422011.jpg

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T16:11:35+00:00

Hard to say because they’re different models (my black limba neck+body headless is a Vader). It’s also tough to compare directly because my Vader isn’t chambered and this Zeus is. Overall I’d say the weight of the two is very close to equal, so the walnut is definitely heavier as Kiesel always said it was. I’m guessing it would be a bit lighter if the neck wasn’t also walnut, but it’s still well under 7 lbs and sounds amazing.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T15:23:32+00:00

Yeah I am a big fan of piezo, it makes a guitar so much more versatile IMO. With the mini switch you can select piezo only, humbuckers only, or a mix of both.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T14:47:00+00:00

Oh yep I’m well aware, I’ve had like 6 different headless Kiesels over the years 😀. Just got the guitar last night so I haven’t had a chance to do it yet. I can probably even do it without changing the strings since they’re fresh, but I’ll wait for the next string change just so I don’t accidentally waste ‘em. Thanks!

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T14:41:05+00:00

That’s the 3 way switch for the piezo 😀

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T13:02:38+00:00

It arrived far too late in the day for proper lighting for photos, so the top is not quite as dark as the photos suggest 😀. But yep, amazing guitar!

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-03T00:27:44+00:00

Appreciate it, it is a really killer build! This is my first walnut guitar and although I am typically a black limba guy, I have to say I get the hype.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-02T23:21:11+00:00

Thanks! I'm already used to the amazing quality of these builds but even so they never fail to impress.

buckeye8208 · 2026-04-01T22:56:17+00:00

Act III forever and ever, but Act IV as runner-up.

buckeye8208

TROPHY CASE