Why I Won't Buy Another Kiesel Guitar.

So are they good guitars or no?

Can’t please everyone.

This video is hard to swallow as someone who ownsa lot of Carvin /Kiesel products.
When a customer can’t criticize a product in an open forum the forum is not open at all.
Free speech is mandatory and knowing this would weigh heavily on my decision as whether or not to support the company in the future.
Jeff Kiesel a dick plain n simple

Streisand effect in play "we don't want you to talk about this publically." So now there is a video with 77k views on the topic. Good video man.

Spending such a huge amout of money on a custom guitar should mean you get what you want 100%. Not a good guitar with sligjt dissapointments.

That’s too bad. I really want to save some gig money and buy a nice bass. I was really considering Kiesel because I’ve heard Fender and Music Man’s QC at their American factories has gone downhill. Same with Spector’s European factory. Maybe I’ll get myself a G&L!

You broke his balls and he's in charge could be another point of view.

I Won't buy one.

I bought two used Kiesels , and I still own and enjoy them. I wouldn't buy directly from Kiesel because Jeff doesn't respect his customers. I also wish someone else was in charge of naming the models. Jeff is such a man-child, lol.

I've never had the funds to purchase a Carvin, but I still have their 50th anniversary DVD and catalog, which they did send all the way from the US for free back in the day. On one occasion, I learned that Carvin didn't sell instruments direct to my country and I had to go through a middle sales person. Once I emailed them with concerns about extra tax and the like, Carvin emailed said distributor so he could get in touch with me and assure the sales process would have no issues and extra costs. Fast forward to Kiesel and it's all issues left and right. Instruments which are ugly and tacky even considering modern guitar aesthetics, Jeff being rude to customers, Kiesel using guitar pictures from someone else on their IG page without permission from tthe original author than blocking said author when he requested them not to use his work, the infamous "ocean burst incident" where Kiesel is not capable of copying Agile's Ocean Burst color then claims it's the user's fault and so on. If I'm not mistaken the whole ocean burst incident got Jeff perma banned from three forums.

If you vehemently criticize a product for a small detail that almost nobody ever uses except you and then publicly make a stink on the builders website….pretty good recipe for getting banned. Would I ban you? No, but obviously someone did.

I used to sell guitars for a living. There were always guys like you complaining about any change that didn’t go your way. They moved the jack a millimeter or why would they change the piezo with the times like everyone else does. I haven’t seen a dual output for piezo in about 25 years.

Keep rude people to a minimum

I'm glad I saw this. I will not buy one.

I think they are too expensive and a bit too gawdy these days. Why bother with them. My old Carvin is great though.

I have a kiesel and love it, had a small issue with bolt missing after shipping.
They shipped me the bolts right out no problems.

IMO - just avoid any option 50 keep it simple stupid and you have a great guitar for great price.

I think you guys in the US are used to a too good to be true customer support. Few times when I had to use customer support in the US i was amazed how everyone nice and helpful are.
We in Israel are used to the fact that the customer is treated like a toilet paper hence we are trying not to overcomplicate this customer-supplier relationship.

It's just a lesson that you shouldn't be a fan of a brand or the people behind it. - I watched just two videos on Kiesel and I don't want that guy's energy, not even though one of his products, if that's how he treats his fans (or fans of his products) and not least his WELL-PAYING CUSTOMERS. - I would be selling all Kiesel-guitars and get something refreshing. It's just a straight-up divorce at that point. - I can't imagine people like Rob Chapman acting that way. They might not agree necessarily, but they would be level-headed enough to be open to criticism or suggestions and just consider it or let it be, or at least explain themselves. - Imagine people just shutting you down and being dix over having an opinion on their product. Don't deal with these people and remove them as they deserve to be indeed.

"Isn't that what democracy is about." - Something tells me Jeff Kiesel ain't a Democrat. XD

I haven't bought yet (3 months of window shopping and build planning) and still intend to, but I WILL say that the "mastergrade" woods thing is an absolute money grabbing scam. I can tell that your piece of wood is literally luck of the draw.

I had one Kiesel. I was satisfied about some things and not satisfied about other. The cons are too much for me to consider buying a Kiesel in the future.
Have you looked at Halo Custom Guitars? They have many more options and the reviews are good. They are willing to build whatever you want as long as you are willing to pay. Their buidler is also quite good. I think Halo was the first one with an online virtual builder.

They use the cheapest electronics aswell. Theres no sweep in the volume pot either, if you ever used a silver sky before, u know what im talking about, you get the whole sweep with the volume and tone. U turn down to 5 you still have good sound with plenty of treble still. I have 30 guitar, 2 of them do it and there both prs guitars. Them alpha pots keisel use are ok for imports but for american guitars come on. I put vintage taper cts pots in all my guitars. Thats messed up they did that to you. Paul reed smith wont do that to you.

Don’t give him any more space in your head. He looks a lot like employees I’ve had in the past that overdosed.

Feel free to send me any Kiesel guitars you dont want. Not a fan of Jeff but I and a guitar ho

Wow, just did a virtual build for over $4k and decided to check some reviews before I spent that kind of money. Thanks for letting us know what happens to you if you’re unhappy with their product. Most builders try to win customers over, but I suppose banning them is a way to go as well.

I've heard many of these testimonies. Shame. Dad's brand getting son'ed.

Jeff has lost another customer just now... I was about to go for a custom Jason Becker tribute, but man, ethics are still more important.

I don't trust you. I just ordered a $3000 Kiesel.

Amusingly, I was just looking at a build with the piezo saddles, and I was looking for a dual output option. Now I know why I didn't see it anywhere. You could obviously grab an A/B switch to send the mono signal where you want, BUT that does mean you have to coordinate an extra step of toggling from magnetic pickups to piezo with the switch on the guitar and hitting the A/B switch to change the output selection.

Reading the comments, Jeff sounds like a narcissistic sociopath.

Jeff's a fascist in the purest sense. He can't handle any criticism, any dissention, any detraction - nothing. He can't handle the truth. He can handle a airbrush gun, quite well, and maybe, he should stick to making guitars and keep his mouth shut/his face off the internet.

Thinking twice about getting a Kiesel now.

I've been pondering ordering a Kiesel for many years. The main reason I didn't is because of the horrible resale value. Spend $3000, you instantly have a guitar worth $1200. On the flip side of that, I bought a Carvin CT6 maple quilt for $800 used.

I’m glad I saw your (and others’) video about problems with this company. 40 years ago when I was a kid, a guy I knew bought a Carvin. I was blown away by it (I guess that makes me a “Carvin Boomer” even though I’m not a “boomer’). I always wanted one, and thought that if I could ever afford one, I would choose that brand. After recently discovering all of the unnecessary drama and childish comments from Jeff Kiesel, no way. What a great disappointment.

The dual AC output in now available on the virtual builder. I have the feature on my Aries 6. It is excellent and greatly improves the existing sound when you plug it into an acoustic amp too. I think Kiesel heard your feedback and sorted this out. The acoustic output and saddles costs around $200 to add to your build.

If he did it to you he'll do it to me.
Thanks for the warning.

Waaaaaaaaa Stage 4 Dooshbagitis

I bought a Left handed 8 string aries recently.
They had the pick up switch backwards, there was a burn/melted spot on battery housing, they left an allen wrench loose in the case where the body of the guitar sits (causing damage to the backplate, no key to lock the case, poorly installed kiesel plackard (on case)
The guitar came with damage to the case, and missing paint on the headstock.
IT TOOK A HARD DIVE IN THE SHIPPING PROCESS. SINCE THEY ONLY GOT $100 FOR THEIR INSURANCE CLAIM...
They did not want to rebuild my guitar because it is a lefty. They told me we repair it or you can go with another builder and get a refund.
I chose to get a refund. They are trash guitar builders with a pretentious attitude towards customers. DO NOT BUY KIESEL GUITARS!!!!!!!!!

After the Carvin Corporation let their guitar business go to Kiesel, the quality took a dive.

THERE'S A SAYING, "NEVER BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!"....

what guitar is rhat in the top left? love the finish

I asked for the Kiesel logo to be stenciled on a different part of a custom headless bass. They pretty much accused me of trying to do something nefarious and trying to steal their work. WTF? I just asked, it was a preference. I will never deal with these clowns.

For decades I wanted a Carvin, by the time I got into the game it was Kiesel, put together a build and it came with issues, sent it back got it back repainted, there was even a note on the box about crack in neck!? I never should have kept it, sounds weak next to my charvel or les paul, looks pretty but I probably couldn't get half what I paid for out of it.

Yup that is why I stick with Schecter guitars...

dude they did you a favor. you’re gonna look back on this when you’re older and laugh that you cared about a goddamn brand and even wasted your time in forums or online. just get rid of all your kiesel stuff and make some music without focusing so much on buying stuff or a goofy company’s fanboys.

I stopped buying from Keisel after they lied about the status of my build for six straight weeks (I did not inquire until after 2 weeks after the projected finish date - was not houding them) - I was told it was in final assembly and "will ship in the next few days" multiple times. I had already paid fully for the guitar, ate the restocking fee, never took delivery, etc. It showed up on the in-stock page nearly two full months later. I immediately sold the 9 Kielsels I owned. One of them i regret - but I won't do business with liars - they could have just said it would be another couple months - it would have been fine. The thing that really bothered me is that is was employees I'd worked with for years that fed me the bullshit. It's 2024 there are NUMEROUS manufacturing ERP systems that can help you meet order commitments, track progress with precision, build manifests, etc. It's a far easier problem to solve than the builder, that's for sure. It's infuriating that Jeff is convinced this problem can't be solved. It's dumb. Jeff is dumb.

One too many horror stories about that company, especially the guy who runs it. Will avoid them like the plague.

WHAT I THINK?
I agree with the dual outputs....or at least a stereo out put that could use a Y cable to go two different ways. Maybie complaining to everyone on the Facebook site aggravated/embarrassed him?
Maybie if you sent a message to him FIRST, it may have turned out different. I did NOT see the post so I don't know. If you said things like-'THIS IS STUPID!' -that certainly could have turned him off.
-McFly

The way you were banned was very unfair.

I just built 2 guitars on their website. After hearing this I won't be going forward with my plan to purchase this builders product. Thanks for sharing this information.

Makes Jeff look a bit narcissistic and that he probably needs to put his ego in check with his customers and probably in general.

It's frustrating that in the year 2024, commercially made guitars is still such a 'buyer beware' industry! I started dealing with Carvin back in ~1989; and I had to blow through a few purchases first before finally received two perfect custom-ordered ones from their factory. More recently, I bought used Carvins on Ebay and actually had better luck finding perfect example instruments, all of which were made from the time before when the stock factory logo changed from 'Carvin' to 'Kiesel' on the headstock. That said, they are handmade objects, and sometimes a quirk or two can be acceptable. Sometimes not.

I also once ordered a new Fender American hardtale Strat in about 1999, and the truss rod adjustment would not dial in well with a 10-46 string gauge, a pain-in-the- neck to say the least.

All major guitar makes have their own marquee tone to think about. I love and rely upon Carvins for their tone, but the customer service has always needed to be better from them. Jeff Kiesel is partly right when he says that real wood is an imperfect commodity, and another thing is that we guitarists shouldn't be wasteful of rare tonewoods, either.

However, we are seemingly living in an age of irrational price inflation. It was St. Thomas Aquinas who in the Middle Ages first defined the notion of a 'True Price', versus price on any other basis. A true price should reflect only the cost of materials and manufacturing work plus some profit. But in today's guitar market, we see a great deal of historical or collector pricing, which is all subjective and irrational. We should strongly AVOID buying at those prices because it overinflates the market.

Therefore, it is a good idea to accept off-makes, or good guitars at a fair price; wherever and whenever one sees them and can play them in person, as sometimes the only protest that will be listened to is the protest delineated through buyer market free-choice!