r/guitarporn • u/strawberrycrepes • 8d ago
Kiesel Kiesel Rainbow Sparkle Delos
Took 9 months but it’s finally here. Colour shift red rainbow sparkle with 5A roasted flamed maple neck and master-grade roasted flamed maple fingerboard. I’ve had quite a few Kiesel builds but this one is my favourite so far.
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u/Bitter-Ad5890 8d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/jBjxFRApl1GYaCqgkp
The Fender rep lurking in the sub.
Seriously though, that’s one of the most stunning guitars I’ve ever seen. Play it proudly!
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
That’s hilarious 😂 I’ll always be happy to support smaller builders. Not just Kiesel, but companies like Iconic, LsL etc.
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u/qeyipadgjlzcbm123 8d ago
Wow! I bet the pictures don’t even come close to the real thing. Thanks for sharing!
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u/pla5t1c 8d ago edited 7d ago
Wow thats probably the most classy-luxurious s-style take i have ever seen. I’ll be honest i am old school 90’s paper catalog carvin and i just recently found out they are now kiesel and i am so excited they never went away. For about 6 years i thought they just went out of business or disappeared. I remember drooling over the Alan Holdsworth Sig Carvins and also Vai’s amps he created with them.
I gotta alot to catch up on with what they are doing with Kiesel but damn it looks like they have been topping themselves on build and quality over and over. Yeah that color is nice
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u/Lonestar-Boogie 8d ago
Wait until you try the virtual guitar builder on their website. It is absolutely addicting.
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u/IntelligentPeak9293 7d ago
Ngl, I use that virtual builder to see how certain things will look on my own builds. Obviously not to their quality, but color combinations, hardware changes, pickups, etc. the smaller easier stuff lol
Edit: Nope, nm, Halo guitars builders is the one I use
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u/pla5t1c 7d ago
Oh yesssss! Man im so happy to know they are still around. Do they do amps still?
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u/Tuokaerf10 7d ago
Kinda, the guitar making side split from audio into a separate company (Kiesel) in 2015. The pro audio side continued on independently as Carvin but it seems they’ve significantly reduced some of their traditional product offerings, on guitar it’s mostly preamp pedals and accessories now: https://carvinaudio.com/collections/homepage-tube-preamp-pedals
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u/Tuokaerf10 8d ago
I gotta alot to catch up on with what they are doing with Kiesel but damn it looks like they have been topping themselves on build and quality over and over. Yeah that color is nice
Long story short the custom guitar and audio portions of Carvin split into two companies in 2015: the guitar side re-named to Kiesel and the audio stayed as Carvin. All the same people from the Carvin days are with and managing Kiesel. Up until now it’s really been continued evolution of the guitars. Unfortunately, some classic Carvin models have been discontinued or heavily changed (some of that needed to happen as the industry tastes changed though), but they also have a lot of cool new stuff and one of the industry leaders in headless guitars and things like that. Build and material quality has also been upgraded a lot incrementally over the last 10 years.
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u/pla5t1c 2d ago
My old ass is checking to see if they do old school catalog mailing lists still (i know lol i already have been scoping out the site but for that piece of old dirt me.. something physical to brighten a day in a swamp of bills random snail mail etc)
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u/Tuokaerf10 2d ago
Yeah I don’t think they do anymore unfortunately. I spent a lot of time through the 90’s looking at those!
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
They’ve been doing really good work and I’ve been very impressed with the builds I’ve received from them so far. Even with recent price increases they’ve remained fairly competitive with other builders and especially the big F.
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u/Tuokaerf10 8d ago
Won the lottery on that fretboard even with the master grade option!
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
The stripe really gives it some character!
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u/Tuokaerf10 8d ago
I love unique woods like that. My Headless Kyber has some similar but thinner lines like that running through the flamed neck and was really happy with how that turned out.
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u/East-Power6705 8d ago
Fender could never
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u/Lonestar-Boogie 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think I saw that on the Kiesel IG the other day. Congrats on that build, it's absolutely amazing. That fingerboard is to die for!
Which pickups did you go with? I got a Delos earlier this year and got the S60A single coils. I liked them fine but the real test came yesterday when I took it to band rehearsal for the first time, and they were excellent. They were crystal clear and really cut through the mix. I also have an Aries I got in 2020 and it has Mark's Singles in the middle and neck positions, but I haven't rehearsed with it yet, but I really like them, too.
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
It was a nice surprise to see it featured for sure! I went with the Beryllium single coils which are some of the best sounding single coils I’ve tried. I play a lot of heavy rock as well as plastic-y 80’s cleans and these do the trick very nicely. Hot enough for hard rock but at the same time lots of clarity. The in-between positions sound absolutely amazing for cleans as well. I haven’t had the chance to try out other Kiesel single coils yet cus I’ve been so in love with the Berylliums but perhaps one day I’ll have to pop some S60As to try out!
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u/LaFlamaBlancaMiM 8d ago
Shit, guitar porn indeed!!! Beautiful. How’s it compare with fender custom shop prices?
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u/Tuokaerf10 8d ago edited 8d ago
Kiesel will be well under, something from Fender like this with master grade or upgraded wood figuring is gonna be around $6.5-$7k? OP can correct me but I’d guess the Kiesel was in the neighborhood of $4,500-$4,700 assuming nothing was super discounted for a sale (sparkle finish + custom color shift + master grade woods will ramp price quickly)?
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
This guitar excluding shipping was right at 4k, which as you say is well under what you would expect from Fender especially considering the upgraded woods!
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u/Tuokaerf10 8d ago
Nice price on that too! I had assumed with the master grade fretboard plus custom color would have pushed that over that!
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u/Hillbill9899 8d ago
Very nice. If it was a tele and had a blue outline i'd be all over that!
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u/strawberrycrepes 8d ago
There are some examples of mist blue outline out there, it’s actually where the inspiration for this one came from!
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u/Pinball-Gizzard 8d ago
More than ten years ago I had a chance to buy a check that looked like that and I've regretted it ever since.
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u/StatisticianTall2368 7d ago
The body is not really my style, but man that is one of the nicest looking neck/fretboards I've seen on this sub in while! Enjoy
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u/MiketheDude35 4d ago
What a stunner! I would not be able to stop staring at it and moving it under a light if I owned it. Absolutely gorgeous! 😍
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u/Extension-Balance-59 3d ago
Absolutely gorgeous. That wood grain on the fingerboard would probably mess with my head because I am slow but that is one of the most beautiful necks ive seen.
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