Kiesel Aries A6 Guitar Review & Tips on Buying a Custom Guitar 

Ha, I bet! I don't blame Jeff Kiesel for those builds at all. If the buyer wants it, great! But man, I've seen some hideous Kiesel/Carvin builds over the years. The kicker on that watermelon Holdsworth is the neck-only pickup. I bet that guitar was $2000 and resell value is going to be ~$350. Brutal.

What Kiesel needs to do,is put a 3D guitar builder app,on their website,which is totally out of date,so that people can see how fugly,their builds will look. You said it best in your video,keep your build simple,take a solid colour,like a seafoam green or one of their nice metallic finishes or get a more common transluscent colour for flame/quilt tops.Kiesel has some really nice burst finishes,specially their aquaburst and traditional sunset/honey/vintage bursts are great.This is something,that you actually can sell again.

@@doublep1980 done Sir! Your wish has been fulfilled now!

@@doublep1980 aged perfectly

I've been thinking about ordering an Evertune version soon. I love the way the bevel feels on your arm!

Thanks for tolerating one of my oldest videos! I stand by basically everything I said in this video though, Aries still absolutely rock. Also check out my Delos review, another great option. The lithium pickups aren't my favorite these days, since I'm playing a little more classic stuff and want a little more nuance, but you just can't argue with the price of a USA custom. No comparison.

The Guitar Pit I’ve got a Delos in the works right now actually! Went with the thicker neck and smaller radius (like I think was in your Delos review). Got away from the vintage feel with a Thorium bridge pickup, though. The Lithiums are ok. They get brittle if you aren’t careful with your EQ.

Thanks X Ray!

Thanks dude!

Thanks Ian, appreciate it. Glad you found it helpful :)

@@TheGuitarPit I think it's really good advice. The Hipshot bridge thing came up on sevenstring.org on someone's NGD, he wasn't as lucky as you. Kiesel get's some hate for the finishes, but really, they're just fulfilling the order. Thanks for reminding people to keep it simple.

Thanks man! You got it... next week! That thing rips. I just installed a set of Fishman Fluence Moderns in there too.

Awesome, can't wait!

This guitar ripped, and the pickups were really awesome. I'd like to get a similarly spec'd guitar but with their neckthru option some day.

\m/ hell yeah thanks for stopping by

Thanks DirtySouth843. They are Bareknuckle holy divers, but any bareknuckle pickup can be ordered in battleworn burned chrome finish. Metal!

Thanks. The pickups are Bareknuckle Holydivers with the Burnt Chrome Battleworn finish option.

Ryan Barker I picked up an Aries in that $1-1.5K range, and you’re totally right. No sense in going ham on one. That CS6, though... it’s hard not to want one with a fancy top.

Ah very cool man! What options did you end up going with? And thanks, appreciate the compliments!

@@TheGuitarPit I found it used on reverb. Deep black flame finish, 5 piece neck, lithium pickups, gold hardware, birdseye maple fretboard, offset abalone inlays.. It's got almost too much candy on it, but I think it's still pretty classy.. The listing is probably still there. What really drew me to kiesel was all of the options. So many unique guitars. It does make it hard to find the right one used though.

Sounds awesome man! Yeah it can be tricky. I've been waiting for a simple 6 string with Fishmans and an Evertune on it...but have basically given up. I've seen one once, and it was a bright red 7 string.

@@TheGuitarPit Sounds like you need a framus stormbender! Come on it's only 4k and would make a great video! 😉 I haven't tried the Fishmans but they're definitely on the short list of cool stuff I want to try. And hevy devy raves about the evertune system.

Hey, bling is totally OK as long as you don't expect 100% returns on the resale. And like you said, not an issue if you never sell it :)

I can even get into some of the wacky wood combos, but it kills me when I see a baby blue burst to transparent over an $800 piece of burled maple. Brutal!

Fender custom shop doesn't really offer a "Custom Guitar" but no one is complaining about that.

Awesome! What kind of specs did you go with?

The Guitar Pit alder body, maple neck and ebony fingerboard. I went with a glossy surf green with black and cream coils. Coil split, lithium bridge, Holdsworth neck, thicker neck profile, and of course 7 strings

@@connorevs1315 Oh man that's gonna look nice and clean! Cool build man!

Jackson feels like a tank. I have a video review on it. Jacksons have a thing where they just feel extra high quality. It's also more expensive than Kiesel, so I think it compares on par with the price. That said, I'd still buy another Kiesel, I feel like they're the current best bang-for-buck guitar out there.

Kiesels are great on any level. They really hold up with some of the best, and their price makes them a crazy deal. Glad you're enjoying it! But yeah, on custom builds there is always a couple things you'd change. That's for the next build :)

Ha! Yeah as cool or awful as you want at Kiesel! Glad you like it. I think they're a steal at the base price. Unbelievable value when you compare to the newer import guitars coming in at $1500+.

That’s a tough one. The ESPs pickups are more versatile. The Kiesel has SS frets and feels really well finished. In a perfect world, send Kiesel pickups you want and get an Aries with those installed :) SS frets are the big standout because both guitars otherwise are so well finished. No fit and finish issues on either, both are top quality work. The esp has a larger neck, so also consider that. Lastly, the style should be considered. The Kiesel is a little more “out there” but I love it. The Delos is also a nice option if you want something more classic.

@@TheGuitarPit Awesome. Thanks for the info. I def like the ss fret standard option and I kinda like the "out there" look. I may see if I can send Kiesel the pickups that I like and just have one built for me. I also like the fact that they are made in the USA. I am a fan of the Het Set EMG 57/66 combo.

I think you’ll be really happy with a Kiesel with that emg set. Their default pickups aren’t my favorite, but the rest of their build quality is up among the best. That’s no slight on ESP, it’s great, but I think Kiesel is 1 click above.

The only thing to add is the ESP is actually a lot cheaper. If you spec a Kiesel with a carved top (the crescent let’s say), with a flame top and black purple burst, you’re looking at well over 2k. To meet at the ESP price you might have to compromise on a couple of options on the Kiesel. Good luck!

@@TheGuitarPit I am going for the Kiesel! Thanks

I didn't run into this issue on my JB100 with the same bridge, but it was neck-thru. So yeah, I think it's a "feature" of the Aries :P

It's been a while, but it was an Aries A6, swap ash body, antique ash treatment, satin raw tone finish, ebony board, maple neck, SS frets, matching headstock. Default neck thickness/radius/etc. Pretty simple no-frills build. The pickups were later swapped out for Bare Knuckle Holy Divers.

I'd like to try one of those some day. Sharp looking guitars for sure.

The best playing guitar I've ever owned! Very comfortable!

This one is pretty standard. Normal neck thickness, ebony board, swamp ash body, antique ash treatment, raw tone satin finish. Maple neck, hardtail bridge, black hardware. The only major change is this one has bare knuckle holy diver pickups, which were added later.

Depends on what you're looking for as far as options, style, tones, etc. That said, I think Kiesel's fretwork and overall quality are on par with Suhr. Suhr's fret ends might be slightly more round, but overall Kiesel puts up a great showing at their price. If I were to spec out an Aries similar to my Suhr modern, the Aries would be around $2800 though, so it all comes down to options at Kiesel.

I've love to check out a neck-thru Aries as well. That thing is gonna be killer. I just can't decide on the color lol. And you're right on the hipshot thing, or so I've heard. Let me know if it works out.

As far as I know, there are 2 floor sizes from hipshot available, maybe change it for a 175" if the neck pocket sits a bit higher .

I'd say Kiesels are less flat and more of an even C than an Ibanez Wizard neck. You can opt for a "thinner neck" from Kiesel, which is still a very thin neck...just a little less flat than a Wizard I think. Still very comfortable, and if you like Ibanez you'll probably feel at home on a Kiesel. I also have a review of a JB100...that guitar had the "thin" neck option.

@@TheGuitarPit yeah... In fact i like both neck styles, round c, but not the baseball C srylle. And also not the ibanez thin like a paper sheet frank gambale signature. Ahahahah. So, any other similar C even shape that you could compare? I have an esp ltd ec 401 , esp ltd viper 301, both are rounder but the viper is a bit more square where the eclipse is a bit U shaped. Jackson dxmg thats C but slightly thicker. But for me ita perfect. And a fender american standard, 40 years of the stratocaster anniversary . Also thick and rounder c, but comfortable. And a charvel fusion deluxe thats c, but thinner c. Ahahah. Have you tried any of the aforementioned guitars?

If I had to guess, the Jackson C might be similar. Haven't tried any of those specific models though. The ESP Horizon I had was a much more chunky neck than the Aries.

Tough call, depends on the fretwork and pickups. I give the fretwork to Kiesel, but the pickups to the JP6. You can always order from Kiesel and send them pickups of your choice. Also it seems like JP6's are expensive on the used market lately. I just checked Reverb and the piezo models are all about $2k+. Kind of odd...I sold a JP6 BFR for less than that a year ago.

I probably am a dick, but I feel like every channel just says "this is awesome, check out one" and does a couple tone demos. I'm a crap player so I try to focus on the details, fit and finish that other channels skip. A lot of guitars are over a grand these days, and don't have the quality to back it up in my opinion. This Kiesel was probably a bit more, but I got it used on Reverb and it came with aftermarket pickups. It was also built in a facebook run, which typically has a set menu of options and a lower price.

Personally I’d get the Kiesel Aries or Delos over an Ibanez AZ premium. An Ibanez Prestige is more comparable quality. Depends on the tones you want as well.

I dont have a PRS pattern regular around, but it would almost certainly be thicker than the regular Kiesel neck. The regular Kiesel neck is closer to PRS pattern thin.

Since I bought this used, I didn't get to pick. This has the regular neck profile. The guy's at Kiesel told me it was a VERY minor difference, but I probably would have went with the thinner neck if I was ordering it myself. That might have been a mistake though, because after playing this quite a lot, I've really grown to like the neck shape. So maybe it was a gift in disguise :)

The Guitar Pit Thanks for the quick reply! A lot of people seem to like the Kiesel necks... By the way you also said it has a two-piece ash body, but how is the guitar put together? Is it two thin pieces of ash on top of each other or is it one piece on the left and one on the right ( like the wings of the body of a neck through instrument)?Either way it looks nice, I haven’t been able to see any juncture on the video!

One on the left, one on the right, straight down the middle. It's hard to tell on the front, but noticeable on the back. I took a picture for you: photos.app.goo.gl/xJZzMfxWtvuUP3VP6 With Kiesel's "top wood" option, that piece would go over the top of the two body pieces. You can also opt for a single piece body, at an upcharge.

Thanks again! It is noticeable, but very discreet, looks good with the raw tone finish too

Update: I got a Kiesel today with a pattern thin neck. It's significantly thinner. It's just slightly thicker than my Ibanez RGA321, but probably the second thinnest neck out of all my guitars. Similar to a JP6's thickness, although the Kiesel is rounder on the back than the Music Man. Maybe I'd call it a Jackson Soloist without the shoulders...just a smooth curve all the way around.

I'm not exactly a wood expert, but I think swamp ash is pretty much the go-to wood if you're looking for a metal guitar. I guess you also see mahogany too, if you're looking for a bit darker tone. I think on high gain stuff, the wood isn't going to make a *huge* difference but it probably colors it a bit. I could try to research it or maybe do a live stream where people can debate it :) My personal preference is just something light and resonant.

I bought it second hand, so this one had expensive pickups which were effectively free. I'm sure their prices have gone up post-covid, but not sure to what extent. Either way, they are still a great bang-for-buck guitar. They also do "runs" on their facebook page and offer free options, or you can hop in at a good option sale. As long as you dont go crazy on options, you can get a decent deal on em. Or just keep an eye on the used market.

@@TheGuitarPit Thanks!

Well, I guess that'd be up to personal taste. Currently, I think my Suhr Antique is near perfect for me. I also really like my Friedman guitars. No guitar is 100% perfect though...the search continues! :)

Click Guitars -> Any model -> green button that says "guitar builder." You can also call them, if you prefer.

I bought it used, so i don't know the exact spec. Here's my best guess: -Kiesel Aries A6 -Swamp Ash body, antique ash treatment, raw tone satin finish -Maple neck, ebony board, offset mother of pearl dots. 12" or 14" radius, regular thickness, satin or tung oil back of neck -Headstock matches body, black logo, 3x3 headstock option -Pickups are Bare Knuckle HolyDivers (burnt chrome-battleworn finish). Buy them ahead of time, and send them in to Kiesel. They'll install them for you. -SS medium jumbo frets -Hipshot/Kiesel hardtail bridge, black hardware on tuners/knobs/bridge. That should do it! Good luck :)

@@TheGuitarPit bro you are a master! Thank you.

I haven't played the DK24 yet for more than a minute. The Kiesel neck (especially with the thinner neck profile option) is thinner. The Kiesel's stainless frets puts it above the DK24 for me. I've received multiple comments about fret sprout and issues on the DK24, which is part of the reason I've avoided them so far.

@@TheGuitarPit thank you...looks like a solid Guitar

@@bluematrix5001 Watch my Kiesel Delos review as well. It's more recent and probably has some more useful b-roll. I loved the neck and fretwork on that thing.

Nice! Beautiful build! 10 weeks isn't that bad, so good to get a number on that.

Thanks! Per the advice at the end of this video, I know the Black Limba is niche, but I personally think the wood grain is beautiful. Spent the afternoon breaking her in, and definitely plays awesome. The Lithiums play leads great!

Yeah I love the lithiums. And black limba is really cool wood. I had it on my DC600 and it was awesome.

I checked the time stamp hoping you meant the 12:30 guitar :) But yeah man, that K series is beautiful. How do you like it? I'd love to pick up a K series 6 string with a nice burl top some day. Haven't seen any deals on them though. Or, my dream guitar would be a K series with a Redwood top...

@@TheGuitarPit i absolutely adore the guitar. I'm playing more than ever, sounding better than ever and I've gotten some nice compliments on the look. I used this guitar and a Zeus with a chambered limba body to record and they were both exceptional.

@@daetros1626 Awesome that's great to hear. There is a Zeus on Reverb right now that is basically exactly the spec I want, but the guy wants $2k for it. I'm hoping he drops the price a bit.

Antique ash treatment with a rawtone satin finish.

Just looks, I believe. Probably some 0.001% tone difference. I had it on a Vader and it felt and played fine/good. So I'd say it's mostly just for the style, if you're into that.

@Ewolf5150 Most is, but I do feel that some do matter. A swamp ash body is certainly a little brighter tone than something super dense. At least to my ear. I don't think I have the nuance to hear the difference between maple and a rosewood board, though. And it's nearly impossible to compare, because the wood bodies are never identical. But I usually want the lightest, most resonant piece of wood they have. Can't go wrong with that.

Can't recommend one enough. Their prices are low enough where you basically can't go wrong...as long as you don't go totally crazy on making a wacky build. Keep it reasonable and you'll have an absolutely killer guitar. What kind of specs were you thinking? You should also check out some of their neck-thru models like the DC600.

I'm watching two right now. One hard tail, one with the vintage trem. I love the translucent white finish.. Damn! If there was a trans white with the trem on Reverb right now I'd have bought it already.

@@BrianSGuitars Probably not the body style you were looking at, but check THIS thing out: reverb.com/item/17378371-v220-kiesel-80s-era-reissue-custom-electric-guitar-trans-white

I love that finish, but yeah that's not my shape.. :)

Looking at these two. I love the spalted maple, but that might be one of those if you buy it you own it forever guitars you were describing.. Not quite clown shoe, but not far off. Hot though! reverb.com/item/17131327-kiesel-aries-6-2018 reverb.com/item/16792672-kiesel-aries-6x-spalted-maple-purple-caliburst-tremolo-2018-absolute-beauty

Yeah, I'd say so. At half the price, I'd say they compare very favorably. I had a USA Soloist and that thing was total quality -- played well, built like a tank, looked great, decked out with inlays, binding, etc. But retail was $2799. For that kind of money, I'd probably look at a Kiesel for half (or less).

The Guitar Pit The thing is though there are a couple of sl2’s on reverb with that exact same finish for around $1400 the Kiesel that I have spec’d out would run me about $1550. I have been playing a Jackson pro series for the past couple of years and really want to invest in a quality instrument after having so many problems with my current guitar. It would not bother me buying a used instrument so with that in mind in terms of pure quality would you still suggest ordering a Kiesel over buying a used sl2 for around the same price?

The Guitar Pit when I say the exact same finish I mean that same as that trans blue soloist you have hanging up in this video

The Guitar Pit Def do prefer a Floyd on my guitars. Have had a Floyd for the past ten years so at this point it is almost uncomfortable to play something without a Floyd. However based on what you have said it appears they are close in quality therefore I think I am going to go on ahead and place an order for a Kiesel based simply on the fact that I will be able to chose my own specs. Thank you for your help man!!!! You have a new subscriber for sure.

Nick McAllister how did it turn out?

I bought it used on Reverb. I don't think the guy ordered it with the pickups, he swapped them in later. But that would have been another $250 or so.

However, the original owner bought it on a Facebook run, which is typically a couple hundred cheaper than the custom builder. During Facebook runs, they have a set selection of options you can pick from and different tiers of pricing. I don't remember what he said he paid, but it was probably about $1100?

You can. Check out the guitar builder link on the right side of this page: www.kieselguitars.com/catalog/guitars/a6

Yeah I had to mention it because although it was fairly minor on this guitar, I've seen it on just about every single Aries. The SevenString.org forums have tons of posts about it. It didn't hurt the playability, but it's worth knowing. Still, for $1099 or whatever the base price is, I still think the Aries is basically unmatched.

@@TheGuitarPit i agree its absolutely brilliant, and 1100 for an american custom shop guitar, where else can you get that??

I really like that finish. They have a new blacked out ash finish I really like too, similar but darker and less brown.

Looks great to me. Very subtle and classy. I'm not a fan of crazy finishes especially when the wood looks so great on its own. I'm surprised this kind of raw aesthetic isn't more popular in general.

Weird...you'd think they would use that :) Or maybe the Hipshot "Ibby" bridge. Seems like a tiny, easy to fix detail that would make the Aries perfect :P

Good info. Sounds slippery! :)

Ah, JinHo makes the tuners? Looks like they're 40bux a set on Amazon...not too bad! I've always had good luck with the Kiesel tuners.

Expensive mistake but I've learned that lesson the hard way before :)

If you're a guy who keeps guitars for life, I guess not. But a lot of times when you custom order something, you realize you should have asked for x, y, z, don't like this other feature, etc. It'll bug you till you want a new one. So you end up selling your old one to fund the new one. Trust me, it's not just me lol. If you're 100% sure what you want, then go nuts. It's yours.

What do you think about the Greg Howe model? I've never played it but it seems like they will make them without the pick guard, if requested.

Yes the GH24 is about as close as your get to the contour 66 or Bolt+. But i'm left handed and because they restrict the bridge they don't do GH24's in left handed. But it makes my point even more. For years we begged for a better tremelo than the crappy wilkison 50 and a 24 fret verion, and some pickup options. they simply wouldn't do it-- well until Greg howe jumped onboard. Suddenly 24 frets was no problem on his model. Want a hipshot...no problem. heck we're throw in Greg's perfered mini duncan 59 as well. But on a bolt or bolt+? Forget it. Buy an Aries. So being a lefty I have 3 or 4 options. Buy a bolt or a greg Howe G3 and live with an ugly pickquard....but hey if I'm gonna do that I might as well just spend a $200 more and get a standard Suhr that has noiseless single coils and that great 510 trem, plexed board with rolled frets.....they sell them right down the street from me at Jerry's Lefty Guitars...he even has a couple throwbacks! And if anyone is interested he has an aries on his site for $599. The price keeps dropping as it ain't selling. I think because it's been modded. I see toggle switches and who knows what pickups those are? www.jerrysleftyguitars.com/lefty-guitars-specs/carvin-aries-t-blue-uel.html That certainly isn't a hipshot bridge either. My last option would to get an unbeveled Aries. But as mentioned they look ugly as the body is still too pointy, the edges aren't rounded but instead it just looks like an unfinished highschool shop project some kid did. Now with some upcharge I can add say, $150 swamp ash top and then for another $80 get a BBE (this is a trim option that'll make it look like a suhr modern ). And then I could throw a couple s60s and a greg Howe paralax for an HSS with a hipshot tremelo and arrive close (depending on paintjob) near 2k. A full grand cheaper than the suhr. But the aries shape is just too off for me. I'm currently leaning towards the G3 .....I'd want that 24 fret neck.

That Jerry's Lefty's Guitars link looks like an old Carvin Bolt with the old Carvin stock pickups and a wilkinson trem. Any Aries will have a Kiesel logo, since it was made after they ditched the name I think. Maybe you'd like the JB100 or JB200? I have a video review up for it. You can order it in lefty, it's neck-thru, top wood if you want, but there may be limits to what headstock they'll put on it.

Yeah it looked like a bolt+ to me as well. I've concidered the Jason Becker models. The main problem with them is the limited pickup options and such. They are mainly set up as shredder guitars and I do not want a shredder. I do Blues, Rock...even oldie Hendrix or Black Sabbath...but the Van Halen stuff not so much. And as times goes so does what I play. That's really my main problem with the new Kiesel designs. It's more than just the shape of the horns on the Aries, the guitar looks nothing like the stately strat, it is an aggressive looking double cut no matter how you slice it up. It's important that my guitar is not (I can't stress this enough) trying to say anything about the music that's going to come out of it, I wobble on not only the Aries but many of the new shapes. It's not that I'm a traditionalist, it's that I don't want my guitars to indicate a musical style, at all. Like Buckled shoes and Bell Bottom pants those designs just instantly date themselves and where will we be in 20 years?

You're right on the styling. All of these ultra modern guitars are going to look like hell in the near future, especially the ones with the wacky purple sunbursts and burled poplar tops. But, that isn't to say a DC600 or something can't be ordered in a tasteful configuration. Maybe check out the Ibanez AZ for something more traditional... or like you mentioned, just pony up for a Suhr :)

It ends up being a little more. No way that was 1100 out the door.

Youd be surprised but truth of the matter is . . . .expectation is not reality many times. Add buyers remorse for a big custom spend into the equation and, well. . . . off to Reverb it goes!

@@khgear7160 Fair point.

If that's your dream guitar, I agree! Do it up and get whatever you want. But if you're on the ledge and not 100% sure, skip the watermelon burl burst :P

@@TheGuitarPit lol I agree. If you go to ESP custom shop homepage, they show a guitar someone ordered shaped like a Taco.