Man I couldn't even finish watching b4 commenting what a gorgeous build. Love the walnut stripes and body under white. One classy guitar ....Simply love it.
Thanks a bunch!!! The walnut body under the raw tone white turned out really great, easily my favorite spec I've had on a guitar so far! Thanks for watching, means a ton 🤘🏻
Absolutely amazing video and review! I love my kiesels and my vader is one of my favorites of my collection. Love the specs you went with. Kiesel has been amazing with all my builds and I really don't buy anything else because they can do it all. Killer playing too!
That's so good to hear! Yeah of you have the money and the patience, going kiesel is a great decision! I mean you can get a USA made guitar with stainless steel frets, dual truss rods etc. starting around $1200? Pretty awesome!!! One day I'm sure I'll order another one. What other models do you own?
@@danieltownsend8536 I have a vanquish, osiris, delos, vader, headless delos, neck thru aries, and I have a hyperdrive on week 6 and a crescent on week 4. I guess I'm a bit of a fanboy lol but their standard neck profile fits my hands so much better than any other brand I've ever played before. Suddenly my legato and my sweeps were sounding better from less hand cramping.
@@danieltownsend8536 it's by far my favorite of my 3 headless. It's super lightweight and has a great sound unplugged. I cant put it down. My neck thru aries is another favorite it has such sustain and resonance and vibrates my hands when I play in a good way and it's an amazing guitar. You can check them out on my channel I don't have the video quality or editing yet but I'm planning on updating once I stop buying guitars lol.
I'm glad someone else is also obsessed with walnut. Mulling it over, but I think a walnut with purpleheart accents, or vice versa, guitar would look amazing. And also the satin on walnut grain is absolutely gorgeous. Swamp ash is beautiful, no question, but a bit overrated lol Thanks for the tung oil vs satin comparison, very informative!
I'm glad you found this useful!!! Walnut is definitely one of my favorite guitar woods now that I've spent some time with it! 100% agree with the walnut and purple heart combo, in fact I believe that's Jeff's favorite as well. For me, the raw tone is Killer, the closer to the natural wood the more I tend to enjoy it personally, so that option is perfect for me!
I have 3 Kiesel Vader guitars and a Vader bass guitar. I have one major issue with all of them. The frets are too short and the bevel on the frets is too much. E and e strings slipping off is a major problem on the guitars, but not on the bass. I really wish they would do straight down edges like Jackson guitars have and make the frets the full width of the neck. My second negative is that I had to put string saver saddles on all the guitars, but not the bass. The normal bridges have a sharp edge and break strings like crazy. My third problem is that the arm rest contour has a sharp edge and it actually can make my hand go to sleep. I wish it was a nice round bevel like on a strat. I realize these three things may be a matter of taste, but I still have do do some mods to make it ideal for me. On the flip side, the Hipshot Tremolo is amazing! I have never seen any tremolo even come close to staying in tune as well as the Hipshot headless tremolo. Once you get string savers on it, it is amazing. If you have the older (before 2020) model, you have to take it apart and file out the string furrows so the string does not touch the bridge before it gets to the saddle. And on the older model I had to email Hipshot for the newer string ball holders which are a huge upgrade.
@@danieltownsend8536 It really comes down to the pickups I think. I've watched a ton of dudes review them with side by side comparisons and by the end i'm still on the fence. It really comes down to the Thorium or the Polarity Active form what I can hear in samples, demos, etc. Also, I know you covered it (I just don't want to rewind) but I love that white with the grain. What is that again? White, thin coat? On what wood? Thanks!
@@scottbronder Yeah, getting the right pickups is a big deal! I've heard good things about the Thorium, can't say I know much about the polarity pickups. So this is the raw tone finish option, and the wood is their standard walnut! So really, just an all walnut body with their "raw tone satin finish". Not sure what type of wood you are going with on the top, but I know they advise to go with swamp ash to get the best looking grain. Im happy the way walnut turned out, but perhaps I got lucky with the piece of wood they chose!
Nice playing, note choice over note count. Was that your first headless? Do you like it more or less over time (It being headless). I'm thinking of getting one.
Thanks a bunch! Yes indeed this was my first headless. I find that it's SO easy to travel around with the headless, considering it's so small and lightweight. It's also fairly quick to restring as well. I haven't experienced any negative in regards to it being headless, but I think for most people it probably comes down to aesthetic. I'm a fan, mostly because it's so practical. Hardly takes up any space, you won't accidentally stab anyone with the headstock, I use it for giving lessons quite often. Nothing but high marks from me 🤘🏻
Hey man, i’ve been eyeing this model since my friend has one, and when he let me play it i fell in love. I play rock/hard rock but i also play the clean channel a lot, my question is, is this a versatile guitar? Or is it leaning towards a certain genre like metal?
That's a good question. I think the beauty in ordering from Kiesel is that you could potentially spec out a more versatile guitar. The base model is definitely more geared to modern rock/metal when we consider the high output pickups and the flat radius neck. But even with that I found it to be versatile. I suppose if I wanted something that could cover more territory with genres, id go with lower output pups, HSS, maybe 14 in radius neck. I did plenty or hard rock, jazz, blues on this particular guitar.
How much does your vader weight in at? I own a vader 7 multiscale, walnut body chambered, limba top, walnut/maple 5pc neck , and royal ebony fretboard. I can't live without a tung oil walnut neck now.
Hey Daniel. Good video review of this guitar!!! I'm thinking in getting a Vader but I currently play a normal body guitar (Ibanez RG) and one of my concerns is with the position of the strap button... Did you find it weird to put your cable over the strap button and down to the input jack? I noticed in the intro you didn't have it plugged (no criticism) so I was wondering if you do so because the cable ends up in a weird looking or uncomfortable position (maybe in clashes with your arm)? Thanks!!!
Hey J, great question. So I know what you're referring too, and I can tell you that it's not an issue. Doesn't get in the way or do anything particularly out of the ordinary. Let me know if you have any other questions about the Vader, happy to answer!
J Campos Just a heads up, the trems tuning can be very inconsistent. (Incase your looking at getting one with a trem) Some people have reported major tuning problems, reporting tuning issues even after big bends on the G string and that’s without using the trem. Despite what a lot of demos and reviews say! Hardtails the way to go if you getting one, trust me.
@@jazznotes3802 glad you said something! That hasn't been my experience at all but that doesn't mean that sort of thing isn't happening to others. And I wouod hate to have someone face those issues after watching me praise the trem. Fixed bridge is always a safer bet. Also worth mentioning I ordered this in late 2019 and the build was completed early 2020. I'm aware some changes have been made to this particular hipshot system over the years, but I'm not sure if those changes were supposed to help with the function of the bridge. They couldve just been cosmetic/comfort related....
@@jazznotes3802 Thanks for the heads-up! I am actually looking at getting a fixed bridge... my days of dive bombing are done 😃. But it is good to know there are some concerns going on. Cheers!
J Campos Yeah, I’ve been a big trem user in the past, but find a whammy pedal and some other guitar tricks replace the need for one these days. Like Pre-bend & releases, with pinched harmonics, for small harmonic dives and using a ring on my right hand (as a slide/thimble) gives me all the harmonic pull-ups tricks. The fixed-bridge has incredible tuning stability, so wise choice. 👍
The Leia definitely caught me by suprise! But in many ways it would make sense that kiesel makes a headless LP model! Really cool man, you gotta tell me how it is!
Did you ever get a Leia? I’m definitely ordering a Kiesel headless but I’m really torn between the Leia and the Zeus. They both seem similar body wise except for the leia seems pretty small which I actually like but I just hope it isn’t so small that it looks like a toy!
@@dannyboyblue1111 I never did. I chose a kayak this time around. The Leia has the advantage of two to three different scale lengths to choose from. I'm planning on saving a couple of thousand and getting that yellow one that is on the in stock page. And you can get a trem with the 24.75" scale length.
@11:40 Quick note: the flatter radius does have an affect on bends as oppsed to smaller radius boards but, what you may be overlooking is that the trem floats. You can actually see the "sag" as you did the bend. Try a stabilizer if you can do without the flutter effect.
@@danieltownsend8536 I prefer the ESP type "Arming adjuster" (cheaper Chinese versions work great with blue Loctite in the right places) but, there's a number of different toys on the market. And thanks for the review/demo. I'm waiting on a Zeus build myself. First Kiesel ever. Week 10! The anticipation is killing me! haha
@@JoeyRapps1 That's great information to have, thanks! Oh man you're getting close!!!! That's exciting news to hear, I can assure you that you'll love it! I'd love to see the spec sheet on that!
@@danieltownsend8536 I went more basic than u did, in case I don't want to keep it and I had to make my best guesses on specs. I never got to try one anywhere. Complete gamble. Vintage Cream gloss, stock Alder body/maple neck, trem, jumbo frets, 14" radius, Lithium/bridge, Beryllium/neck, black p/u poles. So glad they don't use zero frets like other headless makes. I'm curious how well that head piece clamps the strings tho. We shall see....
Thank you for discussing the whammy. No one ever does that, let alone actually use it on screen. And TY for talking about the radius. I'm also a classical player, and am a fan of flat fingerboards, and wished for an electric with one, and when I saw they did 20" as standard I was like oooh.
That's the way kiesel shipped them, so I'd assume that was intentional. All the string's output are equal to my ear (haven't exactly tested it, but as far as I'm concerned, no need to). Intriguing question, I don't really have a good answer unfortunately 😅🤘🏻
JoeyRapps1 I’m specifically speaking of it as an option from Kiesel, who has stated numerous times that 20” radius isn’t an option with a trem. This is where my confusion is, if it’s now the case you can have the radius with that trem, I’d suggest Kiesel change their wording.
@@LafBoi just curious where u heard that exactly. The online Builder for the Vader 6 asks 'trem or no trem' question on page 1 and on the bottom of page 4 it shows the 20" radius is the standard spec. Idk why they would say that to u. Is it possible you're thinking of the multi-scale version? Only a 20" radius is available and there's no trem at all on the VM6,7, or 8.
@@danieltownsend8536 yup I’ll always be a Pokémon nut. Had every game on release day since red way back 😂 just finished a shiny hunt for a gible on Pokémon Shield this weekend that took WAY too long
I'm thinking of getting a better guitar, partly to motivate myself to practice more. I'm struggling to justify an expensive Strat over this. This looks better made. And once you get used to this design, Strats look so huge. And who needs a headstock? It's just something to break.
Absolutely. Look into their Delos and Headless Delos model. I think the base price is right around 1200, so right around the ball park of an American strat. Except it's your own, with stainless steel frets, awesome duel truss rod, and whatever options you go with!
Yes, even non chambered (and a walnut body for that matter) its super light. I feel like if this was chambered, the wind would take it away 🤣 In all seriousness, it's fairly lightweight and compact. Easy to gig with because of that!
@@danieltownsend8536 awesome man... ive been trying to figure out if I should go with clambering or not. I think I'm not gna and just push the damn button on the build already lol. Thanks for your reply man🤘🤘
@@sunnys3325 Yeah I wouldn't think the chambering is necessary on any of their headless guitar builds, I mean that vader is ridiculously light as it is! Of course man, I'm excited you're looking to put in a build with Kiesel! Let me know if you have any other questions at all :)
@@danieltownsend8536 USA professional. Keisel has good options however the designs are too flashy and too annoying for my liking. Thanks for the review is very informative
