Kiesel's customer service sucks!

[Shask]

That's ridiculous. There was another guy NinjaRaf who had a Kiesel last year that looked like a similar bridge and similar issue. I think you were on the right track with a neck shim and/or taller hipshot. This could have & should have been fixed and pretty easy if you are a guitar tech.

I ordered a Multiscale with a different bridge and it came out super nice....but I'm seeing too many stories that look like this issue is not unique.
If you see your guitar on the in stock inventory page update this thread, lol! I want to see more of it.

Oh Hai!!

I ordered a couple of Kiesels in 2015. SCB6 and DC600. Both pretty similar overall in terms of what I wanted aesthetically, and man did they come out incredible in that sense. But they were both plagued with basically unfixable problems.

Problem 1...both guitars had similar issues to yours with the bridge, but not as extreme. The heights on yours are just insane. Mine were really high, and didn't really have room for adjustment, but I don't remember them being quite that high (though, we are talking a year or so ago when my DC600 went away).

Problem 2...I wanted to replace the pickups in my DC600 with some Dimarzio Dominions. Get the bridge installed perfectly fine. Go to install the neck, and I am adjusting pickup height, and I feel a pinch on my leg...flip the guitar over...screws went through the fucking body. Pull them out...turns out, they use different length of screw for the neck and bridge pickup mounting. The neck pup screws are about .25" longer than the bridge. Why. The. Fuck. Would you do this. Who the fuck thinks to check SCREW LENGTH OF MOUNTING SCREWS when changing pickups. There are many reason these things are fucking standardized. This, for some reason, pissed me off more than anything else because...it just doesn't make any fucking sense.

Problem 3...and really the biggest problem...both guitars sounded very lifeless and dead. I also have an LTD MH400 and an LTD H400. These 2 guitars were $350 each. Both combined cost half of what one of my Kiesels cost. Both LTDs play and sound a million times better than either of my Kiesels. This, to me, is just fucking stupid.

In any case...I ended up trading my SCB6 for my Gibson Gothic V, and I traded my DC600 to a friend locally for an AR15 300 blackout pistol build lol.

The screw thing really sealed the deal for me and no more Kiesel. Sorry, but its just fucking stupid and makes no sense. Your guitar bodies are flat, and there is no neck angle on neck throughs...which means there is literally no reason to have different length screws. When I talked to them...they denied that they used different length screws and then blamed me lol. I sent them a picture of the 2 screws next to each other, and they didn't respond to it. Then they offered to fix it if I paid shipping to and from. This guitar was less than a month old at that point. So sorry that you guys are too retarded to use same length screws, I am not dealing with this crap.

Kiesel has a lot of potential. A semi-custom shop that lets you spec out nearly every fucking detail of your guitar is SUCH a great idea. But their execution needs a lot of work. Customer service needs a lot of work. And apparently, logic, too haha.

I still have your old SCB6! I actually love it!

The saddles do have some angle to them, but not near as drastic as this thread. The SCB6 has standard fret-wire. I have noticed that it seems like Hipshot+Jumbo frets seem to be the biggest culprit for this problem to be majorly dramatic.

I did change the pickups to Duncan Black Winters. I researched a long time, and eventually used completely different screws based on your issues. I agree that what they used was just stupid. I think it is stupid overall that they use threaded inserts for the back cover, but not the pickups. Even my MIK Schecter has threaded inserts for pickups.

It is still not huge, chunky, and resonant like a Les Paul, but the Duncans helped a lot. I love it for tight technical playing like Death-Symbolic, Lamb of God, etc... I still think the maple neckthrough has a lot to do with the sound.

I still want to order another Kiesel, but definitely worried after so many problems lately. There definitely seems to be many "rules", like no Option 50's, dont do Hipshot+Jumbo frets, no maple neckthrough, etc.... Sadly, there aren't many choices out there for 25" scale, which I am loving. Basically just Kiesel and PRS. I am also considering a PRS SE Custom 24.

get a used PRS core model, it will be 10000x better instrument than a kiesel

Looking at the PRS SE Custom 24 also. I prefer the flat top / bevel to carved tops like the US PRSs, and I want a Floyd model. The Floyd US model is like $4k+, which is ridiculous. I dont want to feel bad if I sand the neck.

 

[Shask]

That's ridiculous. There was another guy NinjaRaf who had a Kiesel last year that looked like a similar bridge and similar issue. I think you were on the right track with a neck shim and/or taller hipshot. This could have & should have been fixed and pretty easy if you are a guitar tech.

I ordered a Multiscale with a different bridge and it came out super nice....but I'm seeing too many stories that look like this issue is not unique.
If you see your guitar on the in stock inventory page update this thread, lol! I want to see more of it.

Oh Hai!!

I ordered a couple of Kiesels in 2015. SCB6 and DC600. Both pretty similar overall in terms of what I wanted aesthetically, and man did they come out incredible in that sense. But they were both plagued with basically unfixable problems.

Problem 1...both guitars had similar issues to yours with the bridge, but not as extreme. The heights on yours are just insane. Mine were really high, and didn't really have room for adjustment, but I don't remember them being quite that high (though, we are talking a year or so ago when my DC600 went away).

Problem 2...I wanted to replace the pickups in my DC600 with some Dimarzio Dominions. Get the bridge installed perfectly fine. Go to install the neck, and I am adjusting pickup height, and I feel a pinch on my leg...flip the guitar over...screws went through the fucking body. Pull them out...turns out, they use different length of screw for the neck and bridge pickup mounting. The neck pup screws are about .25" longer than the bridge. Why. The. Fuck. Would you do this. Who the fuck thinks to check SCREW LENGTH OF MOUNTING SCREWS when changing pickups. There are many reason these things are fucking standardized. This, for some reason, pissed me off more than anything else because...it just doesn't make any fucking sense.

Problem 3...and really the biggest problem...both guitars sounded very lifeless and dead. I also have an LTD MH400 and an LTD H400. These 2 guitars were $350 each. Both combined cost half of what one of my Kiesels cost. Both LTDs play and sound a million times better than either of my Kiesels. This, to me, is just fucking stupid.

In any case...I ended up trading my SCB6 for my Gibson Gothic V, and I traded my DC600 to a friend locally for an AR15 300 blackout pistol build lol.

The screw thing really sealed the deal for me and no more Kiesel. Sorry, but its just fucking stupid and makes no sense. Your guitar bodies are flat, and there is no neck angle on neck throughs...which means there is literally no reason to have different length screws. When I talked to them...they denied that they used different length screws and then blamed me lol. I sent them a picture of the 2 screws next to each other, and they didn't respond to it. Then they offered to fix it if I paid shipping to and from. This guitar was less than a month old at that point. So sorry that you guys are too retarded to use same length screws, I am not dealing with this crap.

Kiesel has a lot of potential. A semi-custom shop that lets you spec out nearly every fucking detail of your guitar is SUCH a great idea. But their execution needs a lot of work. Customer service needs a lot of work. And apparently, logic, too haha.

I still have your old SCB6! I actually love it!

The saddles do have some angle to them, but not near as drastic as this thread. The SCB6 has standard fret-wire. I have noticed that it seems like Hipshot+Jumbo frets seem to be the biggest culprit for this problem to be majorly dramatic.

I did change the pickups to Duncan Black Winters. I researched a long time, and eventually used completely different screws based on your issues. I agree that what they used was just stupid. I think it is stupid overall that they use threaded inserts for the back cover, but not the pickups. Even my MIK Schecter has threaded inserts for pickups.

It is still not huge, chunky, and resonant like a Les Paul, but the Duncans helped a lot. I love it for tight technical playing like Death-Symbolic, Lamb of God, etc... I still think the maple neckthrough has a lot to do with the sound.

I still want to order another Kiesel, but definitely worried after so many problems lately. There definitely seems to be many "rules", like no Option 50's, dont do Hipshot+Jumbo frets, no maple neckthrough, etc.... Sadly, there aren't many choices out there for 25" scale, which I am loving. Basically just Kiesel and PRS. I am also considering a PRS SE Custom 24.

HA! Nice! Glad its working out for you. I loved how that thing looked. Really nice. Glad you researched the pickup screw thing. I agree...why not use threaded inserts in the pickups, too.

I am still rocking the shit out of the Gothic V haha. Loved it so much that I bought a second one...which is now for sale because I'm an idiot and don't need 2 haha. But yeah...still my favorite guitar that I have owned.

I love the feel more than anything. The medium-C shaped neck, 25" scale really fits my hand well. I can fly all over it with no effort at all. To me, if a guitar fits me perfectly in feel, then I can work with the sound.

I had a LTD MH301 for years that was kind of similar in sound. It was neckthrough maple/mahogany. After several pickups, finally a Duncan Invader sounded best in it.

Still want my next guitar to be mostly mahogany though, lol.

 

[thiswaythatway]

On a completely separate note...Mesa has by far the best customer service I have experienced. My Mark IV started acting wonky in early November. Ended up taking it to a local authorized service center. These guys had the amp for 10 FUCKING WEEKS! I called them every week after them having it for 3 weeks and me not hearing anything. Their site says 7-10 days. So I started making weekly calls. Only talked to the actual tech once, talked to a different person each week. Finally got sick of it and called Mesa. Talked to Rich. Explain the situation and he says...wait, 10 weeks?! That's just ridiculous. Calls me back 20 minutes later after talking to the tech lol. Next day, I picked the amp up and shipped it to Mesa. When I picked it up, the dude tells me...I shoulda sent it to Mesa a month ago. I should've just sent it to them in the first place. The amp is now on its way back to me and should be here Tuesday. Total time that Mesa had the amp before calling me to tell me it was ready: 1. Fucking. Week. Why these local guys had it for 10 weeks is beyond me.

Yup Mesa rules. They obviously love what they do and care about the customer. It tends to build trust and loyalty. I've spoken on the phone to Mike B and several others from Mesa and I'd buy ANY of them a drink.

 

[Hardvalve]

They have so much potential, but keep seeing this over and over. I was hopeful that the switch to Kiesel would make a big difference. The ones I had in the 80s and 90s played well, but sounded completely dead. Gorgeous, low action, played well, and changing pickups never helped. Now it seems it has gotten even worse. Literally shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[jeff5]

On a completely separate note...Mesa has by far the best customer service I have experienced. My Mark IV started acting wonky in early November. Ended up taking it to a local authorized service center. These guys had the amp for 10 FUCKING WEEKS! I called them every week after them having it for 3 weeks and me not hearing anything. Their site says 7-10 days. So I started making weekly calls. Only talked to the actual tech once, talked to a different person each week. Finally got sick of it and called Mesa. Talked to Rich. Explain the situation and he says...wait, 10 weeks?! That's just ridiculous. Calls me back 20 minutes later after talking to the tech lol. Next day, I picked the amp up and shipped it to Mesa. When I picked it up, the dude tells me...I shoulda sent it to Mesa a month ago. I should've just sent it to them in the first place. The amp is now on its way back to me and should be here Tuesday. Total time that Mesa had the amp before calling me to tell me it was ready: 1. Fucking. Week. Why these local guys had it for 10 weeks is beyond me.

Sorry, I know kind of off topic, but to juxapose against the bad Kiesel CS, I agree Mesa is fantastic. I've dealt with Rich a few times when I owned my Triaxis. First for some questions, then to get the Fat Mod removed (shipped it to Mesa, fast and flawless work) and then some questions after that. Fast, polite knowledgeable, just top notch.

 

[NinjaRaf]

That's ridiculous. There was another guy NinjaRaf who had a Kiesel last year that looked like a similar bridge and similar issue. I think you were on the right track with a neck shim and/or taller hipshot. This could have & should have been fixed and pretty easy if you are a guitar tech.

I ordered a Multiscale with a different bridge and it came out super nice....but I'm seeing too many stories that look like this issue is not unique.
If you see your guitar on the in stock inventory page update this thread, lol! I want to see more of it.

Oh Hai!!

I ordered a couple of Kiesels in 2015. SCB6 and DC600. Both pretty similar overall in terms of what I wanted aesthetically, and man did they come out incredible in that sense. But they were both plagued with basically unfixable problems.

Problem 1...both guitars had similar issues to yours with the bridge, but not as extreme. The heights on yours are just insane. Mine were really high, and didn't really have room for adjustment, but I don't remember them being quite that high (though, we are talking a year or so ago when my DC600 went away).

Problem 2...I wanted to replace the pickups in my DC600 with some Dimarzio Dominions. Get the bridge installed perfectly fine. Go to install the neck, and I am adjusting pickup height, and I feel a pinch on my leg...flip the guitar over...screws went through the fucking body. Pull them out...turns out, they use different length of screw for the neck and bridge pickup mounting. The neck pup screws are about .25" longer than the bridge. Why. The. Fuck. Would you do this. Who the fuck thinks to check SCREW LENGTH OF MOUNTING SCREWS when changing pickups. There are many reason these things are fucking standardized. This, for some reason, pissed me off more than anything else because...it just doesn't make any fucking sense.

Problem 3...and really the biggest problem...both guitars sounded very lifeless and dead. I also have an LTD MH400 and an LTD H400. These 2 guitars were $350 each. Both combined cost half of what one of my Kiesels cost. Both LTDs play and sound a million times better than either of my Kiesels. This, to me, is just fucking stupid.

In any case...I ended up trading my SCB6 for my Gibson Gothic V, and I traded my DC600 to a friend locally for an AR15 300 blackout pistol build lol.

The screw thing really sealed the deal for me and no more Kiesel. Sorry, but its just fucking stupid and makes no sense. Your guitar bodies are flat, and there is no neck angle on neck throughs...which means there is literally no reason to have different length screws. When I talked to them...they denied that they used different length screws and then blamed me lol. I sent them a picture of the 2 screws next to each other, and they didn't respond to it. Then they offered to fix it if I paid shipping to and from. This guitar was less than a month old at that point. So sorry that you guys are too retarded to use same length screws, I am not dealing with this crap.

Kiesel has a lot of potential. A semi-custom shop that lets you spec out nearly every fucking detail of your guitar is SUCH a great idea. But their execution needs a lot of work. Customer service needs a lot of work. And apparently, logic, too haha.

I still have your old SCB6! I actually love it!

The saddles do have some angle to them, but not near as drastic as this thread. The SCB6 has standard fret-wire. I have noticed that it seems like Hipshot+Jumbo frets seem to be the biggest culprit for this problem to be majorly dramatic.

I did change the pickups to Duncan Black Winters. I researched a long time, and eventually used completely different screws based on your issues. I agree that what they used was just stupid. I think it is stupid overall that they use threaded inserts for the back cover, but not the pickups. Even my MIK Schecter has threaded inserts for pickups.

It is still not huge, chunky, and resonant like a Les Paul, but the Duncans helped a lot. I love it for tight technical playing like Death-Symbolic, Lamb of God, etc... I still think the maple neckthrough has a lot to do with the sound.

I still want to order another Kiesel, but definitely worried after so many problems lately. There definitely seems to be many "rules", like no Option 50's, dont do Hipshot+Jumbo frets, no maple neckthrough, etc.... Sadly, there aren't many choices out there for 25" scale, which I am loving. Basically just Kiesel and PRS. I am also considering a PRS SE Custom 24.

HA! Nice! Glad its working out for you. I loved how that thing looked. Really nice. Glad you researched the pickup screw thing. I agree...why not use threaded inserts in the pickups, too.

I am still rocking the shit out of the Gothic V haha. Loved it so much that I bought a second one...which is now for sale because I'm an idiot and don't need 2 haha. But yeah...still my favorite guitar that I have owned.

I love the feel more than anything. The medium-C shaped neck, 25" scale really fits my hand well. I can fly all over it with no effort at all. To me, if a guitar fits me perfectly in feel, then I can work with the sound.

I had a LTD MH301 for years that was kind of similar in sound. It was neckthrough maple/mahogany. After several pickups, finally a Duncan Invader sounded best in it.

Still want my next guitar to be mostly mahogany though, lol.

My 2 LTD Elite Horizon IIIs were similar in tone, too. It wasn't actually until I got the Gibson from you that I noticed those short comings.

 

[jwnc]

Did anyone get this to Jeff at Kiesel? He is really active on Facebook and he would probably want to know what happened with this situation.

 

[messenger]

Did anyone get this to Jeff at Kiesel? He is really active on Facebook and he would probably want to know what happened with this situation.

I sent him a message on FB that he read which had a link to this thread but didn't get a response.

 

[Smac77]

Thanks for posting this, hopefully, someone reads and saves themselves a headache

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Thanks for posting this, hopefully, someone reads and saves themselves a headache

You bet!

Just trying to inform others of my experience so they can make informed decisions. Clearly many will get exactly what they were after and be happy, but it sure seems like the responses I've seen here and on Sevenstring indicate there's definitely a trend towards bad experiences unfortunately.

 

[hatrick00]

Thanks for posting this... I was about to start a custom build from them.... not anymore.

 

[ob1clyde]

I buy used. Its funny that Mike was the culprit here.. because I believe he used to be the guy to call when you had problems in Customer Service.. I've been playing 80's carvins for decades, swore I'd build a custom because of it. But I never liked the ones I had built. Sent one back and traded another. Atleast you got your money back!!

 

[Tone Zone]

Thanks for posting this... I was about to start a custom build from them.... not anymore.

You still could. Just order through Chris (as I did), and evaluate it for 10 days...you could always send it back. While there has been a lot of negative feedback in this thread (and rightfully so from the looks), I have seen a ton of positive feedback from many Kiesel customers as well. As I said earlier, my Kiesel build came out great...so much so, that I was inspired to pick up another used Kiesel... that I like playing just as much as my own personal build. I don't find either one of them lifeless at all. In fact, they play and sound great. The resale value is a sore point alright...but, because of this....I knew going into purchasing a Kiesel build to not go crazy on the options. I was able to get what I wanted for about $1,100 at the time.

 

[reentune]

I echo the OP's sentiment.

But the real problem doesn't lie with Mike Jones, it's Jeff Kiesel himself.
He will not respond to you. Mike is only the speaker producing sounds for the amplifier, JK.

Anything that pisses you off about MJ goes right back to Jeff.

I also got totally bent over by this worthless company. (You should see how they buffed the paint right off the top before clear-coating the guitar. Refused to fix or adjust price.) So count me as an ally.

And yes, Chris Hong is a nice fellow. Mike isn't so bad. But Jeff Kiesel is the real rat of the company.

 

[reentune]

Oh, and one other thing:

Jeff Kiesel told me to just take my flawed guitar and "sell it for a small profit."

That's a quote.

 

[Deanmachine]

After reading this nightmare I'm never buying from these guys....

 

[jwnc]

I am sure you can find issues like this with any company in some fashion, not that its an excuse but there are tons of great stories that don't get posted compared to the bad ones. IMO

Jason

 

[messenger]

I am sure you can find issues like this with any company in some fashion, not that its an excuse but there are tons of great stories that don't get posted compared to the bad ones. IMO

Jason

But there is NO excuse for poor customer service IMO

 

[sleewell2]

Oh, and one other thing:

Jeff Kiesel told me to just take my flawed guitar and "sell it for a small profit."

That's a quote.

fuckin douche.

used kiesels sell for maybe 15-25% of the new cost after months of sitting around.


the only reason those guitars have a niche market is because there are tons of poor people out there who don't know any better.

 

[Vrad]

Ok I gotta chime in here. I know MetalHead Mike has a legit issue and a few others seem to be chiming in with shitty customer service stories. But I don't get some of the comments. I just got a Kiesel VM7 and frankly it's flawless... anything but "dead sounding" and downright kicks ass. So I'm not sure what's going on here but I can only go by what I received from them.