If you are buying a guitar thinking about how much you'll get for it when you sell it, it's the wrong guitar for you. Resale value shouldn't matter for a custom-made guitar. You should have ordered exactly what you wanted. This has nothing to do with Kiesel and everything to do with custom guitars and people buying guitars and getting rid of them rather than holding onto them. I've heard tons of people expressing regret over selling an instrument they shouldn't have, which is why I have 13 basses.
It's like a family trip to Disney world man, you pay for the fun and experience. You get to keep that family photo, but it's money you won't get back 😂
Yes, you'll also get hammered on a lot of other custom instruments. Your tastes aren't necessarily the tastes of a broad market segment. Having said that, the general guitar market is also in a slump. I'm seeing Asian-made instruments from good brands go for a fraction of their normal retail price.
I just spent $3,619 on a Kiesel Stef Snow Vader 8 string a month ago. You will never see an all white guitar at any guitar store, and it belongs in my fingers and if not, then on the wall of my living room. I am looking at an interesting 5 string Vader multi scale bass with Darkglass electronics and 3 pickups with white to blue arctic burst with blood red cutaways and a black limba fretboard stained white at the 24th fret to dark blue at the end. black bezels and hardware, 7 piece neckthru, just thoughts to become reality by EOY. I am undecided on body woods and final details. I would like some metal crackle at different places, Kiesel's choice, and matte finish. Resale value isn't even my thought, it is mine and will remain for quite some years, on the wall when I am not playing her. I also have a Taylor V braced 314CE, quite awesome, but she goes back in her case with the Humidipack when she isn't fingered
I scour the Kiesel for sale listings for this exact reason. Anything that is ordered so specific to the original buyer that isn’t *very* limited/hard to get, is going to take a huge hit on the secondary market. I’m here for it 😈
I have 3 Kiesels that I had built to spec and thought about this when I had them done. Still did it. I don't buy guitars with resale or what the next owner thinks of it in mind.
When you make a "custom 1 of a kind" you have to find the "1 kind" whom wants to buy the guitar after the other "1 guy" ordered it. That's a whole lot of custom and not a whole lot of "popular"
@@TopShelfGear For realz. Playa!! Aint frontin on Kiesel........just reppin that all custom be cut up and domed............then be straight tryin to sell........ain't no fool got time for dat noize
Yes, if you bling out a Kiesel to your specs you can have a tough time finding someone else who wants to buy it. That cuts both ways though. I have a few Kiesel in-stocks that went for stupendously low. A DC that would cost you 4100 that sold for 2600 as an in-stock. I have a couple from the used market, and two that were custom made. The custom guitars (SH550s) went on black friday sales for a good discount, and if you compare them to their competitors (Sadowsky or Benedetto) the value is really good for what you get. If you are paying full price, make sure you are reconciled to a potential drop in resale. If you are buying in-stock at a discount or used, you won't do too badly.
Not necessarily true. Considered Dingwall bass guitars. A lot of their used customs go for their full resale value and often even more. Now a BIG part of that is because there’s a good 24 month wait for a custom. Thing is, Dingwall doesn’t make a bad bass guitar. They also have outstanding customer support. Unlike Keisel, they don’t blame their customers when something goes wrong with an instrument. Not that Keisel always does that, but there’s definitely many documented cases. I think the problem is that they’re pumping out way too many custom instruments. It’s like diamonds. The value of a diamond is partially due to its rarity. Keisel’s are VERY common. Why would I buy someone else’s custom when I can get my own in just a few weeks?? When you deal in the boutique market where build times are 12+ months, resale value is much better.
Great points about the very custom stuff impacting resale value. It's especially true when you put your own original inlay design on a custom guitar. I mean... I don't want my 12th fret to say "STEVIE GUITAR GOD." lol. In my experience with selling a LOT of used custom guitars, I found that the most important factor is WHERE you list them for sale. You have to consider your potential customers, and those are going to be way different on FB marketplace and a specialized guitar forums. You will be able to get better money on the specialized boards. If it's not a collector item or a guitar previously owned by someone famous you definitely will still lose money on the transaction, but it won't be as much as when selling on "normie" platforms. This, at least, was the case for me, and I've sold close to a hundred guitars so I'd imagine there must be something to it.
What I don't understand is why Guitar Center thinks they are going to get close to new retail prices for their Used/Pre-Owned Kiesels. I have seen this over and over again. It takes an eternity for GC to realize that people can actually access the interent to find other Kiesels for way cheaper because Kiesels don't hold their resale value in the first place OR people can just order directly from Kiesel NEW and to your specs. Sam Ash was so much worse and with ALL Used/Pre-Owned guitars not just Kiesels. Sam Ash absolutely 💯 would NOT budge on any of their Used prices regardless of make or model. I'm not trying to be mean either. In fact, several of my comments about Sam Ash''s Used/Pre-Owned policy on other videos about the Sam Ash closing thing were deleted, so I don't know why the whole Used guitar topic and especially my decades long observations of Sam Ash triggered people to delete my comments.
I have two Carvin guitars, fantastic guitars, nothing crazy in terms of customization, however, if I wanted to sell them ... I would be lucky to get 500$ for them and one of them is a DC400W and back then was 2000$ ... so with inflation and Covid this would be at least a 3000$ guitar... so if you buy a Kiesel, buy to keep and play, forget about selling them.
A cheap plain built Aries is going to resale decently. But a highly priced exotic body with very particular eye candy choices. Why buy a second hand 4k guitar when you could just as easily order your own, custom made to demand? Another reason for the resale value issue is that a lot of Kiesel customers spec out their guitars in quite a tasteless way. I don't really get those people that keep buying guitars and also keep selling them. Are you a musician, a collector, or a speculator? A guitar is a tool to make music. If you are a pro, you may need more than one. But most people don't need more than 3, for sure. If you just want to buy new guitars all the time for some endorphin hit, because you are addicted. Then you need to sell your old ones. And a Kiesel one likely won't sell very well.
This really depends on the model and how many upgrades you pick. If you pick the right model and keep it near default and avoid the $500 tops, etc resell is pretty good. I have the Greg Howe signature (GH3) and just searching GH3 today I see them going from $1300 all the way to $2200. Mine ran around $1500 new a few years ago and the only up charge I picked was an Ash body and I think a $40 black burst on the paint. Another plus on the GH3 is it uses the old body...which is significant as Strat players like to mod and swap out pickguards and pickups. Jeff's designs (like the Delos) are almost like Apple computers. Not only don't aftermarket pickguards line up with the screw holes the actual screws themselves are a different size. Any change is going to involve drilling, filling wood and cutting the pickguard. I just won't touch any Jeff Kiesel designs as although the guitars are made well the hardware is underwhelming from pots to pickups. Pick any fender strat like the fender American standard and you'll see them going for far less than original cost.
That makes sense. I can understand that. I went all out on my last Osiris with a $1,000 7A top because I knew I would regret not upgrading lol Yes it certainly would be a loss if I were to sell but sometimes it may be worth it to the individual. On the flip side for the second hand buyer going used, well they can certainly save some money! lol
Getting guitars half off used to be very normal. Still happens a lot too. I see Gibson SG standards going for 1k. That's about half off. You can score a mexican fender for 400, I'd say that's half off. I scored a USA strat for 800 a few years back. Half off? Lol. It's not a bad investment if you ask me just don't get carried away with specs or do something ugly and you should be able to sell it.
I would love to have a Kiesel bass built for me someday. If I saved up 2-3 grand and had one custom built, I wouldn’t dream of selling it unless I was desperate for the money. At the same time, I could also see myself saving some money and getting one used. There are plenty of them on Reverb for under $2000. I’d even settle for an older Carvin!
I'm not convinced to custom brand new models... I always prefer to see how the guitar really looks... because If I'm gonna pay a lot for a guitar - I want to see how the wood grain looks on front . I also prefer to see all the defects.... if they are bearable or not .
For most people, a guitar is not an investment, in the true sense of the word. An investment would be something that you pay for, with the calculated intention to resell it for more and make profit. By this definition, the only people who invest into guitars are those who buy them with the intention to flip them (and of course, retailers). That said, I think it's better to think of a guitar as an experience. That's why I don't get it why people buy Chibson. I would never enjoy playing a Chibson. For me, playing a Gibson is about the experience. So, if we think of paying for a guitar mainly as paying for the experience, then it's worth the money, as long as we are using our disposable income. For some people it might be a great experience, worth the money, to "build your own" Kiesel. When the time comes to sell it, the guitar is a chunk of wood for most other prospective buyers. And you can't sell that "experience" that was worth it for you when you paid for it. Am I being too philosophical?
True. Buying a vintage fender can be an investment, but a guitar generally is a tool. If you are buying a vintage fender or gibson and keeping it in a case for 20 years it can appreciate faster than inflation.
Welcome aboard! Really appreciate the support. This channel has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Enjoying sharing these gear related experiences. More to come!
man, guitars are just like luxury watches (although there are watches that are good investments lol), buy them because you love them, not as investments.
Buying guitars online (never played and custom spec) feeds the resale market like nothing else. Too much money and too much choice leads to short-term decisions.
I'll call out the elephant in the room and take the hate for you...brand recognition. Just not enough people familiar with Kiesel. Doesn't say anything about quality.
I totally can understand that. Yes "custom" made products take a rough hit on depreciation, but often times it just comes down to the name on the headstock. It's not going to have the same immediate brand recognition that a Fender, Gibson, PRS would have etc. For me, I am not any sort of brand elitist, I simply get Kiesel's because they just happen to offer the specs I'm looking for in a guitar. Thanks for watching and sharing your input :)
when you buy a guitar that you customized with your specific requirements, you shouldn't be surprised at any resale difficulties. Chances of finding a buyer that wants some, many or most of your choices are low; and they can do their own custom build - which is the value add of Kiesel guitars. I'd rather buy a new Kiesel with my own customization choices.
Wish people understood the general idea of not getting back what you put in whenever it’s time to sell. I have seen so many Reverb descriptions like “pickups alone retail for $400” etc etc. I don’t care and most others don’t either.
your point about resale is basically true but it REALLY buries the lead of what kiesel's pretty amazing value proposition actually is and also WHY they resale like that: You are correct in that someone's special build is just whatever to anyone else who sees it and if you spend 1k additional cost on your kiesel (e.g. flame maple color treated fretboard, flame maple back of the neck, chambered with AAA+ burl top with an extra custom dragonburst) you are not going to be able to sell that for what you paid for it. Let me 1st mention you could not have any of that done as cheaply as kiesel will do it basically anywhere else. you'd be paying 4x as much from any other brand IF they will even do it for you. so if all the aesthetics are waste of money from any custom shop you are still wasting FAR LESS then you would be anywhere else. A basic kiesel is a USA made instrument made new and for you for a price you basically cannot beat for a new USA or even MIJ instrument from any other manufacturer. Hell some brands are charging as much for Indonesian import stuff nowadays (not that all imports are bad by any means but wasn't the point of them to be cheaper?). Many very significant selectable kiesel options like neck radius, wood choice on neck (including all wood types of a 5 piece neck even), fingerboard wood, inlays, paint color etc are also either very cheap to swap out or don't even cost anything more to change. the biggest reason people don't want to pay top dollar for a used kiesel is that you could just order one for yourself with EXACTLY what you want for that much money and maybe drop an option or two you don't care about and have it end up actually cheaper. Also they aren't THAT cheap used they are only cheap used compared to ppl who got 2k worth of aesthetic or other custom upgrades. so just order a new one just for you - just do research before you finally pull the trigger. i LOVE mine personally. anyway LONG RANT over :)
Buying a custom guitar is like getting into a marriage. You do it because you know you will love her forever, not because of how much you will lose in the divorce…
It's good to hear in-depth discussions about these guitars instead of hearing people endlessly noodling and calling it a 'review'. Thanks for your hard work.
Hey dude, I've watched a few of ur videos recently and they seem to be right up my alley tbh. But I've been curious to see what u can play though. R u ever planning on doing covers or play throughs?
Thanks for checking out the channel, you know I originally started this channel about 10 years ago mainly posting guitar covers but quickly stepped back due to copyright restrictions. I then later started an automotive channel in 2018 which I have continued to post regularly up until recently. I've always been a gear head so figured might as well share some info on here and see what happens. I'm getting ready to move and will be in a better place to actually post sound demos etc.
thats not bad! yep I really like them too, great guitars, honestly I can't really find much of anything I like better aside from some rare boutique builders.
That is the risk with custom-made articles... you think they are awesome, but they are awesome for you and almost nobody else and that is regardless of the quality of the article. Not Kiesel's fault.
What is inspiring you to sell it? fwiw, my reverb shop went from selling stuff within 3 days to many weeks over the past year or so. Demand has just slowed across the board. Prices are getting higher and higher and people are sick of it. The new Ibanez Prestige model that dropped yesterday is $2400!!! That's old J.Custom pricing.
To be honest, I got it as a trial/experiment. I just wanted to see if I could comfortably play a baritone and if I enjoyed the tone of it in various tunings. I don't absolutely have to have it. But I'd rather keep it and maybe put some other pickups in it If I'm not going to sell it for much.
@@TopShelfGear I saw that one and it definitely answered a lot of questions I had about their offerings :) If anyone is interested in the player grade guitars ESP LTD sells direct on their site, I have a fairly crappy video up about them.
Funny you mention that, years ago I bought an SJC custom acrylic bebop drumset kit for $700 on ebay. Bass, snare, tom, floor tom. I then figured out it was a $3000 kit if you order new.
I agree with everything you said here. Personally I dont understand why different inlays would deter someone, I couldn’t see myself being deterred but why others? Great vid 👍
Thanks for your input. Yeah its no secret I do see some rather unappealing color combinations people will order lol Let's say your average person expects some neutral colored inlay and you come across a guitar with pink and green inlays that just might not work for everyone haha
In a sense, all current Kiesels will have horrible resale value because of their dated designs. Eventually, the cheap formica top phase of guitar finishes will go away and you'll be sitting with a bunch if stuff nobody is interested.
I really don't think its a styling or dated design issue. If anything Kiesels are generally very modern and ergonomic. They have some of the deepest front and back body bevels/contours so they have been leading the way as modern brand. I've even started to see some other larger brand emulate the bevels. It's the fact that people don't want to buy a semi custom second hand guitar when they could just put that money into a build of their own and get exactly the specs they want.
A lot of truth to what you’re saying. I was looking at used Kiesel 8 strings and also Kiesels own In-stock section. A few models came close but there was just that one detail that was off where it just would’ve been easier for me to just order a custom build.
That's an odd way to look at it. Is a diamond just a lump of carbon? Is a $1000 Japanese chef knife just a lump of steel? You forget about the effort that goes into crafting an item.
@TopShelfGear no such thing as a brand that suits everyone. I'd sooner own a kiesel before a fender, for that matter. But it's not about the brand when there isn't an issue, it's about the brand when there is an issue. FWIW, I agree with your list when it comes to any custom guitar, let alone kiesel. Someone like me, would gladly buy a few used kiesels. However, on principle, the way I've personally seen the owner talk to people...and second-hand stories online, is a deal breaker. A shame really, because most of them look and sound great, and would fit my collection/style quite well.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Roc Steady (feat. Flo Milli) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HozPPyqW0dY/mqdefault.jpg)
If you are buying a guitar thinking about how much you'll get for it when you sell it, it's the wrong guitar for you. Resale value shouldn't matter for a custom-made guitar. You should have ordered exactly what you wanted. This has nothing to do with Kiesel and everything to do with custom guitars and people buying guitars and getting rid of them rather than holding onto them. I've heard tons of people expressing regret over selling an instrument they shouldn't have, which is why I have 13 basses.
It's like a family trip to Disney world man, you pay for the fun and experience. You get to keep that family photo, but it's money you won't get back 😂
I have 14 basses. AND everyone is custom.
Yes, you'll also get hammered on a lot of other custom instruments. Your tastes aren't necessarily the tastes of a broad market segment.
Having said that, the general guitar market is also in a slump. I'm seeing Asian-made instruments from good brands go for a fraction of their normal retail price.
I just spent $3,619 on a Kiesel Stef Snow Vader 8 string a month ago. You will never see an all white guitar at any guitar store, and it belongs in my fingers and if not, then on the wall of my living room. I am looking at an interesting 5 string Vader multi scale bass with Darkglass electronics and 3 pickups with white to blue arctic burst with blood red cutaways and a black limba fretboard stained white at the 24th fret to dark blue at the end. black bezels and hardware, 7 piece neckthru, just thoughts to become reality by EOY. I am undecided on body woods and final details. I would like some metal crackle at different places, Kiesel's choice, and matte finish. Resale value isn't even my thought, it is mine and will remain for quite some years, on the wall when I am not playing her. I also have a Taylor V braced 314CE, quite awesome, but she goes back in her case with the Humidipack when she isn't fingered
Correct.
It seems like nobody is in guitar purchases for the long-haul any more.
basically if ur worried about resale value, dont spec your guitar out like a clown
I scour the Kiesel for sale listings for this exact reason. Anything that is ordered so specific to the original buyer that isn’t *very* limited/hard to get, is going to take a huge hit on the secondary market. I’m here for it 😈
there we go! scavenging those bottom dollar deals haha
@@TopShelfGear the first metal flake infused that goes up for sale I’m throwing an offer on for sure 🔥🔥
@@zz-.- dude those are soooooo cool
So is I 😅
I have 3 Kiesels that I had built to spec and thought about this when I had them done. Still did it. I don't buy guitars with resale or what the next owner thinks of it in mind.
Yep, makes sense it is your build after all :)
When you make a "custom 1 of a kind" you have to find the "1 kind" whom wants to buy the guitar after the other "1 guy" ordered it. That's a whole lot of custom and not a whole lot of "popular"
Yep and that one rare occasion that worked out for me in that one example with the OD lol
@@TopShelfGear For realz. Playa!! Aint frontin on Kiesel........just reppin that all custom be cut up and domed............then be straight tryin to sell........ain't no fool got time for dat noize
Yes, if you bling out a Kiesel to your specs you can have a tough time finding someone else who wants to buy it. That cuts both ways though. I have a few Kiesel in-stocks that went for stupendously low. A DC that would cost you 4100 that sold for 2600 as an in-stock. I have a couple from the used market, and two that were custom made. The custom guitars (SH550s) went on black friday sales for a good discount, and if you compare them to their competitors (Sadowsky or Benedetto) the value is really good for what you get. If you are paying full price, make sure you are reconciled to a potential drop in resale. If you are buying in-stock at a discount or used, you won't do too badly.
Not necessarily true. Considered Dingwall bass guitars. A lot of their used customs go for their full resale value and often even more. Now a BIG part of that is because there’s a good 24 month wait for a custom.
Thing is, Dingwall doesn’t make a bad bass guitar. They also have outstanding customer support. Unlike Keisel, they don’t blame their customers when something goes wrong with an instrument. Not that Keisel always does that, but there’s definitely many documented cases.
I think the problem is that they’re pumping out way too many custom instruments. It’s like diamonds. The value of a diamond is partially due to its rarity. Keisel’s are VERY common. Why would I buy someone else’s custom when I can get my own in just a few weeks??
When you deal in the boutique market where build times are 12+ months, resale value is much better.
Great points about the very custom stuff impacting resale value. It's especially true when you put your own original inlay design on a custom guitar. I mean... I don't want my 12th fret to say "STEVIE GUITAR GOD." lol. In my experience with selling a LOT of used custom guitars, I found that the most important factor is WHERE you list them for sale. You have to consider your potential customers, and those are going to be way different on FB marketplace and a specialized guitar forums. You will be able to get better money on the specialized boards. If it's not a collector item or a guitar previously owned by someone famous you definitely will still lose money on the transaction, but it won't be as much as when selling on "normie" platforms. This, at least, was the case for me, and I've sold close to a hundred guitars so I'd imagine there must be something to it.
Very well said! Lol that sounds like the worst inlay ever btw 😂
@@TopShelfGear well there’s a reason why we call those super special personal inlays “tramp stamps,” right? Most of them are too cringe to own.
What I don't understand is why Guitar Center thinks they are going to get close to new retail prices for their Used/Pre-Owned Kiesels. I have seen this over and over again.
It takes an eternity for GC to realize that people can actually access the interent to find other Kiesels for way cheaper because Kiesels don't hold their resale value in the first place OR people can just order directly from Kiesel NEW and to your specs.
Sam Ash was so much worse and with ALL Used/Pre-Owned guitars not just Kiesels. Sam Ash absolutely 💯 would NOT budge on any of their Used prices regardless of make or model.
I'm not trying to be mean either. In fact, several of my comments about Sam Ash''s Used/Pre-Owned policy on other videos about the Sam Ash closing thing were deleted, so I don't know why the whole Used guitar topic and especially my decades long observations of Sam Ash triggered people to delete my comments.
It's not your fault. Anything bad someone says about GC and Sam Ash will be a trigger. Anything.
I have two Carvin guitars, fantastic guitars, nothing crazy in terms of customization, however, if I wanted to sell them ... I would be lucky to get 500$ for them and one of them is a DC400W and back then was 2000$ ... so with inflation and Covid this would be at least a 3000$ guitar... so if you buy a Kiesel, buy to keep and play, forget about selling them.
Well said, thx for your input 👍
A cheap plain built Aries is going to resale decently. But a highly priced exotic body with very particular eye candy choices. Why buy a second hand 4k guitar when you could just as easily order your own, custom made to demand? Another reason for the resale value issue is that a lot of Kiesel customers spec out their guitars in quite a tasteless way. I don't really get those people that keep buying guitars and also keep selling them. Are you a musician, a collector, or a speculator? A guitar is a tool to make music. If you are a pro, you may need more than one. But most people don't need more than 3, for sure. If you just want to buy new guitars all the time for some endorphin hit, because you are addicted. Then you need to sell your old ones. And a Kiesel one likely won't sell very well.
This really depends on the model and how many upgrades you pick. If you pick the right model and keep it near default and avoid the $500 tops, etc resell is pretty good. I have the Greg Howe signature (GH3) and just searching GH3 today I see them going from $1300 all the way to $2200. Mine ran around $1500 new a few years ago and the only up charge I picked was an Ash body and I think a $40 black burst on the paint. Another plus on the GH3 is it uses the old body...which is significant as Strat players like to mod and swap out pickguards and pickups. Jeff's designs (like the Delos) are almost like Apple computers. Not only don't aftermarket pickguards line up with the screw holes the actual screws themselves are a different size. Any change is going to involve drilling, filling wood and cutting the pickguard. I just won't touch any Jeff Kiesel designs as although the guitars are made well the hardware is underwhelming from pots to pickups. Pick any fender strat like the fender American standard and you'll see them going for far less than original cost.
That makes sense. I can understand that. I went all out on my last Osiris with a $1,000 7A top because I knew I would regret not upgrading lol Yes it certainly would be a loss if I were to sell but sometimes it may be worth it to the individual. On the flip side for the second hand buyer going used, well they can certainly save some money! lol
I’m not seeing any deals on Kiesel on the used market. Seems like they’re holding their value.
Idk 🤷♂️ there tons of them for sale on reverb for often 50% of original cost...
@@TopShelfGear Hmm, I’d better check again then. I only saw 45 or so listed and no great deals. I’ll check my filters.
Getting guitars half off used to be very normal. Still happens a lot too. I see Gibson SG standards going for 1k. That's about half off. You can score a mexican fender for 400, I'd say that's half off. I scored a USA strat for 800 a few years back. Half off? Lol. It's not a bad investment if you ask me just don't get carried away with specs or do something ugly and you should be able to sell it.
I’ve scored some amazing deals on Kiesels in the used market. I usually get them when they’re barely played with at all.
Great way to do it 👍
I would love to have a Kiesel bass built for me someday. If I saved up 2-3 grand and had one custom built, I wouldn’t dream of selling it unless I was desperate for the money. At the same time, I could also see myself saving some money and getting one used. There are plenty of them on Reverb for under $2000. I’d even settle for an older Carvin!
I'm not convinced to custom brand new models... I always prefer to see how the guitar really looks... because If I'm gonna pay a lot for a guitar - I want to see how the wood grain looks on front . I also prefer to see all the defects.... if they are bearable or not .
Makes sense, fair points for sure
For most people, a guitar is not an investment, in the true sense of the word. An investment would be something that you pay for, with the calculated intention to resell it for more and make profit. By this definition, the only people who invest into guitars are those who buy them with the intention to flip them (and of course, retailers).
That said, I think it's better to think of a guitar as an experience. That's why I don't get it why people buy Chibson. I would never enjoy playing a Chibson. For me, playing a Gibson is about the experience.
So, if we think of paying for a guitar mainly as paying for the experience, then it's worth the money, as long as we are using our disposable income. For some people it might be a great experience, worth the money, to "build your own" Kiesel. When the time comes to sell it, the guitar is a chunk of wood for most other prospective buyers. And you can't sell that "experience" that was worth it for you when you paid for it.
Am I being too philosophical?
totally makes sense! It's all about the experience :)
True. Buying a vintage fender can be an investment, but a guitar generally is a tool. If you are buying a vintage fender or gibson and keeping it in a case for 20 years it can appreciate faster than inflation.
Stoked to have found your channel - Thanks for putting in the work and making consistent, interesting stuff. Happy to be an early subscriber of yours!
Welcome aboard! Really appreciate the support. This channel has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Enjoying sharing these gear related experiences. More to come!
man, guitars are just like luxury watches (although there are watches that are good investments lol), buy them because you love them, not as investments.
well said! lol
Buying guitars online (never played and custom spec) feeds the resale market like nothing else. Too much money and too much choice leads to short-term decisions.
I'll call out the elephant in the room and take the hate for you...brand recognition. Just not enough people familiar with Kiesel. Doesn't say anything about quality.
I totally can understand that. Yes "custom" made products take a rough hit on depreciation, but often times it just comes down to the name on the headstock. It's not going to have the same immediate brand recognition that a Fender, Gibson, PRS would have etc. For me, I am not any sort of brand elitist, I simply get Kiesel's because they just happen to offer the specs I'm looking for in a guitar. Thanks for watching and sharing your input :)
when you buy a guitar that you customized with your specific requirements, you shouldn't be surprised at any resale difficulties. Chances of finding a buyer that wants some, many or most of your choices are low; and they can do their own custom build - which is the value add of Kiesel guitars.
I'd rather buy a new Kiesel with my own customization choices.
Wish people understood the general idea of not getting back what you put in whenever it’s time to sell. I have seen so many Reverb descriptions like “pickups alone retail for $400” etc etc. I don’t care and most others don’t either.
haha thats such a good point! lol its like aftermarket wheels on cars with used listings lol Like bro, that doesnt add value to the car lol
your point about resale is basically true but it REALLY buries the lead of what kiesel's pretty amazing value proposition actually is and also WHY they resale like that:
You are correct in that someone's special build is just whatever to anyone else who sees it and if you spend 1k additional cost on your kiesel (e.g. flame maple color treated fretboard, flame maple back of the neck, chambered with AAA+ burl top with an extra custom dragonburst) you are not going to be able to sell that for what you paid for it. Let me 1st mention you could not have any of that done as cheaply as kiesel will do it basically anywhere else. you'd be paying 4x as much from any other brand IF they will even do it for you. so if all the aesthetics are waste of money from any custom shop you are still wasting FAR LESS then you would be anywhere else.
A basic kiesel is a USA made instrument made new and for you for a price you basically cannot beat for a new USA or even MIJ instrument from any other manufacturer. Hell some brands are charging as much for Indonesian import stuff nowadays (not that all imports are bad by any means but wasn't the point of them to be cheaper?).
Many very significant selectable kiesel options like neck radius, wood choice on neck (including all wood types of a 5 piece neck even), fingerboard wood, inlays, paint color etc are also either very cheap to swap out or don't even cost anything more to change.
the biggest reason people don't want to pay top dollar for a used kiesel is that you could just order one for yourself with EXACTLY what you want for that much money and maybe drop an option or two you don't care about and have it end up actually cheaper.
Also they aren't THAT cheap used they are only cheap used compared to ppl who got 2k worth of aesthetic or other custom upgrades. so just order a new one just for you - just do research before you finally pull the trigger. i LOVE mine personally. anyway LONG RANT over :)
Good job. I have 2 Kiesels and dreaming up my third build now.
Thanks! Planning the build in many cases is the most enjoyable part 😄
Buying a custom guitar is like getting into a marriage. You do it because you know you will love her forever, not because of how much you will lose in the divorce…
Hahaha well said lol
I’ve never sold a guitar. I use them all.
It's good to hear in-depth discussions about these guitars instead of hearing people endlessly noodling and calling it a 'review'. Thanks for your hard work.
Lol I've seen plenty of those "reviews" myself. I'm glad your enjoying the videos!
Hey dude, I've watched a few of ur videos recently and they seem to be right up my alley tbh. But I've been curious to see what u can play though. R u ever planning on doing covers or play throughs?
Thanks for checking out the channel, you know I originally started this channel about 10 years ago mainly posting guitar covers but quickly stepped back due to copyright restrictions. I then later started an automotive channel in 2018 which I have continued to post regularly up until recently. I've always been a gear head so figured might as well share some info on here and see what happens. I'm getting ready to move and will be in a better place to actually post sound demos etc.
I think besides GIbson or Fender, everything takes a pretty big hit overall.
yeah I would agree.
I did ok on resale lost 200 from 2700 to 2500 ..but I agree with most of what you’re saying…I own 5 kiesels …wich I love .
thats not bad! yep I really like them too, great guitars, honestly I can't really find much of anything I like better aside from some rare boutique builders.
I play lefty. Every guitar or bass has definitely been an investment. 😂
Haha right!
That is the risk with custom-made articles... you think they are awesome, but they are awesome for you and almost nobody else and that is regardless of the quality of the article. Not Kiesel's fault.
yup, nothing against the brand at all. The more one-off, specific, & obscure the guitar is, the less appealing it may be to the next guy.
I have to thank resalers for letting me get my dream guitar at a great price 😂
I have a brand new Chapman baritone I got for 700 bucks that I can't sell for 500 in mint condition.
What is inspiring you to sell it? fwiw, my reverb shop went from selling stuff within 3 days to many weeks over the past year or so. Demand has just slowed across the board. Prices are getting higher and higher and people are sick of it. The new Ibanez Prestige model that dropped yesterday is $2400!!! That's old J.Custom pricing.
To be honest, I got it as a trial/experiment. I just wanted to see if I could comfortably play a baritone and if I enjoyed the tone of it in various tunings. I don't absolutely have to have it. But I'd rather keep it and maybe put some other pickups in it If I'm not going to sell it for much.
I did a separate video on Chapman guitars, worth checking out. I really like 6 string baritones but I wish there were more options out there.
@@TopShelfGear I saw that one and it definitely answered a lot of questions I had about their offerings :)
If anyone is interested in the player grade guitars ESP LTD sells direct on their site, I have a fairly crappy video up about them.
@@12to3Guitars sadly that's the same price it always was, just inflation adjusted and it's never gonna go lower again
No one want to buy a guitar that embodies someone else's style
Fair point 👉
Well some signature models sell like hot cakes so I guess it depends on who's style lol
I ran into something very similar with a custom SJC drum set that I had ordered. Definitely lost a lot of money when I sold that hahaha.
It's like a family trip to Disney, you get a nice photo but it's money you won't get back 😂
Funny you mention that, years ago I bought an SJC custom acrylic bebop drumset kit for $700 on ebay. Bass, snare, tom, floor tom. I then figured out it was a $3000 kit if you order new.
I agree with everything you said here. Personally I dont understand why different inlays would deter someone, I couldn’t see myself being deterred but why others? Great vid 👍
Thanks for your input. Yeah its no secret I do see some rather unappealing color combinations people will order lol Let's say your average person expects some neutral colored inlay and you come across a guitar with pink and green inlays that just might not work for everyone haha
@@TopShelfGear yea true, i agree with that, good point! Haha
Yeah, resale seems like a funny thing to worry about. My guitars are going to the grave with me.
Yeah, never see that money back gotta get what you want 🙂
In a sense, all current Kiesels will have horrible resale value because of their dated designs. Eventually, the cheap formica top phase of guitar finishes will go away and you'll be sitting with a bunch if stuff nobody is interested.
I really don't think its a styling or dated design issue. If anything Kiesels are generally very modern and ergonomic. They have some of the deepest front and back body bevels/contours so they have been leading the way as modern brand. I've even started to see some other larger brand emulate the bevels.
It's the fact that people don't want to buy a semi custom second hand guitar when they could just put that money into a build of their own and get exactly the specs they want.
The problem is that people spec their guitars out like fucking clown cars and then try to sell them.
This right here 😂😂😂
@@TopShelfGear recently I saw a grabber blue Aries with red inlays and green pickups. The seller was asking pretty much what you'd pay for it new 😂
Lmaooooo
@@TopShelfGear btw do you have any other channels? You seem super familiar but I can't place where I've seen you before.
@@CrustyBollox yes! I do have another channel!
youtube.com/@savagepandaprojects?feature=shared
A lot of truth to what you’re saying. I was looking at used Kiesel 8 strings and also Kiesels own In-stock section. A few models came close but there was just that one detail that was off where it just would’ve been easier for me to just order a custom build.
Well said! always gotta aim for the best value. No sense in paying near full price when you can put that towards your dream build!
I'll be damned if I'm going to pay more than $1000 for a piece of wood.
hey man whatever floats your boat! Lots of cool budget brands out there too :)
That's an odd way to look at it. Is a diamond just a lump of carbon? Is a $1000 Japanese chef knife just a lump of steel? You forget about the effort that goes into crafting an item.
The owner (and his attitude) doesn’t help the resale situation either.
May not be the brand for everyone. I've owned 6 of them without issues but to each their own.
@TopShelfGear no such thing as a brand that suits everyone. I'd sooner own a kiesel before a fender, for that matter. But it's not about the brand when there isn't an issue, it's about the brand when there is an issue.
FWIW, I agree with your list when it comes to any custom guitar, let alone kiesel. Someone like me, would gladly buy a few used kiesels. However, on principle, the way I've personally seen the owner talk to people...and second-hand stories online, is a deal breaker. A shame really, because most of them look and sound great, and would fit my collection/style quite well.