10 Things to Love About Kiesel

There are flagship features that may attract people to Kiesel Guitars, such as being family-owned, USA-made, and offering excellent playability. Behind the scenes, more benefits are offered to the players who choose the brand.

 

Here are some of the lesser-known aspects to love about Kiesel.

 

10-Day Trial Period

Because Kiesel has a direct-to-consumer model, trying out an instrument can be harder than usual. To accommodate this, we have a trial period for our guitars and basses, which we apply to nearly every in-stock and standard custom instrument.

 

9 Woodshop Craftspeople Work on Every Early-Stage Instrument

To avoid confusion, there are more than nine woodshop luthiers, but this number pertains to the number of people working on an individual guitar.

 

The Kiesel factory is split into two sectors: The Woodshop, where instruments are born and shaped, and Assembly, which entails the spraying, pickup, tech, and assembly areas.

 

Before a Kiesel even leaves the Woodshop, a multitude of people work and craft the "raw" build. Ranging from sanders to shapers to fretters and CNC operators, nine different skilled woodworkers in their particular expertise add their touch to the instrument, all before spraying primer and color, buffing, hardware installation, and setup. In other words, this all takes place in only two of the six departments, which are explored later in this article.

 

8-Week Minimum Build Time

As one of the world's fastest lead times for custom guitars, Kiesel typically quotes 8-14 weeks, though this can fluctuate based on specs. Solid color instruments with baseline options usually meet or can even beat the eight-week estimation. We know waiting is the hardest part, but if an instrument exceeds the estimated window, be careful not to fret!

 

7 Aries Instruments

The Aries series has remained the most popular line of Kiesel instruments since its introduction in 2015. Over the last decade, the Aries has evolved into various realms of guitar to accommodate nearly every player, including neck-through, pickguard-equipped, acoustic-electric, and a revamped spinoff. The seven series instruments are the Aries, Neck-Through Aries, Aries Titanium Series, A2, Neck-Through A2, A2 Bass, and AC2.

 

6 Department Heads

In addition to a shop foreman and production manager, each department has a lead. This system ensures the same high quality for each instrument, with some department heads having been with Kiesel for well over 20 years. These six individuals also train the next generation of craftspeople, continuing the superb Kiesel luthiery legacy. Said departments include Neck, Sanding, Painting, Polishing, Pickups, and Assembly.

5-Year Warranty

While nearly every Kiesel instrument comes pristine and ready to play out of the box, there is always the slim chance that an imperfection slipped through the cracks or developed over time. This shouldn't be a cause for concern, however. Earlier this year, we started running a Customer Satisfaction Survey that goes out to each purchaser. The statistics show that over 99% of guitars and basses shipped come in excellent condition. If there does happen to be a manufacturer's defect, the 5-year warranty will promptly cover and resolve the issue.

 

4 Generations of Kiesels

Kiesel started under Lowell Kiesel in 1946 as a pickup manufacturer. The company grew into a full instrument manufacturer, and in 1970, his son Mark helmed the guitar department to revolutionize it into a custom shop. Mark's son, Jeff, became President in 2025, leading the company's palpable innovation. As fourth-generation Kiesels, Jeff's children, Kaila and Zak, work in production and marketing, respectively.

 

3 Coats of Clear

One of the biggest downsides of spraying guitars is the possible thick coating that muddies the tone and dampens the resonance. The Kiesel process has been meticulously refined to boost protection and offer unfiltered harmonics.

 

Before reaching the paint department, the hand sanders thoroughly refine and remove any inconsistencies in the wood. This allows the sprayers to apply thin coats without overcompensating for uneven woodwork. By using a high-quality solution, Kiesel avoids heavy coating and fewer rounds of spray.

 

2-Hour Fret Process

In a video released earlier this year, a guitar tech demonstrated and explained the fret-dressing process. Some of the steps include using a bevel block to cut any sharp edges, filing the bevel line with various file grits, and sanding the edge of the frets.

 

Multiple checks, refinements, and rechecks verify the impeccable feel and playability of Kiesel instruments.

 

1-Of-A-Kind Instruments

With millions of spec combinations, countless instruments from the Custom Shop have never been replicated. The autonomy offered to the player is nearly unmatched, from the fingerboard wood and radius to the shape and string count. Tying in the unique Option 50 menu and hands-on work from the Vice President, the sky is nearly the limit for your next build.

 

These are only 10 of the hundreds of reasons why players choose Kiesel. Take advantage of the 10-day Trial and try out our instruments!