Bakersfield, CA, United States
About this listing
I have a Kiesel CT3. I don't have the original case with this one, but it is matched with a new Gator Transit Series case, which is a similar high quality case. The serial number is 129323.This one has upgraded pickups. It is a Bare Knuckle Aftermath in the bridge. The Seymour Duncan pickup was said to be either a 59 or a Jazz neck model. They sound really good in this guitar.This guitar is in VG condition with some light to average playwear that I will describe for you.The body top shows a small finish mark near the forearm area, about 2 or 3 mm in size. There's a minimal amount of guitar pick strumming below the pickups, not enough to create a sheen though, just a trace of it. There is a tiny little surface scratch comparable to guitar pick strumming right next to the bridge pickup ring. Any superficial swirling on this body top will be minimal. There are traces of it here and there, but there is no accumulated pattern of any soft playwear. It looks really nice.The body sides and edges look nice. I did not find any dings, chips, or indentations, or any buildup of any pattern playwear. Near the lower strap button I see a little scuff to the black finish, pretty minor though.The body back shows a similar scuff. It is on the lower body back near the strap button, and that's about a square inch where the black finish just has a little scuff that makes the glossiness look a little bit matte. It's not scratches or swirling. There is no buckle rash or worming, nor did I find any buildup of low intensity surface playwear. There will be scattered superficial minimal signs of swirling. I found one tiny little surface scratch in the central body back area, about 2 or 3 mm in size. Overall it looks pretty clean.The neck shaft contour looks nice. I did not find any dings or chips. The headstock looks very nice as well, I did not find any marks on it. Any signs of use will be superficial there, with nothing to describe. The frets are tall and full. I did not find any pits or divots in them. The setup plays nicely. It is currently equipped with 11-52 gauge strings. Note that I am keeping it tuned to D standard, which is about the same string tension as E standard with 10-46 strings. So if you want to switch to standard light gauge strings, this will be a very easy transfer with minimal, if any, adjustments needed. The electronics are working like they should. Note that they are wired just for humbuckers though, without coil tap. Also note that the Kiesel logo is sorta a shadow color that is hard to see on the black painted headstock. It Is indeed logo's though. So this guitar rates an 8.8/10 and grades as very good, still on the better side of very good. As far as all black guitars that have actually been played, this one is one of the better looking ones I come across. The finish is lustrous and transparent. It looks great, and the playability is fantastic, as is usually the case with Kiesel.This is a typical CT3 set-neck carved-top guitar featuring a mahogany body and a mahogany neck with a birdseye maple fretboard. The guitar has a warm, sweet, and complex midrange from all that mahogany, with a dash of clarity and precision coming from the maple fretboard. So this is a typical nice California carve top build. I don't have the full specs for it on hand, but it's pretty straightforward, so I'll walk you through it. We have a nice mahogany body. I don't know if it has a maple top under it, so we'll assume that it doesn't. It does have the carved contours of a carve top though. The neck is mahogany as well, with the lesser seen combo of a birdseye maple fretboard on top of the mahogany neck. So this guitar, with these woods, has a detailed and sophisticated midrange tone, with a meaty low end presence.The pickups are premium. The Aftermath Bare Knuckle pickup is one of the best passive high gain pickups ever made. It's a popular model. I've actually had it a couple times on Nags guitars, as Joe Nags always uses that one for his high gain guitars, as he thinks it's the best high gain pickup out there. It has the sought after traits of having excellent clarity and distinction in the high frequencies while still sounding huge and big. Oftentimes high output pickups are muddy. The Aftermath is not muddy at all.Note that this listing may come down at any time as I am a multi-platform seller and do sell locally and on my own Site as well in an effort to keep sales fluid. State sales tax will be charged on Reverb sales when applicable, so factor that into your purchase.I will immaculately pack it as well. I use quality shipping boxes, ample tape on all sides. And sufficient bubble wrap filler and bracing inside the box. And always Marked/denoted as fragile. I generally detune guitars 1/2 half step prior to shipment as well if needed.Thank you for reading and considering!
Price$1,215
+ $80 Shipping
