I have a gorgeous Kiesel Zeus headless 6 string guitar here with its Ultimate Soft Case. This is a 2021 model.

Conditionally it looks great.

The body top shows a tiny little bit of fading on the palm muting area of the black bridge, only about a millimeter or so in size. The body top itself shows no notable play wear. I see only the faintest traces of scattered superficial swirling. There is no buildup of guitar pick strumming and no all over patterns of light play wear. It looks remarkably clean. There are moderate signs of use on the bridge pickup from normal palm muting, consisting of light rubbing and fading on the plastic cover.

The body sides and edges look excellent across the perimeter. I found nothing to report there. There are no indentations, dings, or chips. Any superficial swirling will be absolutely minimal to nonexistent. I did not find any buildup of any soft play wear.

The body back likewise looks super clean. There is no buckle rash or worming. I did not find any singular marks, nor any buildup of any soft play wear. There does appear to be a tiny line of discoloration toward the upper portion of the body. Upon close scrutiny, this is clearly beneath the gloss finish and is simply a natural variation in the staining process of a handcrafted guitar rather than any sort of play wear. It actually looks quite attractive.

The neck shaft contour looks and feels excellent with nothing to report there. The stainless steel frets are tall and full, showing no fret wear or sharp fret edges. The beautiful fretboard looks fantastic, and I have treated it with Nomad F-ONE fretboard oil. The factory setup plays like butter. The original electronics are working exactly as they should.

This one rates a 9.3/10 and grades as excellent. This guitar shows only minimal superficial signs of use. It's gorgeous. It is structurally and sonically sound and plays and sounds as good as it looks.

This guitar has enough unique specifications that I could not accurately recreate it in the Kiesel Builder. However, I have put together a very close assessment of the build. A comparable build today would cost approximately $2,500 and incorporates several interesting exotic tonewoods.

Specifications

Body: Alder

Top: Swamp Ash with Antique Ash Treatment

Finish: Transparent Purple over Antique Ash with High Gloss Clear Coat

Body Color: Classic White

Logo: White

Neck: 3 Piece Walnut with Purpleheart Laminates

Fingerboard: Purpleheart

Inlays: White Pearl Diamond Inlays

Side Dots: Luminlay Glow in the Dark

Frets: Stainless Steel Medium Jumbo

Pickups: Early Kiesel 11 Pole Passive Set (likely C Series or M Series)

Hardware: Black

Knobs: White Pearloid

Tonally this guitar has a wonderfully balanced voice. It actually draws its character from four different tonewoods, which is fairly uncommon. The alder body provides a warm, sweet, three dimensional foundation. The swamp ash top adds punch, articulation, and a more immediate attack. The walnut and purpleheart neck contributes excellent clarity, focus, and note definition.

Purpleheart is somewhat comparable to maple tonally, but with a slightly more relaxed character. It retains the projection and snap of a very hard wood while adding a little more depth and richness to the midrange. You could almost describe it as a well seasoned, mellowed version of maple. It is still very much a hardwood with outstanding articulation and projection.

The old school 11-pole piece Kiesel pickups are dynamic, punchy, and organic sounding. Altogether this guitar has a voice that is familiar enough to appeal to players of traditional instruments, yet unique enough to stand apart because of its interesting combination of premium tonewoods. Nothing overpowers anything else. The woods and pickups complement one another beautifully, resulting in a very balanced and versatile instrument.

The Zeus body shape features nice contours, having an almost Telecaster like cutaway that is very comfortable to play either sitting or standing. I like the way this shape conforms to the body. The Multi-scale plays like a breeze. The Kiesel Multi-scale is not as drastically diagonal as some out there. I barely notice the difference playing it. The overall action, and feel of Kiesel necks is what i notice the most and am found of them especially for 7 string guitars i just find them a little easier to play.

It's worth mentioning that this is indeed USA custom shop quality here. If Strandberg made a guitar like this in the USA, they would probably retail it for well over $3,000. This absolutely blows away any of the other headless competitors on the market making similar guitars.

If you have seen some of my listings here over the years, you know i am very high on the Kiesel brand. As a guitar player myself this brand has been my personal favorite, and i feel they offer perhaps the best pure value in performance and quality at this price point. Every aspect of their guitar building is innovative and top notch. From the use of dual carbon rods to stabilize the necks. flawless SS fretwork, specially processed/treated wood that maximizes the harmonic content, gorgeous and durable finishes. and probably the industry best long set-neck joint on their set-neck models. They in my opinion fully deserve the acclaim and following that they have garnered in the last few years.

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!