# NGD: Kiesel DC7X - Ebony/Black Limba



## jc986 (May 27, 2016)

This is my first Kiesel and I am really impressed thus far. They absolutely nailed the look I was going for. Huge thanks to Chris Hong and everyone involved in the build. Even though Chris said they couldn't really do photo matches on Black Limba, what I got was nearly identical to what I emailed to Chris as an example of what I'm looking for. 

Specs: 

Base Model: DC7X	
Body/Neck Woods: NLMB - Black Limba Neck & Body
Top Coat:	TF - Tung-oil finish Neck & Body
Top Wood Options: ET - Ebony Top
Headstock Shapes: 7PH - 7-String Pointed Headstock 4+3 (Standard)
Headstock Wood & Finish:	EPH - Ebony Headstock Overlay
Fingerboard Woods: EFB - Ebony Fingerboard Black
Truss Rod Cover: TCE	- Ebony Truss Rod Cover
Rear Cavity Cover: BPE - Ebony Rear Electronics Cavity Cover
Inlays: NIN - No Top Inlays
Side Dots: WSD - Standard Side Dots
Frets: STF - Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets
Fingerboard Radius: R14 - 14in Fretboard Radius 
Bridge Pickup: K14B - Kiesel K14B Direct-Mount Passive Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup: K14N - Kiesel K14N Direct-Mount Passive Neck Pickup
Pickup Colors: 400 - Black Pickups
Strings: Custom Set - 9.5, 13, 16, 24, 32, 44, 66
Hardware Options: BC - Black Hardware
Kiesel Headstock Logo: DSLB - Drop Shadow Black Logo
Cases: HC28 - Black Tolex Hardshell Guitar Case



























I'll get more pictures later, but that's all I could manage before I had to try it out . I only had about 20 minutes or so to play it thus far since I'm technically still working at the moment. This is by far the most comfortable neck I've ever played from the shape to the tung oil finish and it just feels "right". Action is very very low to the point where there is a light buzz if you pick with much strength. I'm going to give it a day or so to acclimate before making any adjustments but I suspect I'll need to raise the action a bit to get it to my tastes. This is also my first guitar with stainless steel frets and I'll never buy another guitar without them if I can help it. They feel so much smoother for bending, in addition to the durability and longevity. 

Unplugged it sounds very vibrant and loud. Plugged in it is extremely bright sounding, at least using my normal amp settings. I anticipated this based on what I've read about the Lithiums though, so I'm going to have to play around with settings a bit to find the sweet spot. So far in the short time I had to play though, they are very clear and articulate even with super high gain. Clean sounds are great in all pickup positions. This is also the first guitar that I think I will end up using the tone control on. When turned all the way up there is a ton of bite, perhaps too much with my normal settings, but rolling it back to 80-90% gets me closer to what I'm going for. 

I'll post more thoughts and pictures when I'm able this evening over the long weekend.


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## schwiz (May 27, 2016)

Damn!!! I love the ebony top! HNGD


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## TedEH (May 27, 2016)

I just noticed that the truss rod cover looks like it matches the rest of the instrument instead of just being black plastic or something. It's a cool detail, I dig it.

The whole thing looks classy. If I got a Kiesel, I'd want something like this.


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## ferret (May 27, 2016)

That black limba is stunning. All that ebony together is great too, just a clean smooth look.


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## Jaxcharvel (May 27, 2016)

That is the prettiest ebony top I've ever seen.


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## BrailleDecibel (May 27, 2016)

This guitar is beautiful! Definitely loving the grain on that ebony top. Happy NGD!


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## Shask (May 27, 2016)

Very nice looking!


With the Tung Oil body, can you feel the wood grain? Is the whole thing smooth, or a little bumpy?


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## 7JxN7 (May 27, 2016)

I love the all ebony top/headstock/fretboard look, it's kind of like a natural stealth finish and always classy. HNGD man!


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## jc986 (May 27, 2016)

Thanks everyone for the kind words.



TedEH said:


> I just noticed that the truss rod cover looks like it matches the rest of the instrument instead of just being black plastic or something. It's a cool detail, I dig it.
> 
> The whole thing looks classy. If I got a Kiesel, I'd want something like this.



Thanks! The rear electronics cover is also ebony (I'll try to capture it better when I have a chance to take some more pics.) It's a super nice touch that Kiesel has started offering recently. They'll do ebony, rosewood, zebrawood or purple heart. 



Shask said:


> Very nice looking!
> 
> 
> With the Tung Oil body, can you feel the wood grain? Is the whole thing smooth, or a little bumpy?



It's sanded pretty smooth all over. You can slightly feel the grain moving your hand horizontally on the neck, but it feels perfectly smooth when moving up and down.


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## Shask (May 27, 2016)

jc986 said:


> It's sanded pretty smooth all over. You can slightly feel the grain moving your hand horizontally on the neck, but it feels perfectly smooth when moving up and down.



What about the body? Like near the bridge and such?

Been trying to decide if I want to do Satin Matte, or Tung Oil on the body. I like a very slick feeling body. Can't stand that sticky feeling. I think it will be Tung Oil neck either way.


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## jc986 (May 27, 2016)

Shask said:


> What about the body? Like near the bridge and such?
> 
> Been trying to decide if I want to do Satin Matte, or Tung Oil on the body. I like a very slick feeling body. Can't stand that sticky feeling. I think it will be Tung Oil neck either way.



I can't feel the wood grain at all on the body, it's very smooth. I had actually originally spec'd it with satin matte, but changed my mind a few weeks into the build and went with tung oil. I like the way the satin matte feels, but despise the way it can gloss up. The tung oil feels nearly as smooth as the satin, but won't gloss up in the areas you have contact provide you keep it clean. Just a little lemon oil every once in a while in the same way you'd clean and oil a fretboard and that should keep it in shape. The only other maintenance with the tung oil is that you may need to reapply a coat of tung oil every few years or so depending on the oils of your skin and use.


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## MattThePenguin (May 27, 2016)

Beautiful, simple, and full of taste. HNGD


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## big_aug (May 27, 2016)

Gorgeous guitar man. HNGD!


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## High Plains Drifter (May 27, 2016)

Looks like smoke drifting in front of the body... that's gorgeous. HNGD


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## ramses (May 28, 2016)

yup, that's elegant.


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## BigViolin (May 28, 2016)

Now that's how you spec a build and let the wood do the talking! 

I'm a fan, just superb. Love it, happy NGD!!


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## Splinterhead (May 28, 2016)

Beautiful top! Congrats!


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## jc986 (May 28, 2016)

Snapped a couple indoor pics this morning: 
















The outdoor pics made the ebony top appear more gray than it looks in person (but did a great job of highlighting the grain pattern). These more closely reflect the true color of the top. I can't find a single flaw with this guitar and it plays better than any of my others.


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## bzhan1 (May 28, 2016)

Sweet, but that guitar is too dark and smooth to have a shiny protruding input jack


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## ShredFever (May 28, 2016)

That's a beautiful, beautiful guitar dude. I own several Kiesels that are spec'd similarly and your comments about the Lithiums and the tone control are spot on. They're very bright and articulate pickups, and combine them with the longer neck scale, stainless frets, and Ebony and black Limba, and you have a pretty bright sounding guitar. They can sound awesome wide open (on my mahogany 25.5 Vader wide open is the ticket), but with some subtle use of the vol and tone controls on my Kiesels, I find that I can get so many awesome sounds. And the Lithiums clean just sound gorgeous. Definitely my favorite stock/builder brand pickup I've owned. I usually change everything out to Suhr Aldrich pickups, but I'm up to 6 Kiesels currently, with a Vader multiscale in the works, and really haven't felt the need to change pickups in any of them.


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## mnemonic (May 28, 2016)

Very nice, that ebony top is really something. The dark color and light streaking work really well.

Maybe its the tung oil finish, but its the first ebony top I've really liked the look of.


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## Sermo Lupi (May 28, 2016)

Nicest one of these I've seen yet! 

How do you like Black Limba as a tonewood? Anything you'd compare it to?


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## jc986 (May 29, 2016)

Sermo Lupi said:


> Nicest one of these I've seen yet!
> 
> How do you like Black Limba as a tonewood? Anything you'd compare it to?



It's hard for me to compare it to anything as the Lithium pickups are so different from any other pickups I've used. This is also the only guitar I've played that has an ebony top and stainless steel frets, both of which could contribute to additional brightness. There are too many variables for me to put a finger on the effect of the limba on the tone. Kiesel's description of Black Limba mentions that it is similar sounding to mahogany. Unplugged it sounds pretty balanced and rings out loudly with lots of sustain. 

As the guitar is now with the Lithiums it is by far the brightest guitar I've ever played. I may end up switching the pickups but I want to give them a fair shot first. I will say that the clean tones are stellar in any of the positions (it comes wired with a 5 way switch, positions 2 & 4 are single coil). I have to use drastically different settings than from any other guitar I have, even having to max the bass control to get some meat to the distorted tones. There is almost a single coil like twang and thinness with the Lithiums that I'm not sure I'm jiving with. They do have better clarity under high gain than any other pickup I have or have tried and are extremely tight, but I feel that is at the expense of much of the low and low mids missing from the sound spectrum, which leaves a spiky top end that for me has been difficult to dial out or dial the low/low mids back into the sound. I haven't played around a ton with the pickup height or the individual pole height and I hear they are quite sensitive to adjustments so there is definitely still a lot of experimenting before deciding on a swap.


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## M3CHK1LLA (May 29, 2016)

you dog reminds me of my cats...gotta inspect every box that enters the house lol.

congrats on a great looking axe!


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## Shask (May 29, 2016)

jc986 said:


> I can't feel the wood grain at all on the body, it's very smooth. I had actually originally spec'd it with satin matte, but changed my mind a few weeks into the build and went with tung oil. I like the way the satin matte feels, but despise the way it can gloss up. The tung oil feels nearly as smooth as the satin, but won't gloss up in the areas you have contact provide you keep it clean. Just a little lemon oil every once in a while in the same way you'd clean and oil a fretboard and that should keep it in shape. The only other maintenance with the tung oil is that you may need to reapply a coat of tung oil every few years or so depending on the oils of your skin and use.



Awesome. I like the smooth matte finish, but yeah the shiny spots can be annoying. I always wondered if Tung would be similar, or if it would be so thin you could feel the wood ridges... never been a big fan of that.


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## Shask (May 29, 2016)

jc986 said:


> It's hard for me to compare it to anything as the Lithium pickups are so different from any other pickups I've used. This is also the only guitar I've played that has an ebony top and stainless steel frets, both of which could contribute to additional brightness. There are too many variables for me to put a finger on the effect of the limba on the tone. Kiesel's description of Black Limba mentions that it is similar sounding to mahogany. Unplugged it sounds pretty balanced and rings out loudly with lots of sustain.
> 
> As the guitar is now with the Lithiums it is by far the brightest guitar I've ever played. I may end up switching the pickups but I want to give them a fair shot first. I will say that the clean tones are stellar in any of the positions (it comes wired with a 5 way switch, positions 2 & 4 are single coil). I have to use drastically different settings than from any other guitar I have, even having to max the bass control to get some meat to the distorted tones. There is almost a single coil like twang and thinness with the Lithiums that I'm not sure I'm jiving with. They do have better clarity under high gain than any other pickup I have or have tried and are extremely tight, but I feel that is at the expense of much of the low and low mids missing from the sound spectrum, which leaves a spiky top end that for me has been difficult to dial out or dial the low/low mids back into the sound. I haven't played around a ton with the pickup height or the individual pole height and I hear they are quite sensitive to adjustments so there is definitely still a lot of experimenting before deciding on a swap.



I have an Alder/Maple 6 sting and it is the same way. Just very bight, and upper mid heavy. It is great for quick pick attack and clarity, but I do seem to miss that chunk. They dont seem to have any bass. I am considering replacing the bridge with a Duncan Custom.

I do agree they sound great clean. Sadly, I play clean like 2% of the time, lol.

Mine is tuned in E, but thinking about changing it to D or C to get more low end heaviness out of it.

I am wanting to order another, but can't decide on the specs, lol. Every time I think I have it figured out, something changes.....


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## jc986 (May 29, 2016)

Shask said:


> I am wanting to order another, but can't decide on the specs, lol. Every time I think I have it figured out, something changes.....



I know exactly what you mean. I've been going back and forth on specs for about 2 years before finally deciding to pull the trigger on this one.


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## HighGain510 (May 29, 2016)

Sermo Lupi said:


> Nicest one of these I've seen yet!
> 
> How do you like Black Limba as a tonewood? Anything you'd compare it to?



Black Limba is basically like mahogany with slightly more presence in the high-mids. It's an excellent body and neck wood choice, IMHO, having owned a LOT of black limba guitars at this point. 

Congrats on the new piece dude, the look is subtle and classy, and from the woods chosen I can tell it likely sounds great too!


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## Eclipse (May 29, 2016)

HNGD! That ebony top is pretty!


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## MAJ Meadows SF (May 30, 2016)

Wow that's a sexy bunch of wood!


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## dimitrio (May 30, 2016)

Love that limba! One of my fav woods)


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## olejason (May 31, 2016)

That's awesome. How much does the ebony top cost? It wasn't on the builder last time I looked.


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## jc986 (May 31, 2016)

olejason said:


> That's awesome. How much does the ebony top cost? It wasn't on the builder last time I looked.



The ebony top was $500. Pricey, but I'm really happy with how it came out. Black ebony that is large enough for a top is pretty rare so I suppose that's why it's so expensive. 

They offer quite a few woods that aren't in the builder for tops. Ebony, Macassar Ebony, ziricote, cocobolo, buckeye burl, and probably some others. I believe they don't put them in the builder because it's more difficult to keep a supply since some of them are more rare.


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## LordCashew (Jun 1, 2016)

This a fantastic build. Understated and tasteful...


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## noise in my mind (Jun 2, 2016)

I love the specs. I feel like one could never get sick of looking at this guitar!


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## HaloHat (Jun 3, 2016)

You sir are a fine judge of tone woods, number of strings and scale 

I will never sell my Limba/Ebony DC7X. I will also likely never buy another from Kiesel-Carvin as they don't do things the way they used to anymore [customer provided woods and a more wallet friendly pricing structure lol]. I'm lucky I got mine when I did.

Your guitar looks awesome, HNGD. Shes a beauty


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## jc986 (Jun 3, 2016)

HaloHat said:


> You sir are a fine judge of tone woods, number of strings and scale
> 
> I will never sell my Limba/Ebony DC7X. I will also likely never buy another from Kiesel-Carvin as they don't do things the way they used to anymore [customer provided woods and a more wallet friendly pricing structure lol]. I'm lucky I got mine when I did.
> 
> Your guitar looks awesome, HNGD. Shes a beauty



Thanks! And somehow I missed your NGD for your DC7X and it looks amazing as well. I considered going with an ebony back as well on mine but I didn't want to cover up that amazing limba. 

Has the pricing structure really changed all that much since you bought yours? My total with the case and shipping was just under 2K. I've been toying around with this build for the last 2-3 years or since they came out with the DC7X and anytime I've priced it out it hasn't fluctuated by more than $100 or so. 

I didn't know they stopped doing customer provided woods though. I was nervous about going that route anyway though just because they would have the final say on whether what I sent in would be able to be used and I didn't want to be out the cost of purchasing the woods.


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## HaloHat (Jun 4, 2016)

jc986 said:


> Thanks! And somehow I missed your NGD for your DC7X and it looks amazing as well. I considered going with an ebony back as well on mine but I didn't want to cover up that amazing limba.
> 
> Has the pricing structure really changed all that much since you bought yours? My total with the case and shipping was just under 2K. I've been toying around with this build for the last 2-3 years or since they came out with the DC7X and anytime I've priced it out it hasn't fluctuated by more than $100 or so.
> 
> I didn't know they stopped doing customer provided woods though. I was nervous about going that route anyway though just because they would have the final say on whether what I sent in would be able to be used and I didn't want to be out the cost of purchasing the woods.



Maybe I should check again. I was given a quote a while back that made my jaw hit the floor for a guitar I was providing all the wood delivered to their door as before from a wood broker just down the street from Kiesel and nothing crazy feature wise. I provided most of the wood for both my DC7X's and am very happy both with what I paid and what I received, great guitars.

What I asked for in a quote was for a 27" scale seven string Ultra V. Me providing all the wood as I did with my DC7X's. Nothing trick, using 2 of the long wings of the current Ultra V and also using the current Ultra V seven string routing. Quote was substancially more than double what you and I paid for our DC7X's. I am just burned out with Super Strats and have all those I need/want.

Maybe I should give Chris H. a call lol. I dunno, I am aware of two current Kiesel employees who pretty much hate my guts. Maybe my quote was their way of kicking me in the nutz 

Oh, btw I would not do the ebony on the back of my first DC7X if I had a do over. Made the guitar 10lbs, added to the cost and the Limba would have been just fine on back. It was going to be the first "Kiesel Edition" guitar per the email I received but it ended up being the last "Elite" Carvin. I think it was due to the great price I paid. I'm aware it is Jeff's company now and he can charge whatever he wants. I'm very impressed at what Jeff has done as far as meeting demand for things like bolt necks and multi scale guitars etc. Great job, wish them all the best over there at Kiesel and thankful for all they have done for me in the past.
I dearly wish I would have ordered at least two other guitars before things changed, The 7 string V I mentioned already and a 7 string 27" scale TL7. To bad for me lol...


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## jc986 (Jun 4, 2016)

HaloHat said:


> Maybe I should check again. I was given a quote a while back that made my jaw hit the floor for a guitar I was providing all the wood delivered to their door as before from a wood broker just down the street from Kiesel and nothing crazy feature wise. I provided most of the wood for both my DC7X's and am very happy both with what I paid and what I received, great guitars.
> 
> What I asked for in a quote was for a 27" scale seven string Ultra V. Me providing all the wood as I did with my DC7X's. Nothing trick, using 2 of the long wings of the current Ultra V and also using the current Ultra V seven string routing. Quote was substancially more than double what you and I paid for our DC7X's. I am just burned out with Super Strats and have all those I need/want.
> 
> ...



I'd imagine your quotes on those two were higher because they technically don't offer the Ultra V or TL70 in 27" scale so it is maybe being bumped up into Kiesel edition territory price-wise. And if they are trying to discourage customer supplied wood then pricing that option super high would accomplish that goal as well. Shame that they aren't allowing it anymore, but I guess it makes sense given the volume of orders they are taking on and the expanded number of wood species they are offering now. I would be interested in a 27" TL model but have been told in the past they won't even do it.


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 5, 2016)

pretty much after the bitching that occured from this forum for things like people being pissed off at color matching (even though Kiesel says EVERY TIME that color matches are approximate and opt 50, not a guarantee) - they are very limited in opt 50s now. They realize its just a ....show and customer supplied wood is gone now (least when I last asked, for any wood they already stock) and color matching is probably gone too. And them helping people by providing rebuilds with any different specs is probably gone too after the thread complaining on these forums only told one half of the story, not the actual story and got the whole forum to bitch about Kiesel. The company is changing, and they have to because the hate is massive now.

I personally am moving into 100% Carbon fiber guitars anyways (Aristides, Moses, Emerald) so my CT7 order that should arrive this week is probably my last, but its going to get even more expensive and less options in the very near future, thanks mainly in part to ss.org


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## ferret (Jun 5, 2016)

Customer supplied wood started to be declined long before the three or four threads here. I haven't heard even a whisper of changes to opt 50, and I really doubt Jeff is changing his business model over a few posters on one internet forum. They see far more random hate through channels like Facebook anyways.


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 5, 2016)

well I was told specifically the reason you can't choose your tops anymore is because of people who chose tops (without finish) ending up unhappy with how the dye takes to the wood, so they stopped letting people do that...


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## Pikka Bird (Jun 6, 2016)

Oi, this has to be my favourite Kiesel build in a looong time. I always wanted something with a look in this kind of vein. The ebony is super sleek looking. 



HighGain510 said:


> Black Limba is basically like mahogany with slightly more presence in the high-mids. It's an excellent body and neck wood choice, IMHO, having owned a LOT of black limba guitars at this point.



How does it stack up when compared to white limba (korina)? Because that sounds pretty neat, and your description fits my eperiences with that wood. Are they similar in anything but name?


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## Shask (Jun 6, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> Oi, this has to be my favourite Kiesel build in a looong time. I always wanted something with a look in this kind of vein. The ebony is super sleek looking.
> 
> 
> 
> How does it stack up when compared to white limba (korina)? Because that sounds pretty neat, and your description fits my eperiences with that wood. Are they similar in anything but name?



I know... "Mahogany with more upper mids" sounds like the dream wood, lol. That comment has me looking at Black Limba also......


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## TheTrooper (Jun 8, 2016)

One of my fav Kiesel so far, HNGD!

Awesome wood choice, the ebony top looks incredible


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## sloanthebone (Jun 8, 2016)

Beauty!


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## Carvinkook (Jun 8, 2016)

Got WOOD? love me some limba..


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## jc986 (Jun 22, 2016)

Update: After about a month with the guitar, I decided that the Lithiums are just not for me, at least in this guitar. While I was able to get workable tones with them through my setup, they weren't as good as my other guitars and overall just lacking in thickness, meat, and warmth (not to mention the extreme settings I had to use to get something acceptable made it difficult to switch to other guitars without having to do a lot of fiddling with the settings). I ordered a set of DiMarzio's, a Blaze Custom 7 for the bridge and an Air Norton 7 for the neck spot. I got them installed last night and it is night and day. I'm so much happier with the way the guitar sounds now. I also swapped the metal knobs for some ebony wooden ones and they look pretty nice. I'll post some new pics when we get some nicer weather. It's pretty gloomy and dark out today.


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## RuslanK (Jun 24, 2016)

It looks really great.


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