# New KSE Caparison sig incoming



## narad (Sep 27, 2017)

More info to be released next week regarding official release (I mean, there's already pics of Joel playing it so you know what to expect) but look at that headstock!


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## Crash Dandicoot (Sep 27, 2017)

All maple Caparison necks are bloody gorgeous.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 27, 2017)

About time. One of the best Caparisons ever.


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## Dawn of the Shred (Sep 27, 2017)

Simple, Clean and HOTT!!!


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## Bdtunn (Sep 27, 2017)

That is pure awesome!


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## Steinmetzify (Sep 27, 2017)

Hell yes.


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## FitRocker33 (Sep 27, 2017)

I love it. Hopefully it won't come with an outlandish price like the Adam D sig. Parker and the original Joel sig. Cappy


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## metaljohn (Sep 27, 2017)

This is the first time I've seen a Caparison that I MUST have.


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## The 1 (Sep 27, 2017)

I like the all maple neck+headstock. I liked his old caparison sig too. Is that a custom bridge? Looks like a larger hipshot.


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## MrBouleDeBowling (Sep 28, 2017)

metaljohn said:


> This is the first time I've seen a Caparison that I MUST have.


Exactly what I think as well.


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## couverdure (Sep 28, 2017)

I watched their Rig Rundown video a few days ago and I really liked Joel's Caparison, especially the pickguard. Glad to see that it's becoming a production model (if only I had the money to afford one).


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## Restarted (Sep 28, 2017)

I'd buy the neck just to look at it


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## Kaura (Sep 28, 2017)

Really reminds me of the Jim Root signatures. Which isnt a bad thing since I even used to own one.


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## narad (Sep 28, 2017)

The 1 said:


> I like the all maple neck+headstock. I liked his old caparison sig too. Is that a custom bridge? Looks like a larger hipshot.



It's the Caparison hardtail they put out a few years ago. Supposedly comfortable but doesn't look it. That's actually about the only thing I would change here -- give me a floyd or a hipshot, very happy with the rest.



FitRocker33 said:


> I love it. Hopefully it won't come with an outlandish price like the Adam D sig. Parker and the original Joel sig. Cappy



Yea, it's just a Dellinger with Fishmans so I'm hopeful it'll come in around $2400. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if it was somehow $3200...or $3500... or whatever ridiculous price Caparison always goes with for sig gear. You think they'd get the point when these things sit and sit and dealers for years...or when they had to sell the company due to their financial ruin.


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## Ben Pinkus (Sep 28, 2017)

Interesting, wasn't expecting a Strat style sig for him. 
Looks cool!


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## Petar Bogdanov (Sep 28, 2017)

narad said:


> It's the Caparison hardtail they put out a few years ago. Supposedly comfortable but doesn't look it. That's actually about the only thing I would change here -- give me a floyd or a hipshot, very happy with the rest.



The Caparison design is actually an improvement in some ways, why sidegrade? Not every guitar should be the same.


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## narad (Sep 28, 2017)

Petar Bogdanov said:


> The Caparison design is actually an improvement in some ways, why sidegrade? Not every guitar should be the same.



I'm just positive that I don't like it aesthetically and unsure if I like it functionally (haven't played one). It's not a deal-breaker, but they've got the hipshots on other models so would be great if they made it available here as well. 

If I have to raise a criticism it's that Caparison operates like a custom builder (small number of guys, small numbers of each model, high price for what you get), but provides almost none of the perks (choosing basic specs from the set of things they already offer). So if that bridge is on there, have to wait for maybe 2-3 additional years for something similar to come along with a trem, etc.


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## Mathemagician (Sep 28, 2017)

People commented on Instagram “watch it be way too expensive and take 2 years for delivery” and Caparison just replied “No it’s not”. 

Hopefully they meant the price too.


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## Dekay82 (Sep 28, 2017)

Killstrat Engage...looks like I might be back in the superstrat game


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## Adam Of Angels (Sep 28, 2017)

Holy fuck I love this.


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## FitRocker33 (Sep 28, 2017)

Mathemagician said:


> People commented on Instagram “watch it be way too expensive and take 2 years for delivery” and Caparison just replied “No it’s not”.
> 
> Hopefully they meant the price too.



If Caparison is listening:

Price this guitar right at 2k or so and watch your product fly off the shelves.

Also, seeing as one can purchase a neck thru Japanese made eII Horizon w/ Duncan's from ESP for around 1600-1800 there is no reason it's not feasible I would imagine.


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## bloc (Sep 28, 2017)

Band hasn't been relevant in years


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## HighGain510 (Sep 28, 2017)

Mathemagician said:


> People commented on Instagram “watch it be way too expensive and take 2 years for delivery” and Caparison just replied “No it’s not”.
> 
> Hopefully they meant the price too.



Haha that is exactly what I thought when I saw it too. I dig the guitar itself, but I feel like it will be too expensive for what it is and take forever to actually come out.


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## HighGain510 (Sep 28, 2017)

GG double post!


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## Element0s (Sep 28, 2017)

fuck me _running_, I love this. The Caparison Dellinger might be my favourite guitar model of all time. The maple 'stock-'board is super slick and the pickguard makes it stick out even more.

If I saw one of these in my budget, I would surely pick one up.


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## bpprox22 (Sep 28, 2017)

Man I want this...


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## Mathemagician (Sep 28, 2017)

And I love clock inlays. To me that is the most iconic thing about a caparison. No clocks no care.


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## R34CH (Sep 28, 2017)

Mathemagician said:


> And I love clock inlays. To me that is the most iconic thing about a caparison. No clocks no care.



The clock inlays have certainly grown on me over the years...used to hate them. Now...really, really like them haha.


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## TheUnvanquished (Sep 28, 2017)

As stated above, band hasn't been relevant in a long while. BUT this is the coolest Caparison that I've ever seen. If I was in the market for a new guitar I would be all over this.


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## HighGain510 (Sep 28, 2017)

bloc said:


> Band hasn't been relevant in years





TheUnvanquished said:


> As stated above, band hasn't been relevant in a long while. BUT this is the coolest Caparison that I've ever seen. If I was in the market for a new guitar I would be all over this.



Meh, the band might not be "relevant" to you, but there are still plenty of fans out there who enjoy what they've done and continue to put out (their last album was pretty solid, IMHO) so as long as there are fans who like guitars, there is still a market for them as endorsers. 

Also there are a ton of bands/players out there I personally wouldn't consider to be relevant, but if they have fans, they can help sell gear by attaching their name/endorsement to the brand. They might not be relevant to you, but that doesn't make them "not relevant."


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 28, 2017)

Matthias Eklundh is pretty irrelevant himself, yet the dude has had like... 15 Caparison sig models. 

KsE is one of those bands that helped put Caparison on the map in the United States.


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## narad (Sep 28, 2017)

Relevant or not, honestly why would I care about the band at all? It's a $2-3k guitar...that's a high price for just hero worship. I just want a nice Caparison at a reasonable price, and couldn't care less even if $100 of each guitar wound up going into Justin Bieber's pocket. It's like, "Hey Bieber, thanks for finally spec'ing out a decent Caparison because I've been stuck here waiting for once since the CL 14."


(though we do have that $8k left-handed Juggernaut thread...)


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## jephjacques (Sep 28, 2017)

narad said:


> I'm just positive that I don't like it aesthetically and unsure if I like it functionally (haven't played one). It's not a deal-breaker, but they've got the hipshots on other models so would be great if they made it available here as well.
> 
> If I have to raise a criticism it's that Caparison operates like a custom builder (small number of guys, small numbers of each model, high price for what you get), but provides almost none of the perks (choosing basic specs from the set of things they already offer). So if that bridge is on there, have to wait for maybe 2-3 additional years for something similar to come along with a trem, etc.



I've got one of their 7s with that bridge, it doesn't feel noticeably different than a hipshot to me. It's bigger but that's about it. It's solid, it functions like every other good fixed bridge out there.


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## jephjacques (Sep 28, 2017)

Also this guitar owns, Caparisons own


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## FitRocker33 (Sep 28, 2017)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Matthias Eklundh is pretty irrelevant himself, yet the dude has had like... 15 Caparison sig models.
> 
> KsE is one of those bands that helped put Caparison on the map in the United States.



My 1st exposure to the elusive Caparison brand came through seeing Soilwork play them almost 20 years ago. I remember trying to look up Caparison online when I was a kid and only getting some overseas site written entirely in Japanese. Found almost no useable info back then.

Is soilwork still relevant or is that also a big fat negatory? Lol


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## wakjob (Sep 28, 2017)

I just did a Comparison of my bank account and reality.

Reality won.


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## manu80 (Sep 28, 2017)

Party crasher here but man almost 2k for this ?
I had an orbit and a friend bought a horus pre owned, i really wonder how they can justify such high prices. It's good gear, well crafted, ok, but definitely not worth the price they asking...


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## The 1 (Sep 28, 2017)

I think this will probably end up being in the 2.5-3k range. The standard Horus models are 2.5k and the Michael Romeo sig is 2.8k. Their cheapest, stripped down FX-AM models are 2.2k.
They're priced that high because they're a small handcrafted masterbuilder shop. It's only a couple guys. 
narad said it pretty well, they're basically a custom builder without customization options.


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## Captastic (Sep 28, 2017)

3g...Caps are always priced (2) high...


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## Mathemagician (Sep 28, 2017)

That’s a $1.6-1.8k guitar anywhere else. 

Sucks because it’s so damn pretty.


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## Nitrobattery (Sep 29, 2017)

I'll be interested to see the price. I had a trans black Angelus HGS and a JSM...and while they were cool...they weren't really anything to write home about. If this is north of 2k, then you're in Anderson/Suhr territory and it makes the choice pretty easy.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Sep 29, 2017)

these look nice and im a huge fan of the bands first 3 albums + the 'times of grace' project. never really cared for caparisons in the past mainly because of the head-stock shape. for some reason it looks a lot better. did they change it or does that maple just make it look so much better?


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## Shoeless_jose (Sep 29, 2017)

nice guitar, but like it has already been said, will likely cost to much.

Guess it just depends how much you like clock inlays.


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## narad (Oct 1, 2017)




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## R34CH (Oct 2, 2017)

^ Haha, Adam D looks so bored while playing that riff that starts at 2:23


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## cip 123 (Oct 2, 2017)

R34CH said:


> ^ Haha, Adam D looks so bored while playing that riff that starts at 2:23




He has loads of similar riffs like that, Arms of Sorrow comes to mind. Not saying that's bad, they're both Killer players. Could pull that off while drinking a beer and I'm sure he has on stage!


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## Nitrobattery (Oct 2, 2017)

$3,200

They're dreaming.


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## narad (Oct 2, 2017)

Major disappointment with pricing. The white is a nice alternative though:

https://www.caparisonguitars.com/products/dellinger-jsm/


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## Mathemagician (Oct 2, 2017)

Nitrobattery said:


> $3,200
> 
> They're dreaming.



Came here to say that. I KNOW it’s a custom shop instrument. Maybe that’s my issue. I would rather pay $1,800 for a signature model than the price of something I can get customized.

Then again I’d pay that for certain EBMM guitars. So maybe it’s not that off base.

Not for me though.


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## narad (Oct 2, 2017)

Well this is the worst of both worlds: a $3,200 signature model that you can't get customized.

Still, what's street? $2600? I see Caparison's Japanese dealers adjust their prices all the time, and in the US there are dealers that clear them out (DAG) or put them on sale for Christmas etc, which can be like 10% off. Maybe it won't be soooo bad in the end.


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## Nitrobattery (Oct 2, 2017)

MAP/street is $3,200 in the US....which is mind boggling.


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## FitRocker33 (Oct 2, 2017)

They're insane. It's a nice guitar but I will be passing on it. Not worth 3k.


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## cip 123 (Oct 2, 2017)

Don't see a problem with the pricing. Similar JP17 here in the UK is the around the same price (JP is slightly more actually), similar in the fact it's a sig thats non customisable. Capa still has more of a personal feel to me over musicman too. Both are great guitars, but that pricing isn't too extreme IMHO given what other high end brands go for.

EDIT: quick google, a J.Custom in the UK is the same price as the new Capa. Not seeing the problem here, for guitars that are still hand crafted in many aspects I believe.


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## narad (Oct 2, 2017)

Well the J-custom is way better, for one.

But the J-custom also has a fancy maple top, flame maple binding, headstock, etc. and this is a barebones dellinger with nice color combo and fishmans. The caparison models that have similar specs have gut-wrenching prices.


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## cip 123 (Oct 2, 2017)

I suppose yea, if you wanted closer to an Ibby you could get a Dellinger Prominence you'd just lack the flames. 

It's all opinions I'm not a fan of Ibby really, and I don't see much of a problem with the price given what I've seen from other companies.


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## FitRocker33 (Oct 2, 2017)

I had a dellinger II back in 2010 that I got new for around 2200 or so and while it was nice i didn't feel the quality was worth the price. Wound up trading it off.


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## Jeff (Oct 2, 2017)

Caparisons have always been insanely overpriced for what they are, IMO. I’ve played several, and they’re okay, but not $3000 good. Certainly not an Anderson or Suhr.


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## purpledc (Oct 3, 2017)

Nitrobattery said:


> $3,200
> 
> They're dreaming.



They have to be nuts considering mine just exploded looking at that price.


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## narad (Oct 3, 2017)

I think they're over-priced but give dealers a lot of room to work with. They usually come down in price before they sell, so bear that in mind a little. 

They definitely have some oddball strategies - -that and the idea that every guitar is "limited". I had a guy hide away one I really wanted in his closet and wouldn't entertain offers because he was a collector. Collecting caparisons is like collecting bananas -- if anything it's worth more today than it will be in two years.


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## MFB (Oct 3, 2017)

Not that I could ever afford a Cap, but that thing is like a sexier version of Adrian Smith's Jackson sig


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## Jarmake (Oct 3, 2017)

I never liked that headstock, but that white one is very nice... Like a Adrian sig, but not as sexy because of that fugly headstock! :Lol:


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## Jarmake (Oct 3, 2017)

I never liked that headstock, but that white one is very nice... Like an Adrian sig, but not as sexy because of that fugly headstock! :Lol:


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## gunch (Oct 3, 2017)

I guess it really is a question if you like the devil tail and clocks enough to pay your kidney

I like Adam D's pizza hat though


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## R34CH (Oct 3, 2017)

silverabyss said:


> I like Adam D's pizza hat though



Yeah, Adam's pizza hat and flip flops are so metal.


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## McBrain (Oct 4, 2017)

Not a fan of the cosmo black hardware. Would have looked much better with all black hardware. They could at least have matched the tuners with the bridge and knobs.


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## Andromalia (Oct 4, 2017)

Pretty cool, I like strats with the volume knob placed everywhere but where it is on a strat, never managed to play regular strats because of that. (My hand keeps touching it when I play)


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## jephjacques (Oct 4, 2017)

McBrain said:


> Not a fan of the cosmo black hardware. Would have looked much better with all black hardware. They could at least have matched the tuners with the bridge and knobs.



This is the one thing I don't like about my Dellinger 7, I'm glad they switched to black hardware on the newer models.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 12, 2017)

Bump. A long-awaited Cap sig is coming as well.







Big shame it isn't based on the PLM, but it's still cool Adam D is FINALLY getting a sig.


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## kevdes93 (Nov 12, 2017)

And I'm sure this one will be 3k+ too


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## narad (Nov 12, 2017)

Adam D's sig is going to be dealer stock for the next 5 years.


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## Captastic (Nov 12, 2017)

Yeow I really like that!


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## FitRocker33 (Nov 12, 2017)

Soooo it’s a no frills Horus with one less pickup and no trem. 

I’m wagering on $2899.99 pricetag


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## narad (Nov 12, 2017)

FitRocker33 said:


> Soooo it’s a no frills Horus with one less pickup and no trem.
> 
> I’m wagering on $2899.99 pricetag



It's based on the tat special.


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## FitRocker33 (Nov 12, 2017)

narad said:


> It's based on the tat special.



Ahh you’re right I overlooked the neck thru body.

I change my pricetag guess to $3200 lol


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## lewstherin006 (Feb 16, 2018)

Necro nump, but I got to try out Joel's sig at namm!


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## skmanga (Feb 17, 2018)

Oh damn :/


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## Glades (Feb 17, 2018)

Maple fingerboard with black binding looks sick!


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## Flappydoodle (Feb 28, 2018)

*I have played both guitars for a couple hours.*

The Adam D guitar is AWESOME. Both Adam D guitars I played were perfectly set up in Drop C, with super low action of F, A and D, but a bit more room for hard picking on C, G and C.

The guitar sounded amazing. Voice 1 is incredibly tight. I thought there was a noise gate on the amp (ENGL Powerball, and Dual Recto), but no, it's just the pickup. Voice 2 is looser and adds an absolute shitload of low-end chunk. Was great for lead lines, big chords etc, whereas voice 1 was your standard KSE style riffage. Neck profile is your standard TAT special feel - actually a more chunky neck than you're expect, but incredibly comfortable. You could absolutely shred on this guitar if you wanted to.

I really wanted to buy it, but the only deal-breaker for me was the small frets. Apparently that's how Adam likes them, but I'm just too used to ESP super jumbos and I couldn't get over it. If that guitar had had super jumbos, it would be mine without hesitation.

The Joel guitar, on the other hand, was a total disappointment for me. I'd been obsessing at photos online and I really wanted to love it, but I just didn't. In person, it looked nowhere near as pretty as the photos. The maple fretboard was more yellow and looked "dirty" in contrast to the white body. The black binding also makes the neck look small to me, which is weird, and the black inlays again made the fretboard look unclear somehow. 

In terms of feel, it was similar to my Caparison Brocken, since it has the same bridge, same 5 piece bolt-on walnut/maple neck etc. But something about it just didn't feel right to me. In fact, I vastly preferred the standard FX-AM Dellinger model to the Joel model.

What also struck me is how crazily different the two KSE guitars sounded, even though they have identical pickups. The Joel honestly sounded a bit thin and buzzy, and didn't sound as tight as the Adam D guitar. Whether it's the wood, construction (TAT vs bolt on), absence of neck pickup (magnetic fields dragging on the string?), or something else, I don't know. And again, both of them sounded completely different to the standard FX-AM Dellinger (bright, tight) or the Brocken (baritone - thick, chunky).


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## TunedToB (Mar 2, 2018)

KSE? Awesome. Caparison? Awesome. The sig models? FREAKING AWESOME.

I love Adam's model and its simplicity, but I'm a sucker for pickguards in super strats.


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 2, 2018)

TunedToB said:


> KSE? Awesome. Caparison? Awesome. The sig models? FREAKING AWESOME.
> 
> I love Adam's model and its simplicity, but I'm a sucker for pickguards in super strats.



See my post just above - the Adam D was AWESOME. The Joel, for some reason, less so. Sounded buzzy and thin, whereas the Adam D just has this super tight chunky sound with tons of attack.

I was totally prepared to LOVE the Joel, and I thought the Adam D was pretty cool looking but I wouldn't like it. I was wrong.

The "problem" with Caparisons, IMO, is that they are all so different. You play 5 Dellingers and they're all different. The WM, AM, various signature models etc all sound and feel different. You basically need to try them, which is next to impossible unless you live next to a dealer.


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## Carcaridon (Mar 2, 2018)

Flappydoodle said:


> See my post just above - the Adam D was AWESOME. The Joel, for some reason, less so. Sounded buzzy and thin, whereas the Adam D just has this super tight chunky sound with tons of attack.
> 
> I was totally prepared to LOVE the Joel, and I thought the Adam D was pretty cool looking but I wouldn't like it. I was wrong.
> 
> The "problem" with Caparisons, IMO, is that they are all so different. You play 5 Dellingers and they're all different. The WM, AM, various signature models etc all sound and feel different. You basically need to try them, which is next to impossible unless you live next to a dealer.



I really want to pick one of these up, but the small frets is the only thing holding me back. All I've ever played are jumbo so I'm not sure how I would take to them. Trying one out is, as you say, next to impossible. So how was the feel of the fretboard on this with the small frets?


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 3, 2018)

Fretboard was typical Caparison - amazing. Very very smooth. The ebony is extremely high quality, totally flawless. The neck too has that really nice oiled finish.

The small frets are just something that I'm not used to. I'm used to ESP super jumbos, or my Caparison Brocken which also has jumbo frets.

That said, the Adam D frets are stainless steel. I didn't realise at the time I was playing it, but they were super smooth for string bends, and I guess that could be why. I've never owned a SS fret guitar before.

The action on both Adam D guitars was was super, super low. I think if you play with a light touch, you could get away with the low action and small frets. I personally prefer higher action and bigger frets.

It's really hard to answer your question to be honest because it's impossible to communicate the feel.


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## Carcaridon (Mar 3, 2018)

Flappydoodle said:


> Fretboard was typical Caparison - amazing. Very very smooth. The ebony is extremely high quality, totally flawless. The neck too has that really nice oiled finish.
> 
> The small frets are just something that I'm not used to. I'm used to ESP super jumbos, or my Caparison Brocken which also has jumbo frets.
> 
> ...



Totally understand it’s a tough question to ask. It’s been on my sights since I saw it. I love SS frets. My 2 USA Broderick’s have them but the small frets worry me. I don’t play extremely heavy handed but I do tend to hit it a bit.


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## gujukal (Mar 4, 2018)

Carcaridon said:


> I really want to pick one of these up, but the small frets is the only thing holding me back. All I've ever played are jumbo so I'm not sure how I would take to them. Trying one out is, as you say, next to impossible. So how was the feel of the fretboard on this with the small frets?



Smaller frets will make the neck feel thinner, i've never felt much else difference playing medium or jumbo frets. It's also SS so it will probably not wear much.


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