110 G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 / G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M 111

Gear

abalone inlays, 24 polished gold EVO frets, and

high visibility Luminlay side dots. It looks stun-

ning amidst this showcase of fine woods, which

also includes a rear cover plate of striped zebra-

wood. Other details include a black Hipshot Fixed

bridge and a pair of Kiesel-made K12B (bridge)

and K12N (neck) humbuckers. The latter are

selected with a 5-way switch that provides the

usual selections, along with split-coil sounds in

positions 2 and 4. Topping things off are master

Volume and Tone controls.

The SC6BH plays well thanks to its medium

neck profile, silky-feeling tung-oil finish, and an

excellent setup that keeps the strings low and

buzz free. The fretboard is quite flat and some

players will love it, but I’m sure you can specify

whatever radius you want when ordering one

of these guitars.

The components come together in a

compelling way to make for a highly resonant

instrument that rings clearly and generates good

sustain even before being plugged into a selec-

tion of amps that included a Dr. Z Z-Lux, a Vox

AC-10, and a BluGuitar Amp1. Through ’em all,

the SC6BH exhibited a clear, deep voice that

transitioned easily into badass overdriven tones

with a tempered balance of bite and low-end

girth. A measure of pickup quality is how little

you need to mess with the Tone control, and the

smoothly voiced tone circuit on this guitar didn’t

get much action except to attenuate the highs a

bit for jazzier sounds. Whether you’re going for

some bluesy wail in the neck position, a sear-

ing solo tone on the bridge setting, or a funky

rhythm groove with one of the split-coil options,

the SC6BH sounds consistently cool. Controlled

feedback comes easily when playing though a

high-gain channel or pedal, and the highs stay

NOW FUNCTIONING AS AN OFFICIAL

custom shop under the Carvin banner, Kiesel

offers a huge range of options for players who

want one-of-kind instruments that are based

on standard factory models. The SC6BH Bevel

Top and SH550B semi-hollow on review here

are very different instruments, but both are

beautifully made and offer a lot of performance

for the money.

S C 6 B HWith its sleek lines and beveled top, the SC6BH

is a slick-looking through-neck design that

arrived here loaded with a bevy of options and

upgrades. It features a Deep Blue finish with an

exposed flame maple strip that highlights the

beveling across the top, and serves the “binding”

around the rest of top’s perimeter. The maple

neck sports a matching blue maple veneer on

its reverse headstock, and it carries a zebra-

wood fretboard outfitted with diamond-shaped

Kiesel Custom Shop SC6BH and SH550BTESTED BY ART THOMPSON

.

M O D E L

S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

SC6BH

SH550B

KIESEL SC6BHCONTACT carvinguitars.com

PRICE $949 base; $2,507 as tested,

including Ultimate Soft Case

NUT WIDTH 1.69"

NECK 5-piece walnut and purpleheart

FRETBOARD Zebrawood, 25" scale

FRETS 24 EVO Jumbo Gold

TUNERS Carvin Premium Locking

BODY Swamp ash, maple top

BRIDGE Hipshot Fixed

PICKUPS K12B and K12N humbuckers

CONTROLS Volume, Tone, 5-way switch

WEIGHT 7.58 lbs

BUILT USA

KUDOS Excellent looks, feel, and tone.

CONCERNS Sharp corners on nut. Some

might prefer a less-flat finger-

board.

KIESEL SH550PRICE $1,899 base; $3,018 as tested,

including Ultimate Soft Case

NUT WIDTH 1.69"

NECK 5-piece mahogany and walnut

FRETBOARD Rosewood, 25" scale

FRETS 22 stainless-steel

TUNERS Carvin Premium Locking

BODY Mahogany with carved maple

top

BRIDGE Tune-o-matic style with acous-

tic saddles

PICKUPS Kiesel Lithium Series humbuck-

ers, piezo bridge saddles.

CONTROLS Volume, Tone, 3-way pickup

switch, Piezo/Mag/Both switch

WEIGHT 7.0 lbs

BUILT USA

KUDOS Excellent quality. Wide range of

sounds. Dual outputs for mag-

netic and piezo signals.

CONCERNS None.

S P E C I F I C A T I O N S

Gear

112 G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

KIESEL

clear and present when you roll back the volume. It all goes to highlight

the SC6BH as a fine alternative to some of the popular high-end solids

on the market, and certainly makes the case for checking out the Kiesel

website if you’re shopping for something unique.

S H 5 5 0 BThis semi-hollow electric begins life with a top of carved solid flamed

maple over a chambered mahogany body. Attached via glued joint is a

“Rapid Play” set neck with a 25”-scale rosewood fretboard that has 22

highly polished optional stainless-steel frets. This guitar arrived with an

extensive list of other options, including 5-piece mahogany/walnut neck

construction with a traditional style headstock and a silver “Kiesel” logo,

abalone block inlays, Luminlay side dots, a piezo bridge, and a “deep body

binding effect.” All told, these and other upgrades bumped the price up

from a base of $1,899 to a lofty $3,018, Ultimate Soft Case included.

The good news is that the SH550B is a sweet guitar that has a ton

of sonic vibe and plays extremely well thanks to a comfy medium-

profile neck and an A+ factory setup. The intonation is rock solid and

the attention to detail in all areas of construction is nothing short of

impressive. Playing this guitar acoustically lets you appreciate the ben-

efits of this type of design, as the hollowed-out body gives it added

resonance and the carved maple top brings a nice measure of sus-

tain into the picture. You could probably stick a mic on it and get a

good sounding track.

Our review sample SH550B is equipped to excel in a lot of performance

scenarios owing to its combination of Lithium humbuckers and a bridge

with six piezo saddles. The controls consist of a 3-way switch for the mag-

netic pickups, another 3-way for selecting mag, mag + piezo, or piezo only,

separate Volume controls for the mag and piezo pickups, and a Tone knob

with a pull function to split the humbuckers’ coils. (Power for the active

piezo system is supplied by a 9v battery that resides in a flip-open com-

partment on the back.)

You can use the SH550B like an acoustic-electric by selecting the piezo

only sound—a mode that sounded quite good when played though Fend-

er’s new Acoustic Pro and Acoustic SFX amplifiers. You can also com-

bine the passive humbuckers with the active piezo system to get some

hip hybrid tones. The Lithium pickups by themselves cover the bases for

cool blues and jazz sounds in the neck position, all the way to ripping over-

driven rhythm and lead tones when running the bridge pickup into a high-

gain amp, such as the Mesa/Boogie Mark 5: Twenty Five and BluGuitar

Amp1 that we used for testing. The dual outs also let you route the mag

and piezo signals to different amplification systems to optimize their per-

formance or create a wider sound when combining the pickups. Overall,

it’s a flexible electronics package that’s worth the extra $250 for the piezo

bridge if you want the ability to play acoustic parts on the fly.

There are plenty of choices in the semi-hollow electric arena, and for

an American-made guitar of this quality, the SH550B is a solid deal, espe-

cially in stock trim. Add the options you need and Kiesel will craft you a

custom instrument that’ll sound great and make a very personal state-

ment in the process. g