Kiesel B25

[blankrider]

Just got this in today! I ordered it about 10-11 weeks ago. I have been playing a fretless for the last few years and my fretted basses just haven't been doing it for me. I finally go this to up the fretted bass game. I would consider getting a fretless one in the future.

I'd heard great things about the basses, particularly around the electronics in them. My cursory playing has been very good. No fretbuzz when plugged in and very clear sound / control.

Uploaded to imgur due to size. http://imgur.com/a/SvAQQ

[Moses]

beautiful

[gravesbass]

Just got this in today! I ordered it about 10-11 weeks ago. I have been playing a fretless for the last few years and my fretted basses just haven't been doing it for me. I finally go this to up the fretted bass game. I would consider getting a fretless one in the future.

I'd heard great things about the basses, particularly around the electronics in them. My cursory playing has been very good. No fretbuzz when plugged in and very clear sound / control.

Thats the one you were talking to me about. Very nice, man!!!!

[Basshappi]

That flamed fretboard looks fantastic, a great looking bass, congrats!
The Bromberg models are really excellent sounding basses, I'm sure you are going to be very happy with your new bass.

On a side note, Bob Mick, the luthier who designed and built the original model for Brian, lives here in Tucson. I've been to his shop a few times in the past.

[blankrider]

That flamed fretboard looks fantastic, a great looking bass, congrats!
The Bromberg models are really excellent sounding basses, I'm sure you are going to be very happy with your new bass.

On a side note, Bob Mick, the luthier who designed and built the original model for Brian, lives here in Tucson. I've been to his shop a few times in the past.

I can't find the story behind that (or Bob's website). Do you have any knowledge to drop about that? How did it go from Bob Mick -> Carvin for mass production?

[Basshappi]

I have not run into Bob for a number of years so I don't know what he's doing now.

He and Bromberg collaborated on the design of the bass and Bob built him a few basses with that design.
Since then Brian had a deal with Peavey for a number of years, it was called the B Quad and featured a graphite neck and other upgrades. I can't remember if any other company produced a model prior to his deal with Carvin/Kiesel.

He had a big thread about them on TB so you might find more info there.

[bhunt1]

That is a beauty! Do you have the single coils or hum buckers? Also, what is the finish on the body?

[blankrider]

That is a beauty! Do you have the single coils or hum buckers? Also, what is the finish on the body?

Single coil.

Finish is a deep orangeburst flame. I like burst colors but don't like strong black on the edges. The orangeburst is a nice compromise!

[fivebass52]

Carvin/Kiesel really does make beautiful crafted instruments. It's just a shame there is no perceived re-sale value in the marketplace for them.... that being said, a Beautiful bass - enjoy!

[markcv]

Very nice!

[fivebass52]

Now that this thread has been resurrected... Blankrider, what are your thoughts on this bass since you first got it?

[superheavydeathmetal]

I admire anyone who can play fretless. Especially one who can play fretless well enough to appreciate its nuance over a fretted bass.

[blankrider]

I've really enjoyed this bass. I don't do big gigs or anything, so I can't comment on how it sounds in that environment, but it has really met/surpassed my expectations in my small jazz/blues setups.

The craftsmanship is very high, they did a good job with it; I actually don't have any complaints with anything cosmetically or physically. There were some tuning issues at one point, but I think it was from going to Wooten Woods w/ very high humidity . I often will pull it out of the case after not playing for 2 weeks and it is in perfect tuning still!

Sound is great. Like I said, I play a lot of jazz so I need a bass that will blend into that environment. I don't like clangy sounds for that. However, I also practice more modern solo bass stuff through headphones and need a very different sound for that. I feel like the range on this bass gives me that.

I find that it is very easy to click the pickups on the bass, so I have to be careful to not slam my hand onto the strings. I think it's specifically the type of pickups this bass has, but the click tends to end up as a high pitched electric sound when it happens. I try to avoid it.

All in all, very happy with it. No real issues to note thus far. My older Carvin is going on 5+ years without issue either, although not nearly as pretty as this bass is.

[blankrider]

I admire anyone who can play fretless. Especially one who can play fretless well enough to appreciate its nuance over a fretted bass.

appreciate that! My history in jazz probably has led to needing the nuance at certain times. In college jazz, there really was no comparison between my fretted and fretless.