JGT Review: The Kiesel Josh Meader Signature Guitar

In this exclusive Jazz Guitar Today review, Brad Jeter runs the Kiesel Josh Meader Signature guitar through the paces.

I believe we are in a golden age of available quality instruments that we really haven’t experienced before. Now, before you get out your pitchforks I want to clarify this with the acknowledgment that when “golden age” is brought into a conversation, it is referring to an era of exceptional instruments from the 30s to, more or less, the 50s. Vintage instruments. Ones that were made in relatively small quantities, with old-world craftsmanship and old-growth woods. A time when electric guitar was coming into its own. No mega-stores with hundreds of guitars lining walls. A time when you had to make an effort to find a shop with even a modest offering on hand. 

What we have now is mind numbing options. Literally thousands of electric guitars arrive everyday for your consideration and, ultimately, your money. Where to even start? Value priced instruments have become ubiquitous and, to be fair, many offerings are head scratchers in the sense of, “How can they do this for such a relatively low price?” There are many factors but one cannot ignore that they are the result of incredibly efficient manufacturing processes utilizing modern CNC machines, 2,3,4, 5 piece bodies and less than top tier parts. On instruments with translucent tops, it is often a very thin veneer of “looker” wood. 

With that, what I am focusing on here are instruments coming from manufacturers sourcing high quality tone-woods, top-tier electronics and a great deal of hand’s on attention. This is the golden age I speak of. The ever-increasing demand for a cut above but still relatively affordable instruments has never been higher. Many manufacturers have taken the challenge to heart and options are myriad and increasingly manifold.

Kiesel Guitars came to be a separate entity from Carvin in 2015 but continue the tradition of offering high quality direct to the player for decades. It’s an interesting story and one I would recommend looking up.

And, here we are, ready to delve into this instrument, the Kiesel Josh Meader Signature. 

If I were forced to offer the briefest perception of this guitar I would say it’s a “Fast” guitar designed for the modern player. It is a sleek instrument built to very high standards. Let’s now dig deeper now that I have given you the spoiler. 

Overall, the build quality and finish is top notch. Truly a great American instrument. There is just “something” that American made guitars have had over the decades. Although difficult to put into words, you know it intuitively when you pick one up. Certainly there are and have been American made guitars that fail this smell test but I am speaking in very broad terms.

As I stated, I find this to be a “fast” guitar. The neck profile is on the slim side combined with a radius that allows for very low action (if that is your thing). One thing that really is of little-to-no significance is the transition of the back of the neck finish but is worth noting. There is no gloss finish on it at the 18th fret. There is an abrupt  finish/finish transition there and your hand (thumb) will never encounter it—-but it is still a bit weird to me. 

The neck carve should be comfortable for most players regardless of hand size. The carve/profile remains relatively consistent the entire length—this is definitely a contributing factor in it being “fast”. It is not a “thin” neck however, it is not a shredder neck profile as far as I am concerned. For context, I consider a shred neck profile as being at least a 16” radius and wafer thin—like a mint (Monty Python reference).

The frets are immaculate. They are seated properly which is something that cannot be overstated. Smooth as silk in other words. The neck/body joint is also of interest. It is not a typical joint and I suspect it may have been chosen to have maximum stability but also because of the low angle it intersects the guitar. In other words, the string angle is so shallow that the bridge assembly is inset into the body. Why? Many claim a more resonant and effective vibrational sustain as a result. I’ll leave that up to you but it is beautifully executed and provides a very comfortable right-hand placement as a result. Inspecting the nut, you can see that it is fitted to the guitar with precision—no laterally overhang. It has been polished (exterior and slots) leaving the strings to freely traverse. 

The fretboard is tight-grained ebony that is not overly finished. I really don’t care for non-maple fretboards to have the feel of being polished to a semi-gloss. Call me old school but I like the feel (when a finger tip does encounter the fretboard) of an a rosewood or ebony board. The rectangular inlays are precision installed with no “oops” filler that I can discern. Again, attention to detail.

The body is light-weight and well balanced on a strap. I believe the selection of quality wood blanks in combination with a semi-hollow body rout contribute to this. Like the neck, fit and finish is top shelf. It is not only a functional design that takes queues from the classics but is in no way a clone. The double cut makes for easy and comfortable access to the nose bleed frets if one is intent on going there (humor intended).

The pickups are well balanced and the bridge pickup smoothly gets throaty when hair is applied with amplifier gain. The neck pickup delivers warm, harmonically rich clean tones as well as exceptionally rich overdriven. The volume and tone controls have just enough positive resistance to make on-the-fly adjustments precise.

Both the top and back are two piece and great care was taken in making sure the pieces were aligned properly for aesthetically pleasing results. 

The hardware quality is quality is consistent with the overall superior aspects of the guitar. The locking tuners are Kiesel branded (my guess is they are made by Schaller). I’ll note here that the headstock design eliminates potential tuning stability issues by having the strings meet the nut almost perpendicularly. In other words, they run true with almost straight-line from tuner to tailpiece. It’s these little things that combine the luthier’s skill and experience when this guitar was designed.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this guitar. Once you realize what it has to offer and who it is for, it is nothing short of a pleasure to play. Who is it for? Simply put, the more advanced player who delves into multiple genres and wants an instrument that can deliver. Some may initially see it and think, oh, another ES style guitar. Yes, at a distance, it certainly can be seen that way but get it in your hands and it becomes so much more. It embraces the heritage of a classic design with modern aesthetics and playability. 

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