KxK Guitars Custom 7-String V

2005 V7 Custom (7-string V), hand made in America:

25.5" scale, 24 fret bound ebony fretboard with Dunlop 6105 frets
Iron cross MOP inlays
3-piece laminate maple neck thru body, oiled
Reverse headstock, white with black binding
Mahogany body, finished in white with black bevels
Seymour Duncan Jazz-7 and JB-7, one volume, one tone, 3-way LP switch
Spertzel locking tuners
Tone-Pros tune-o-matic bridge, string thru body
Jackson-style recessed shovel jack on upper horn
Dunlop straplocks, recessed
Bone nut
Name engraved on trussrod cover
Custom case

As this is a completely custom instrument, I spec'ed it out myself, so the features are exactly as I wanted it. Rob Kaughman (the builder) even threw in a free t-shirt.

The neck blanks he uses are so wide, the pickups, bridge, and headstock completely fit on it, with nothing hanging over onto the mahogany wings. The case is completely custom and fits the guitar like a glove.

This is one of the liveliest instruments I have ever played. Unplugged, it rings clear, with a lot of top end sparkle. Excellent acoustic tone is usually a good indicator of things to come.

I fired up my Mesa/Boogie Road King, plugged in, and was rewarded with virtual noiselessness when not playing. The sustain is absolutely massive, string to string definition is superb, with plenty of low end growl and chunk. Harmonics can be had almost on demand, and they all fly off the instrument with authority. There is an amazing high pressence, and notes ring out all the way up to the 24th fret, punching through the mix. Flipping to the neck pickup gave me all the thick, Les Paul style creaminess, but without the mud. Middle position is exactly what you expect, but I never use it on the dirty channel.

Clean, this guitar sounds completely different than what it looks like. Plenty of out of phase, middle position goodness. The neck is extremely warm and distinct, and the bridge is clear and bell-like, without being too shrill. I really couldn't ask for more.

The guitar came setup perfectly out of the box, but that quickly changed. Since it came from San Diego, CA to the Washington, DC area at the tail end of winter, I chalk that up to a pretty radical environmental shift. A quick trussrod adjustment with the enclosed tool brought things back to shape. Intonation was perfect, and the pickups just needed a quick height adjustment to put them where I prefer hem to be for my style. The bridge and pickups are both recessed, with tolerances so tight that the walls hug the pickups, not even allowing them to rock in the slightest. Feedback is pretty much a non-issue because of this. The switch and knobs are high quality Switchcraft parts--absolutely quiet and rock solid. The paint and fretwork is absolutely perfect. The inlay work is the best I have ever seen. The guitar never fails to impress people when I pull it out of the case. When you wait seven months for a guitar, this is what you get.

The neck profile is completely unique an absolutely amazing. It's similar to an Ibanez Wizard neck in the lower register, flattening out like a Warwick bass higher up. It is easily the most comfortable and useable neck profile I have ever wrapped my hands around. Everything else on the guitar could be utter garbage, and I would still buy it just for the neck profile. I found myself making the amateur 7-string player mistake of grabbing the wrong string, simply because the neck doesn't feel as wide as it really is. I can only imagine how fast his six string necks must play.

First off, I NEVER gig without a backup, period. You can have the best guitar in the world and still break a string.

I've only played one gig with this guitar so far, but it performed exactly how I expected it to. It is built rock solid, and I have every confidence that it will hold up well on the road.

When you call KXK, you get Rob, owner/builder/webmaster/sales/customer service. From the day I spent an hour on the phone, discussing the specifics, to the day I took delivery, he has been nothing but friendly and helpful. The build-up was completely documented by photography on his website. There is no hiding shoddy building techniques when you're sharing pics every step of the way! When he went over his time estimate, getting close to the date I needed it for a gig, he gave me free, two-day shipping. Rob's commitment to the customer is unparalleled.

I've been playing for fourteen years, and I've mainly been a Jackson guy for the last seven. I've owned at least eight USA Jacksons, from 1987 to 2002, and this guitar smokes them all. There is hardly anything that I haven't had a chance to play at one time or another, and short of a few custom shop Jacksons or other custom guitars by small builders, nothing else is in the same league as this. The greatest compliment I can pay it is that of my co-guitarist (one of the pickiest guys I know), who said simply, "That's a nice guitar."

This is going to be a difficult review to write. I've owned 50 or so guitars over the years, and I've always found it quite easy to review them, but this piece is so exquisite that it really took me a few months to really let it all sink in. This is the best guitar I've ever played. Alas, the time to discuss is now.

The features on this guitar are remarkable. I mostly specified all the features, with help from Rob Kaufman, owner of KxK and brilliant luthier. Here is the rundown of this 7-string V:

?Handmade in San Jose, California, USA
?Neck-Thru Body Construction
?Ebony fretboard w/ no inlays
?26" scale (awesome!)
?24 frets, Dunlop fretwire (6105? I forget)
?Beautiful Metallic Turquois Finish w/ Black Bevels (Body+Headstock)
?Mahogany body wings
?Maple neck
?EMG 707 pickup (wired for 18v)
?Sperzel Locking Tuners, 4+3 headstock design
?Brass Nut (Custom filed for my string gauge)
?Dunlop flushmount Strap Locks
?Custom sculpted premium Flight Case
?1 Volume, 0 Tone (Just how I wanted it)

<a href="http://www.kxkguitars.com/images2/05_guitar_7_string_enlarge.jpg">Click here for a picture of my guitar</a>

This guitar is just loaded with amazing features. My favorite feature is how tremendous the neck is considering it's a 7-string. It's remarkably thin, comfortable and plays extremely well. The heel is also flawless, it makes upper-fret access completely effortless.

Now on to the fun stuff...

This KxK sounds amazing as it looks and plays. I have traditionally not been a fan of EMG pickups, I find them to often be incredibly stale and lacking dynamics and organic warmth. Regardless, this guitar was so well made, with such high quality woods and components, that this guitar sounds simply AWESOME. The EMG 707 we opted for definitely helps. The 707 is an alnico magnet as opposed to the more compressed ceramic magnet found in the EMG 81, and the result is a much bigger, warmer, heavier tone. The bottom line is this guitar just oodles with huge crushing tone!

I'm using my 7-string with a variety of amps, mostly tube amps. I primarily use it with either a Peavey Ultra Plus 120w tube head or a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Pre-Amp thru a Mesa 20/20 power amp (JJ Tubes throughout), then ran through a Mesa 4x12 cabinet. I've also used it with a Line 6 Pod Pro and a Marshall DSL100 Head.

My KxK sounds ABSURD through any of my tube amps, it's an extremely unique sound too. The tone is extremely complex. While it is perfect for heavy chording, palm-muting, or shredding...the tone is extremely 3 dimensional and with a unique character. I think the most tangible adjective I can come up with for this guitars unique tonal character is: it GROWLS. Playing single notes on the lower strings completely jump out of the speakers looking for prey, it is among the most pleasing tones I've ever heard. Lead playing is remarkable as well, this thing sustains and sings like I've never heard before. This guitar has an outstanding midrange and deep low end-responce, with enough bite and highs to cut through and rip shit up.

This guitar is really perfect for any style of metal and hard rock. I currently use it with my diverse metal projects, and I'm using it in the studio to record tracks for my upcoming album.

Rob did a flawless job in this department. The guitar came to me exactly how I specified I wanted it and beyond. It played like a dream, there was no fret buzz to be found, everything was perfect.

The finish was simply out-of-this-world. I'd advise any of you to head on over to http://www.kxkguitars.com and my exact guitar can be seen in the "Guitars" section where it says "7-String V". You'll see all the specs we came up there as well. Anyways, the finish is unique and simply majestic to look at. Everyone out there likes to join in the cliches with all black or diamond plate nonsense, I wanted something that looked extremely cool but also unique. Rob's exquisite craftsmanship and finishing skills completely blew me away here.

I had it setup for my personal tuning of A-D-G-C-F-A-D, with DR Hi-Beam strings 10-13-17-26-36-46-56. Everything was perfect, from the tension, to the intonation and action, everything.

I couldn't have asked for more. Flawless!

Rob at KxK goes far beyond what could be expected even from a custom made instrument to ensure durability and reliability. Besides from the substantial warranty, he INCLUDES a custom premium flight case. He INCLUDES straplocks. Everything is carefully crafted and handmade, I fully expect this gem to last forever.

I spent hours corresponding to Rob via phone or email, and he was always friendly, courteous, informative, accessibly and extremely helpful. It was a pure joy basking in his vast database of guitar and tone knowledge, it helped greatly in my decision process when conjuring up my dream guitar.

I fully intend to have him make me another guitar in the near future. This guitar was the best value you could ever imagine. He included so many deluxe options at no extra cost, where other companies such as ESP, Jackson, or BC Rich would have either: A) Not offered at all or B) Charged ridiculous prices.

You can do no better than having your custom piece built by KxK. I will be associated with this company for life.

I've been playing for about 8 years. I've owned about 50 guitars over the years; dozens upon dozens of high-end USA guitars. I previously owned several USA/Custom BC Rich guitars (Mockingbird 7-String, Assassin Custom 7-String, 2 different Conti/Meegs Archtop Teles, Beast 7-string, and others). I also owned several USA Jacksons, Japanese ESPs, USA Gibsons, USA Washburns, Yamaha, Schecter, Fender, etc.

Frankly, this guitar destroys them all. Not only does it sound better, play better, look better. Not only is it made better. It also was a better deal than any of them. When you go through KxK, you aren't overcharged up the rear like you will from most other companies.

If I brought the same specs to Jackson or ESP, I'd have to:

A) Wait 10-14 months
B) Pay $4000+
C) Be limited on what options I choose (BC Rich refused to make me a guitar with a Tune-O-Matic String-Thru, Bernie Jr simply refused. Unacceptable.)

I can't stress enough how special this company is. In an era when if it seems too good to be true, it is...Robert Kaufman and KxK Guitars prove to be the antithesis. I can't wait to have him work on my next piece.