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NGD: Candy the KK Vector


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Getting to spend the morning waiting for Missus Polara to emerge from oral surgery (wisdom teeth can grow SIDEWAYS) and between bouts of remote working, thought I'd share a NGD.

Rechts was selling his candy apple red KK, which had been hibernating in storage since 2001. I have no idea why I happened to log in, see the FS ad, think "Yes," and pull the trigger. Glad I did.

Let me say that the man ships a guitar like Buddy Rich packs rhythm, like Killer Mike delivers rhymes, like Capone carried heat. After machete-slashing through several layers of bubble wrap, I got to the case, which was in pretty good shape. I'll glue the peeling Tolex® back this weekend. Inside sat a very clean machine.

The thing is VERY light, and very bouncy-resonant. You strum and the wings of the V hum against your leg and hip in a way that's probably unlawful in several southern states. The neck is great, not the scary-skinny shredder profile I've felt on some 80s Hamers, and none of the humpiness or twist I have also experienced in this vintage. Frets are fat and low with no significant wear, and the body has a few dings and scratches but all of the "well played and enjoyed" type, rather than the "drug behind a pickup down a gravel road" variety.

I know Rechts barely strummed it before putting it in storage, but some previous owner must have been Mister Sweatyman. The neck, the top of the body where one's forearm rests, and the area around the voume knob all had a matte, slightly crinkly texture in the clearcoat. As I was pulling the old strings off, I also removed the pickguard and knob and gave the afflicted areas a gentle rub with wet fine steel wool then a buffing with some rubbing compound. The neck felt nicer to play afterward, plus GROSS ACID MUTANT SWEAT had to go.

Kahlers are a bugger. I used a little Pedro's bike lube on the moving bits, centered the saddles, and after scrubbing the whole fiddle with a warm soapy cloth and drying, strung 'er up with .010s.   Turned out I could get the action really low with no buzzing or fretting out, after relaxing the truss rod a quarter-turn. Did some fiddling with intonation and brutal whammy-ing to get the strings stretched and the rollers and cam loose after a long hibernation, thenI tuned up and locked the nut. Ready to plug in!

Clear, direct, loud, balanced. Not a Les Paul bottom-monster, but a surprising amout of jangle and twang. I swear you could play modern country on this. Reminds me that I usually really dig Dimarzio's humbuckers. When I was putting the strings on and lubing the Kahler, the tuning stability was all over the place, but once everything was properly worked in, I could do stupid Ratt/Cinderella/Poison dive-bombs, briing the bar back up, and strum in tune. Damn impressive. If I had more hair I'd be shopping for Aqua-Net® and Lycra® now.

With a long strap for the approved Vector gunslinger position and said strap being suede-backed for minimum neck dive, it's pretty comfortable to play. One humbucker and one knob limits versatility, and I don't know if it's the perfect guitar for jazz standards, but it's fun, good-looking instrument that should turn heads.

PICS TO COME THIS AFTERNOON POST-SURGERY...

 

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                           What model Kahler is that on there? and is that a chrome bar I see on that black Kahler?..................would a black Kahler trem arm with a comfort tip look better? I must say that is a way cool guitar! I had a Gibby V but geez that was soooooooooooo long ago.

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Ya know, that Vector would look badass with some bright polka dots... <ducks>

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7 hours ago, ARM OF HAMER said:

                           What model Kahler is that on there? and is that a chrome bar I see on that black Kahler?..................would a black Kahler trem arm with a comfort tip look better? I must say that is a way cool guitar! I had a Gibby V but geez that was soooooooooooo long ago.

It's actually a black bar that has been REALLY worn. Er, reliced :) I've ordered black Hamer Schallers to replace the chrome and will pop on some black Schaller straplocks to get the full effect soon.

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2 minutes ago, polara said:

It's actually a black bar that has been REALLY worn. Er, reliced :) I've ordered black Hamer Schallers to replace the chrome and will pop on some black Schaller straplocks to get the full effect soon.

                                                  So is the Kahler a  2300 series? Reason I asked about the bar being black is I have one in black with the contoured tip [which BTW is showing that the tip is brass as some of the finish has worn away. IF your looking to replace that one.....................this isn't a sale...............I'm offering to give it to you if it will work.

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12 hours ago, ARM OF HAMER said:

                                                  So is the Kahler a  2300 series? Reason I asked about the bar being black is I have one in black with the contoured tip [which BTW is showing that the tip is brass as some of the finish has worn away. IF your looking to replace that one.....................this isn't a sale...............I'm offering to give it to you if it will work.

Thanks, sir! This is my first Kahler but it's pretty darn certainly a 2300. I'd happily send ya a set of straplocks or something to repay the favor.

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                                                       Your welcome!:) And I don't really need anything in return............I'm pretty blessed to own what I have but thank you just the same.I have no need for this trem arm [I have a contoured tip one in chrome for the only Kahler guitar I own] so I'm fine with giving it to you, it will look great on the Vector!:) Just PM me your address info and I'll send it off to you this week............what you need.:)2qn0dnl.jpg

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