Paying homage to both the Chinese philosophy of balance and Clapton's 'Blackie' Strat, the new model boasts a series of exclusive appointments offered on no other Kiesel guitar
Kiesel has joined forces with Jason Becker to release the latest addition to the guitarists' series of signature guitars – the Jason Becker Yin Yang.
The model, envisaged by Becker himself, seeks to encapsulate his "dream guitar", and boasts a number of exclusive options offered on no other Kiesel model.
Build-wise, the JBYY sports a slightly tweaked body shape composed of mahogany, which seeks to deliver a warm, resonating tone when paired with the bolt-on quarter-sawn maple neck and 14"-radius roasted maple fingerboard.
The body boasts a yin yang artwork, which pays homage to both the stylistic appointments of Claption's 'Blackie' and the Chinese philosophical concept of balance. The imagery is continued elsewhere, with yin yang inlays adorning the fingerboard.
Other functional appointments include a Becker-model-mainstay Floyd Rose tremolo, as well as a locking nut, Kiesel locking tuners, a 24.75" scale length and reversed angled headstock.
Under the hood, the guitar comes equipped with M12SD bridge humbucker and the Mark's single coil. While the former seeks to reproduce the tones of Becker's Bluey pickup, the latter offers up a more classic, traditional tone.
The electronics are controlled by way of a five-way pickup selector, master volume and master tone control.
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(Image credit: Kiesel)
On the choice of imagery, Becker said, "Although I love the meaning of unity/duality in the yin yang symbol, my desire was to design a guitar like this came from my love of Eric Claption's 'Blackie' guitar.
"This yin yang design of mine was meant to capture the look of Claption's 'Blackie'," he continues. "To me, every line and curve is beautiful. I worked really hard on getting the perfect balance of black and white and artistic movement.
"I am so grateful to Kiesel Guitars for bringing my design to life."
The JBYY lists for $1,999, and is available for Kiesel's 10-day try-at-home trial, allowing you to send the guitar back for a full refund if it doesn't quite take your fancy.
In addition, a portion of the proceeds from sales will go directly to Becker to help him finance his high medical costs.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
