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Carvin Corporation is a
Founded by Lowel C Kiesel as the ''L.C. Kiesel Company,'' in 1946 in San Diego, California''.'' The company's first self-manufactured items were guitar pickups, which were wound using an old sewing machine. Manufacturing then shifted to producing entire steel guitars.
By 1947, operations briefly moved to Kiesel's home town of Gothenburg, Nebraska and back to Southern California in 1949, where Kiesel named the company ''Carvin'', a portmanteau derived from the first names of his two eldest sons, ''Car''son and Ga''vin''.
From 1950 to 1970, Carvin manufactured and assembled several types of guitars and amplifiers. They were an authorized manufacturer and reseller for Fender and Martin guitars, DeArmond pickups, and Sonola accordions. In the 1960s and early 1970s, they used Höfner necks on guitars they made.
Starting in the 1970s, Carvin developed a niche in the musical instrument world by selling directly to the public via mail order.
In the late 1970s, Carvin began the production of their own instrument parts and expanded their product lines to include professional audio gear, amps, recording equipment, lighting, and other stage and studio equipment. Later on, Carvin switched to manufacturing
NAMM Oral History Interview with Lowell Kiesel
June 24, 2003
NAMM Oral History Interview with Carson Kiesel
June 24, 2003
Carvin DN640K
review, Willie G. Moseley, ''Vintage Guitar'', March 2005, accessed on line March 9, 2007.
Carvin Cobalt C780 Jumbo Acoustic-Electric
review, proaudioreview.com, accessed on line March 9, 2007. 1946 establishments in California Audio amplifier manufacturers Electronics companies established in 1946 Guitar amplifier manufacturers Loudspeaker manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in San Diego Music equipment manufacturers Privately held companies based in California Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States Family-owned companies of the United States
family-owned
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...
San Diego, California, manufacturer of guitar amplifiers and audio equipment
Audio equipment refers to devices that reproduce, record, or process sound. This includes microphones, radio receivers, AV receivers, CD players, tape recorders, amplifiers, mixing consoles, effects units, headphones, and Speaker (audio equipmen ...
. The company is known for its early work using plastics in the 1940s, making electric guitars from Resinox.
History
Founded by Lowel C Kiesel as the ''L.C. Kiesel Company,'' in 1946 in San Diego, California''.'' The company's first self-manufactured items were guitar pickups, which were wound using an old sewing machine. Manufacturing then shifted to producing entire steel guitars.
By 1947, operations briefly moved to Kiesel's home town of Gothenburg, Nebraska and back to Southern California in 1949, where Kiesel named the company ''Carvin'', a portmanteau derived from the first names of his two eldest sons, ''Car''son and Ga''vin''.
From 1950 to 1970, Carvin manufactured and assembled several types of guitars and amplifiers. They were an authorized manufacturer and reseller for Fender and Martin guitars, DeArmond pickups, and Sonola accordions. In the 1960s and early 1970s, they used Höfner necks on guitars they made.
Starting in the 1970s, Carvin developed a niche in the musical instrument world by selling directly to the public via mail order.
In the late 1970s, Carvin began the production of their own instrument parts and expanded their product lines to include professional audio gear, amps, recording equipment, lighting, and other stage and studio equipment. Later on, Carvin switched to manufacturing through-neck
Neck-through-body (commonly neck-thru or neck-through) is a method of electric guitar construction that combines the instrument's
neck and core of its body into a single unit. This may be made of a solid piece of wood, or two or more laminated ...
guitars, attracting metal players such as Jason Becker and Marty Friedman.
In the 1980s, they began to offer customized guitars and basses, based on available body shapes, woods, colors, electronics, and other features.
On December 28, 2009, it was announced that the founder of Carvin Guitars/Kiesel Guitar, Lowell C. Kiesel, had died.
In 2015, Carvin Corporation split off the guitar business to a new company, Kiesel Guitars, which continues to build electric and acoustic guitars, MIDI synth guitars, bass guitars and other instruments under the Carvin Guitars brand as well as new, Kiesel branded instruments. Carvin Corporation continued to operate the brands Carvin Amplifiers and Carvin Audio, which manufactured guitar and bass amplifiers as well as other professional audio gear. In October 2017, Carvin Audio announced that their California factory would be closing its doors after over 70 years.
On January 23, 2018, Carvin Amps and Audio announced the relaunch of their website. On June 14, 2018 Carvin announced the warehouse has been moved to a centralized USA location to offer customers faster shipping countrywide.(archived)
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.carvinaudio.com/NAMM Oral History Interview with Lowell Kiesel
June 24, 2003
NAMM Oral History Interview with Carson Kiesel
June 24, 2003
Carvin DN640K
review, Willie G. Moseley, ''Vintage Guitar'', March 2005, accessed on line March 9, 2007.
Carvin Cobalt C780 Jumbo Acoustic-Electric
review, proaudioreview.com, accessed on line March 9, 2007. 1946 establishments in California Audio amplifier manufacturers Electronics companies established in 1946 Guitar amplifier manufacturers Loudspeaker manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in San Diego Music equipment manufacturers Privately held companies based in California Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States Family-owned companies of the United States