Kiesel Guitars is an American manufacturer of custom

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

s and

electric bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

s located in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, with a heritage dating back to 1946. In 2015, Kiesel Guitars split from

Carvin Corporation Carvin Corporation is a family-owned San Diego, California, manufacturer of guitar amplifiers and audio equipment. The company is known for its early work using plastics in the 1940s, making electric guitars from Resinox. History Founded ...

, taking the guitar and bass portions of Carvin.

History

Lowell Kiesel founded the ''L. C. Kiesel Company'' in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1946, to manufacture

guitar pickups A pickup is a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to an electrical signal that is amplified using an instru ...

. By 1947, the company manufactured steel guitars in

Gothenburg, Nebraska Gothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,574 at the 2010 census. History Gothenburg, Nebraska is named after Gothenburg, Sweden, an ...

. Around 1948, it returned to Southern California—and, in 1949, moved to

Baldwin Park Baldwin Park may refer to: * Baldwin Park, California ** Baldwin Park (Metrolink station) in Baldwin Park, California * Baldwin Park, Florida, a neighborhood in Orlando, Florida * Baldwin Park, Missouri * A public park in Baldwin, Nassau County, ...

, California, where the company name changed to

, after Kiesel's two eldest sons, ''Car''son and Ga''vin''. Starting in the 1970s, Mark Kiesel took over the guitar department and started offering custom instruments made to order to allow customers to choose from a range of available body shapes, woods, colors, electronics, and other features. In 1995, Jeff Kiesel started working for the company, and in 2011 he began to help with design and instrument development. In 2015, Carvin Corporation split its business units, and Kiesel Guitars was founded to take over the guitar and bass manufacturing, as a wholly separate company. The original Kiesel name and logo was chosen to honor founder Lowell Kiesel. The new company continues to build electric, acoustic electric, MIDI, synth, semi hollow, chambered, headless guitars and basses along with necks, bodies, kits and a full parts department under the Carvin Guitars name as well as new Kiesel name. Kiesel Guitars opened up sales globally following the name change. The company employed over 50 people and produced almost 4,000 custom made instruments per year. It is run by President Mark Kiesel (Lowell Kiesel's middle son) and Vice President Jeff Kiesel (Mark's son). Jeff Kiesel's two children also work for the company when not attending school full-time. Kiesel 4x3 headstock

In January 2015, Kiesel Guitars won

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

's Best of Show award at the winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

, for their headless guitar model, the Vader. At the 2016 Winter NAMM, Super NAMM Awards were won from Guitar Aficionado for their 70th anniversary K-series model, and from

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

for their 24-fret bolt-on Aries model.

Notable artists

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

has been a long time endorser of Carvin Guitars, and Kiesel offers three tribute models in his honor. The JB200C is based on the original DC200 models that Jason played, while the newer JB24 "Numbers" guitar is based on Jason's original Peavey custom model with the numbered fretboard markers. The JB100 entry level Jason Becker signature guitar was released in 2017.

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

was an endorser, and Kiesel has several models based on Holdsworth's designs, including headless and MIDI synth variants.

Frank Gambale Frank Gambale (; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques. Recording career Solo ...

's model is a semi-hollow carved top, available with MIDI synth.

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

's has 24-fret bolt-on signature models.

Neil Zaza Neil Zaza is an American guitarist known for his instrumental rock compositions as well as his adaptation of classical works by Bach and Mozart into his own blend of neo-classical, melodic, guitar instrumentals. Biography Neil Zaza was born in ...

's signature is based on the Carved Top model line, featuring his preferred control layout.

Craig Chaquico Craig Clinton Chaquico (or Chaquiço, ; born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and composer. From 1974 to 1990 he was lead guitarist for the rock bands Jefferson Starship and Starship. In 1993, he started a solo career as ...

has a signature thinline acoustic/electric model. Lee McKinney of

Born of Osiris Born of Osiris is an American progressive metalcore band formed in 2003 in Palatine, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, lead guitarist Lee McKinney, rhythm guitarist/bassist Nick Rossi, ...

has signature six and seven string models, based on the DC600 model line. Bassist

Brian Bromberg Brian Bromberg (born December 5, 1960) is an American jazz bassist and record producer who performs on both electric and acoustic instruments. Biography Bromberg was born on December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona. His father and brother, David, ...

has a series of basses based on a body of his design, while Roy Vogt has a signature 6 string model based on the Vanquish model.

Chris Letchford Chris Letchford (born October 7, 1984) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist in the instrumental progressive metal band Scale the Summit. His technical ability has been recognized in magazines such as ''Guitar World'', ''Revolver'' ...

Scale the Summit Scale the Summit is an American instrumental progressive metal band based out of Houston, Texas. It formed in 2004 and signed to Prosthetic Records. The band is influenced by other progressive acts such as Cynic and Dream Theater. The band gain ...

has a headless multiscale signature series, with a "set through neck". Other endorsers include Anna Sentina,

Johnny Hiland Johnny Hiland is a legally blind American musician/guitarist. Early life Hiland grew up in Maine, with an eye disease called nystagmus. He started playing guitar at age 2, played his first talent show at age 5, performed on Dick Stacey's Jamb ...

, Mark Okubo of

Veil of Maya Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released six studio albums. Their first four albums are considered ...

and Michael Hermes.

Andy James Sacred Mother Tongue was a four-piece British heavy metal band from Northampton initially formed in 2004. The line up consisted of Darrin South (vocals), Andy James (guitar), Josh Gurner (bass guitar) and Lee Newell (drums). In October 2013, ...

is a new endorser of Kiesel Guitars. Kiesel offers the new Andy James AJ6E & AJ7E Signature Guitars.

References

External links

*
Mark Kiesel Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{Guitar brands 2015 establishments in California Bass guitar manufacturing companies Companies based in San Diego American companies established in 2015 Manufacturing companies established in 2015 Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in California Privately held companies based in California