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Kiesel Guitars

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Kiesel Guitars
IndustryMusical Instruments
FounderLowell Kiesel
Headquarters
Southern California
,
United States of America 32°59′17.38″N 117°04′10.47″W / 32.9881611°N 117.0695750°W / 32.9881611; -117.0695750
Key people
Mark Kiesel, Jeff Kiesel
Number of employees
50+
Websitekieselguitars.com

Kiesel Guitars is an American Custom Shop for Electric Guitar and Electric Bass Guitar located in Southern California. It is one of only a few remaining family-owned companies in the industry.

History

Lowell Kiesel founded Kiesel in San Diego, California in 1946 as the L. C. Kiesel Company to manufacture guitar pickups and guitars. By 1947, the company manufactured steel guitars in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Around 1948, it returned to Southern California—and, in 1949, moved to Baldwin Park, California, where the company name changed to Carvin, after Kiesel's two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin.

Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, Carvin Guitars manufactured electric guitars and bass guitars, largely from bodies and necks made by Höfner. During this period, they also manufactured steel guitars, and were authorized resellers of other gear, including Fender and Martin guitars, DeArmond pickups, and Sonola accordions.

Starting in the 1970s, Mark Kiesel took over the Guitar department and started a Custom Shop and began to produce all their own instrument components and had the progressive thinking to allow customers to choose options on guitar and bass models offering instruments built to a customer's specifications, based on available body shapes, woods, colors, electronics, and other features. - making a true Custom Instrument. Later, Carvin Guitars switched to manufacturing through-neck guitars, attracting metal players such as Jason Becker.

In 1995, Jeff Kiesel started working for the company in the custom shop and working his way up, learning how to build instruments from start to finish.

2011 was a big year for the company with Mark Kiesel letting his son Jeff to help him with design and instrument development. This change brought lots of new models, options and artists.

In 2015, Carvin Guitars went back to using the original Kiesel name and logo to honor founder Lowell Kiesel: Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars, which continues to build electric, acoustic electric, MIDI, synth, semi hollow, chambered, headless guitars and basses along with necks, bodied, kits and a full parts department under the Carvin Guitars name as well as new, Kiesel-badged instruments. Kiesel Guitars opened up sales globally following the name change.

Today Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars employs over 50 people and produces almost 4,000 custom made instruments per year. The operation is run by President Mark Kiesel (Lowell Kiesel's middle son) and V.P. Jeff Kiesel (Mark's son), and both of Jeff Kiesel kids also work for the company when not attending school full-time.

One of the last remaining American Made Custom Guitar Builders, Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars has been run and owned by the Kiesel Family through 3 Generations and will continue to be with Jeff's kids taking over at some point.

Notable users

Current and past Carvin users include: Greg Howe,[1] Jonathan Butler, Frank Zappa, Nicki Kin, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Steve Vai, Brendon Small, Craig Chaquico, Alex Lifeson, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Al Di Meola, Wolf Mail, Yngwie Malmsteen, Willie Nelson, Joe Walsh, Shawn Lane, Tony MacAlpine, Timothy B. Schmit, Doug Lindsey, Warren Cuccurullo,[2] Jaco Pastorius,[3] Neil Zaza, John McVie, and Earl Slick.

References

  1. ^ http://www.carvinguitars.com/artists/
  2. ^ http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/images/85-endorsers4.html
  3. ^ http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/images/85-endorsers5.html

Media related to Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars at Wikimedia Commons

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