Carvin Corporation is a family-owned

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, manufacturer of

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which ar ...

s and audio equipment. 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

''.'' The company's first self-manufactured items were

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

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

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and back to Southern California in 1949, where Kiesel named the company ''Carvin'', a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words From 1950 to 1970, Carvin manufactured and assembled several types of guitars and amplifiers. They were an authorized manufacturer and reseller for Fender and

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guitars,

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pickups, and Sonola accordions. In the 1960s and early 1970s, they used

Höfner Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German (originally Austro-Bohemian) manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments, such as violins, violas, cel ...

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 guitars, attracting metal players such as

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and

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 unti ...

. 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 Kiesel Guitars is an American manufacturer of custom electric guitars and electric bass guitars located in Southern California, with a heritage dating back to 1946. In 2015, Kiesel Guitars split from Carvin Corporation, taking the guitar and bas ...

, 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