Kiesel GuitarsSave Shop

The World's Largest American Made Instrument Custom Shop
Direct sales to the customer! Any questions? Feel free to message us.

History:

For 70 years, Kiesel and Carvin Guitars have been building high-quality guitars, basses, pickups, part necks and accessories for pro and hobbyist musicians alike. And because we sell directly to the customer, with no middle man, we offer much higher value with products that would sell for 2 to 3 times more if we sold through retail stores.

Kiesel was founded in 1946 by Lowell Kiesel as the L. C. Kiesel Company in Los Angeles. Kiesel relocated briefly to his home state of Nebraska, but returned to California in 1949, and changed the name of the company to Carvin, after his two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin. The company began by making pickups and other accessories, then branched out to guitars, basses and other gear. Early Carvin instruments were made by Lowell Kiesel, and Carvin also sold rebadged guitars made by Harmony and Kay. Originally, Carvin advertised in the back of publications such as Popular Mechanics, and sent out one-sheet product information at customers' requests. In 1954, the first Carvin mail-order catalog was produced, establishing the direct-to-customer business model that is still used today. In the 1960s Carvin built most guitars from mainly Hofner components, before returning to manufacturing their own instruments in the 1970s when Mark Kiesel took over the guitar department and developed the Custom Shop.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Carvin expanded its product lines, selling popular lap and pedal steel guitars, electric basses and guitars, mandolins and doubleneck instruments. The company relocated several times - originally moving from Baldwin Park (outside of Los Angeles) to Covina, California in 1956, then to Escondido, California in 1968. 1970 was when our President Mark Kiesel was brought on to take over the Guitar Division. Mark wanted to design and build their own line guitars and basses, and began allowing customers to choose from various options, making each guitar or bass a unique, custom built instrument. The various models and options expanded throughout the 1980s, and Carvin Guitars gained exposure on MTV and other outlets by being associated with such artists as Jefferson Starship, The Bangles, Missing Persons, Frank Zappa and Steve Vai.

In 1988, Carvin guitars and basses switched from being set-neck models to (mostly) neck-through design. In 1995, Carvin moved south to San Diego, which was the same year Jeff Kiesel joined the company. As time has gone on and the Custom Shop has developed many new guitars & basses, and options, finishes and woods were added, as were signature instruments bearing the names of artists such as Jason Becker, Craig Chaquico, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Neil Zaza, Lee McKinney, Brian Bromberg and Roy Vogt.

On February 1st 2015, the name was changed back to Kiesel Guitars to honor our founder Lowell Kiesel. Today, Kiesel Guitars/Carvin Guitars operate in a modern facility in Southern California, and employs over 50 people. Mark and Jeff Kiesel run the day-to-day business as well as design all the models and have come up some pretty amazing new features and finishes. We are constantly improving the products and our Custom Shop build over 5000 custom guitars and basses each year.

In September 2016, Kiesel Guitars moved into our new, purpose-built factory headquarters in Escondido, California, just a few blocks from the original Escondido location of the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to the Custom Shop, Kiesel Guitars operates a fully stocked Showroom where customers can browse, try out and buy new Kiesel gear.

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