Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all of the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing to the Lord with the harp, and the voice of the psalm. — Psalm 98:4-5
Lowell C. Kiesel Founder of Carvin
February 22, 1915 - December 28, 2009
Your choice of a fixed bridge, Tuneo-matic bridge, Wilkinson tremolo or Original Floyd Rose in chrome, black or gold.
It is with great sadness that Carvin announces that its founder, Lowell C. Kiesel, passed away on December 28, 2009 in San Diego at the age of 94. Mr. Kiesel was born on a farm in Eustis, Nebraska on February 22, 1915. As a young man, he spent time in Wichita, Kansas, where he developed an interest in musical instruments; specifically, Hawaiian steel guitars, resonators and the newly-emerging electronic aspects of these instruments. During his time in Kansas in the 1930s, he performed live on local radio stations with his Hawaiian steel guitar. However, like other innovators in the burgeoning industry of that era, he found that he had an equal passion for building instruments and equipment as he did playing them, and that passion would become his life’s work. Following his time in the midwest, Mr. Kiesel relocated to Los Angeles, where he took a job with North American Aviation. It was World War II, and Mr. Kiesel was one of many men building aircraft for the war effort; notably, the legendary P-51 Mustang, which is often credited as turning the tide of the war for the Allies. Near the end of the war, in 1944, he married Agnes Dorothea Jorgensen, who would be with him until her passing in 2007. He founded the L. C. Kiesel Company in 1946, and began winding guitar pickups using the motor from his wife’s sewing machine. The company was initially located in Los Angeles, briefly relocated back to Mr. Kiesel’s home state of Nebraska, and then moved back to southern California in 1949, by which time he had added amplifiers and steel guitars to his lineup of gear. There are still examples of these early Kiesel-badged steel guitars and amplifiers in existence today, underscoring the quality and durability of Mr. Kiesel’s early designs. Originally, Kiesel products were sold through a distributor, but Mr. Kiesel felt he could do a better job by eliminating the middleman and selling directly to the customer, so an idea that would last until Original Pickup Winder this day was born. He changed the name of the company to Carvin, after his two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin. In the earliest years of the company, he advertised in such magazines as Popular Mechanics, and began producing his own mail order catalog in the early 1950s. In the years that followed, the company expanded from pickups to guitars and basses, amplifiers, pro audio equipment and other musical accessories. Early Carvin steel guitars, amplifiers and electronics were made by Mr. Kiesel himself, and later by a few employees of the small company. In addition to his pickups, which were notably used by Semie Moseley in early Mosrite guitars, Mr. Kiesel designed and built many unique instruments, including an electric upright bass and an electric violin, which his wife Agnes enjoyed playing. As the decades passed, Carvin blossomed into a world-class manufacturer of musical instruments, amplification and pro audio gear. The company relocated several times, from Baldwin Park outside of Los Angeles, to Covina, California, to Escondido, Agnes Kiesel on the California, and finally to its present location in North San Diego. In the late 1960s cover of the 1955 catalog and early 1970s, Mr. Kiesel’s sons joined the family business, bringing their own engineering and technical skills to the company, and today, the 3rd generation of Kiesels are also part of the company. Mr. Kiesel’s leadership, technical expertise and innovative engineering and marketing concepts led the company for decades, and even after handing the reins of the company over to his sons, he maintained an office in Carvin’s San Diego headquarters. The innovative “factory-direct” sales approach adopted by Mr. Kiesel in the 1940s continues to this day, and is one of the primary reasons for the company’s success. He was preceded in death by son Gavin in 1989 and wife of 63 years, Agnes, in 2007. The members of the Kiesel family will continue to carry on the quality and traditions established by the family patriarch for many years to come, ensuring that Lowell Kiesel’s legacy will live on.Lowell Kiesel will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by the Kiesel family and the entire staff. www.carvinworld.com/lowellkiesel 22
Lowell & Mark Kiesel in 2006 at Carvin’s 60th Anniverary Celebration
Ebony, Rosewood, Bird’s Eye & hard rock Maple fingerboards are available along with your choice of inlays: dot, block and diamond shapes available in white Mother of Pearl & Abalone.
Various headstock shapes along with your choice of exotic woods. Sperzel locking tuners, graphite nut and the tilt-back headstock all contribute to pure tone and rock-solid tuning stability. No string tree needed for clean solid open notes!
With Carvin’s custom shop you now have more choices than ever to create your own custom instrument. In the last couple of years we have added options like bird’s eye maple and rosewood fingerboards along with stainless steel frets in both standard and jumbo sizes. New deep stained finishes are available to compliment the beauty of our highly figured maple tops. To enhance the tone of our guitars more models of Carvin pickups are available than ever before not to mention the acoustic bridge options that are offered for many of our instruments. However, more important than our growing list of options is our commitment to building high quality guitars. Our modern 82,000 square foot plant in San Diego is equipped with the finest guitar building machinery in the industry. The use of high quality tone woods and our constant improvement in manufacturing methods are an ongoing quest at Carvin. Several years ago we began to cycle all of our necks and fingerboards through a long conditioning process in our de-humidification chambers. What this does is remove any possible stress in the wood. Stress in the wood is what causes your neck to warp or twist, and it may not fully develop for months or years after an instrument is built. This painstaking extra step is one of the reasons why our guitars and basses are known for their longevity and consistent playability. If Carvin guitars were available in retail stores, you would pay up to three times more than our factory direct prices. By selling direct, Carvin not only gives incredible value but also provides you with a direct connection to the guitar builder. This is something you do not get when purchasing retail. With the best build up times in the industry along with our risk free 10-day money back guarantee, there has never been a better time to order your Carvin Custom Shop instrument.
5 Year Warranty
All Custom Shop guitars & basses carry a 5 year limited warranty against manufacturing defects.
Carvin installs and registers the SNAGG™ microchip in every guitar and bass ($50 value). The hidden micro-chip carries its own registration number documenting your ownership. If your instrument is ever lost or stolen, once scanned, will identify the rightful owner. For more visit snagg.com.
Carvinworld.com features an inventory list of guitars and basses ready to ship!
Optional Acoustic-Electric System Now available on M-bridge and Floyd Rose
Your choice of 10”, 12”, 14” & 20” fingerboard radii along with your preference of 3 different NickleSilver and 2 Stainless Steel fretwire profiles.
Wilkinson™ acoustic tremolo 3-Way humbucking pickup selector Master volume Active humbucking tone Pan control for blending between humbuckers and acoustic pickups Active acoustic tone Coil splitters for C22’s Phase switch for C22’s
Carvin Classic Alnico-V humbuckers offer incredible warmth and definition. Many optional models and colors to choose from.
Acoustic FT6 fixed bridge.
The FA series option is available in a fixed or tremolo version on the following models: Contour 66, TL60, DC127, DC400.
800.854.2235
carvinworld.com
Dual outputs allow you to separate the electric & acoustic signals, or combine them into one jack
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