Carvin A&I
| Private | |
| Industry | Amplifiers |
| Genre | Music company |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Founder | Lowell Kiesel |
| Headquarters |
San Diego, California |
|
Area served
|
Global |
| Products | Amplifiers, Audio equipment |
| Website | www |
San Diego, California
United States of America
Carvin Corporation is a family owned, American guitar amplifier and audio equipment manufacturer in San Diego, California. The company is known for their early work using plastics in the 1940s.
The company was originally founded as L. C. Kiesel Company, a manufacturer of compression moulded electric guitars made of Resinox. It was founded in 1946 in San Diego, California. The company's first self-manufactured item was a guitar pickup, wound using an old sewing machine. Manufacturing then shifted to producing entire steel guitars and operations moved to Gothenburg, Nebraska by 1947. Approximately one year later, production returned to Southern California. Sometime in 1949, factories moved once again to Baldwin Park, California. Kiesel then named the company Carvin, a portmanteau derived from the first names of his two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin. The company's current production facility occupies 82,000 square feet.
From 1950 to 1970, Carvin manufactured & assembled several types of guitars and amplifiers. They were an authorized manufacturer and reseller for Fender and Martin guitars, DeArmond pickups, and Sonola accordions. In the 1960s and early 1970s, they used Höfner necks on guitars they made.
In the late 1970s, Carvin began to produce all their own instrument components, and expanded their product lines to include professional audio gear, recording equipment, lighting, and other stage and studio equipment. Later, Carvin switched to manufacturing through-neck guitars, attracting metal players such as Jason Becker and Marty Friedman.
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Wikipedia