 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical Instruments |
| Founded | 2015; 11 years ago (2015) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Mark Kiesel (president) Jeff Kiesel (VP) |
| Products | Electric guitars,electric bass guitars |
Number of employees | 50+ |
| Website | www |
Kiesel Guitars is an American manufacturer of customelectric guitars andelectric bass guitars located inSouthern California, with a heritage dating back to 1946. In 2015, Kiesel Guitars split fromCarvin Corporation, taking the guitar and bass portions of Carvin.[2][3]
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Lowell Kiesel founded theL. C. Kiesel Company inSan Diego,California in 1946, to manufactureguitar pickups.[4] By 1947, the company manufactured steel guitars inGothenburg, Nebraska. Around 1948, it returned to Southern California—and, in 1949, moved toBaldwin Park, California, where the company name changed toCarvin Corporation, after Kiesel's two eldest sons,Carson and Gavin.[5] Starting in the 1970s, Mark Kiesel took over the guitar department and started offering custom instruments made to order to allow customers to choose from a range of available body shapes, woods, colors, electronics, and other features. In 1995, Jeff Kiesel started working for the company, and in 2011 he began to help with design and instrument development.[4][6]
In 2015, Carvin Corporation split its business units, and Kiesel Guitars was founded to take over the guitar and bass manufacturing, as a wholly separate company. The original Kiesel name and logo was chosen to honor founder Lowell Kiesel. The new company continues to build electric, acoustic electric, MIDI, synth, semi hollow, chambered,headless guitars and basses, along with necks, bodies, kits and a full parts department under the Carvin Guitars name as well as new Kiesel name. Kiesel Guitars opened up sales globally following the name change. The company employed over 50 people and produced almost 4,000 custom made instruments per year. It is run by President Mark Kiesel (Lowell Kiesel's middle son) and Vice President Jeff Kiesel (Mark's son). Jeff Kiesel's two children also work for the company when not attending school full-time.[7]
In January 2015, Kiesel Guitars wonRevolver's Best of Show award at the winterNAMM Show, for their headless guitar model, the Vader.[8] At the 2016 Winter NAMM, Super NAMM Awards were won from Guitar Aficionado for their 70th anniversary K-series model, and fromGuitar World for their 24-fret bolt-on Aries model.[9][10]
Jason Becker has been a long time endorser of Carvin Guitars, and Kiesel offers tribute models in his honor. The JB200C was based on the original DC200 models that Jason played, while the newer JB24 "Numbers" guitar was based on Jason's original Peavey custom model with the numbered fretboard markers.[11]
Allan Holdsworth was an endorser, and Kiesel has had several models based on Holdsworth's designs, including headless and MIDI synth variants.[citation needed]Frank Gambale has a semi-hollow carved top, available with MIDI synth.[citation needed]Greg Howe's has 24-fret bolt-on signature models.[citation needed]Neil Zaza's signature is based on the Carved Top model line, featuring his preferred control layout.[citation needed]Craig Chaquico has a signature thinline acoustic/electric model. Lee McKinney ofBorn of Osiris has signature six and seven string models, based on the DC600 model line.[citation needed] BassistBrian Bromberg has a series of basses based on a body of his design, whileRoy Vogt has a signature 6-string model based on the Vanquish model.[citation needed]Chris Letchford ofScale the Summit has a headless multiscale signature series, with a "set through neck".[citation needed] Other endorsers includeAnna Sentina,Johnny Hiland andMark Okubo ofVeil of Maya.[12]Blue Öyster Cult frontmanDonald "Buck Dharma" Roeser became an endorser of Kiesel Guitars and played a headless Vader 6 on August 2015.
