1946 Kiesel Bakelite Lap Steel

September 20, 2017 • Geronimo "Geri" Valdriz • Instruments and Luthiers

Lowell C. Kiesel is a steel guitarist and builder. In 1946 he founded the L.C. Kiesel Company and sold hand-wound guitar pickups and lap steel guitars.

In 1949 Kiesel changed the name of his company to Carvin. He then pioneered the concept of "mail order" by selling directly to the customer and eliminating the middle man.

Kiesel sold his electro-magnetic pickups to guitar builder Semie Moseley, who used them exclusively in his early Mosrite guitars.

Today Carvin sells guitars, amps, and audio gear, and in 2015 was renamed Kiesel/Carvin in honor of its founder.