In 1946, Lowell Kiesel founded Kiesel Electronics in Los Angeles, California. Three years later, the Kiesel family settled in Covina, California and began the original catalog business of manufacturing and distributing lap steel guitars, small tube amps and pickups. The Carvin trademark was derived from Kiesel's two oldest sons, Carson and Gavin. Guitars were originally offered in kit form, or by parts since 1949; Carvin began building complete guitars in 1964. By 1978, the glued set-neck design replaced the bolt-on necks. The majority of the current guitar and bass models currently feature a neck-through design.
Carvin has always been a mail-order-only company, and offers the players a wide range of options on the individual models. Even though they can't be tried out before they're bought, Carvin offers a ten-day money back guarantee. Because Carvin sells factory direct, they are not stocked in music stores; by requesting a catalog the careful shopper will also find a difference between the new list price and the actual sales price. Carvin offers a full range of guitar and bass replacement parts in their full line catalog. The Carvin company also offers mixing boards, power amplifiers, powered mixers, P.A. speakers, monitor speakers, guitar combo amps/heads/cabinets, and bass amps/cabinets as well.
In 2001, Carvin introduced a line of imported guitars called the Cobalt Series. These acoustics are hand-crafted overseas to Carvin's specs, and then they are set up and tuned at the Carvin factory before they are shipped. Lowell Kiesel passed away on December 28, 2009. For more information visit Carvin's website, visit one of their stores, or contact them directly.
Instruments currently produced in Escondido, CA and overseas (Cobalt Series). Carvin instruments are sold through direct catalog/online sales, as well as through their five factory stores in CA: Corvina, Hollywood, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Ana. Carvin has been producing instruments since 1946. Previous production was located in Covina, CA from 1949 to 1969.

CARVIN Acoustic Guitars Models

CARVIN AC175 Image

CARVIN AC175

- single cutaway hollowed-out mahogany body, spruce top, round soundhole, through-body mahogany neck, 24-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, ebony bridge with black pins, blackface peghead with screened logo, three-per-side gold tu...

CARVIN C250/C250S Image

CARVIN C250/C250S

- dreadnought body, AA solid cedar (C250S) or AA solid spruce (C250) top, mahogany back and sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, available in Natural finish, mfg. 2001-2012...

CARVIN AC40 Image

CARVIN AC40

- offset double cutaway semi-hollow mahogany body, AAA Englemann spruce top, through-body mahogany neck, 24-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, fixed acoustic-style bridge, four-per-side tuners, Carvin F40 acoustic bridge transduce...

CARVIN AC275 Image

CARVIN AC275

- similar to the AC175, except the mahogany body is 1.5 in. wider, and features a F60 acoustic transducer with volume/treble/bass controls and active electronics, mfg. 1996-2009.

CARVIN C350 Image

CARVIN C350

- dreadnought body, AA solid mahogany top/back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, available in Natural finish, mfg. 2001-2012.

CARVIN AC50 Image

CARVIN AC50

- similar to the AC40, except in a five-string configuration, 3/2-per-side-tuners, current mfg.

CARVIN C450T Image

CARVIN C450T

- single cutaway jumbo body, AA solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, abalone rosette/purfling, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay, two-per-side chrome tuners, rosewood bridge, Fishman Matrix pickup and Prefix Plus T electroni...

CARVIN C550 Image

CARVIN C550

- dreadnought body, AA solid spruce top rosewood back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, available in Natural finish, mfg. 2001-05.

CARVIN AC375 Image

CARVIN AC375

- single rounded cutaway hollowed-out mahogany body, round soundhole, through body neck, 21-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, ebony bridge with black pins, natural peghead with three-per-side tuners, Fishman Acoustic Matrix picku...

CARVIN C650 Image

CARVIN C650

- dreadnought body, AA solid spruce top rosewood back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, Fishman Matrix pickup and electronics, available in Natural finish, mfg. 2001-05.

CARVIN CC275 CRAIG CHAQUCIO SIGNATURE Image

CARVIN CC275 CRAIG CHAQUCIO SIGNATURE

- similar to the AC275 except is the Craig Chaqucio model, which features a flamed maple top, MOP inlaid eagle headstock & fingerboard, body binding gold hardware, "Craig Chaquico" on truss-rod cover, mfg. 2001-present.

CARVIN C750(T)/C750TS Image

CARVIN C750(T)/C750TS

- dreadnought single cutaway body, AA solid spruce top, mahogany back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, Fishman Matrix pickup and electronics, available in Natural Gloss...

CARVIN C770T/C770TS Image

CARVIN C770T/C770TS

- single cutaway dreadnought body, AA solid mahogany top, mahogany back and sides, set mahogany neck, 14/20 fret bound rosewood fingerboard, bound headstock with rosewood overlay, three-per-side chrome tuners, rosewood bridge with ebony pin...

CARVIN CL450 CLASSICAL Image

CARVIN CL450 CLASSICAL

- single rounded cutaway hollowed-out mahogany body, AAA cedar top, round soundhole, through body neck, 21-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay, ebony bridge with black pins, matching finish peghead with three-per-side banjo-style tu...

CARVIN C780(T)/C780TS Image

CARVIN C780(T)/C780TS

- Jumbo single cutaway body, AA solid spruce top, mahogany back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20 fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, Fishman Matrix pickup and electronics, available in Natural Gloss (C780...

CARVIN NS1 NYLON SYNTH ACCESS Image

CARVIN NS1 NYLON SYNTH ACCESS

- nylon string configuration, single smooth cutaway chambered mahogany body, AAAA flame maple top with wood binding effetc, mahogany NTB, 21-fret ebony fingerboard, slotted flame maple headstock with three-per-side open-style banjo gold tun...

CARVIN C850(T) Image

CARVIN C850(T)

- dreadnought single cutaway body, AA solid spruce top, rosewood back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, binding, three-per-side tuners, chrome hardware, Fishman Matrix pickup and electronics, available in Natural finis...

CARVIN C980(T) Image

CARVIN C980(T)

- jumbo single cutaway body, AA solid spruce top, rosewood back/sides, tortoiseshell pickguard, 14/20-fret fingerboard, elaborate binding and inlays, three-per-side tuners, gold hardware, Fishman Matrix pickup and electronics, available in...