The Steel Guitar Forum

While looking through the folkofthewood.com site I came across a Carvin 6 pedal steel for sale. Wasn't like any I'm used to. Check it out is anyone is interested.

Never saw one of those before. http://www.folkofthewood.com/page2134.htm

That sure looks like an old Fender frame, and the pulling fingers look to be stamped steel like yhe old Fenders, too. I recall the early Carvin pedal guitars of the early-to-mid '60s. They didn't look anything like that. So, it may be a late '60s, or early '70s vintage.

I played a non-pedal Carvin in the 50's and the some parts on this one look familiar, the tuning keys, pickup, fretboard.

If I recall, I don't think Carvin ever really manufactured pedal steels. I believe they outsourced them. Maybe to Fender??

Carvin guitars were manufactured by a source
other than Fender. They have a few similar features but it ends there.

They were not licensed or otherwise or in any way shape or form connected to Fender.

The source as I remember was in Indiana.

Thanks

I had an old Carvin catalog before I went in the Army in April of '58 which had Carvin pedal steels in it. At that time they featured a lot of guitar parts, necks, etc. and also had a bolt on mandolin neck in there. It had Joe Maphis on the cover with his double neck leading me to believe that maybe Semie Moseley used Carvin necks on his early guitars.........JH

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Anyone took a look at the changer? The way the strings are hooked up, there should not be a lot of string breakage on those guitars.

I believe Chuck Wright had his hands on these Carvin pedal steels, I've seen a couple of Wrights and very early Sierras with similar designs.
The Joe Maphis/Carvin connection comes from the fact, that Semie Moseley used Carvin PU's on early Mosrites, including Joe's famous doubleneck.

The Carvins were Fender knock-offs. Jody, the best I remember, their catalog had a California address. They sold complete guitars or many of the parts for pedal steels, including pedals and self-contained changer mechanisms resembling Fenders. After they dropped their guitar and parts line, they went exclusively into amps and sound equipment.

I don't think the Carvins were a Fender knock-off. They don't have any interchangeable parts and Carvin was making them before Fender did.
Carvin started making Steels in 1946(the same year that Leo started making them) in Covina, CA under the name "Kiesel Electronics" in 1949 they changed the name to "Carvin" after Lowell Kiesel's two sons Carson and Gavin.
They started selling pedal steels the year before Fender did.

Jussi, I had a Wright Custom that Chuck made in 1963 and the changer on the Carvin during that era looked identical to the one on mine. It sat on top of the guitar unlike anything else at that time. It also had a cable pulling system which was like the type used by Fender then.

I was impressed with the way the strings connected to the changer and was a much better solution than the "C" hooks used on the Fender guitars. The Carvin Pedal Steel Guitars probably didn't have as much string breakage, as did the Fender guitars.