Welcome to Marcus' Bass-Centric Webpage. On this page, I will tell you about one of my
favorite Rules I learned as a Beginner Bassist. This rule was made by my high school band
teacher, Jim Young. The rule is Called "The Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker" Rule. The basics
premise of this rule was "If you wanted a 'Decent' Guitar or Bass Guitar. You purchased
one of these Brands". They are very Playable. Will last a good, long, time if properly cared
for. And may Appreciate in Value. I have since revised this rule for myself, since I only play
Bass Guitar. My version of this rule is the "Tobias, Carvin/Kiesel, Warwick" Rule. These
brands of Bass Guitars are very playable, are responsive, and appreciate, depending on the Model.
Tobias Guitars was established in Orlando, Florida in April 1977. The vast majority of Tobias
instruments are of neck-through construction, a style of neck-body assembly where the
neck of the instrument is a single piece of wood that extends through the body and had the
sides of the bass glued to it rather than being bolted on. However, once purchased
by Gibson in 1990, a few bolt-on models were produced such as the Killer-B (with the "B"
in the name standing for "bolt-on") as well as the Growler Basses.
Tobias basses also were among the first to feature an asymmetrical neck, a design where
the neck is thinner on the lower side than the upper. The first serial number was 0178,
instead of the usual 0001, as a reference to the month the first bass was completed, January 1978.
Lowell Kiesel founded the L. C. Kiesel Company in San Diego, California in 1946, to
manufacture guitar pickups. By 1947, the company manufactured steel guitars
in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Around 1948, it returned to Southern California-and, in 1949,
moved to Baldwin Park, California, where the company name changed to Carvin Corporation,
after Kiesel's two eldest sons, Carson and Gavin. 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.
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.
Warwick is a German bass guitar manufacturing company. Warwick basses were originally
a premium brand offering a small range of models built from high quality and exotic
tonewoods. The company also produces valve and FET amplifiers, speaker cabinets, bass guitar strings,
and is the owner of the Framus trademark. Their headquarters and custom shops are
located in Markneukirchen, Shanghai, and Nashville.
History
Warwick was founded in 1982 in Erlangen, in the German state of Bavaria, by Hans-Peter
Wilfer. In 1995 the company moved to Markneukirchen in the Saxon Vogtland to capitalize
on the centuries-old tradition of instrument building in the region and to reopen
the Framus trademark. In addition, the company has developed an extensive distribution
network throughout Germany and Austria to represent and distribute products from
musical instruments and equipment companies from Europe and the United States.
In conclusion, these brands of instruments are just my three favorite brands. These,
However, are very reputable manufacturers of musical instruments. And their price points,
Playability, tone and longevity are all top notch. I own fretted and fretless Tobias Basses
and Carvin/Kiesel Basses. As of right now, however, I do not yet own a Warwick. I am very
confident that this will happen soon.