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Levin"Goliath" Acoustic heaven


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I recently bought an old 1962 Levin LM-26 "Goliath", that needed a bit of TLC to get her up to scratch. I have just got the guitar back from my Luthier (David Millington, The Well Guitar Clinic, in Colwyn Bay) and WOW!! this guitar is superb. Imagine a very,very good Martin D18, double it`s power and volume, and add in a wonderful even balanced tone, and you are getting somewhere near how great this guitar is. The top is 300-600 year old Alpine Spruce, the back and sides are solid Maple, the neck is one piece Honduran Mahogany, the fretboard and bridge are Brazilian Rosewood. It has a Nitro finish, and the whole package is just perfection. I had a Santa Cruz H 14 before this, and as good as Santa Cruz are, it wasn`t a patch on this old Levin. Guitarist Magazine (U.K.) claimed the Levin Goliath was the best kept secret of the acoustic guitar world, and on the evidence of this example I can see why!

 

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I`ve had the first Eight frets replaced, and a neck reset done (These had bolt on necks, long before Taylor)

 

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The marks on the back of the neck here are where Capo`s have worn through the finish and into the wood over the years. I`ve had this area refinished smooth to the touch, but still showing it`s history.

 

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I believe Levin`s were sold in the U.S. as Goya`s, well, anyone after a great acoustic, look for the top end Goya`s, and honestly you will have a guitar that is easily on a par with a very good Martin, in fact I heard that Martin actually bought Levin out in the mid 70`s, just to get their hands on Levin`s vast stocks of quality Alpine Spruce!

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I believe Levin`s were sold in the U.S. as Goya`s, well, anyone after a great acoustic, look for the top end Goya`s, and honestly you will have a guitar that is easily on a par with a very good Martin, in fact I heard that Martin actually bought Levin out in the mid 70`s, just to get their hands on Levin`s vast stocks of quality Alpine Spruce!

 

 

 

I've seen Goya's before but I don't remember where. I think it was at a pawn shop, I'm sure its gone now. I'll have to keep my eye out for those from now on.

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I've seen Goya's before but I don't remember where. I think it was at a pawn shop, I'm sure its gone now. I'll have to keep my eye out for those from now on.

 

The models to look for, are the Goya M-26/N-26 (early 60`s=M, mid- late 60`s=N). And the "Super Goliath" model, the T-18 (these had Ebony fretboard and bridge, plus large pearloid inlays).

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Man that's a nice looking guitar. If it sounds half as good as it looks it's quite a find. Post some audio files when you get a chance.

 

Cheers' date='[/quote']

 

I don`t know how to do the link, but if you search YOU TUBE for Kelvin Henderson. Angeline, you will see and hear his Goya version of the Levin, and that should give you some idea. Incidently, although these are Dreadnaught sized guitars, they have a shorter 000 scale, which makes them a wonderful guitar for fingerpicking too.

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  • 8 years later...

I know this is an old thread but i just picked one of these up!

 

mines mid 60s its labelled a LN26, its in fantastic condition for its age - its had a good set up and is as good as new. great guitar, seems to compliment my gibsons well, the levin has more of a martin scooped tone to it

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  • 3 weeks later...

Congrats on the Levin. I swapped mine for a Gibson j100 xtra back in 2010, which I still own. The 62 Levin was a great guitar, it did however need a little while to warm up, but the sound was lovely and crisp. I found the flat fretboard radius a little uncomfortable in the end, which led to the eventual trade. Enjoy yours.

 

Steve.

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