Perhaps some of the guitars were sold under a different label.Īround 1967 Martin was considering a line of imported guitars that would be less expensive than the company’s flagship brand. It is assumed that Levin never delivered any stock to Dude, and this company probably sold off the remaining assets of Goya guitars. Two years later, Bud Ross, and Kustom Amplifiers filed for bankruptcy, and their assists were taken over by a Chanute company called Dude Incorporated. (Guild was sold to Avnet following the death of its founder Al Dronge.)īy 1970 Avent Incorporated sold Goya Music to Kustom Electric, the Chanute Kansas company that made Kustom Amplifiers. However in 1968 the contract was broken when Herschman/Goya Music was acquired by Avnet Incorporated, which owned Guild Guitars. At that time Herschman/Goya was importing 70% of the companies production at this time. Herschman, for a shipment of 120,000 instruments over a 10 year period. Two 12 string models were also offered under the Goya brand.īy 1967 Levin inked a deal with Goya Music, which was owned by Mr. Later in the 1960’s, Goya offered a line of “Folk”guitars based on the wider neck folk instruments, but fitted with steel strings.
These instruments had adjustable truss rods, and bolt-on necks.
In the late 1950’s a line of steel string flat top guitars were offered.
The Goya guitars imported to the US had high quality finishes, and were usually classical, nylon strung instruments, and they became quite popular among the folk musicians of the day. It sounded Spanish, and the artist, Francisco Goya, was known for depicting guitars in his paintings. So he suggested that the guitars sold in the USA under the name Goya. Hershman, who was Jewish, felt the "Levin" would be hard to market in the United States, due to its Jewish connotation. In 1952 Levin guitars were featured at a trade show in Germany, and Hershman convinced the company that he could market their brand in the United States. (Hershman will later surface as the sole importer of Swedish made Hagstrom Guitars. Although these were of lower quality, they caught the eye of importer Jerome Hershman, an American guitar distributor. Ten years later, Levin launched a line-up of inexpensive student grade instruments.
#Martin goya classical guitar professional#
Levin had a staff of 45 professional builders, and expanded his facility to 1000 square meters. Levin had added a line of archtop guitars.įour years later, in 1940 Mr. In 1936, the company had built it’s 100,000 instrument. Levin received many awards including a gold medal in Madrid for best guitar, and the Grand Prix award and an exhibition in Spain.īy the mid 1920’s his factory grew, and production topped 50,000 instruments. His company's name and reputation spread throughout Europe, and Mr. Two years later, with an addition of three more employees, the company had more than doubled the number of instruments manufactured. He hired two other woodworkers and began manufacturing guitars and mandolins.īy 1901 his logs show that 473 instruments were built and sold. Levin had a small savings, and opened his own shop, in the town of Gothenburg, calling it "Herman Carlssons Instrumentfabrik". Levin discovered that there was quite a demand for guitars, mandolins, banjos, and lutes.
Levin along two other employees left their jobs and started out on their own forming a small company to manufactured guitars, and other stringed instruments. By 1887, he immigrated to the United States and the following year he got a job at a guitar factory, where he spent three years learning the trade. In the evenings he attended carpentry school in his home town with the intent of becoming a furniture maker. Herman Carlson Levin was born and raised in Asaka, Sweden. I had read they were built in Sweden, but that was the extent of my knowledge. I am curious about the least known brands of guitars, and one brand I had not really explored were Levin Guitars.
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