c.1959 Levin-made Goya G-15 Classical Guitar

January 03, 2013

c.1959 Levin-made Goya G-15 Classical Guitar

For those in the know looking for a classical guitar, these Swedish Levin-made Goya classicals are among the best deals on the planet. They're all-solid wood, finely built, and have an enormous, concert-hall sound. I have friends who are in love with them and have upgraded over time to the fancier flamed-maple top-of-the-line Levin classicals, but to be honest, the models a few steps down the food chain are almost entirely as good -- this G-15 included.

Work on this guitar included a fret level/dress, cleating and repair of two hairline cracks on the top (one below the bridge, one to the bass side of the soundhole and extending above the bridge slightly), and a main center-brace reglue job. After that, the rest was just cleaning and setup (with a fresh set of Aquila Nylgut strings). This plays great and, of course, sounds great.

The woods on this fellow are: solid spruce top (thin and lightly fan-braced), solid mahogany back, sides, and neck. The neck is also a 3-piece with a maple(?) center strip for strength.

Rosewood bridge and fretboard. Check out the nice, simple detailing on the bridge tie-block.

This guitar is entirely original, as well.

You can see one of the repaired/cleated cracks to the bass side of the soundhole in this pic.

The soundhole and appointments are nice and classy. I love the red/green/yellow details in the center between the thin half-herringbone rope strips. The top also has some nice red/black purfling inlaid on its edge.

I love the headstock shape! Also, nice wide classical nut.

Flat rosewood fretboard. After the leveling/dressing, the frets are still quite tall and in good order. This neck is very fast with a thin front-to-back profile which means quick passages are quite easy.