1962 Levin-made Goya G-20 Classical Guitar

I'm a big fan of the Swedish-made Levin classicals, most of which you can find on this side of the Atlantic under the Goya branding. The G-20 was the second rung on the wider-bodied, more lightly-built pro-model Goya classicals, having flamed maple back and sides and a little fancier trim compared to the mahogany-bodied G-17. Under the G-17 are the G-15, G-13, and G-10 which comprised smaller-bodied, "student" folk guitars.

Despite its place in the lineup, I still think of these Levin/Goya classicals as essentially "folk" instruments. They'll do flamenco pretty well with a lower setup and they do a nice, clean classical sound if you happen to have the touch, but my ears tend to like them played fingerstyle or lightly strummed with the nails as "folk" guitars to back singing. A friend of mine even uses one as a chord-chopper for gypsy-jazz! They have an inherent balance and fullness that's not overly-saturated like some "concert-level" guitars can be with either oodles of flat-sounding volume or woofy, syrupy bass that seeks to impress.

So -- I can go on, yes? The fact is, these guitars definitely do not get the monetary respect they're due. This one is built super-light in the top, handles beautifully (thanks to a slimmer front-to-back profile, aluminum-reinforced neck vs. your average classical), and looks classy as heck. It's fairly clean save some old hairline cracks, too.

Work included: a bridge reglue, fret level/dress, cleating and sealing of three hairline top cracks, one brace reglue, and general setup. The neck is straight, the frets have good height and life left in them, and it plays spot-on with 3/32" overall action at the 12th fret and a full-height original saddle. The strings seem to be relatively-recent medium-tension, clear-treble nylons.

Scale length: 24 3/4"
Nut width: 2"
String spacing at nut: 1 11/16"
String spacing at saddle: 2 1/4"

Body length: 19 3/8"
Lower bout width: 14 7/8" (pretty wide for a classical)
Upper bout width: 11 !/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid spruce
Back/sides wood: solid flamed maple
Neck wood: mahogany w/maple center stripe
Fretboard: rosewood

Neck shape: flat board, slim-to-medium flattened D rear shape

Bridge: original rosewood

Nut: original synthetic

Saddle: original synthetic

Condition notes: three hairline cracks on the top, all cleated and repaired -- one small one to the treble side of the soundhole, one longer one on the lower bout from the bass side of the bridge to the endblock, and one in the same area above the bridge going towards the soundhole. All are good to go. There's mild use-wear throughout with scratches here and there. The finish is nice and thin (but a pretty gloss) and shows all the usual weather-check from age all over, too. One tuner set-screw is replaced. Otherwise, the instrument is 100% original.

It comes with: an inexpensive, but decent gigbag.

The "Goya" decal at the headstock is almost entirely worn-off.

Whenever Levin/Goyas come in and my little girls see them, they always point out how pretty the rosettes are. I agree -- they're understated and elegant compared to the average, more Spanish-influenced classical.

I've strung the guitar with balled-up ends rather than "tied" at the bridge. I like the extra downpressure this provides.

Here you can see the small, cleated hairline crack to the treble side of the soundhole.

Here's the one on the lower bout, also fixed...

...and here's the one in the middle, just to the bass side of the low E string.

Just look at that figure on the maple back!

The serial number points to 1962.