1957 Goya (Levin-made) G-30 Classical Guitar

My buddy Ted keeps tempting me via consignments during this downsizing of his Levin collection. This '57 G-30 of his is fantastic, to put it simply. The '50s Levins always sound great and My other buddy Tom stopped down from his place on the mountain to visit and got wrapped-up in it for a good 45 minutes the other day while we chatted back and forth as I worked. I'd only just put it out on the floor.

The thing about G-30s is that they're a little larger (15 1/4") on the lower bout than the average classical guitar, though they're built very light and have flamed maple for the back and sides. This is a winning combination because they have a big, warm, open, full sound but it's not overly-mellow or dark like you might get out of a high-quality Spanish-style classical with rosewood back and sides -- it's just deep and full, but very clear and carrying.

After work (a glorified setup and restring), this guitar plays spot-on and is ready to roll. It's clean, all-original, and a beaut to look at. It also has an original (most likely Lifton-made) Goya-brand hard case that is just as clean and pretty to look at on its own.

These G-30s have lots of nice details -- a pretty rosette, green/black purfling and trim at the (also-flamed-maple) binding, multi-piece necks, and in this one's case... a nice inlaid strip down the center of the headstock, too.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, restring with light-gauge D'Addario Pro Artes, and setup.

Setup notes: action is 3/32" at the 12th fret (spot on) overall, there's plenty of saddle for adjustment's sake, and the neck is straight.

Scale length: 25 5/8"

Nut width: 2"

String spacing at nut: 1 3/4"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"

Body length: 19"

Lower bout width: 15 1/4"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple

Bracing type: fan

Fretboard: ebony
Bridge: rosewood

Neck feel: medium-big C-shape, flat board
Neck wood: mahogany/maple

Condition notes: it's very clean but does show the normal finish weather-checking throughout. In addition there's a little bit of fill at the endblock's "endstrip" decoration. The saddle area of the bridge has been shaved down a bit in the past -- presumably to get more back-angle on the saddle. It's a good idea, anyhow.

It comes with: a gorgeous original Goya hard case in great shape.