Back in May I bought a 1963 Goya F-11 from a pawn shop San Diego, California. It’s my 18th Levin so far but my first steel stringed classical guitar, or it’s actually more of a Flamenco shape than a normal Spanish guitar. It’s an awesome little finger picker with a wide nut and pretty small body, very comfortable to play in the sofa. The sound is very different, I guess because it’s a steel stringed but fan braced and built like a classical guitar. These type of guitars got really popular in the mid 1960’s during the folk boom in the US and Levin built quite a few under the Goya brand to compete with the Gibson F-25 and other concert sized steel stringed folk guitars of the time. I have never played anything like this before and really like it, even though it doesn’t sound as good as a Goya T-16 for chord playing, it has something almost ladder braced like in the sound that makes it pretty unique.
A 1963 Goya F-11, worn, bruised and beaten but still very beautiful, I love the flamed back. It’s fun that half the logo has been removed to read Joy instead of Goya.
Concert size: Body width: 360 mm, body length: 465 mm, body depth: 98 mm. Fingerboard width: 43 mm, scale length: 630 mm. Spruce top with fan bracing, birch back and sides, 4-ply bound top, unbound back. Mahogany neck with non-adjustable T-shaped duraluminum truss rod. Unbound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. Rosewood bridge, double pickguards and nickel plated strip tuners. Matte natural finish
Just Found My Uncle's 1967 Goya G 10 Laying Around My Sisters House. I've Played Electric A Little Bit But Never Tried Classical Guitar. She's Restringed And Ready To Go!
Tags: acoustic guitar : concert sized : eBay : fan braced : Folk guitars : Gibson F-25 : Goya : Goya F-11 : Goya guitars : How to : Levin : Levin / Goya : Levin guitar factory : Levin guitars : Levin History : Made in Sweden : Spanish guitars with steel strings : steel string classical guitar : steel stringed folk guitars : Swedish guitars : Vintage Guitars SwedenI found another Goya T-16 that I couldn’t resist. I’m not sure why I love these so much, if it’s the sound, shape or the fact that my dad’s old Levin LT-16 was my first guitar. This one seems to have had a crack in the lower bout on the bottom side and when that was fixed they gave the side a light burst to cover it and then lacquered the whole guitar. Back in the 1960’s when these guitars left the factory in Sweden, the Levin LT-16 came with a really nice satin finish and the Goya T-16 with a high gloss that cracked over time. The previous Goya T-16 was sanded down and this one had an extra coat of lacquer so I guess people weren’t entirely happy with the finish on these. They both sounds very different, the old one sounds more woody and dry and this one has a clearer snappier sound, I presume because of the lacquer. I really like the look of the top, more orange and pre-war Martin looking than the normal Goya T-16.
I bought this 1966 Goya T-16 from an eBay seller in Illinois but I guess it first landed at Lynn’s Guitars in Knoxville Tennessee when it came from Sweden in the 1960’s.
Grand Concert size: Body width: 380 mm, body length: 480 mm, body depth: 98 mm. Fingerboard width: 43 mm, scale length: 630 mm. Spruce top, mahogany back and sides, 4-ply bound top, single-bound back. Mahogany bolt-on neck with adjustable truss rod. Single-bound rosewood fingerboard with bass side pearloid dot inlay. Rosewood bridge, nickel plated individual Van Gent tuners with metal buttons. Matte natural finish and ten year warranty
Rare Goya By Cf Martin G 310 Dreadnought Mik 1970's Natural Great Player Big Tone! Free Us Shipping!
I removed the bridge and pickguard, scraped of the lacquer and then re-glued them. I also adjusted the neck angle by removing the bolts inside and then sanded down the heel a bit with a sandpaper, just like I did on the old Goya T-16.
The headstock had some fine cracks that I filled with fish glue and then polished up. I cut a new bone saddle that I painted to match the old Levin Galalith saddle and then I cleaned up the fretboard and polished the frets.
Tags: acoustic guitar : Goya : Goya GG-172 : Goya T-16 : guitar : Levin : Levin / Goya : Levin guitar factory : Levin guitars : Levin History : Levin LS-16 : Levin LT-16 : Levin Sweden : Made in Sweden : Swedish guitars : Vintage Goya : Vintage guitars : Vintage Guitars Sweden : vintage LevinThe Goya guitar information spotlighted on this page comes from different sources (and individuals via email) and will sometimes conflict. Hopefully, enough facts come through to provide enlightenment to the history of the Goya guitar. At the bottom of this page is the list of some of the sources that I used. If you have any additional information about Goya guitars or the companies that produced and distributed them - please email me. Thanks
Vintage Goya Guitars
The guitar brand name Goya existed from the mid 1950's to 1996. Nylon and steel string acoustic and acoustic/electric guitars, hollow body electric guitars, solidbody electric guitars and basses, thinline electric archtops guitars, banjos, mandolins and amplifiers. The Goya brand name was initially used by Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York City, New York, in mid 1950's for acoustic guitars made in Sweden by Levin, particularly known for its classical guitars. NOTE: As best I can tell, Goya brand guitars were made starting in 1954 and ending in 1996. The Goya brand name was initially used by the Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York (Goya Guitars Inc.). The Goya name comes from Francisco Jose de Goya, the famous 18th century Spanish painter known as the father of modern art (Francisco drew a lot of Spanish guitar players too). The distribution for Goya guitars went from Hershman to Kustom Electronics Inc. in 1970 and then over to Dude Inc. (both of Chanute, Kansas) in late 1972 as best I can tell. Most of the acoustic guitars during this perion (1954-1973) were handmade in Sweden by the Levin company (I believe the possible exceptions were the G-50 models made in the USA based on descriptions in some of my Goya catalogs). The Goya brand then went to Martin Guitars in 1974 (the same year they acquired Levin) and lasted until 1996. These Goya guitars were made in Japan, Korea and Taiwan (I've never seen a Martin Goya that said made in Sweden). Sparkle plastic covered Model 80 (ESP24 Standard) and Model 90 (EDP46) hollowbody electric Les Pauls (with replaceable pickup assemblies) - made by Hagstrom - introduced mid 1959. These are relatively rare. By 1963 company had become Goya Musical Instrument Corporation, marketing primarily Goya acoustic guitars. Goya purchased by Avnet, Inc., prior to 1966, when Avnet purchased Guild Guitars. Probably some 1970's guitars were made in Japan. Brand name purchased by C.F.Martin in late '70s with Japanese-made acoustic guitars, solidbody electric guitars, basses, banjos and mandolins imported in around 1978 and continuing through the 1980's. Brand name was then used on high-quality Korean-made acoustic and acoustic/electric guitars, banjos and mandolins. Brand name Goya discontinued in 1996. Goya instruments were originally produced in Sweden by the Levin Company that has been making guitars since the 1900's. Distributed by Hershman Musical Instruments Company of New York. Later Goya instruments were built in Korea from the early 1970's to 1996, and were distributed by the Martin Guitar Company, located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The Goya trademark was originally used by the Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York City, New York in the 1950's on models built by Sweden's Levin Company (similiar models were sold in Europe under the company's Levin trademark). Levin built high quality acoustic flattop, classical, and archtop guitars as well as mandolins. A large number of rebranded Goya instruments were imported to the U.S. market. As a side note - Anders Wasén of Gothenburg, Sweden (where Levin/Goya was made) provides this additional information: H.C. Levin was from Sweden and as I was told worked in the United States as a trainee at the Martin Guitar Company. So did his son just before World War I (as he told me himself). H.C. went back to Sweden and formed the Levin Guitar company (Goya in the US). In the late 1950's, solidbody electric guitars and basses built by Hagstrom (also a Swedish company) were rebranded Goya and distributed in the U.S. as well. In 1963 the company changed its name to the Goya Musical Instrument Corporation. Goya was purchased by Avnet in 1966, and continued to import instruments such as the Rangemaster in 1967. By the late 1960's, electric solidbody guitars and basses were then being built in Italy by the EKO company. Avnet then sold the Goya trademark to Kustom Electronics. It has been estimated that the later Goya instruments of the 1970's were built in Japan. The C.F. Martin company later acquired the Levin company, and bought the rights to the Goya trademark from
The guitar brand name Goya existed from the mid 1950's to 1996. Nylon and steel string acoustic and acoustic/electric guitars, hollow body electric guitars, solidbody electric guitars and basses, thinline electric archtops guitars, banjos, mandolins and amplifiers. The Goya brand name was initially used by Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York City, New York, in mid 1950's for acoustic guitars made in Sweden by Levin, particularly known for its classical guitars. NOTE: As best I can tell, Goya brand guitars were made starting in 1954 and ending in 1996. The Goya brand name was initially used by the Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York (Goya Guitars Inc.). The Goya name comes from Francisco Jose de Goya, the famous 18th century Spanish painter known as the father of modern art (Francisco drew a lot of Spanish guitar players too). The distribution for Goya guitars went from Hershman to Kustom Electronics Inc. in 1970 and then over to Dude Inc. (both of Chanute, Kansas) in late 1972 as best I can tell. Most of the acoustic guitars during this perion (1954-1973) were handmade in Sweden by the Levin company (I believe the possible exceptions were the G-50 models made in the USA based on descriptions in some of my Goya catalogs). The Goya brand then went to Martin Guitars in 1974 (the same year they acquired Levin) and lasted until 1996. These Goya guitars were made in Japan, Korea and Taiwan (I've never seen a Martin Goya that said made in Sweden). Sparkle plastic covered Model 80 (ESP24 Standard) and Model 90 (EDP46) hollowbody electric Les Pauls (with replaceable pickup assemblies) - made by Hagstrom - introduced mid 1959. These are relatively rare. By 1963 company had become Goya Musical Instrument Corporation, marketing primarily Goya acoustic guitars. Goya purchased by Avnet, Inc., prior to 1966, when Avnet purchased Guild Guitars. Probably some 1970's guitars were made in Japan. Brand name purchased by C.F.Martin in late '70s with Japanese-made acoustic guitars, solidbody electric guitars, basses, banjos and mandolins imported in around 1978 and continuing through the 1980's. Brand name was then used on high-quality Korean-made acoustic and acoustic/electric guitars, banjos and mandolins. Brand name Goya discontinued in 1996. Goya instruments were originally produced in Sweden by the Levin Company that has been making guitars since the 1900's. Distributed by Hershman Musical Instruments Company of New York. Later Goya instruments were built in Korea from the early 1970's to 1996, and were distributed by the Martin Guitar Company, located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The Goya trademark was originally used by the Hershman Musical Instrument Company of New York City, New York in the 1950's on models built by Sweden's Levin Company (similiar models were sold in Europe under the company's Levin trademark). Levin built high quality acoustic flattop, classical, and archtop guitars as well as mandolins. A large number of rebranded Goya instruments were imported to the U.S. market. As a side note - Anders Wasén of Gothenburg, Sweden (where Levin/Goya was made) provides this additional information: H.C. Levin was from Sweden and as I was told worked in the United States as a trainee at the Martin Guitar Company. So did his son just before World War I (as he told me himself). H.C. went back to Sweden and formed the Levin Guitar company (Goya in the US). In the late 1950's, solidbody electric guitars and basses built by Hagstrom (also a Swedish company) were rebranded Goya and distributed in the U.S. as well. In 1963 the company changed its name to the Goya Musical Instrument Corporation. Goya was purchased by Avnet in 1966, and continued to import instruments such as the Rangemaster in 1967. By the late 1960's, electric solidbody guitars and basses were then being built in Italy by the EKO company. Avnet then sold the Goya trademark to Kustom Electronics. It has been estimated that the later Goya instruments of the 1970's were built in Japan. The C.F. Martin company later acquired the Levin company, and bought the rights to the Goya trademark from
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