Levin (guitar company)
Encyclopedia
Levin is a Swedish manufacturer of musical instruments founded by Herman Carlson Levin, that was active between 1900 and 1978. The company produced over half a million instruments in the 80 years that it was active, mostly guitar
s but also mandoline
s, banjo
s and lute
s, which made Levin into the biggest instrument manufacturer in Scandinavia for many years.
; at age 18 he attended carpentry school and later got an apprenticeship at a furniture maker in Gothenburg
. In August 1887 Levin moved to America and worked briefly as a carpenter before getting a job in 1888 at guitar manufacturer. Three years later he and two partners started a small production of instruments in New York. After a visit back in Sweden 1895 Levin realized the demand for instruments back home were high and that manufacturing of instruments back in Sweden could be profitable. So with 4,000 kroners Levin opened up "Herman Carlssons Instrumentfabrik" at Norra Larmgatan in Gothenburg.
With a workshop of 70 m² and a crew of two, Levin started manufacturing guitars and mandolins. By the end of 1901 473 instruments had been made and in 1903, with a crew of five, Levin's 1000th instrument was made.
The factory was one of the best in Europe and between 1904 and 1912 Levin received many awards including the gold medal in Madrid for best guitar as well as the exhibition's Grand Prix price. In the mid-1920s the plant had made over 50,000 instruments and in 1925 production of a line of banjos were launched. By 1936 the 100,000th instrument had left the plant and Levin was marketing a successful line of archtop guitars. Shortly before 1940 Levin employed a crew of 45 in facility of a 1000 m². In the 1950s, Levin launched a line of inexpensive guitars intended for schools and novice guitarplayers, these guitars were of lower quality than the rest of the Levin line up.
, who was well known for the guitars that he showed in his paintings. The Goya line up proved to be successful due to its high quality finish. The use of nylon strings also gave the guitar a different tone than most other guitars that used steel strings, making it popular among folk musicians. In the late 1950s, a line of steel-stringed flat-tops were launched, with adjustable trussrods and bolted necks.
In the early 1960s, a line of "folk-guitars" were launched with wide flat fretboards similar to those on nylon strung guitars, but fitted with steelstrings. These were developed partly in cooperation with American folk-singer Oscar Brandt. Two 12-stringed flattops were launched during the same period. In 1967 a contract was signed between the Levin company and Goya Music (former Hershman Music) for no less than 120.000 instruments over a period of 10 years. At this time the Goya export was approximately 70% of the companies total production which was + 30,000 instruments, mostly guitars.
The contract was broken by Goya Music in 1968, following the acquisition of Goya Music by Avnet Inc, who already at that time owned Guild Guitars. The Goya distribution rights were sold in 1970 to amplifier manufacturer Kustom Electric of Chanute Kansas. In 1972 Kustom went bankrupt and The distribution was taken over by another Chanute company, Dude Inc. It is unclear if Levin ever delivered any instruments to Dude, the sales made by Dude may have been the remaining stock from the Kustom bankruptcy, which were relabelled.
In 1976 Dude sold the Goya brand to CF Martin who already purchased the majority of the Levin Company a few years earlier. CF Martin started import of Japanese and Korean instruments under the Goya name and both the Goya and Levin brands reputation diminished. CF Martin stopped offering Goya instruments during the 1990s and sold the brand name in 1999 to Goya Foods.
In 1973 when Martin bought Levin, and the Levin became the headquarters for Martin Guitars and their Japan import brand Sigma Guitars
in Europe, as well as actually producing a run of some 200 Martin D-18 acoustic guitars, which were labelled "LD-18 - Made In Gothenburg, Sweden" In fact even some LD 28 martin with stamp made in Gothenburg have surfaced. In 1981 the last guitar was built in the Gothenburg facility and parts of the inventory and the brand were bought by Svensk Musik AB, who started producing Levin classical guitars in a factory owned by former guitarneck supplier Hans Persson. Hans's son Lennart is still producing guitars for "Svenska Levin AB" in his fathers workshop outside Mariestad Sweden.
Svenska Levin offers also steelstring flattops and a line of archtop jazzguitars based on old Levin models, made in Korea.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s but also mandoline
Mandoline
A mandoline is a cooking utensil used for slicing and for cutting juliennes; with suitable attachments, it can make crinkle-cuts. It consists of two parallel working surfaces, one of which can be adjusted in height. A food item is slid along the adjustable surface until it reaches a blade mounted...
s, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
s and lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
s, which made Levin into the biggest instrument manufacturer in Scandinavia for many years.
The founding of Levin Instruments
Herman Carlson Levin was born and raised in Åsaka SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
; at age 18 he attended carpentry school and later got an apprenticeship at a furniture maker in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. In August 1887 Levin moved to America and worked briefly as a carpenter before getting a job in 1888 at guitar manufacturer. Three years later he and two partners started a small production of instruments in New York. After a visit back in Sweden 1895 Levin realized the demand for instruments back home were high and that manufacturing of instruments back in Sweden could be profitable. So with 4,000 kroners Levin opened up "Herman Carlssons Instrumentfabrik" at Norra Larmgatan in Gothenburg.
With a workshop of 70 m² and a crew of two, Levin started manufacturing guitars and mandolins. By the end of 1901 473 instruments had been made and in 1903, with a crew of five, Levin's 1000th instrument was made.
The factory was one of the best in Europe and between 1904 and 1912 Levin received many awards including the gold medal in Madrid for best guitar as well as the exhibition's Grand Prix price. In the mid-1920s the plant had made over 50,000 instruments and in 1925 production of a line of banjos were launched. By 1936 the 100,000th instrument had left the plant and Levin was marketing a successful line of archtop guitars. Shortly before 1940 Levin employed a crew of 45 in facility of a 1000 m². In the 1950s, Levin launched a line of inexpensive guitars intended for schools and novice guitarplayers, these guitars were of lower quality than the rest of the Levin line up.
Launching Goya guitars
In 1952 Jerome Hershman a guitar distributor from America noticed a Levin guitar at a trade show in Germany and convinced the Levin company to let him market their guitars in America. However Hershman knew that the brandname Levin would be hard to market in America and suggested the name Goya. Inspired by the Spanish artist Francisco GoyaFrancisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
, who was well known for the guitars that he showed in his paintings. The Goya line up proved to be successful due to its high quality finish. The use of nylon strings also gave the guitar a different tone than most other guitars that used steel strings, making it popular among folk musicians. In the late 1950s, a line of steel-stringed flat-tops were launched, with adjustable trussrods and bolted necks.
In the early 1960s, a line of "folk-guitars" were launched with wide flat fretboards similar to those on nylon strung guitars, but fitted with steelstrings. These were developed partly in cooperation with American folk-singer Oscar Brandt. Two 12-stringed flattops were launched during the same period. In 1967 a contract was signed between the Levin company and Goya Music (former Hershman Music) for no less than 120.000 instruments over a period of 10 years. At this time the Goya export was approximately 70% of the companies total production which was + 30,000 instruments, mostly guitars.
The contract was broken by Goya Music in 1968, following the acquisition of Goya Music by Avnet Inc, who already at that time owned Guild Guitars. The Goya distribution rights were sold in 1970 to amplifier manufacturer Kustom Electric of Chanute Kansas. In 1972 Kustom went bankrupt and The distribution was taken over by another Chanute company, Dude Inc. It is unclear if Levin ever delivered any instruments to Dude, the sales made by Dude may have been the remaining stock from the Kustom bankruptcy, which were relabelled.
In 1976 Dude sold the Goya brand to CF Martin who already purchased the majority of the Levin Company a few years earlier. CF Martin started import of Japanese and Korean instruments under the Goya name and both the Goya and Levin brands reputation diminished. CF Martin stopped offering Goya instruments during the 1990s and sold the brand name in 1999 to Goya Foods.
In 1973 when Martin bought Levin, and the Levin became the headquarters for Martin Guitars and their Japan import brand Sigma Guitars
Sigma Guitars
Guitar maker Martin, based in Pennsylvania, created a line of inexpensive guitars in 1970 to compete with the increasing number of imported guitars from Japan and elsewhere...
in Europe, as well as actually producing a run of some 200 Martin D-18 acoustic guitars, which were labelled "LD-18 - Made In Gothenburg, Sweden" In fact even some LD 28 martin with stamp made in Gothenburg have surfaced. In 1981 the last guitar was built in the Gothenburg facility and parts of the inventory and the brand were bought by Svensk Musik AB, who started producing Levin classical guitars in a factory owned by former guitarneck supplier Hans Persson. Hans's son Lennart is still producing guitars for "Svenska Levin AB" in his fathers workshop outside Mariestad Sweden.
Svenska Levin offers also steelstring flattops and a line of archtop jazzguitars based on old Levin models, made in Korea.