Levin LM-26

Mine is a 1962 LM-26 Goliath model, with solid Alpine Spruce top and solid Maple back and sides (not much flame). A fairly clubby but comfortable one piece Mahogany neck, which carries a flat Rosewood board and thin frets. The binding is Black and White, with the forward shifted soundhole decorated with the same. The Bridge is made of what appears to be varnished Brazilian Rosewood, and the pins were originally white plastic(now solid Rosewood). The Goliath is finished in a Sunburst Nitrocellulose finish, which has crazed over the years but smells wonderfully. I think the Yellow stained nut & saddle are a type of bone.
The tuners are three on a plate open backed Nickel plated Van Ghent ones, with plastic buttons, and these are pretty poor! and at some point I will replace them with three on a plate Kluson type Gotohs.

The Levin LM-26 is a Dreadnaught sized guitar, but isn`t as boomy in the bass like a Martin, but more balanced and even across the strings when strummed, and is equally well balanced for picking. I would best describe the tone as crisp & clean. Where it excels, is in the volume and sustain department, the harder you strum it the louder it gets, and the sustain is unbelievable. It`s the kind of guitar that comes alive the more you play it. So I would, if I could, give the sound "12", but as I can`t, 10 will have to do

The fit and finish don`t really stack up to a modern made CNC machined acoustic, but these were hand built by craftsmen, and it has lasted remarkably well for a 47 year old guitar.
The action on these Levins is usually slightly on the high side at the twelfth fret (3.2 mm on low E & 2.1 mm on high E), but pretty comfortable to play all the way up the usual first 15 frets. Intonation isn`t perfect, but pretty good (a compensated saddle would probably help).
Compared to other Dreadnaught sized guitars I have played, this Goliath is quite light in weight, at just over 4LBS. Originally I would have imagined this guitar looking very handsome, and has aged very well.

It`s 47 years old, and is still played on a daily basis, sometimes without backup, so another definite 10!

Levin (Sweden) have sadly gone, so impossible to comment here, although i have heard wonderful stories of customer support from other owners.

I have been playing on and off for 27 years, and have owned and played most of the usual suspects, some live up to the hype, although most don`t! My other acoustic guitars are a 1980 Daion 78 Heritage Dreadnaught, which although very nice doesn`t compare sonically with this Levin, and a more recent Yamaha LS-500, which also is a very fine small bodied OM style guitar, which I would say out performs the Levin in the fingerpicking department, but doesn`t come close in the strumming department. Previously I have owned a Santa Cruz H14 model, which although very fine, wasn`t as good as the LS-500.
If you get a chance to try a Levin Goliath (or it`s Goya badged counterpart), you owe it to yourself to do so, these are fabulous guitars, and rightly called "The best kept secret of the acoustic guitar world".

I bought this second hand in 1968. Now 37 years later I wonder where they all have gone. Secreted away as the best kept secret in the accoustic guitar world! I really have looked, as it now needs to visit a luthier, but they are difficult to find.
Trad sunburst finish, I always considered it to be a 1960's build, but on checking with the Levin serial number find it to be 1948!
Open type tuners, maple body, spruce top?. Action was great but it has not been played for 20 years, and doesn't feel as good as it was. It has probably missed TLC and needs warming up.

I have always played Folk & Blues- Trad & contemporary. It is fantastic for this. Very sweet, full sound. When I bought it, it had standard steel strings, which I replaced with Silk & Steel La Bella strings (lower tension, sweeter sound). I don't know if you can still get them, but I do have a set that I purchased in 1985.
I discovered Levin when, in 1968 a schoolfriend turned up at a folk club gig I was playing and asked to guest. He played Blues boltleneck on a guitar that sounded fantastic. I played it and fell in love ( it wasn't his, just borrowed). Next weekend I went to Denmark street to find one. New ones were easy to find ( hence my comment- where are they all now?)at , I think, #100.As easy to find as Martins are today!!!

I now discover that when I bought it was 20years old. The set up was perfect, someone (not who I purchased it from) had done a great job.
Other than change the strings I used it immediately.
It had a weakness where the back joins the front at the neck. I suspect due to some mishap before me.This has now completely pulled away, hence the need for a luthier. Otherwise no problems. The varnish is now crazed, hardly suprising given the age

Ideal for live work.Never used a pick up. For large audiences there were always mices.

Just visiting a luthier. Levin closed in the early 70's

These guitars are great. When in 1983, I could afford it,I finally purchased a new Martin D18. It never gave me as much pleasure, or sounded as good as the Levin. When in 1985 my daughter needed a clarinet and I needed to make a decision I sold the Martin, not the Levin. A decision I would have found unbelievable 20 years earlier.
I will never part with the Levin. I am tempted to buy a second hand (mature)Martin to use whilst the Levin is at the luthiers, but only because Levin's are impossible to find, probably because, like me, no one can bear to part company with such instruments

I got this guitar for Christmas in 1962. It was bought at a pawn shop in Leeds England for 25 pounds. The serial number is 171103 which means it was manufactured in 1946 by HC Levin in Goteborg Sweden. It was in immaculate condition when I got it. It has a scandinavian spruce body, I'm guessing a mahogany neck (20 frets), ivory bridge. It has the traditional sunburst finish with tiger striped wood on the back. I had to replace the original tuners which were beginning to fall apart. Over the years it's had a few mishaps and developed a few cracks but I had a luthier do some work on it a couple of years ago and fix up the structural problems.

This guitar has a great action well suited to my finger-picking. It has always had a great full sound. In many ways it coloured my opinion of other guitars. I've played many different ( and expensive guitars) none of them are better than this one. This is the kind of guitar that can fill an auditorium with sound amplified or not. It is a classic.

I've read some reviews of Levin's complaining about the action. This guitar was obviously well set up because I actually find it one of the easiest guitars to play. Apart from the tuners wearing out I've never had anything go wrong with this guitar that wasn't attributable to my own stupidity. Taking it to parties in sub-zero weather, falling on it etc. etc.

What can I say. the guitar is older than I am. I'm sure it will still be around when I'm not.

I never needed to deal with Levin when they were in existence. I doubt anyone has ever really had any problems with a Levin. They were well made and provided they are well taken care of will last like Stadivarius violins.

I've played this guitar for 40 years and I'm just as impressed with it today as the day I got it. It's an irreplaceable part of my life. As I've said I've played many guitars in may life (Gibson, Martin,Guild, Ovation, Takamine etc.) and I wouldn't trade this guitar for any of them.