beardulation - Posted - 08/07/2011:  15:12:27

Hi.

I´m looking for a good beginners mandolin. Since I live in Sweden I see a lot of Levin mandolins on the used marked. Do anyone know which ones that are any good? I heard that the Levin factory was sold to Martin and that they also built mandolins under the brand goya.

Best

/Mats

Edited by - beardulation on 08/07/2011 15:13:22

Ben Venuti - Posted - 08/07/2011:  19:10:44

Goya was a brand name that was used to market Levin guitars in the US starting about 1958, maybe mandolins as well but I don't think so. The Goya franchise changed hands in the US a couple of times. When Martin acquired the name is wasn't very long before Goya branded instruments were manufactured in Asia. I think the Goya branded mandolins that one might run into are probably Korean made and from the late 70's or 80's. The Levin "Aristocrat" was Levin's top model and they were pretty good and look even better. They sell for about $2500 when available in the US. I don't know much about their other models. I would think they are more common in Europe than here. I think I know where an Aristocrat is for sale in the US,at least it was available a month ago. Levin made some pretty nice instruments and their "Goya" guitars were pretty popular here in the 60's "folk era" being cheaper than a Martin or Gibson and in a lot of cases better than what Gibson was producing at the time.

Ben Venuti - Posted - 08/07/2011:  23:58:16

I looked into it and there was a series of Swedish made Goya Mandolins sold in the US starting in the early 60's and even found one for sale --a model " M6" but no photo available. It's described as an "A" model.

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 08/08/2011:  08:13:04

Well Django Reinhardt was pictured with a Levin Archtop ........ I've played Goya's and Espan~na guitars and they played just fine. I imagine if the instrument is competently setup with a new set of strings it should be good enough to begin your mandolin journey..... I found pictures of both archtop and flattop models some plain and some fancy. If you like it it's good enough........ you can always get two or three more later............ R/

Jim Yates - Posted - 08/08/2011:  08:36:50

Goya is one of those names like "Epiphone" and "Washburn" where the name seems to be the only thing in common with two companies.  There are the Swedish Goyas which were professional quality guitars, but the Martin owned Goya guitars are entry level guitars.  I would guess that if you could find a Swedish Levin or Goya, you'd have a pretty good instrument.  I have a Goya maple dreadnought (Levin called them Goliaths) M-26 and one of my friends has a Levin.  The only difference between the Goya and the Levin is the decal on the headstock.  Here's a website devoted to Levin and Goya guitars that might answer some of your questions:

goyaguitars.tripod.com/index1.htm#home

Edited by - Jim Yates on 08/08/2011 08:53:20

Ben Venuti - Posted - 08/08/2011:  14:48:33

You don't mention how much you are willing to spend for a beginners mandolin. The Goya"A" model that I found here has an asking price of $995 but that price can also get you a nice Vintage Gibson A model,at least in this country. If I get a chance I could go to the dealer that has the mandolin and check it out. There is a 50/50 chance that that mandolin belonged to Dawg himself as this is the shop where he moves his overflow and there are usually quite a few mandolins and guitars that he has picked up along the way and then turns over. There must be Levin fans and dealers in Sweden, Levin built guitars and mandolins there for 80 years. Both pre and post Martin Goya guitars are pretty common over here,as to the mandolins there couldn't have been too many sold here as they just don't show up. Levin anything is not all that common here. I've stumbled on a few Levin guitars and I've only seen 2 of the Aristokrats face to face. I did find out that there are some other brand names associated with Levin--Zandelin,Torres(not to be confused with the famous Spanish guitar maker Torres I'm sure) Klangola,and Rondo --there was at least a Rondo mandolin. I think these instruments were marketed in Europe only. By all reports people that have Levin built mandolins seem pretty happy with them but I have never seen any professional play one. Jimi Hendrix was known to use a Goya Rangemaster electric guitar but I think maybe they were actually Italian made and marketed by Levin and had more buttons and switches than you could ever keep track of.

beardulation - Posted - 08/08/2011:  16:36:00

Well first thanks for all the help and the quick replies.

Why I am asking about Levin or goya is because when you search in the swedish used market you see that maybe 50% or more are old Levin mandolins. I ´m aware that they built a lot of different models with a big span between beginners and professional instruments. I've for instance seen aristocrats for as low as 8000 SEK(1200USD).

I guess that I'm aiming for a good instrument that I can learn on, I´ve been playing guitar for 20 years so I know what an investment a good instrument is, though it is getting harder and harder to explain to my wife why I need another instrument with strings on;)

I borrowed an old teardrop shaped Levin from my father in law but I guess thah he wants it back soon(model 46 maybe? I could track the age to 1949 but not the exact model by the serialnumber). You can find those for between 800 and 3000SEK(120 -400USD). Hence my interest in the Levins.

I´m mostly interested in playing bluegrass, folk and blues on the mandolin so i reckon an archtop would be something for me.

What do you guys think of the cheap new mandos like the loar, epiphone and so on? I guess that I rather would like to buy a used instrument than an new one without character. But money is of course an important factor. Lets put it like this, I want a good instrument that I wont have to struggle to much to get a good sound out of and not to expensive, maximum 500USD but rather less. I like old instruments though, it´s like they have a history to tell that is inspiring. I might get a more expensive instrument later on when I´ve outgrown the first one.

Found this googling earlier today: vintage-guitars.se/Levin_model...olins.htm

 

Edited by - beardulation on 08/08/2011 16:55:18

Ben Venuti - Posted - 08/09/2011:  02:24:46

Your playing a borrowed Levin? What do YOU think of it. If it suits you and they are readily available where you live and in your price range. I tend to prefer old vintage instruments over new myself, especially in the lower price ranges.( I'd kill for a new Gilchrist or Dudenbostle) They have stood the test of time and if they are still in good shape after 30/40/50 years or so there is no reason to think that that is likely to change. I don't have a lot of experience with the pacrim mandolins. Never owned one,played a few. I have played some of the cheaper Kentuckys and I thought they seemed pretty good for the price. Some people swear by their Loars. I played some Epiphones and I thought they felt heavy and stiff and not much came out. I'm hearing all kinds of good things about Northfields but haven't seen one yet ,I think they are over your budget. I love old Gibson A models and they are pretty cheap these days if you can live without the fancier models. I don't necessarily subscribe to the notion that you have to have a f holed f style mandolin for bluegrass, I might be in the minority in that thinking,but I've heard too many great players and recordings played with oval holed mandolins to discount them for bluegrass. Virtually all of Jimmy Martin recordings, Red Rector, Andy Statman's older stuff. With bluegrass your often competing with banjos and many people that play the banjo picked the banjo because they want to play L O U D. So when your banjo player friend leaves the room you take off the resonator and stuff a rag in there,then you can play any kind of mandolin you like.

beardulation - Posted - 08/09/2011:  03:07:18

I do like it, it is warm and soft in the tone and it shure is beautiful. You have a good point in that if it endured over 50 years it will shurely cope a couple of years more. I heard that when the Levin factory built the instruments they used maby 100 year old wood so I guess that it will stay in shape, they rarely used any trussrods in the contructions of the neck so you might run into some with twisted necks.
As you I´m not necessarily looking for anything fancy but I like it when I find good cheap old instruments with patina. So I guess that I´m gonna try and find a good used Levin (guess it´s smart to buy the local stuff) and let it take some time to figure out what I actually wants from my next mandolin.

Susanne - Posted - 08/12/2011:  08:26:35

There are some good Levins out there, as well as some crappy ones. Personally I prefer the f-holed Levins and preferably the two point ones, they seem to be heavier and don't seem so vulnerable (as the very light, older, ones) and some have trussrods as well.
What music do you want to play? The lighter mandolins have a nice sound for Irish and the likes, while you'd need the heavier ones (like the 2 points) for bluegrass. For a good upgrade then you have Victor Smith of Flatbush next door, depending on how much money you want to spend.