I just had another great day at the shop! Recently I've begun to delve into classical and flamenco styles of guitar playing, but at the moment I really can't afford to buy a nylon string guitar. I was talking to my tech about how I have a recording session coming up with my band and that I'm borrowing a nylon string guitar to use on one of the songs, but I can't practice the part easily on a steel string and I don't have a nylon string guitar at home. I asked him if he knew anyone with an old junker which I could buy for cheap.

It turns out that a few years ago someone came into the shop with a classical guitar which had been strung with steel strings. Classical guitars aren't built to withstand that kind of string tension, and the bridge had come completely off and there's a crack all the way down the center of the top where the two pieces of wood were glued together. After getting a quote on the price of the repair, the owner of the guitar felt that buying a new guitar for less money would be the way to go and left the old guitar at the store.

Since it was a free guitar for the store, he's going to give me the guitar for free and instead of charging for repairs he's going to teach me how to repair the braces, top and reglue the bridge so I can then preform some of those kinds of repairs on guitars which come into the shop. All I have to pay for is the strings, and I'll be gaining valuable knowledge fixing it. So it's a win win situation.

And it actually looks like it'll be a decent guitar once it's fixed up. It has a solid top and the neck isn't warped or anything. It's made by a company called "Levin" and it has "Levin" written on the headstock. I've never heard of them before, but from wikipedia I learned they're a Swedish guitar company and that my guitar was likely made in Sweden (I think). The label on the inside is written primarily in Swedish and I have no idea what most of it says. It also says 1975 on the label, so it's fairly old. I'll try and get some pictures up soon. I've searched google a little bit, but I can't find the exact model.

So anyway, I'm going to work on it bit by bit until it's finished. It could be a week or it could be a month, just depends on how much time I can spend working on it.

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I am not familiar with the Levin brand, but someone at work asked me if I wanted an acoustic guitar she didn't use. Of course I said yes, and of course it was a classical strung with steel strings. The bridge has lifted a little bit on the low E side. I strung it with the proper strings and its ok. It doesn't stay in tune for very long, a couple of songs maybe but I really enjoy it. I learned on a classical and passed it on to my brother. I wish I kept it but it is still at my disposal if I ever need it. My one year old really likes it when I play guitar and he always wants to bang on the strings, so I have pretty much let him have his way with that guitar!

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Pictures!



You can kind of see the crack starting at the bottom of the soundhole in this one.



Can anyone read that? Is it Swedish for "Made in China"? lol





Let me know if the pictures are too big or taking too long to load and I'll make some adjustments.

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My great aunt picked up a little classical guitar years back for $1 at a flea market. It had a wedge shaped piece of wood cracked out of the bottom (if sitting like being played) side of the guitar. The broken off piece was inside the guitar and she was able to fix it up nicely. Now 20 years later, that guitar is her #1 and not because of any lack of other guitars to play, it just plays and sounds sweet. I think the brand is Gagliano(?). It looks very similar to your new acquisition. Enjoy that thing, nylon string guitars sound awesome, and I'm always surprised at how few I see being played. Now you got me gassing for one.

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Wow, the Google Translate ap for iPhone rocks! I just typed in Swedish to English and this is what it says inside the sound hole.

"This commemorative guitar was in built in 1000 numbered and signed copies, of which this is No. 637. Goteborg, September 28th 1975."

Definitely not Made in China. And to think my boss nearly took it out to the curb to smash it Pete Townsend style...

Now that brings up two questions. Number one, who signed it and what did it commemorate? Number two, how much did it cost then and how much is it worth now? Obviously it's in player's condition and it's never going to be perfect. But I'd at least like to know something about it. It's like History Detectives: Guitar Edition.

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Good luck dectective...

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Hi TGS. It says:

"This commemorative guitar was built in 1000 numbered and signed copies, this being number 637.
Goteburg on 28 9 1975"

So it was made in Goteburg on the west coast of southern Sweden in September '75.

EDIT: huh. While I was scratching my head over that translation you've done it yourself with Google! I feel so old! D'oh!

Still. Worth the effort of restoring. Cool!

Cheers - C

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Oh, and the signature is there above the words, "Sound of Wood". Your guess is as good as mine as to what that signature says!

Cheers - C

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You did that off the top of your head? That's not bad. I only half know one other language, which is spanish. But before I thought to use google I came up with the theory that it might be number 637 of 1000, but the translation confirmed it.

I'm thinking that the signature is probably someone's name, but it's too hard to make out what it says. Especially considering it's not an English name.

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Hey, nice work, Nevin! So it must be this one, right?

http://www.vintage-guitars.se/Levin_197 ... y_info.htm

And that signature says Göran Levin, according to that page.

And here are some more photos:

http://www.vintage-guitars.se/Levin_197 ... 545395.htm

Cheers - C

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The company was founded in 1975, it was built in 1975 and the Model number appears to be "75ar" (according to google, ar in english is s, so 75S?).

So I looked for something like that on Nevin's link and bingo! http://www.vintage-guitars.se/Levin_1975_Anniversary_info.htm

EDIT: It looks like Ceri and I came to the same conclusion at the same time! The pictures definitely confirm it, it's the same model. The difference is mine doesn't appear to have a serial number sticker. It must have fallen off or else it's located somewhere else on the inside of the guitar. I'll look for next time I see it.

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#$@*&!% score. Such an awesome find.

I picked up a Ramirez last time I was in Spain, and it is so #$@*&!% nice, but it's nice to the point I don't wanna abuse it, so I feel like i'm wasting it =\

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I just found out that Martin took over the company at or just before 1975. Apparently because Levin had a large stockpile of spruce which Martin wanted. So my guitar is a Martin/Levin?

EDIT: Here's the 1975 Levin Brochure. http://goyaguitars.tripod.com/levin75_1.htm There's got to be some information about it in there. Google Translate is going to get a workout tonight. lol

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Doesn't the page Nevin found suggest their first guitars were from 1900? Therefore your 1975 model is the Anniversary Model, celebrating their 75th anniversary. Pretty neat!



I know a little Old English / Anglo-Saxon. Which comes more or less from the same language root as Swedish. And I've spent time in Scandinavian countries, so put that together with a bit of guesswork...

But Google would have been quicker...

Cheers - C

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A few rules on these build/repair threads, as you well know. First, photos throughout the process, and BTW your first photos look fine. Cats are encouraged here on the forums although I am guessing they are probably highly discouraged at your shop Finally, beverages must be included in the discussion. Given your age and your home state, I'm thinking maybe a bottle of Sweet Leaf after a good day's work.

(We can talk about adding the Tito's in a couple more years)

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