| Levin archtop and flattop guitars were manufactured by the A.B. Herman Carlson Levin group in Goteborg, Sweden. The Levin guitar company began in 1900 and was well known for its craftsmanship. Their guitars were exported to the USA under the "Goya" brand through the Hershman Musical Instrument Company NY. Goya and Levin guitars models during the period of Swedish manufacture were essentially the same. Goya guitars distribution was transferred first to Kustom Electronics Inc. and then to Dude Inc. sometime in the early 1970s. The Martin Guitar Company took over the Levin company in 1975. By the late 1970s Martin Guitars moved manufacturing of Goya guitars to Japan and then to Korea (in the 1980s) and finally to Taiwan in the 1990s. Martin stopped making the Goya brand guitars in 1996. By moving the manufacture of Levin instruments from Sweden, Martin lost access to the craftsmen and a tradition of archtop building that rivaled their competitors at Gibson. |
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