Pete’s Gear: Levin Goliath LM-26 acoustic guitar
Ca. 1963 as the Detours, Pete playing a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole, John with Fender P-bass, and Roger playing the Epiphone Wilshire that he would eventually give to Pete.
What was perhaps Pete’s first “stage” guitar, used with the Detours, a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole.
Levin was a guitar manufacturer based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and sold guitars to the UK market under the name Levin, and to the US market under the name Goya.
This guitar appears to be in double-bound dark sunburst finish, though no colour photos have surfaced.
According to Gordon Giltrap, this guitar was stolen after Pete lent it to John:
I presented a guitar to Pete in the form of a 1966 Levin acoustic guitar just like the one he had stolen as a teenager after loaning it to John Entwistle. John’s Mum gave Pete three pounds to compensate for the loss!!
As quoted, Gordon Giltrap also gifted a 1966 Levin to Pete on 22 Jan. 2019, which Pete subsequently used on the 2019 Who recordings.
Click to view larger version. Ca. 1962 or 1963, as the Detours. Pete playing a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole, John with Fender P-bass, and to the right of Roger, who is playing the Epiphone Wilshire that he would eventually give to Pete, what appears to be a TV-front Vox AC-15, with cabinet corners.
Ca. 1962 or 1963, as the Detours. Pete playing a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole, John with Fender P-bass, and to the right of Roger, who is playing the Epiphone Wilshire that he would eventually give to Pete, what appears to be a TV-front Vox AC-15, with cabinet corners.
Ca. 1962 or 1963, as the Detours. Pete playing a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole, John with Fender P-bass, and to the right of Roger, who is playing the Epiphone Wilshire that he would eventually give to Pete, what appears to be a TV-front Vox AC-15, with cabinet corners.
Ca. 1962 or 1963, as the Detours. Pete playing a Levin Goliath LM-26 sunburst acoustic with pickup in soundhole, John with Fender P-bass.
Generic 1963 Levin Goliath guitar (sn 423717)
Click to view larger version. 1963 Levin Goliath, courtesy Bob Corrall.
An essay and photos of a 1963 Levin Goliath sunburst acoustic, courtesy Bob Corrall.
1963 Levin Goliath Guitar Serial # 423717
Purchased in Oxford from a friend of a friend who I believe worked as a roadie who worked with a band (don’t remember any details, it was the ’60s after all! I probably had not heard of the Who anyway!).
I paid very little for the guitar (a little more than beer money) as the varnish was cracked apparently, from leaving it too close to a radiator in a hotel room! That was the story I think. The guitar has a separated section of the sound hole, which could and probably was caused by a sound hole pickup being attached.
The varnish has not been repaired but has attained a great patina over the last 50 years. Everything else (apart from the strings and bridge) are original.
I was 17–18 around 1966–67 when I bought it, and lived in a houseboat on the canal in downtown Oxford and worked in Oxford as an illustrator.
I have always loved the great sound of this guitar and have not really done anything to it since I have had it, so it’s in quite original condition, apart from the usual wear over time.
And me I am still a lousy guitar player living in Canada now.
Bob
Click images to view larger versions. Photos courtesy Bob Corrall.
Resources and Information
- Vintage Levin Guitars site: vintage-guitars.se/Levin_info.htm
- Vintage Goya Guitars site: goyaguitars.tripod.com.