Restoring A 1960s Levin Guitar (Complete)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ธ.ค. 2024
- Listen to the guitar here: • Restored Levin Demo
This Leven came across my bench in mid-2024, with the owner's son asking for it to be restored for his dad.
These Levins were made to have nylon strings, but at some point in its life, it had steel strings put on it. Due to the increased tension in the steel strings, it's no surprise the guitar ended up looking the way it did.
The goal was to restore the guitar to playing condition and keep it looking as original as possible, however, I was free to choose the bracing pattern. Since his dad preferred steel strings, I opted for a more modern bracing pattern to better withstand the higher tension.
It was a fun project, and I hope you enjoy watching!
Links to stuff:
www.cranmergui...
/ cranmerguitars
/ cranmerguitars
The way the chisel carves away the spruce braces is just so satisfying 😌😌
I feel the same. It's right up there with watching a soda-jerk put together a banana-split.
Braces so thick it could support a battleship
So many tips and tricks here! Its like a tutorial! Thanks so much and excellent work!
You did an incredible job, please do more restoration projects!
Thanks! I'll do my best 🫡
I agree please do more.
Cool techniques and craftsman tips! Many thanks for posting.
This is not a restoration, it is a building something new. This guitar is no longer a Levin from the 60s
The Levin of Thesis
Those crazy flat-sawn back braces. They always end up looking like that!
The legend himself
Thank you for saving that old guitar!
Great job. So fun to watch. But this beauty deserved a refinish, I think. 😊
Great repair I really enjoyed watching your work.
cool seeing how you made the metal parts.
You can truly say this guitar IS 'better than new'😎👍
Amazing craftsmanship!
That wax trick on the fret job is genius!
Wax on, wax off
Great resurrection! Your skills are impressive!
It was a Levin guitar which Christopher Plumber played in the film, The Sound of Music
I'd want you in my team at a pub quiz
It makes sense perfectly!! Thank you so much!!!
Nice job!
Good job that was a great video sir
Viel besser als vorher !!
Nice video, great restoration was ork. How many hours did you need?
Around 6 months, but I worked on it between other jobs. If I did it in one go it'd maybe take two weeks?
Bravo Mastery...😊😊😊
I really enjoyed watching you work on this guitar! Very good work! I'm just sorry that Tweety Bird had to go at the end.
Thanks! Me too, but his spirit will live on in our hearts ❤️
Good Job! Well done 👍
Olá, o cordal foi uma exigência do cliente? Poderia ter colocado pinos na ponte igual um 00 da martin já que usou um xbracing?
Classical bridges are quite a bit different from pinned steel strings bridges, so probably not. Best thing for it is the tailpiece, really
Excellent work! I kinda wish you hadn't leveled the fretboard and left the "played in" feeling on it. Some of the best playing guitars I've ever tried have the dips and curves in the fretboard that only come from playing a guitar for 50 years, but I hate when they have worn out frets that catch the strings or wont let you bend notes.
nice work man. But I have a question - why do you use PVA glue and not the hide glue? It will be dificult to restore quitar in future. Or is there some reason?
Titebond is convenient and consistent. I've never had a problem separating a titebond joint when needed.
@@CranmerGuitars thank you 🙂
Great work, but it seems more than this guitar is worth!
Absolutely, but the owner had the guitar since new and wanted to play it again. Sentimental repairs like these are pretty common and often cost more than the guitar is worth
@@CranmerGuitars agree. memories of old time are priceless
The new tuner bushing looks fantastic, I would have replaced all of them.
Any idea how many hours a job like this takes?
Not sure, I usually do these kinds of restorations between other jobs so I can keep costs down. Maybe a couple hours a week over a 6 month period?
Excellent instruction!!! Thanks for posting.
Repair cost was many times what the guitar was worth monetarily, but I'm sure his Dad loved it!
Ok so you just used the same bridge with no attempt at compensating for steel strings? How's the intonation?
Surprisingly it was spot on 😏
Nice work as always Isaac. Will I see you in Paris next year?
Not looking likely, however I'll be in Newark at the start of December for an Anniesland/ Newark Guitar race if you're about
Because you changed the "Antonio Torres" fan model, which was the original model of the guitar and you are doing a restoration that the idea of it is to maintain the originality
👍
Respectful repair. i forgot my meal time.
I'd love to give you a second opinion on that top brace yes it is broken and did you see that puddy tat❤ great job by the way
Thanks! I wasn't sure myself
Why not hide glue?
Because I always forget where I hid it
The thing is……..we belittle the old cheap guitar. But the old cheap guitars were made of wood that no longer grows. Aren’t we finding that it’s wonderful to upgrade and make useful this musical instrument. And isn’t it wonderful to watch a master produce art from it just as, or more so, beautiful than buying a “name brand” for much more that is not nearly so nice? Good on you for changing the way we think of “tradition”. Transformation of the past, using a combination of tradition and the modern to make the world a better place. Love this.
Poor Tweety, he really thought he had made the cut.
I think the finish should have been done 😊
Not a chance! People pay good money to get their guitars looking half as reliced as this
I do not think they ever made a guitar with a combo of the traditional metal tailpiece and the "classic" bridge. I have 5 old Levin guitar in this room and 3 in the next room and a few down in my "studio" I am going to fix.
Traditional old style metal tailpiece
th-cam.com/video/U4zcfYAaoBE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SRQ2Mz0cYabiEWa3
Glued bridge
th-cam.com/video/qx3sVsW9PiA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=K6iEa80SLlVM5yAB
Stewmac sell bracing you can make over to the old time bracing like this guitar was built with. Gonna be way cheaper than buying the machinery to make them in the shop.
You're right, they didn't. This guitar was a classical, but was played with steel strings for many years. I suppose someone put the tailpiece on it to take the load off the bridge.
As for the machinery, this is literally my job which is why I made the braces instead of buying them premade from the US 😂
That is some weird bracing
You just need to embrace it 😏
don't change the fan bracing, keep it the way it should be......
As I said in the video, the top was very badly damaged and the owner still wanted to use steel strings. I did what I thought was best for the guitar in the long term
A guitar is just a tool. If drilling a hole in a shovel or bending the tines on a rake would make them serve me better, so be it. My guitars work for me; I don't work for them. We have an understanding that way. 🔨🔫
It’s a sin to turn a classical guitar into a steel string guitar….
Was that in the old testament or new?
@@CranmerGuitarsI'm fairly sure that's in the Mosaic law, so Old Testament.
Thanks as always, Simon with a y 😂
He turned a piece of trash into a musical instrument. The sin was removing Tweety.
Has that ever been done? Perhaps... it would require a lot of extra bracing and I'm not sure what the point would be - but if it hasn't been done it certainly could be and it would not be sinful.
Just slapping steel strings onto a Spanish guitar, however - Eternal Hellfire no doubt about it :D
Question -- always use hide glue on those cracks on acoustic guitars? Is regular Titebond "wood glue" not good? I have a Yamaha I'm trying to fix and I wonder what glue I should use! Thank you!
Titebond for structural joints, hide glue for cracks (if that makes sense)
Una restauración como marca la normativa excelente te doy 10 rondando el 11.