LeVoi guitars

Johan

Hi

Im thinking about going up from the asian-made dell arte i play now and get my hands on a handmade guitar. Any tips? I was looking around and saw a used Levoi ovalhole guitar. Any of you played his guitars?

thanks
Johan

Micky Dunne

Levoi is a great luthier. If it is a reasonable price it will probably be worth it.

andyj

Hi,

I have two Le Voi's and they are great. Mine are both D holes and are easy to play and have a great tone. The Ovals I have played have been good as well, can't say I have ever played a bad one to be honest.

Andy

Pascal

I live about 20mins away from John Levoi, who's taken care of my guitars for a few years now. He is a great luthier, and wonderful to work with.

He's been building Selmer copies since the seventies, so he is clearly one of the most experienced luthiers in the world in this domain. And unlike some other famous names, he is still a one-man operation, so when you buy a Levoi, you can be sure it was built by John.

I finally was lucky enough to find one of his guitars (2nd hand oval hole) at a great price about a month ago... really a great instrument. Flawless finish, great playability, and a tone to die for: it's all here: the attack, the highs, the mids, the deep basses... I couldn't be happier.

At the prices they go for at rf Charles (around 3000€, IIRC), I would certainly think about it twice, would try many other guitars before taking a decision (Dupont, ALD, Marin...). But if, like me, you're lucky enough to find a 2nd hand one for around £1000 (about 3 times cheaper than another used Levoi for sale by rf Charles).... Just get it. NOW. Because it's really a steal.

Atle St.

I have an oval hole LeVoi guitar for sale. Made for me in 2002, almost not used at all. The orginal strings are still on.
Its a short scale model, 12 frets to the body ("transitional model" as John Le Voi called it). (Me and) the guitar is in Oslo.

djangology

There is a LeVoi on Elderly.com that has been for sale for years without selling: http://elderly.com/vintage/items/45U-1321.htm

TimmyHawken

I have played that Le Voi at Elderly dozens of times (I live 5 minutes away from Elderly) it truly is a wonderful guitar. Its tone is really nice. The reason I'm not interested in it, other than I like my Dupont better, is that it's without a doubt the smallest Sel-Mac style guitar I've ever seen. Not only is it a 12 fret, it has a 25 3/16" scale and 1 3/4 nut width. I feel like a giant when I play it. But it really is a fantastic guitar, perfect for someone with smaller hands or maybe some that is limited by arthritis.

pinkgary

I wish i lived 5 minutes from Elderly....

JazzDawg

Djangology, I think that one sold, as the linked page says it is 'no longer available'. However, this may be available.

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/LVD12P.htm

Maccaferri copy with cutaway and D-shaped soundhole (like Django Reinhardt's first guitar made by Selmer), 12 fret neck, solid rosewood sides and back, slightly arched solid spruce top, decorative purfling lines around top & sides, 640mm (25-3/16") scale, 1-3/4" nut width, ebony fretboard, gold hardware, Bigtone transducer pickup with 1/4" endpin jack, handcrafted in England by John Le Voi, with HSC.
#LVD12P .. Inquire for Price

TimmyHawken

The only problem w/ living 5 minutes away from Elderly is that you have to live in Lansing, MI :shock: Elderly is great though, you can play on $10k+ guitars for an hour w/o any of the sales reps even bugging you. I only wish that they catered to the Django stuff a bit more.

BTW, the tag on the guitar at the shop is $2950, you could talk them down off that price a bit I'll bet though. They are generally open to negotiation I've found and that guitar has been there for 5 years at least.

pe1er

I have a LeVoi Dhole made 2013, its a very beautiful instrument!