After the breakup, Goyas were again distributed by Hershman Musical Instrument Corp., which by then had moved in next door. From ’59 until ’63, Hagström built Goya electric guitars before a disagreement caused Hagström and Hershman to part ways. 23rd Street, which may have been a partnership with Hagström. Later that year, Hershman established Goya Guitars, Inc. In ’59, he expanded the Goya line with electric guitars made by Swedish accordion builder Hagström, beginning with the innovative plastic-covered hollowbody Deluxe and Standard models with modular pickup assemblies. In ’54, Hershman introduced Levin-made acoustic guitars under his own brand, Goya, as an alternative for players who couldn’t afford a Martin, Guild, or Gibson but wanted something better than a Kay and Harmony. On a buying trip in 1952, Hershman met the owners of Levin Guitars, one of the largest makers in Europe. One prominent New York “jobber” was Jerome Hershman, whose Hershman Musical Instrument Corporation was exhibiting at NAMM shows by 1940, maybe earlier. Stores were supplied by distributors who bought instruments wholesale from manufacturers such as Harmony, Kay, Regal, Valco, United, then marked them up and delivered them to places like Durdell’s Music. There were no Guitar Centers, no vintage-guitar shows, no internet. In the ’50s, guitars were typically obtained one of two ways – ordered from catalogs published by Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward, or bought from a local music store.

The ’62 Goya catalog (right) included Hagstrõm-made guitars. 1965 Goya Rangemaster American guitars made in the 1950s and ’60s constitute an almost-holy canon, yet most players in that era took their first steps on imported instruments – often good and interesting in their own right, like the Goya Rangemaster.

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