January 1987 a manufacturing alliance was made to bring the highest integrity in build with the most innovative developments. During this time I learned in great detail about manufacturing techniques and also developed new ideas for electronics and hardware but was told by manufacturers that my ideas were “too revolutionary.” So I decided to do it myself. I began doing on-site consulting in Japan and Korea for other manufacturers in the early 80’s. I built custom guitars to order over the next 10 years, never making the same guitar twice. But my passion for guitars was too great. In 1977 I opened Guitars by Levinson in Basel, Switzerland with the idea of simply taking a year off from my studies. My studies brought me to the University of Basel in 1971, where I was involved marine research work over the next six years. What a fantastic training ground to develop a line of instruments! You learn what is wrong with many instruments and how to make them right. The wonderful thing about doing repair and customizing work is that you learn what guitarists wish their instruments would do – what they really would like their instrument to give them in regard to features, feel, playability and, of course, sound. During the coming years we served musicians from Leo Kottke over REO Speedwagon to the Grateful Dead when they came through the area on tour. In 1968, while at the University of Illinois, I started doing guitar and violin repairs at a local shop and shortly thereafter set up a repair business with a friend. It began as a hobby and quickly grew to a passion.
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