Guild M-20 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1963), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # 25449, natural mahogany finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard.
The often very fine sounding Guild flattops of the 1960's are surprisingly hard to find these days; examples this well preserved are far from common! The M-20 was Guild's least expensive guitar in the 1950's and '60's and while not a rare model per se has become one of the company's most sought-after vintage instruments in recent years. The highly influential English singer/songwriter Nick Drake is known to have played the M-20 extensively and so the model is linked in the popular imagination to his legend. Even apart from this connection the instrument itself has much to recommend it. A small body all-mahogany guitar, the M-20 has a different tonal character from any other Guild and excels particularly as a fingerpicking instrument. The neck is slim and comfortable, somewhat in between typical Martin and Gibson spec, and arguable is a better guitar of this type than either company was producing in 1963.
This early-60's model is very lightly built, especially for a Guild! With no binding and only the plainest inlay the M-20 has a very austere look but a typically smooth, expansive sound. The tuners are the original Waverly strips with plastic buttons and the headstock is faced with the typical Guild plastic overlay, with a bit of the usual shrinkage. This M-20 dates to mid-1963 and is much rarer than the more typically encountered late 1960's/early '70's model, with a somewhat more responsive sound. A lovely little guitar, this is an exceptionally nice example of an instrument we receive many requests for.
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). A very nice example overall; used but not abused and an excellent sounding M-20. There are some wear marks; several long scratches to the finish on the back and a capo scrape behind the nut are the most notable. The top of the bridge has been rounded down slightly and there is one repaired top crack just behind the bridge; no other alterations or repairs. An very nice player with a superb low action and plenty of the distinctive tone this model is justly renowned for. Overall Excellent Condition.
