1965 Guild M-20 Flattop Guitar

Update 2022: the owner decided to part with this and so I've updated the photos, video, and description where necessary...

If you've read the blog for a while, you might know that I'm a bit taken with small-body, Hoboken-made Guilds. They're just... great guitars. They're simple, rugged, sound a lot larger than they are, and are perfect couch-potato instruments. Unlike a Martin they're not too velvet-sounding and hi-fi and unlike a same-period Gibson LG-2 or similar they've got a bit more bite and snap in the upper-mids.

The M-20 was clearly a rip-off of a Martin 0-15 from the same time -- satin finish, solid mahogany throughout, lighter x-bracing, short scale -- but it does have a slightly-wider lower bout (almost 00) and a different upper-bout look and body outline. The cute little pickguard helps set these guitars off from the competition, too.

This one needed all the usual work plus a little extra. Now that it's done it plays bang-on and sounds excellent. These have a midsy, punchy sound to them that records just about perfectly. You can bang chords or flatpicked lead lines on it but also enjoy fingerpicking, too.

Repairs included: neck reset, fret level/dress, replacement bridge (original through-saddle one split), seam and hairline crack repairs, new bone saddle, setup, etc.

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 52w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12 custom set

Neck shape: slim-med C

Board radius: ~10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-lower

Scale length: 24 5/8"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 13 7/8"

Body depth: 4 3/16"

Weight: 3 lbs 7 oz

Condition notes: it's original throughout save the new saddle, new bridge, and some tuner-plate screws. There's a couple repaired hairline cracks on the top (pictured) and a cluster of hairline cracks/punch-ins on the treble-lower-bout-side that are all repaired as well (with a little filler). The finish has all the usual weather-checking and whatnot throughout and is a little buffed-up here and duller-there as you'd expect with an old satin finish. It looks prettier in the photos than it is in person but it's respectable. The fretboard extension dips slightly down from the rest of the fretboard over the neck.

It comes with: a decent period chip case (not original and not pictured).