Guild F-20 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1965), ser. #AG-195, molded black plastic hard shell case.

Guild F-20 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1965), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # AG-195, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck; spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, molded black plastic hard shell case.

Good playing examples of the often fine sounding Guild flattops of the 1960's can be surprisingly hard to find these days. This is a mid-1965 sunburst-top F-20, the smallest body size in the company's line up. The 13 3/4" wide F-20 was the next model up from the all mahogany M-20 (famously regarded as the "Nick Drake" guitar) and is the same size and shape but with a spruce top instead of all-mahogany construction.

The fairly dark reddish-orange sunburst finish seen on this guitar was a catalog option but less often seen than a plain natural top. The top edge is bound in 4-ply celluloid with a tortoise pattern outer layer, the back is single bound. The back and sides are mahogany, the top a very nice tight even grained spruce. The small curved-bottom rosewood bridge, dainty tortoise celluloid pickguard and plastic headstock veneer are typical Guild fittings for the period. The one-piece mahogany neck has a fairly slim profile with the prominent volute Guild used at the time and an unbound, dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard.

This is an extremely well-built little guitar, much lighter in construction than 1970's Guilds and easily a match in sound for similar Martin offerings from the same era. It listed at $155 in 1965, quite a bit cheaper than the similar Martin 0-18 which saw a big price boost to $200 that same year. This F-20 makes for a smooth little finger-or-flatpicking guitar, with a vibrant midrangey sound and also works well as a strummed chord machine. This one has had a few adventures but remains a fine recording or gigging guitar, one of the best small body flat tops of the 1960's.

Overall length is 39 in. (99.1 cm.), 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This now over 60 year old guitar survives with some typical wear and repair overall remaining a bit scruffy but a very a nice player. The original finish shows a number of dings, dents and scrapes overall, heaviest in some spots on the top and the body edges. A decent amount of finish is worn down to the wood on the back of the neck, which also has some noticeable chipping along the centerline. The top has an odd stained area above the strings between the soundhole and bridge; we don't know what caused this but it is there to stay. There appears to be a finish touch up in this spot be we can't say why, there is no repair in the spot anyway. The top edge of the back of the headstock looks like it got a bit too close to a campfire long ago; the finish is spotted from heat and two of the tuner buttons show some melt wear, though they still work fine.

The guitar has several crack repairs, the most visible a long split to the side in the upper waist which is solidly but sloppily sealed, with a tighter split just above it. The top has one spruce grain split in the typical spot along the top edge of the pickguard, neatly sealed and cleated. There is what looks like a long grain split on the back above the center seam, but it did not go through to the interior. The center back brace has a sealed split in the middle. The headstock facing has a decent sized "classic" cigarette burn below the low E tuner resulting in a spot of plastic missing.

The neck has been reset, a somewhat arduous procedure on old Guilds and the fingerboard trued and neatly refretted with appropriate wire. Some vestigial divots remain in the fingerboard in first position. The original bridge has been reglued and given a new bone saddle. The result of all this work is a truly excellent player, a surprisingly loud and punchy sounding little guitar with a nicely dry woody tone. It lives in a later molded plastic HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.