Guild F-20NT Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967)

Guild  F-20NT Flat Top Acoustic Guitar  (1967)
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Item # 9824
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Guild F-20NT Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # AG-2111, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top; rosewood fingerboard, original black chipboard case.

The often very fine-sounding Guild flat tops of the 1960s can be surprisingly hard to find these days, and we always look for them! This guitar is a 1967 natural-top F-20, the smallest body size in the company's line up. The F-20 was one 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 mahogany. This one has typical features for this era, including a "center peak" headstock faced in plastic with an inlaid Guild logo and mounting Japanese-made strip tuners. It is a smooth little finger-or-flatpicking guitar with a vibrant and surprisingly powerful sound, and also works very well as a strummed chord machine.

These 1960's Guilds are still under-appreciated compared to many other vintage flat-tops. This F-20 is an extremely well-built little guitar, much lighter in construction than the typical 1970s Guilds and easily a match in sound for similar Martin offerings from the same era. The guitar has survived very well with some typical minor repairs but very little play wear. This F-20 would make an extremely nice recording or gigging guitar today, and stands as a lovely example of one of the best small body flat tops of the 1960s.

 
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 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 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This is a very clean and nicely original guitar with only light wear and some older repair work. Overall the finish is very clean with just small dings and dents, and some light pick marks into but not through the top finish above the soundhole. The guitar likely was not properly humidified at some point, and as a result there are several old repaired spruce grain cracks to the top running from the back edge of the bridge to the rim. Other than these the instrument is crack free.

The guitar has never had or needed a neck reset, which is a welcome surprise on a Guild flat top from this era. The original frets are in very good shape with virtually no wear. The original bridge has a new bone saddle and may have been cut down slightly but still has plenty of height. The guitar has a very comfortable action and is an excellent player with a big sound for such a small instrument! We love these small-body Guilds from the 1960's and this is one of the nicest playing ones we have had, still housed in the original heavier Guild chipboard case. Overall Excellent - Condition.