I've been toying with the idea of buying a vintage M-20 for a long time, but all the examples I found were in pretty bad shape, and I got kind of scared off after my experience with my '66 Starfire III. I prefer beefier necks and wider nuts, and wasn't too crazy about the stories of small necks and narrow nut widths of the original models, so I just kind of kind of resigned myself to accepting I wouldn't own one.
When I heard Cordoba had bought Guild and was planning on revamping the brand, I was excited. And when they announced the M-20 and the specs of the guitar I was even more excited. I mean, this list checks so many boxes for me:
- Solid African Mahogany
- Scalloped X Bracing
- Indian Rosewood Fretboard
- 1 3/4" Nut Width
- 2 1/4" String Spacing
- 24 3/4" Scale Length
- Full C-Shape Neck
- Bone Nut and Saddle
- Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Growing up a huge Nick Drake fan I've always wanted an M-20 (whether he actually played one or not is a topic of discussion on many forums across the interwebs). As a kid I used to lay on the floor with headphones and listen to his albums, staring at the cover of him holding one on Bryter Layter. I just fell in love with that image and sound.
I mean, how cool is that??
There was always this mystique to the M-20 that I couldn't shake, and I would listen to those recordings over and over, trying to decipher his tone and playing style. Sound-wise, I could sometimes get close with my Martin, but it's a little too 'big' to really capture the close immediacy of his tone. Whether or not he really used one, Guild claims to have modeled the tone after Nick Drake's, and honestly, I think they nailed it — I can honestly say I've never gotten closer to this as I have with the M-20 (tuned to CGCFCE, capo on the 2nd fret). I put a set of Chrome flats on it, and although the strings are still brighter than I prefer and the guitar needs time to open up, I'm very happy with it. I think this will mature into something even warmer and more lovely (like my Martin did), and though I'm not one to buy new guitars, I'm glad I bought this one. I'm partial to sunbursts, but opted for the simpler classic model.
If you want to explore more, here are some demos that I think showcase it very well (here and here).
And finally, some pics. Just before I took these my dog walked by and apparently decided to donate one of her hairs to the photoshoot. It's there on the truss cover, and I'm feeling too lazy to retake the pics.