Guild M-20 Concert Acoustic Guitar - Vintage Sunburst Reviews

I've been wanting a small-bodied acoustic for a while, and my dream was to own an M-20, the "Nick Drake" guitar. This guitar is American made, and very well built. It sounds and looks amazing. The body size is perfect for recording, allowing excellent control over the low end.

This is a special instrument but it probably should not be your only acoustic guitar. First, I hear it for personal, not public, use. At concert size, it can't compete with a dreadnought for volume or projection so it's not likely of much use in most live performance situations. It's an intimate experience cradling this in your arms. It whispers or hums to you rather than roars. Finger picking on this is a quiet marvel. Second, its warm, glowing tone isn't for everybody. If you want to get loud, don't bother. But if you want to hear the inside of your head, the sound your soul makes at rest, this is the thing.

Really was not expecting this much from a small bodied guitar,but the M20 sounds HUGE for its size. Wonderful all around Acoustic that will be my go to guitar more often than not.
Resonant bell like chimes out of the box.Best new guitar ever!!!

My Guild M-20 Vintage Sunburst is incredible. The build and finish is impeccable. The neck is comfortable, the action is low, and the intonation is spot on. The M-20 handles all playing styles, from fingerstyle, flatpicking, to strumming with or without a pick. It has a wonderful sound. I like the size of this guitar. It is very easy to hold and play. I'm fond of fancy binding and "bling" on guitars, whether acoustic or electric. The M-20 has neither and that works well. It is a beautiful guitar in its simplicity. The vintage sunburst is well done and I like the slight spot in the grain. It gives the guitar character! MY M-20 IS A JOY TO PLAY. That's the bottomline. I highly recommend it.

Mahogany guitars, especially parlor/concert sizes, have a very particular sound: richly-textured yet clear, punchy, and with subtle and restrained harmonics compared to a nice dreadnought. I have been playing more fingerstyle blues/jazz lately and wanted a guitar of this type for some of the uglier dissonances, along with the classic retro sound.

And in terms of sound this guitar absolutely delivers. It has a good deal of volume and clarity for its size, and just an incredible range of tone and coloration. The mahogany is just a bit dry, but full of character and color. It definitely brings complex jazz chords to life, without them drowning in a shimmery tone like you can hear on dreadnought. And it really is perfect for acoustic blues: single-string lines can snarl, while chords and bass tones have a punchy, percussive quality. Every time I pick up this guitar I have a blast getting every possible tone I can out of it, and play way longer than I intended. It absolutely filled my specific niche and was worth every penny.

After some ordinary setup it plays fantastically: very quick fretboard, and the neck is quite comfortable. I recommend using a strap or a classical seating position, largely because the truss rod almost seems heavier than the body itself. The tuners are also remarkably stable, even under strong bends/vibrato.

The case is excellent and seems robust. I really appreciated that it came with a nice humidifier. Generally the presentation and QOL tools from Guild were great - and as always excellent packaging and merchant setup from Sweetwater. The only thing I had to do was file the saddle a bit - at first I was concerned about how high it was, but the neck is perfectly aligned with the bridge and the relief was good out of the box. I'm actually glad Sweetwater left it high considering it's the winter. So no issues with the guitar's construction, just a standard, easy setup. My only criticism about the entire deal is that Guild's instruction manual wasn't very informative. Not a big deal - there's nothing cutting-edge here, just good craftsmanship.

I have not noticed really anything negative about this guitar but there are some drawbacks I should mention (shared by nearly all small mahogany guitars):

- it is very quiet and won't work for all bands/gigs. I am using it for solo recording at home with a high-quality mic and preamp and it excels here. But I imagine there are a lot of places where you'd want a spruce top for the loudness and projection, and a lot of singer-guitarists whose natural voice is too loud to hear the guitar without complicated mixing. I can't see this playing nicely with a drummer.

- In my view mahogany bodies aren't especially great cowboy chord guitars - since the chords are musically boring they just sound a bit flat compared to a dreadnought. I don't especially care about that, but it does limit the M-20's versatility. I really think you'd only want this if you played fingerstyle or acoustic lead. It is also an excellent couch guitar (but maybe a bit expensive for that sort of thing)

All that said: if you are looking at similar guitars from Gibson/Martin/etc, I would recommend trying this one out first. I had been looking at more expensive guitars and have been very happy with this (relatively) affordable alternative.

I loves me this guitar. I was hoping for a particular sound, but this beauty has exceeded my wildest imagination.
Beautiful craftsmanship indeed. I've already named her - Little Velvet. Creamy and dreamy all rolled into one. I have a '61 Martin 00-18, but I think Little Velvet sounds better to me. Outstanding value!!!

My Guild M20 arrived yesterday and I am already completely enamored!
So comfortable!- and the tone of this little beast!!
Warm, sweet and articulate... a wonderfully intimate and versatile little guitar.

This guitar is so easy to play and has such a rich, warm tone. I use it for just about every situation whether I'm playing something soft and delicate or if I'm digging in. The range is just fantastic which makes for some really great dynamics within songs.

My experience with this guitar is in line with the other reviews of it. It's an absolutely beautiful instrument and plays exceptionally well. Love the size and the aesthetic of it. Perfect for fingering the blues, which is what I predominantly use it for.

Kudos to Sweetwater for making the buying experience so easy and completely worry free.

First and foremost the new Guild M-20, Vintage Sunburst, is beyond amazing. The look of the vintage sunburst is gorgeous and the satin finish is beautiful. I was searching for a small body guitar for fingerpicking Blues, Folk and the American Primitive. The body dimensions of this guitar, slightly larger than a parlor but smaller than a 00, are perfect and comfortable. The 1 & 3/4 neck and 12" radius are extremely comfortable for fretting notes and fingering. The neck is smooth and easy to play. The all mahogany body is warm, woody, earthy and deep. The sound is gorgeous and the sustain is great as well. The M-20 can handle open tunings and is very easy to record as the overtones and bass are not overbearing.

The search was long but for what I was looking for both sonically, all mahogany, and size, the M-20 is perfect. I changed the strings to Elixir 80/20 polyweb as it brightened the sound a bit with a bit less string squeak. Nothing wrong with the phosphorous bronze but I prefer 80/20 for a more vintage sound and feel.

I named my M-20 Strega, which is Italian for witch. The sound of the M-20 is truly bewitching.

Fat Knuckle Freddy

This guitar has a beautiful, deep, rich tone. The lightweight, small concert body fits comfortably for any player. The M-20 is very easy to record, with a balanced tone response; no booming low end or harsh high-mids. Perfect for fingerstyle or strumming.

This is a great guitar! American made, beautifully crafted. Fit and finish are outstanding. Sound is mellow, focused, more full than you'd expect from the smaller body size. The case is outstanding! Built-in humidifier!
Guild hit it out of the park with this guitar! Love it!

This guitar is everything I expected it to be;it looks beautiful(in a natural way),plays easily,sounds great(espicially for it's size),and stays in tune.In fact,staying in tune is what impresses me most.It was in tune right out of the box, and is yet to go out of tune.Also Sweetwater is by far the best online I have ever done business with;the friendliness and personal attention is like going into a small hometown store,but with better prices,and Josh is amazing!This guitar,Sweetwater, and Josh all get rave reviews!

I've been reading & watching a number of reviews all summer before deciding to buy the Guild M20 Sunburst, so I had built up some expectation, and upon its unveiling I was not let down. The M-20 is a simple but effectively sleek guitar. The satin finished mahogany sunburst has a kind of silky sheen that reminds me of a tiger eye gemstone. The Guild headstock adorned with vintage style open-back, cream-button tuners is a refreshing and classic embellishment. Fitted with a "sloped" C neck that is extremely comfortable to hold and easy to move with. The primary idea of this guitar is certainly aimed at the finger-picker, but the earthy, mellow, robust and responsive tones of this small-bodied guitar holds it's own when strummed with a pick, and especially when the player is dynamically attentive. The only complaint I could find is that the plastic bridge-pins are a little out of place seeing how the rest of the materials are of higher-quality, I plan on replacing them for both function and aesthetic reasons. It's safe to say that I'm pretty stoked on this guitar, thanks Guild!

I tried a new Guild D-20 and liked the sound but I have a couple of dreadnoughts and wants something smaller and something that I could finger pick with a more even sound. The Guild M-20 meets all of those needs and sounds incredible. It has a deep "smokey" sound and sounds very even when picked. I had a natural finish in the D-20 which was decent and I was looking for the same finish for M-20 but the guitars are in in high demand and the factory would not be able to provide one for several weeks so I paid the extra $ for the Vintage Sunburst. It's worth it! It is a work of art. I am very happy with this purchase from Sweetwater. They sent me pictures of the guitar (for many angles and good photography) before it shipped and did their 55 point evaluation of it. I would buy another guitar from Sweetwater.

p.s. Guild provides the little extra--very nice and substantial hard case with a humidity sponge system, a Guild pick and Guild wipe down clothe (it has their logo on it).

I've never been one to purchase a guitar without playing it first. But I have always loved my 1978 Guild F4CE so much that when it was time to consider a different acoustic, I went with Guild. Saw a bunch of reviews of the M20E online. Though it cost a little more, I went with the sunburst, and I'm sure glad I did. It's a beauty. The guitar already feels alive and packs a punch. It's a versatile guitar that sounds and feels as good finger-picked as it does with a flatpick. The electronics are excellent, when playing through a Fishman Loudbox. I'm not yet sure, but it does feel like my high E might not come through the amp as loudly and clearly as the other five strings, but it's not dramatic, if there is a difference at all. Incidentally, I spoke to someone over the phone at Sweetwater who helped me worked out quite a deal to purchase both the M-20E and the Fishman Loudbox Artist. So, I'm in heaven. If I have any complaint at all, and I really don't, would love to see Guild put a strap button on the back of the neck. But this guitar is so small, cozy, and powerful, that it's perfect for strumming and picking in your lap. I look forward to years and years of growing with this beautiful guitar. For the money, I think Guild guitars are the best bargain on the market.

Really love my new M20. just wish sweetwater would've done a beteer job with set up. Also no candy with my order, makes me think Sweetwater isn't paying attention.
Guild has always been my go to for acoustic guitars and this M20 is my forever guitar and I love it.

This is my first all mahogany and my first Guild guitar. I am very pleased with this little guitar. I am also surprised by it! First of all: it is perfect in fit and finish, the fret ends are smooth like glass. As always with Sweetwater...packaged and delivered in perfect condition, set up exactly as I requested. The interior of the guitar is a masterpiece of care in construction, not a glue drip or overfill to be seen. It is amazingly light in weight with a real substantial neck. It is a good bit thicker at the nut than other small guitars that I own, and I find that I really like how it fits and feels secure to hold. It has that warm timbre that I had hoped for in all mahogany. The big surprise to me is that while it is set for fingerpicking, it requires a strong assertive touch in picking to make it ring. It came strung with Elixir strings, so I believe it is the guitar and not the strings that determine this touch. Lovely case included. This American made Guild is a gem.