Guild M-30 How much is it worth?

[Deleted member 63537]

I am looking to sell this beauty. I inherited it. It hasn’t been played in my lifetime that I know of. Do you know how much it is worth today?

 

[jeffcoop]

Someone with better eyes and more market experience than I have will be along shortly, I'm sure, but a couple of quick observations. The M-30 is a relatively rare bird, and a somewhat desirable one at that. But a guitar that's been unplayed for a long time is automatically going to raise concerns about proper humidification and body cracks (this may or may not be much of an issue, depending on your location) and about the status of the neck.

 

[Deleted member 63537]

Good to know. I live in PA. I know that it has been in this case in a closet for a long time.

 

[Neal]

Your M-30 was made in 1964.

#33014 (also made in 1964) is for sale at Carter Vintage, listed at $3,650.

Guild M30 1964, Natural

View the listing for Guild M30 1964, Natural at Carter Vintage Guitar Exchange

cartervintage.com

As is the case with most bricks and mortar stores, Carter’s price is high. How much less you should accept in a private sale is up to you, but that’s the high water mark In today’s market.

We can assume that the Carters guitar is in playing condition. Your guitar has been unplayed, so it might serve you well to take it to a qualified luthier to have it checked out before listing.

When listing, honesty is the best policy. If the guitar needs work, include the luthier’s assessment in your listing, and either be prepared to fix anything it needs before the sale, or factor those repairs into your asking price.

 

[jedzep]

You're in a good place with value, as those seeking an M30 in good shape, like myself, recognize the value of a find, not so concerned with the cost of getting it in shape to get a unicorn guitar.

Unfortunately for buyers, these are running in the 3K zone for starters. Fortunately for my wallet, the narrow nut width and string spacing might put me out of the running.

Can I ask what the nut width is on your guitar? Carter claims almost inch and three quarter.

 

[Deleted member 63537]

Your M-30 was made in 1964.

#33014 (also made in 1964) is for sale at Carter Vintage, listed at $3,650.

Guild M30 1964, Natural

View the listing for Guild M30 1964, Natural at Carter Vintage Guitar Exchange

cartervintage.com

As is the case with most bricks and mortar stores, Carter’s price is high. How much less you should accept in a private sale is up to you, but that’s the high water mark In today’s market.

We can assume that the Carters guitar is in playing condition. Your guitar has been unplayed, so it might serve you well to take it to a qualified luthier to have it checked out before listing.

When listing, honesty is the best policy. If the guitar needs work, include the luthier’s assessment in your listing, and either be prepared to fix anything it needs before the sale, or factor those repairs into your asking price.

Good to know. I will make an appointment to have it assessed.thank you!

 

[Deleted member 63537]

You're in a good place with value, as those seeking an M30 in good shape, like myself, recognize the value of a find, not so concerned with the cost of getting it in shape to get a unicorn guitar.

Unfortunately for buyers, these are running in the 3K zone for starters. Fortunately for my wallet, the narrow nut width and string spacing puts me out of the running.

Can I ask what the nut width is on your guitar? Carter claims almost inch and three quarter.

Hello, I don’t know. it was my grandfather’s. I don’t play or know anything about guitars. I do believe a family member of mine played this at one point years ago. But I’ve had it for a while and I haven’t played it.

I am currently trying to schedule an appointment to have it assessed to see what shape it is in. I am moving and I am looking to sell it to someone that would love it and play it. Otherwise it will go back in it’s case and into a closet.

 

[Norrissey]

Beautiful M-30! Definitely worth getting assessed by a good luthier. I agree with the advice above. Good luck!

 

[HeyMikey]

I’m not interested but would say a realistic value is less than what Carter Vintage is “asking”. The are known to have high prices, but likely also have the high end customers to justify their prices. You could be looking in the $2-3K range which is a wide spread, but it all depends on condition.

Condition is key. Not only cosmetic but structural. There may be a lot of potential repairs needed that are not obvious if you don’t know what to look for. The suggestion to have a good luthier assess it is a good one. Don’t take it to a Guitar center or music store. Find a good reputable luthier or two.

Here are a couple that were sold on Reverb. The price shown is the listing price, not what they sold for. You may find more with a google search.

Guild M30 | Reverb

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

One of our members, Mavuser, had a couple for sale recently. Hopefully he chimes in.

 

[JohnW63]

What a neat little almost birth year for me guitar. I was interested until the word "rare" popped up and the price shortly after that.

 

[Sal]

Nice guitar. What about the case? Is there a makers name or branding on the case anywhere?

.

 

[richardp69]

These are nice guitar and surprisingly (at least to me) project nicely with a warm, woody tone and nice separation between the lows, mids and trebles. I'm on Reverb and the various sites pretty much constantly and I think you'd have to classify this model at least as somewhat rare and honestly, I think more than that. I'm sure I've never seen more than 10 of them in all the years I've been trolling Reverb etc. Given that, I personally wouldn't invest $3k + into the guitar. I think HeyMikey's $2k to $3k range is very much in the ballpark.

I've had a chance to enjoy mine for some time now and so like most all my guitars, it's being sold. I have a sale pending waiting for warmer weather to ship.

Good luck.

 

[Guildedagain]

The guitar looks like it's in fantastic rarely ever played condition, it probably worth as much as Carter's, and he's not high. He's got a black '79 S300 for only $1500, not high at all.

Only 2 have sold on Reverb as far as you can see right now, and none listed.

With the hefty selling fees and taxes going both ways, you might be just as well off selling it for a reasonable price to someone on this site, if not a consignment at a music store, slow, or put it on Reverb yourself.

A luthier inspection is the thing, but I don't see anything wrong with it. It looks like it was very cared for, almost a time capsule instrument.

I hope someone here speaks up for it, but if not, it wouldn't last long on Reverb.

 

[Deleted member 63537]

Nice guitar. What about the case? Is there a makers name or branding on the case anywhere?

.

The case is just a basic hard shell. Nothing special

 

[Guildedagain]

The original case might have been the fiberboard style, but where is it now?

If it fell apart from gigging, it would have been replaced but this doesn't look gigged, therefore thecase should have been in as good a shape as the guitar, so it is sad it's gone but this is a better case for the guitar for shipping.

To me cases affect value too. I don't want to buy an expensive guitar and then hunt down the right case, because I've done that time and again and you never recoup the cost of the original case when you find it, but at least with Guilds the cases are not that hard to find or expensive whereas with Gibson a vintage electric case could be a couple grand or more.

Nice pictures btw, the guitar looks fabulous.

 

[HeyMikey]

Your M30 is cosmetically nice no doubt and being uncommon and desirable is definitely worth putting money into if needed. BTW that wooden rosewood bridge is gorgeous.

Selling here is a good way to go as members are pretty straight up and typically will see to it that the guitar is taken care of and producing beautiful music again.

I can’t really tell from the pictures of the bridge area because the shots are dead on and not at an angle, but the saddle appears to be very low. There is very little string break angle coming over it from what I can see. An angled shot would be helpful.

Below is a great online source for doing a quick DIY assessment of the “neck angle”. Also the action (string height) at the 12th fret will be part of the concern. On older guitars this is a common issue due to the tension of the strings pulling the neck downwards towards the bridge. It is a primary concern as a neck reset (which often also requires a new saddle, fret re-leveling and sometimes a new nut) is often and easily $500-$1000.

Another common issue is fret wear, requiring at least a re-leveling and crowning or possibly a partial or full fret replacement ranging from $150-600. If any cracks or loose braces need to be glued it could be $100+ per repair.

Like someone said earlier the nut width will be of interest as the necks were hand made and varied. People will want to know if it is 1-5/8, 1-11/16, 1-3/4 or in between. Many years ago 1-5/8 was popular but these days most players want 1-11/16 to 1-3/4.

FRETS.COM

 

[CLMacPherson]

Great guitar! Very interested. Pm'd

 

[Guildedagain]

I see a guitar I want I just grab it and worry about the details later, pretty much like most marriages.

 

[HeyMikey]

When I buy a guitar it is always with the intention of keeping it. However, I’ve learned to be at least conscious of how much $$$ I may have to put into it. I know that even with the best intentions I may not bond with it and it may not be a life-long keeper. Pretty much like some marriages.

P.S. Happily married for 34 years.

 

[Sal]

Could you show us another image of the bridge but from an angle. So we can see the height of the white saddle. Like this: