Would like some info on my M80?

[Guitar Nerd]

Hello all, my first post here. Hope I've come to the right place. Can you help feed my need to feed my nerd tendencies by providing or pointing me towards some info on my Guild M80? I picked it up a few years ago but never really found much info other than the ad with the dude with the big hair and octopus fingered chord stretch. I think the serial number dates it back to '76. I'm thinking of letting it go as I rarely play it, but they rarely come up so I've no real idea of its value. I believe the pickups are Alnico. Would that be right? She plays and sounds fantastic but oh my is she heavy!

 

[GGJaguar]

Here's an excellent review by GAD!

Guild 1975 M-80 CS | GAD's Ramblings

This odd-looking guitar came to me at the right price so I couldn’t pass up the chance to own, play, and write about the seemingly not very popular Guild M-80-CS. This example is from 1975, and is in pretty darn good condition for an almost 40-year-old guitar. Let’s take a close-up look at this...

www.gad.net

 

[Guitar Nerd]

Thanks @GGJaguar, (and @GAD) that really helped. Mine also had issues with the neck binding but that's been fixed now. I remember just after I bought it (around 20 years ago) a friend of mine had just spent around £5k on an LP and was gobsmacked at how much better my M80 played and sounded for a fraction of the price. I bought a Newark Street Bluesbird a few years ago thinking it would be nice to have a single cut version of the M80, but was a bit disappointed to find out it was nothing like it, but that's another story. I note that GAD posted that review a few years ago now. Anyone got any idea of current value range?

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome.

Gear | Reverb

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

reverb.com

had 4 ranging from $1500-$2000 when I checked.

Sold listings

Guild Guitars | Reverb

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

reverb.com

go from $800 to $2000.

I did not dig into any of the listings to check for condition, modifications or how closely they compared to your and, of course, prices are in USD.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Hello Nerd,

Yours is the first of three versions of the M-80. Here are the three:



Believe it or not, they got even heavier then yours!

 

[tonepoet]

Hi Nerd, I have one that looks like a twin to Grot's Tobacco Burst and it is heavy and solidly built. Built in 1981, as I recall. The mini-toggle on mine is a coil-cut switch. My understanding is that Guild wired it for either coil-cut or reversing polarity for the thinner sound that was a popular trick, at the time.

 

[BradHK]

Hello Nerd,

Yours is the first of three versions of the M-80. Here are the three:



Believe it or not, they got even heavier then yours!

Wasn’t there two “versions” of the earlier 1970’s style making that four versions? I thought the first ones were all mahogany and then the last couple of years of that style had a maple cap. Mine is a 1979 with a maple cap and I thought the 1978 and 1979 catalogs specifically mentioned the maple top (I am a little too lazy right now to look it up in the catalogs). Not sure if a maple versus mahogany cap qualifies as a different “version” but I thought I would put it out there. Here is my 1979 with a maple cap:

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Depends on how deep you pick your nit!

Three different body shapes/styles, the first having two different body constructions.

 

[Guitar Nerd]

@The Guilds of Grot I really don't mind a bit of weight in a guitar. To me it makes me feel like I'm holding something substantial. I'm not much of a fan of the light weight guitars the youngsters seem to favour these days. Maybe it's just me but they feel cheap. I'm surprised they got even heavier though. Mine weighs in at a meaty 7.3lbs. My back certainly knows I've been playing it after a couple of hours. Didn't know the design had changed so much on the 80's ones. @fronobulax Thanks for that info, I wasn't aware you could search sold listings on reverb. I shall do some digging. @BradHK looks really nice with the natural maple cap. @tonepoet I vaguely remember reading there were two versions with the mini toggle switch either being a coil split or phase switch. Mine is the phase switch.

Thanks to you all for the great info, seems like I came to the right place after all

Another question for you... Don't know if you can see it in the photo that well but the finish on mine is quite dull. Do you reckon it's worth restoring it to a high gloss finish or should I leave well alone?

 

[BradHK]

7.3 pounds? Heavy? That’s probably the lightest M-80 in existence!

 

[Guitar Nerd]

7.3 pounds? Heavy? That’s probably the lightest M-80 in existence!

Typo. I meant 9.3lbs

 

[GGJaguar]

Typo. I meant 9.3lbs

For an M-80, that makes more sense!

 

[SFIV1967]

Another question for you... Don't know if you can see it in the photo that well but the finish on mine is quite dull. Do you reckon it's worth restoring it to a high gloss finish or should I leave well alone?

"Restoring" as "refinishing" = no.
Try some "Virtuoso" brand polish instead. Seriously, good stuff! And no silicone content. Never use any silicone based cheap polishes.
Ralf

 

[Guitar Nerd]

"Restoring" as "refinishing" = no.
Try some "Virtuoso" brand polish instead. Seriously, good stuff! And no silicone content. Never use any silicone based cheap polishes.
Ralf

Oh for sure, I wasn't thinking of stripping and refinishing. more cutting and polishing. Out of curiosity what's the issue with silicone based polishes?

 

[fronobulax]

Out of curiosity what's the issue with silicone based polishes?

Short answer - silicone soaks into bare wood and makes it impossible to touch up or refinish. Longer answers will follow, I'm sure.

 

[mavuser]

those are beautiful Guilds but i picked up all of Grots and they are all way too heavy for me, as was the 70s M-75. I think I would need to sit down if i were playing one!

 

[Guitar Nerd]

Short answer - silicone soaks into bare wood and makes it impossible to touch up or refinish. Longer answers will follow, I'm sure.

I did a bit of research after you posted this. A sense of panic as I am currently in the middle of doing the same job on an old telecaster I also own. From the research I've done it seems that silicone does indeed leave a film which can't be removed, (not that I doubted you), preventing polishes, tints, paints, glues etc from adhering to the surface, so not only does it make touch ups impossible it also contaminates everything else and can spread from one guitar to another. I've been repairing, maintaining and setting up guitars for years but always avoided refinish/touch up jobs and have only just decided to add this aspect to my skill set. Can't believe I'd never come across this before, so I'm extremely grateful for your warning. Thankfully the product I'm using is silicone free. Just dodged a bullet there I think. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket this week too

 

[fronobulax]

Can't believe I'd never come across this before

As an electric bass player I had never heard of it until I started hanging around LTG and the acoustic owners were cautioning people. the good news is now you know.

 

[DrumBob]

Hello Nerd,

Yours is the first of three versions of the M-80. Here are the three:



Believe it or not, they got even heavier then yours!

I carried around the prototype of that center M-80 for months, showing it to guitar players and reporting back to management. Our sales reps were screaming for an alternative to the S series guitars, which didn't sell particularly well after a while. I think our sales rep, Tony Colantonio, finally bought the prototype.

 

[matsickma]

I had a transparent deep red '80's M80. Only one I ever seen with that color. The guitar was heavy but very comfortable. The SF4 body shape with thick maple cap and smooth rounded edges made for a very comfortable guitar to play. The 80's version is substantially thinner than the '70's version yet heavier. That is one of the guitars on my "regret selling" list! BTW the '70's version M80 is a fantastic guitar. The double cutaway balances the guitar out nicely. Overall the M-80's are great guitars!
M