Guild F-20 Sunburst (1974)

JethroTech

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I just thought I'd share what has quickly become my all-time favourite acoustic guitar. I can not put this thing down. According to the serial number, it's a 1974 Guild F-20 in sunburst. It has a few scratches but no cracks or serious damage and even came complete with the original red-lined chipboard case. I have acquired a few Guild electrics over the past few years and quickly became a fan so I rolled the dice on an eBay auction for an F-20 and was not disappointed.

The inside of the guitar is stamped "Guild" on the backside brace but there is no sticker that identifies it as an F-20. Also, I can't find any other pictures of one with the solid black binding like this one has--they all seem to have cream-coloured binding. Any thoughts on why this one would be different? I'm certainly not complaining, but there is something really sharp about a sunburst acoustic with cream (ivory) binding.

Thanks for looking.

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Sal

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Greetings Jethro, and a fantastic first post! That is a beautiful F20 and I especially love the deep rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Congrats.
 

walrus

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Welcome to LTG! Beautiful guitar!

FYI, the truss rod cover is upside down...

walrus
 

Cougar

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I just thought I'd share what has quickly become my all-time favourite acoustic guitar. I can not put this thing down.

Well, that's the main thing. Congrats! I love a burst!

Looks like your F20 (an "F" non-jumbo? :stupid:) got a new bridge at some point (it's shaped differently than other pics of F20s). And here's another one with black binding (that sold on reverb 3 years ago).
 

adorshki

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Welcome aboard Jethro!
The inside of the guitar is stamped "Guild" on the backside brace but there is no sticker that identifies it as an F-20.
Many reports here of guitars from that era that lost their labels. Seems like the glue quality was kinda weak, or maybe some of 'em just didn't get enough of it. Don't know if they were pre-gummed or not, can't remember ever seeing an answer to that.

Also, I can't find any other pictures of one with the solid black binding like this one has--they all seem to have cream-coloured binding. Any thoughts on why this one would be different? I'm certainly not complaining, but there is something really sharp about a sunburst acoustic with cream (ivory) binding.
2 possibilities: It was standard to use the black binding on a 'burst, (my suspicion) or it simply got black for no discernible reason (not unheard of with Guild when it comes to variations from "catalog spec")




Looks like your F20 (an "F" non-jumbo? :stupid:)
Yep, body size was denoted by number not letter.
In descending order of original lineup:
F50,40,30,20; with the '20's and '30's also getting an all-hog "M" model (M20, M30)
"JF" wasn't even used until Gruhn era, mid-'80s'


got a new bridge at some point (it's shaped differently than other pics of F20s).
No, they had those by '74 but not sure when started, here's another:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Vintage-1974...860572?hash=item41c057e75c:g:CwMAAOSwuLZYzGZW
 
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JethroTech

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Wow. Thanks for all the great information, Adorshki. And thanks to all for the warm welcome. Now to find an M-20 :)
 

sailingshoes72

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Welcome to LTG! That's a sweet little guitar. I seem to notice a 1/4" jack on the treble side of the end pin. Does it have a pickup?

Bill
 

JethroTech

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Welcome to LTG! That's a sweet little guitar. I seem to notice a 1/4" jack on the treble side of the end pin. Does it have a pickup?

Bill
Good eye, Bill :) Yes, it has a pickup under the bridge but I don't know anything about it. I'm fairly certain it's not factory as I can't find any record of an F-20 from that era that came with a factory pickup but maybe someone else knows something about it. I can see a braided shielded metal cable that leads to the jack but can't make out the pickup itself.

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adorshki

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Wow. Thanks for all the great information, Adorshki. And thanks to all for the warm welcome. Now to find an M-20 :)
Original builds ( late '50's early '60's) are kinda rare, especially in good condition, and then they're typically priced pretty high, but every once in a while somebody lucks out.
They've got a bit a of a cult status as well due to having appeared on the cover of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter which keeps alive a myth that it's his guitar and he used it on that album.
Actually, it was simply lying around where and when when the cover photo shoot was on, so there it is.
So now it's almost impossible to see a listing for a vintage sample without seeing Drake's name.
And if memory serves, the truth's better than the myth, there's actually a Clapton connection somewhere, like it was actually his guitar and he gifted it to Drake or it was left behind in a house Clapton lived in...memory's a little fuzzy on the specifics of that one.
Good news is that new Guild owners Cordoba have already re-issued 'em out of Oxnard CA and new owners here have given 'em good reviews for sound but a couple of finish blems were let out that probably shouldn't have been.
But hey it was their very first model to be shipped.

Good eye, Bill :) Yes, it has a pickup under the bridge but I don't know anything about it. I'm fairly certain it's not factory as I can't find any record of an F-20 from that era that came with a factory pickup but maybe someone else knows something about it.
OK, I had time to search, and I'd forgotten about this:
http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/gallery_detail.php?id=171
Photo of one of Hans Mousts' personal M20's with a jack in that location and the '69 electronics package.
So it seems reasonable to guess that if they could do it on an M20 it woulda been the same on an F20.
Whether they did it in the '70's I can't answer, except that they were very flexible about accepting special orders for something that may not have been "regular production".
Also during the '70's they were offering the Barcus Berry Hot Dots system, in which the transducers were embedded in the bridge on either side of the saddle, just not sure when that started.
 
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JethroTech

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Once again, adorshki, I appreciate all this info. I'm really enjoying learning about Guild acoustics as this is the first one I've ever owned. I finally had a chance to plug the guitar into my electric guitar amp and try out the pickup. It's very faint sounding but it seems to be working.

Thanks again.
 

GuildFS4612CE

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Electric guitar amps usually assume you'll be using some sort of preamp, pedal, DI box, etc.

And you might want to look for the battery in the guitar to change it out, assuming it's an active PUP...try looking around in the soundhole with a mirror...the older ones were often stuck in there with Velcro...if it's passive, then, you do need a preamp of some sort to up the signal to the amp.
 

sailingshoes72

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Good eye, Bill :) Yes, it has a pickup under the bridge but I don't know anything about it. I'm fairly certain it's not factory as I can't find any record of an F-20 from that era that came with a factory pickup but maybe someone else knows something about it. I can see a braided shielded metal cable that leads to the jack but can't make out the pickup itself.

You can pick up a handy mirror at the auto parts store. Just ask for a telescoping, inspection mirror. I bought one this week for 5 bucks. It is also useful to check and see that the ball ends of the strings are seated properly... a tip I picked up here on LTG.

Bill
 

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Funny how what goes around, comes around... Found this F20 listed on a local Canadian classified:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1397857190


f20.jpg



What caught my eye is that it was listed as a m20... which it is obviously not. So I contacted the seller to let him know his m20 was actually a F20, and did a little research which led me to this post here on LTG. Turns out, this is the same guitar! The current seller told me he had bought it about 1.5 years ago, which is about the time this post came out, but also says he is not the OP (JethroTech). I'm always curious about the story behind the guitar, why we love them one minute, and then sell them the next. I'm not criticizing... I've done it myself!

If JethroTech is still here, I'm curious... did you just fall out of love with this F20?
 

richardp69

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I'm not typically a small bodied guitar kinda guy but I do love the F 20's. It would be hard to fall out of love with one I would think. I sell guitars often but my reason is either I just don't care for the guitar (doesn't happen very often), I find myself in a financial situation that needs some cash or most typically, I find something else I want more and the only way to pay for it is by selling something I have.
 

wileypickett

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Re Nick Drake:

I've told the story several times here, but here it is again: The Guild F-20 that Nick Drake posed with for the cover of his *Bryter Layter* album originally belonged to Eric Clapton, who gifted it to photographer Nigel Waymouth, who had been hired to take photos for Nick's album.

The photo shoot was done at the photographer's studio, where the guitar was on hand. Waymouth offered it to Nick as a prop for the photo.

This story is recounted in the *Nick Drake, Remembered For a While*, a beautiful book, which I recommend to fans of the artist.
 

ClydeTower

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Re Nick Drake:

I've told the story several times here, but here it is again: The Guild F-20 that Nick Drake posed with for the cover of his *Bryter Layter* album originally belonged to Eric Clapton, who gifted it to photographer Nigel Waymouth, who had been hired to take photos for Nick's album.

The photo shoot was done at the photographer's studio, where the guitar was on hand. Waymouth offered it to Nick as a prop for the photo.

This story is recounted in the *Nick Drake, Remembered For a While*, a beautiful book, which I recommend to fans of the artist.


Eh... wouldn't that be an M20... not an F20?

I was just curious why JethroTech had sold his F20 so soon after picking it up...
 
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