Guild F-20SB Troubador Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1959), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # 11519, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back and sides body, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown soft shell case.

The often extremely fine sounding Guild flattops of the company's Hoboken period are surprisingly hard to find these days; examples this nice are far from common! This is an early example of a sunburst-top F-20, the smallest body size in the company's line up, from 1959. The F-20 was the next model up from the all mahogany M-20 (famously regarded as the "Nick Drake" guitar) and is the same size and shape but with a spruce top instead of all-mahogany construction. This is very a smooth little finger-or-flatpicking guitar, with a vibrant midrangey sound, and also works well as a strummed chord machine.

The bright and unfaded dark reddish-orange sunburst finish seen on this guitar is a standard option but less often seen than a plain natural top. Other period features include the early gold script "Guild" headstock logo, oval truss rod cover, openback Waverly strip tuners and smaller pickguard. The white interior label pictures a figure playing guitar and is specific to this time period, nicknamed the "ghost" label by collectors. This is an extremely well-built little guitar, lighter in construction than typical 1970's Guilds and the sonic equal sound for similar Martin offerings from the same era. This is a fine recording or gigging guitar, a nice example of one of the best small body flat tops of its era.
 
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). A really fine player-fresh neck set, otherwise all original and unmolested-no crack repairs or overspray, the original openback tuners are still intact and functional. Some general finish wear and small chips to the top, but no large areas of finish loss. This is a super nice and fairly early example of this model, with the original soft case. Excellent + Condition.

Item # 4360