1960 Guild M-65 Freshman Brown Sunburst

Summary: The Guild M-65 “Freshman” is one of Guilds’ finest instruments from this era. It is lightweight, resonant, simply elegant and an effortless guitar to play. The Freshman is one of those guitars that is just hard to put down….whether strummed acoustically or driving an amp, it is enjoyable on all fronts. There is just the right amount of wear on this one, you can tell it was played but well cared for all its life. It ships in an aftermarket Guild hard-shell case which fits it perfectly. Our in house luthier has just set up and restrung this one and it is ready to go!

Body: It has a 3-ply bound carved maple top with a modest brown burst, mahogany back and sides, and semi hollow construction. This is a highly resonant guitar, it is surprisingly loud played acoustically.

Neck: Mahogany set neck with a bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, bone nut, 25.5” scale length and 1.675” nut width.

Pickups/Hardware: It has one single “Franz” P90 pickup in the neck position, one volume, one tone, classic looking yellow see-through knobs, adjustable floating rosewood bridge, (tune-o-matic style bridge included in the case as well as another wooden bridge that may well be the original, string spacing is uneven on that one), and the classy Guild tailpiece. The tuning keys are vintage open back replacement tuners.

Cosmetics: This Guild looks incredible. There are some small nicks and chips in the back of the neck but they do not hinder playability and have been played over so much that they feel smooth, the frets are in fantastic shape with plenty of life left in them. There is some fine pick scratches around the guitar, some chips and flakes missing from the finish, mostly around the edges and the back, some buckle rash and various nicks and dings around the body but no cracks, breaks, structural issues or visible repairs to mention. There is one significant dent on the bottom side of the lower bout, just another battle scar to add to its character.

Playability: Our in house luthier has just inspected, set up and restrung this guitar with a new set of 10s and it is playing beautifully with low action and a straight neck. The frets are in great shape with no major grooves or divots.

Modifications: At some point, one of the retainers on the tailpiece that holds the high E string in place broke off and someone has filed a new slot to hold the string and it works perfectly. (See picture) The tuning keys are vintage open back replacement tuning keys.

Weight: 4 lbs, 12 oz.

Case: This Guild comes in a nice aftermarket Guild hard shell case and we will ship it professionally packed and fully insured!