M240E Troubadour

review
GUILD TROUBADOUR M-40E AND M-240E
104
Guitarist OctOber 2017
GUILD M-40E AND M-240E TROUBADOUR
£1,785 & £445
ContaCt Selectron UK Ltd Phone [phone] Web www.guildguitars.com
What You Need To Know
M-40 – is this a new model?
Yes, and no. It’s the guitar formerly
known as the F-20, a concert-shaped
folk guitar from the late 60s and 70s.
With the help of master luthier Ren
Ferguson, Guild are promising the
same vintage character.
What kind of character are they
promising?
Guild calls it a “delicate, well-rounded
tone that is perfect for fingerstyle
playing and light strumming”. And
the old F-20s were known for a sound
that punched above their smaller
stature so we hope to see that lineage
continued, this time with an LR Baggs
Element VTC to add versatility for
stage use.
So where does the M-240 come in?
This is an affordable take on the M-40
dimensions, with laminate mahogany
back and sides. But instead of
an undersaddle pickup, it has a
removable magnetic soundhole unit
that also happens to be the first new
DeArmond product in a long time.
body. So, can this new edition uphold
the reputation?
Joining it is a new model under the
Chinese-made Westerly series, an
affordable take on the F-20 blueprint with
an interesting twist; a new DeArmond
product. The first new design from the
Guild-owned brand in this century, no
less. And fittingly from the company
that brought players the first attachable
magnetic pickup, it’s a passive soundhole
affair. A rare addition indeed for an
out-of-the-box acoustic.
With the more understated charms of
satin finishes still very much in demand
amongst players, Guild has adopted to
change from the F-20 gloss tradition and
adopt it for both models here, with the
M-40E available in this natural and an
antique sunburst.
For our Californian Guild it brings a
contemporary touch to the tradition, and
it works well here with the minimalist
pinstripe rosette and purfling. The
tortoiseshell scratchplate also ties in
pleasingly with the dark mahogany back,
sides and neck.
The M-40E is a lightweight guitar
but its neck is an interesting blend of
B
ack in the late 1960s Guild enjoyed
a golden era, building concert-sized
guitars that attracted a wealth
of folk players. Alongside the all-mahogany
M-20, associated with Nick Drake after its
inclusion on the cover of his 1971 album
Bryter Layter, the spruce-topped F-20 and
the longer scale F-30 won favour for their
surprisingly full sounds. But for years they
remained something of an underrated gem
on the vintage market.
Now the old Troubadour has returned
with a new name and the expectation of
recharging its reputation. Alongside it
there’s a more affordable Westerly Series
option that also hosts the surprise 21st
century return for DeArmond. For the
gigging player, these two guitars offer
distinctly different experiences beyond the
obvious build, spec and price comparisons.
This isn’t the first time the F-20 design
has returned to Guild’s line-up, but it is
a Californian debut. In 2012 Guild, then
under Fender ownership, recognised
the growing interest in parlour-sized
acoustics and began producing the
standard model again in its facility in
New Hartford, Connecticut.
Two years later the factory ceased
production, and those models are hard
to find, but with ownership of the Guild
brand passing to the Cordoba Music Group
and the New Hartford machinery moving
to Ventura County in the Golden State
for production in 2015, a Californian F-20
now makes a return. Of sorts. Unlike Guild’s
M-20, it’s now under a new moniker.
The ‘M’ denoting the body size and the
40 signifying spruce top/mahogany
1
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The old Troubadour
has a new name,
but can this edition
uphold its well-
earned reputation?
GIT425.rev_guild.indd 104 9/7/17 5:40 PM