1961 Guild® Mark II Very Good, Original Soft, $495.00
According to The Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, the Guild Mark II classical guitar was manufactured from 1961 to 1986. Gruhn’s Guide and Vintage Guitar Price Guide basically agree, although there is some disagreement as to specific features. Like most classical guitars, it’s smaller than the dreadnought or jumbo series, measuring 14 ½” at the lower bout, with a scale of 25 ½.” Like its rival, the Gibson C-1, it may have been designed more for the coffee house of the 1960s folk music scene or classical performance than for the blue grass stage. However, it still has enough carrying power for anybody and is a beautiful example of Guild craftsmanship.
The Mark II features a solid spruce top with mahogany back, sides, and three-piece neck in a polished satin natural finish, a rosewood wrap-around bridge, and a 12/19-fret rosewood finger board. It has an ornate patterned rosette and full binding on both the top and the back. The slotted classical headstock has no logo, but is set off beautifully by the pearloid buttons on the open nickel tuners. The serial number displayed both on the back of the headstock and on the label of this guitar (18054) dates it as late 1961, and it is therefore one of the first ones made.
As might be expected after 56 years of making music, there are a few cosmetic concerns: some slight crazing or cracking in the finish and a few small dings and bruises. However, there’s no end pin and almost no wear around the sound hole, indicating that it was not banged on for years as a folk guitar rather than a classical guitar as Guild presumably intended. There is very little actual fret wear, presumably due to its nylon strings.
The action is medium low for a nylon-string guitar at a bit over 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, the neck is straight, the top is flat, and naturally playing music for fifty-six years has made that Guild sound even better, more resonant, and more powerful. Obviously, this guitar is not for a collector to put in a museum; this is a player’s guitar, and I sincerely hope that its next owner is someone who will play it well and often.
The case is apparently the original Guild deluxe chip board case. It naturally fits this guitar’s dimensions perfectly, and is in adequate shape, inside and out, with an aging plush interior and cool tarnished hardware which still functions okay. The handle is solid, and it affords outstanding vintage protection for this fine vintage guitar.
Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower forty-eight states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashiers and personal checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.
I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this vintage instrument, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please check out the pictures and ask any questions you might have before offering to buy it.
Thank you for your interest in this cool guitar!
Payments by Paypal, cashier’s checks, money orders, or personal checks are acceptable, but all payments must clear my bank before the guitar will be shipped. I will CONSIDER reasonable offers, even including installment payments and trade-ins, but generally since I already attempt to price my guitars very competitively, unusual deals must be unusually sweet.
From henceforth [that's how retired English teachers talk], insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states is $55 due to constantly rising shipping costs unless a specific listing says otherwise; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. I have sold guitars to Russia, Japan, Australia, and over 50 other countries, as well as almost every state in the USA. Since some of my guitars travel thousands of miles, I take care to use lots of packing materials, protect the neck inside the case, and of course de-tune the strings.
I make every effort to describe and illustrate each guitar and case with scrupulous accuracy. However, many of my instruments are well-played vintage items which are many years old, and I am not a luthier. One should assume that any guitar will require some set-up to satisfy your personal requirements, and that not every flaw or ding will be seen/recognized/described in the listing. Thus the return of an instrument will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please read the listing carefully, check out the pictures, and ask any questions you might have before offering to buy.