2016 "Nick Drake" Guild M-20 Unboxing, Review and Sound test

[@WhiskeySam1]

Just want to say how well done this video is. The photos, streetview stuff, the voice over. It all comes together and makes the review both informative and a pleasure to watch. Nice guitar & playing too.

[@sleepypablo640]

Thanks Sam!

[@jeongpark9350]

I know Nick never used Guild M20, but still love this guitar.

[@marchel9322]

Jeong Park that’s fantastic but nobody knows if he used this guitar. I would really like you to show me the facts because as a big Nick Drake fan I know that there is absolute no documentation about this, it is all speculation.

[@richardlucascronley5128]

It would be silly to assume he never played the M20

[@gillesserrigny6324]

The Guild M20 was in the Nigel Waymouth's flat who photograph Nick Drake for the cover of Bryter Layter.

[@richardlucascronley5128]

@@gillesserrigny6324 there are statements made from people around drake in the recording studio stating they saw him using small body guild guitar. Just gotta actually look up some of the personal accounts from the time. That's why it's so controversial.

[@kingrobert1st]

Yes but does it come with a set of dirty old strings to get that Nick Drake ambience?

[@gibby6904]

Looks and sounds great! And I own a Martin 00-15.....looks comfortable to play too....

[@michaelenosmusic]

I have a D20 burst on layaway at a local shop in WDM IA. ilttle over $700 left. Man I can't wait to bring it home.

[@GabrieleSantoro]

Nick Drake probably played a 000 Martin of some kind, but the Guild M-20 is such a terrific guitar as well. Love it

[@gibby6904]

It sure is a beauty.....and this is coming from a Martin 00-15 retro owner with a beautiful burst top! I would check this out if I had a do over...

[@gillesserrigny6324]

Do you think that the price of a vintage Guild M20 would be 2650 dollars if, on a record cover, this guitar is in the hand of a legendary shooting star musician ?

[@welshfolky885]

hi.. lovely guitar.. but nick played a martin d28 and yamaha classical...never a guild,the cover guitar was a prop owned by the photographer at the studio.. thanks

[@bassinblue]

welsh folky He did play a Martin knock off earlier before his career, but switched about. I don't really think Nick cared about guitars and wasn't too into models, types of woods, he was just a songwriter that happened to know how to play guitar.

[@ethanbraga922]

welsh folky for pink moon he sold most of his guitars to buy a Martin 000-18 which he used for recording of that album

[@gibby6904]

@@ethanbraga922 interesting....I had never heard or seen pictures of Nick with a 000-18....it sure sounds like a Hog top guitar in the recordings but I have read many times that he never played the Guild on recordings...

[@ethanbraga922]

Gibby. I know what you mean, when i try out mahogany guitars i get a very similar sound to nicks. Especially with guitars like the all mahogany Martin 000-15. But the 000-18 has mahogany back and sides, and there’s proof of him owning one, such as a picture of it in his book

[@Purple_flower09]

Nick Drake is rarely described as Welsh. His mother was Welsh, yes, but his father was English and he was born in Burma and never lived in Wales at any time. Even the Welsh don't claim him.

[@RJ-lf8ex]

This was very well done, thank you for posting. You covered all the bases. Typically, posters will go immediately into jamming, which is great because the sound is 90% of the experience, but I appreciate the full walkthrough at the beginning as well. I realize this is from 2016 but I am wondering how you are (or not) bonding with the guitar as of late. Thanks.

[@sleepypablo640]

Hi Steve, thanks for the comment. I've been playing the guitar for the past 4 years. I've used it primarily for improvisations and kept it tuned to a variation of drop C. It's more of a "flavor" type guitar and not something I play everyday. In fact it's in storage because we're moving and hasn't been played in a bit. Overall, I still really like the tone and the way it plays, I just think its more of a scalpel than a sledgehammer if that makes any sense.

[@RJ-lf8ex]

@@sleepypablo640 Let me know if you are interested in selling!

[@incandescentman]

Hi, greetings from Portugal! I have a question, could you make another video with other sounds with the m-20?!All the best

[@sleepypablo640]

Hi incandescentman, I've been working on some stereo instrumentals and hope to put more clips out in the near future.

[@michaelsimmons7003]

Very well done. Awesome thanks

[@michaelenosmusic]

Love this.. currently play a D-240e I bought a couple of months ago and love it.. I know I will want to move up to a F-40 or D-40 soon.. but I know now I at least want to add either the M-120 or this one... great sound. Nice work!

[@jasonmccarty9]

I had a 000 15m that I loved but had to sell cause I guess thin Martin arms at 16” radius hurt my arm. Who knew?!? Anyway, I’ve ordered an M20 to see if that works but I’m worried about the smaller body. You felt the M20 sounded better? I really like the 000 size. The M20 seems more like a 00 or like a Taylor mini. I guess we will see.

[@gillesserrigny6324]

If you're not affraid to think outside the box, you can find a 000 wich has a superb sound for a very reaonable price. A guitar from the end of the 60's and the 70's : the Yamaha FG 150. A japanese gem.

[@BrianSladek]

Great Guitar, bought one recently for our folk band

[@MichaelBakowski]

How are you getting that rolling twang kind of sound with your picking from 7:12-8:00? It almost sounds like you're hand muting but you're not.

[@sleepypablo640]

Michaelbak Hi Michael! I'm not exactly sure what you're referencing here? The palm mute type sound is kind of a palm mute strum/fingerpick. It is meant to help mute/control errant or unwanted strings playing when picking in this style. Also I will use my thumb on my right hand to hit the bass or root notes and the rest of my fingers to either strum the rest of the notes, or individual strings. When played at a moderate to high tempo this is usually causes me to "flick" my middle fingers on the strings. Hope that answers your question?

[@leobarradi9492]

@@sleepypablo640 whats the name of the song ?

[@thunderbrd]

Great video!! That's a legendary model

[@johnpeterson642]

Have a 1959 Guild M-20 and have ordered one of these new ones, coming in from Elderly in East Lansing in the next month. Am looking forward to comparing the two, and seeing which one has more punch, with the intent of keeping one in standard & one in open tunings. Would be interested in hearing Sleepy Pablo, or any M-20 owner, discourse on difference between the new and vintage [pre-1960] M-20s. Also some word on what which weight strings he uses or recommends. I use medium light on my '59 to give the sound, and especially the treble, a bit more weight. Going to be interesting. Would add that if my new M-20 outshines the '59. appreciably, I I may sell the latter and get another of the new ones. We'll see. At anyrate, all M-20 aficionados are indebted to Sleepy Pablo for having put together this video.

[@sleepypablo640]

Hi John, thanks for watching. I really wanted a 50's-60's M-20 just for the character an older guitar has...But as I stated in the video, they were a bit to pricey and I just didn't want to deal with any adjustments/repairs or unknowns. I think both would give you their own distinct sounds. I'm using light strings and they sound great. After a couple of weeks of playing the guitar has seemed to "settle" and warm nicely. It just has some great resonance and overtones that my other acoustic guitars just don't get. I don't remember where I read it (maybe the Guild website) but I saw somewhere that the new M-20s internal bracing was redesigned and "modernized" though I'm not sure how that change impacts the sound, vs. say, an older M-20.

[@Jess_Jones]

How has this guitar aged? Would love to hear and see a follow up

[@gillesserrigny6324]

This Guild M20 is a new guitar ! But the video is seven years ago when Guild decided to remanufacture this model in United States.

[@diogomp81]

I don't understand sound tests on guitars that just got out of a box, likely have new zingy bright unbearable strings that completely take over the sound, etc. All i can tell from this sound test is that it has a little more bass than i expected. This guitar needs a nice, nickel (NON BRONZE) set of .013 strings, and a 1 year of playing in those strings. Then, and only then, can one tell what it sounds like.

[@sleepypablo640]

Me either.

[@Escapetosea]

Lovin the open E

[@sleepypablo640]

Thanks!

[@kai-dr2le]

Name of first song you played?

[@jefersonvasconcellos218]

Belo instrumento!

[@powerface71]

There is no actual proof he ever used an M-20 to record or even play live. People just assume because he was holding one on the cover of his 2nd album "Bryter Layter" that that was what he used, sorry to break it to you but that guitar in the photo was owned by the Photographer. He used an old Yamaha classical guitar and a Martin knockoff called "Levin". Eventually he used a 000-28 Martin after Pink Moon. So, we ONLY know for certain that he used a 000-28 Martin prior to his death and sadly due to lack of photos or interviews on what he actually played on Pink Moon. I think he used the Yamaha Classical with Nylon Strings. It's the closest you can get to the guitar tone/sound on his earlier records. For Guild to sell this to people as a Signature model when we don't even know that he used one besides posing for an album cover, is a rip-off.

[@janmichaeljablonsky9847]

Nick actually used an Orangewood Dana.

[@rhugh02]

This is true, the Guild was just a photo op. Love Nick Drake! Love my M20 too...

[@agharta42]

bro where did you get this and how much was it? I can't find this for sale anywhere

[@sleepypablo640]

I got mine from McCabes in Santa Monica. If you search, "New Guild M-20" in Google you should be able to find shops online that have them or will have them soon. Reverb.com may also have them. Good Luck!

[@jodymoore7929]

You remind me of Mr Rogers , your the Mr Rogers of guitar reviews.

[@sleepypablo640]

I'll take it!

[@DarClaude]

Hey lovely playing and lovely sounding guitar, thanks for posting your great review :0) I'm after an easy playing small body guitar and was wondering if this is as easy playing and comfortable as it looks? Cheers - Mark

[@sleepypablo640]

Mark Richardson Hi there Mark! Yeah its size definitely makes it easy to pick up and play. The neck is a bit different than my other guitars and it took a couple of weeks to get really familiar with it. I've been playing it almost everyday for a few months now and it's been great.

[@cougarman8]

So bummed, I live pretty close to McCabes and had no clue they had this in stock. Called and said they'll be out for a bit. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost? Can't wait to try one!

[@gunner5590]

$1200

[@phyfts]

What mic is that?

[@sleepypablo640]

It's an SM57

[@phyfts]

@@sleepypablo640 thanks

[@TheGhostOfThomasPaine]

The guitar on the cover belonged to the photographer. And so did the shoes.

[@joshcarey3934]

Everyone hates the truth. But yeah you’re right.

[@gillesserrigny6324]

Remanufactured this shoes could be a good idea 🤔 ?

[@leapsplashafrog]

Drake played a Levin and later an actual Martin

[@evanjohnrobasci7356]

How do you know that!?

[@gillesserrigny6324]

​@@evanjohnrobasci7356You will find many informations in the book "Remenbered For A While" written with his sister Gabrielle. He bought a Martin 000.28 after the recording of his three albums but, the depression was already established. He recorded four songs about one year before his death (May be, he thought to record a new album) but he was not able to record vocals and guitar in the same time.

[@gillesserrigny6324]

​@@evanjohnrobasci7356You will find many informations in the book "Remenbered For A While" written with his sister Gabrielle. He bought a Martin 000.28 after the recording of his three albums but the depression was already established. He recorded four songs about one year before his death (May be for a new record). But, he was not able to record vocals and guitar in the same time.

[@gillesserrigny6324]

You can find many informations in the book "Remenbered For A While" written with his sister Gabrielle. After his three albums, Nick Drake bought a Martin 000.28. He recorded four songs about one year before his death (May be for a new album ?). But the depression getting deeper and deeper. Nick who had an incredible technique was not able to record vocals and guitar in the same time and he goes back home.

[@sdl04production91]

Fabulous guitar! You can hear it on M.Dewis' superb album: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJzThaWufa9kgJY

[@naztubez]

Learn to play some Nick Drake dude and put that weapon to good use.

[@bassinblue]

naztubez literally spent an hour learning 'From The Morning' and 'Day is done', really difficult songs to learn man. XD

[@naztubez]

David Harrison Sweet man. They are challenging at first but when you get used to his patterns they get easier. 'Introduction' is a nice simple song to learn Nick's style.

[@nickjackson6375]

Throw that stand in the trash. It’s a piece of shit, like 99% of the stands out there.

[@pensans1]

This guitar sounds just as exciting as your voice

[@assassinweed5390]

Its your fault, i just orderd this. Your unboxing gave me the rest, i hope you are happy now (im so scared and exited)