Guild M-40 Standard Acoustic Guitar - Pacific Sunset Burst

The concert-sized M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst acoustic guitar is crafted in the USA* and features a beautiful Pacific Sunset Burst Vintage Gloss finish. The acoustic-electric M-40E Standard Pacific Sunset Burst includes an L.R. Baggs Element VTC pickup system.

Premium Tonewoods

The M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst is meticulously constructed of the finest quality tonewoods. Wood choices and combinations contribute significantly to an acoustic guitar’s sound, and qualities such as hardness, density, and flexible strength distinguish different tonewoods. The M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst guitar’s solid African mahogany back and sides provide warmth and an earthy richness, while a solid Sitka spruce top adds brightness and clarity, resulting in a powerful, well-balanced sound. The guitar’s mahogany neck topped with an Indian rosewood fingerboard and the Indian rosewood bridge complement the other tonewoods.

Concert Body Shape

The concert-sized body is smaller and less deep than a standard guitar body and is ideal for guitarists who prefer a more compact instrument, including smaller players and those seeking a high-quality travel guitar. Concert-sized guitars are especially suited for fingerstyle guitarists and also popular with singer-songwriters and folk guitarists. Their sound is somewhat more focused than with larger bodies, emphasizing the upper registers, and the M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst guitar’s forward-shifted scalloped Adirondack spruce top bracing enhances those qualities while also increasing responsiveness. The guitar’s ultra-thin Pacific Sunset Burst Vintage Gloss nitro lacquer finish has both satin and gloss qualities that highlight the natural beauty of the tonewoods and give it a vintage look and feel.

View of the M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst body highlighting the solid Sitka spruce top

Close-up of M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst white ABS body binding, solid African Mahogany back, and strap pin

Premium Tonewoods

The M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst is meticulously constructed of the finest quality tonewoods. Wood choices and combinations contribute significantly to an acoustic guitar’s sound, and qualities such as hardness, density, and flexible strength distinguish different tonewoods. The M-40 Standard Pacific Sunset Burst guitar’s solid African mahogany back and sides provide warmth and an earthy richness, while a solid Sitka spruce top adds brightness and clarity, resulting in a powerful, well-balanced sound. The guitar’s mahogany neck topped with an Indian rosewood fingerboard and the Indian rosewood bridge complement the other tonewoods.

L.R. Baggs Element VTC Pickup System

The M-40E Standard Pacific Sunset Burst includes a factory-installed L.R. Baggs Element VTC pickup system with Volume and Tone controls that faithfully reproduces the guitar’s acoustic sound when amplified or recorded. By detecting soundboard movement rather than picking pressure, the pickup captures the full and balanced tone of the guitar while eliminating the high-frequency "quack" typical of undersaddle pickups. The Volume and Tone controls are positioned nearly out of sight under the top edge of the soundhole, along with the built-in low-frequency compressor (the “C” in VTC), which reduces boominess and feedback. The system is powered by an internally located 9-volt battery.