Gibson CSM Songmaker

Standard CSM-CE. Serial number shows it was made in April 2009. Good features (solid woods, ebony fretboard, fishman problend). Gloss soundboard, satin on rest. I like the 1.75". Only minor gripe is that the binding is plastic.

Lovely rich mids with plenty of projection. Lows and trebles are fine, and because the bass is not boomy (which I like) it has a more balanced sound than many other acoustics. Excellent guitar for blues, rock and pop.

Guitar came with mid to high action. After playing it for a few weeks, and after much hand-ache, I had the action lowered at the shop where I bought it. Now plays beautifully. Fit and finish seem pretty good. There's a wire inside the guitar for the Fishman pickup that has been cut too long and occassionally scrapes the sides of the guitar when I'm moving round. Would be easy to fix I guess but it's nothing really.

Too early to tell. Seems pretty sturdy.

12 months warranty I think, but no need to use it so far.

I had previously bought myself a Cole Clark FL1ac which was a beautifully resonant guitar, but at times sounded muted and lacked the variety of sounds that this guitar can produce unplugged. After much heartache about whether to swap guitars for the CSM or DSM, which I had also liked at the shop, I finally gave the CC the heave-ho. Haven't regretted it one bit. I like the 1.75" nut width. I finally chose this guitar over the Taylor 310ce, Larrivee LV-03e, Ovation Balladeer Special and the Cole Clark, which all had something I liked about them. I didn't like the Takamines and Matons. I'd say it's fairly priced rather than very good value so I can't give it a 10.

Concert body, with cutaway( 15.5 inches, equivalent to Martin 000), solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, ebony fretboard with abaone dots, full white plastic body and neck binding, gloss finish on top only, satin finish on neck, back and sides. Comes with Gibson hardshell case. Neck = 43 mm i.e. wider than standard electric guitar (40 mm) but narrower than classical neck (48 mm) - good for fingerpicking. On paper, this was exactly the construction I was looking for.

Acoustically the sound is good across the spectrum. Good in the bass and clear trebles. Tending toward the brighter end.

The Fishman pickup system sounded like a good idea. Piezo tranducer coupled with a built in microphone. The piezo sound is as you might expect, the microphone adds more bottom end and fills out the sound. However, although the microphone is supposed to be isolated from the body, there is a lot of body noise. You really need to play perfectly still unless you enjoy rubbing noises and assorted taps and scrapes going out through the PA! Maybe not quite so good then!

Medium action - plays OK out of the box; although I needed to adjust the truss rod slightly due to a string buzz at the neck end.

The detail finish was disappointing. The internal bracing was not sanded down at the end scaloping. I felt compelled to sand down the rough edges when changing the strings to my preferred make. There was also swarf and dust under the truss rod cover - nothing major but disappointing for an upper mid priced guitar - my Yamaha APX 900 that cost half the price is far better finished than the Gibson, and the APX has a gloss finish all over. The white edge binding are a bit too white as new but hopefully will yellow slightly with age.

The intonation was spot-on. Can't fault that at all there.

The guitar should be OK for gigging - it's not especially sturdy or fragile; it's a guitar made of wood! The case that comes with it is pretty sturdy, although I don't know how long the covering will last - it's a little on the thin side. The three catches are fairly meaty, with the facility to use a padlock on the middle catch - otherwise not lockable.

Only one strap button fitted as standard - incorporating the pickup socket. Currently working out where to put another one - as I don't like straps around the top of the neck.

Can't comment - it hasn't gone wrong yet. Guitar bought from Guitar Guitar in Glasgow - good service.

On paper this was exactly the type of guitar I wanted; size, type, construction, fittings. Unfortunately, I was unable to find one locally to try before I bought one so I crossed my fingers and ordered one from about 700 miles away. I am reasonably happy with it, but it's overpriced compared to other makes, i.e. Yamaha. But I suppose that's the point - it has a Gibson logo on it!
I think it would have looked better with a curved cutaway rather than the straight one it has. The finish is disappointing - lack of attention to detail.

Concert body, solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, ebony fretboard with abaone dots, full white body and neck binding, gloss finish all over body, satin finish on neck. Comes with Gibson hardshell case. Canadian made. No pickup. VERY FAT NECK.

Sounds much like a Taylor-bright and crisp with plenty of highs and mids. Not a lot of low end, probably from the concert size body, but enough for my taste. Certainly not a dreadnaught tone.

Beautiful set up and finish from Canadian factory. Right on par with upper $2000 level guitars. Probably the best looking Gibson I've owned. The mahogany back is stunning, as is the spruce top-lots of "flamey" grain. Binding is clean and set well, rosette is basic and beautiful. Frets dressed well along with the neck binding. My only issue here is the neck. It is huge! I know Gibson markets this as a D shaped neck, but it feels like a rounded profile to me.

Seems well built and uses quality woods. hardware is great, finish is great. I gig with this guitar now and holds up well.

NA

If you are used to fatter neck, this guitar is unbelievable. I am used to Taylors and Epiphone acoustic necks, so I'm going to give this one a day or two to grow on me. I'll return it if I can't get used to the neck. For the price, however, this guitar is a STEAL! Because of the Canadian build and minimalist appointments, you can now get a Gibson acoustic sub-$1000.