Seagull Artist Mahogony Cedar

as per my 3/27/04 review - stock mah/cedar, seagull artist mosaic purchased in montreal

still like it - woody and better 6 months later

poor factory set up, high action - plays better, boxier fingerboard but smooth action now that it's set up. not like taylor above 5/7 fret but ok. joint in body/neck joint is visible, not a problem, but you can see and feel it.

the guitar went through singapore humidity hell; took it to repair shop and saw a rack of taylors, martins, and no-names all with bridges and struts ungluing from high humidity. in short - it didn't make the transition, with thin cedar top especially, from montreal dry winter to singapore summer well. hence: it's on a steady diet of silica gel in the case now.

Here's the story. contacted seagull by email within weeks of the problem arising and got instant email from patrick godin, whose staff examined pix via email, cleared me with local distributor and repair person. guitar was in the shop within a week (it has moved from montreal to australia to singapore). nobody hassled me about receipt from steve's in montreal, and it got fixed (as usual, with such repairs, some clamp marks but solid) by a very good local repairman named gunna, whose shop is in penninsular shopping centre and does the repairs for normam, seagull and others here. great work - quick factory/maker reply, no bullshit, and a good result. thanks patrick and team for quick work, and gunna the local guy.

still enjoy playing it. still don't like tuners, they seem unstable, but like the cedar sound. great porch guitar, bit smaller body then dred.

Solid mahogany back, laminated sides, cedar top, nice bracing. Nice pearl inlay, seagull headstock with gold tuners and plastic knobs, Canadian western cedar top. Seagull 'curved' top. No cutaway and electronics, slightly smaller, towards 'o' body and not dreadnought.
Quality: pearl inlay and headstock are different, quite attractive, Canadian western cedar top has a rich look and different sound that is unique. A beautiful guitar - the cedar and inlay look great. Tuners a bit suss.

Interesting - still trying to get a sense of it: I own a Taylor 310 which is a superb guitar and was looking for second acoustic. Played this against Martin DG16 (entry level 1000 all wood spruce top) and Tacoma Chief and Roadking and, as a friend said, it immediately sounded more 'musical' than the others at a reduced price. Difference is this. Cedar is both richer at midrange and brighter at top end. Because of smaller body, it lacks big dreadnought bass. By comparison, the Tacoma had little bottom end and the Martin was, well, average. None of them held up to new Taylor 310. But at 759 (less Cdn taxes) for a 'different' sound that spruce - this seemed a bet. When I got it home I was surpised in a mixed kind of way: the neck is very similar to the Tacoma, flatter and broader than Taylor but very playable up and down. The sound at lower volume is quite distinctive, different, woodier than spruce top, nice midrange and distinctive top end. But thin on bass and not quite as strong on the string separation than taylor or collings. Reckon the bottom end will fill in since this is a 2003 guitar and brand new, as cedar ages. So: great for some folk, and writing and picking at home, reacts nicely to a bit of pick - different but distinctive voice. Obviously a cut below Taylor 310 in sparkling sound, and when I took it out to play (miked and dean markley pickup with piano player) - it struggled to generate the volume and body of Taylor.

not a complaint, set up was good, intonation OK, godin lights ok - going to replace with martin custom lights. no flaws. needed a bit of tuning work when played hard, not sure the tuners are the best. played better than entry-martin, about comparable to tacoma

Appears to be tough, but thin finish on cedar top may make it easily scratched.

Haven't used it.

This is a quality, distinctive guitar at a great price. But I wouldn't run it in as my primary playing live acoustic. Nice second guitar option to my Taylor for writing and singing around the house. Sound is distinctive and quite different. Not sure I want to gig with it - partly because it seems to have a quiet voice, and because the Taylor has some much better volume dynamics and a more professional sound.

Made in Quebec, 2003. 21 frets, 14 to body. Solid Cedar top, solid mahogany back, laminated sides (mahogany/maple/mahogany), mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, tusq compensated nut and saddle. Dreadnought body.

it has a verry great looking headstok and an inlaid bird motif on the 12th fret, the rest is plain but still verry good looking, i would have liked a cutaway...

OK, this is a guitar witch could easilly stand lower end Martins and Taylor, of course, it can't compete with the high ends of the same mentionned products. But one thing is sure, it beats any instrument in it's price range, i tested it against Takamines, Guilds, Yamahas, Martins, Taylors, Epiphones, Ovations and Normans. At first i seriously tought about taking a Norman but the laminated cbacks and the verry hig action held me back, then some sellsman showed me this babe and i instantly fell in love with it. My musical style varries from blues to rock, fits verry well, it can be extremelly loud when you want to and verry soft and mellow too, fingerpicking sounds good, but it is at it's best while spftpicked.

Verry good factory set-up, no visible flaws, action is good, not fantastic but good. Nothing to complain about, it keeps in tune verry well.

I don't play live, so i can't talk about that, but it has survived many chocks with random objects due to the narrow environment that is my basement with only a few scratchs. But this is a cedar top, it WILL get scratches, even more so wih the thin laquer finish. this is why the pickguard is verry appreciated...

Otherwise it seems verry solid and i guess if any major shit happens, it will be because of my negligence and not the guitar.

Never dealt with the company, but the store i bought this said that Seagull were overloaded with everyhing since they won some prizes, so i guess that's why they seems so unresponsive...

'Been playing for three years, i own, a LaPatrie Concert classical guitar witch i love, a Targa electric witch nobody seems to have heard about and an Epiphone acoustic witch is just your usual cheap guitar. This one has aged more in three months than the Epiphnes in two years, and i hope the sound will continue to improve just as much. A verry good guitarr at a verry good price.

Basic acoustic guitar. Good action, not great (i.e. no Taylor) but good enough. Nice weight, very resonant and extremely toneful. Am sure this instrument will continue to sound better as it ages (especially with the light/thin finish).

Came with a wonderful aftermarket EMG pickup system (bought the guitar used).

Play a variety of styles of music and it seems to do well! Especially works nice for on-air performances - live acoustic TV and Radio spots.

Very rich tone...mellow but clean/crisp, articulate. No fret buzz or dead spots on the neck.

Action could be better...have played $300 Ibanez acoustics with better action, but not better tone. A little give and take here - tone was more important than playability.

Overall, nice workmanship.

Will probably wear this instrument out with regular playing. SOundboard is soft and is wearing away above the pickguard. Wood dents easily. Not a robust instrument...more fragile than the Martins and Taylors I've played.

Have never dealt with the company.

Been playing for 25 years...professionally for 17 - that's how I keep the lights lit. ;- ) I was looking for a Taylor. Had considered a Larivee (sp) until I talked with a couple dealers about the company - they had absolutely nothing nice to say. Then, I received a call from a friend/retailer who just received this instrument used and knew I was looking. It was a great deal and the guitar is serving its purpose well. If it was lost, stolen, destroyed (why I needed a new acoustic), etc., I'd replace it with a Taylor.

My Seagull Artist Mahogony Cedar was built in Canada, in 2000. I got it shortly after it hit the music shop near where I was living then. It has 21 frets, with 14 to the body and a cutaway for access to the 21st. Top is solid cedar (which I chose over a duller sounding spruce), back solid mahogony, sides laminated mahogony, which Seagull claims leaves you with a stronger body without too much sacrifice to sound. I chalk it up to one way they keep the price down on these wonderful guitars. It has no electronics. The finish is satin, very soft, not at all glossy. Seagull claims this helps top wood resonate better; i just like the way it looks. If you are looking for a flashy guitar with lots of inlays and gold trimmings, Seagull may not be for you. The fanciest thing on this guitar is a Seagull inlaid at the twelfth fret, in leiu of fret markings. All other fret markers are the offset pin style, upper left of each fret. Simple and elegant.

I play folksy styles with some fingerstyle here and there, and this guitar is really well suited for what I do. It gives a rich sound at the low end with plenty of brightness at the high. Strong on the jazzy styles, but a bit nopisy when I beat on it, so it does not seem suited for louder, rocking-out styles. When I first played it I had been playing a Guild and a Taylor at another shop just before, and I thought this guitar must be within the price range of those two. Surprisingly, it turned out to be about 1/2 the price of those big name guitars! Which my wife really loved when I got home with money left over...

The guitar played great right from the factory, great action and a beautiful finish. Some have had bad luck with fit and finish on Seagulls they ordered from elsewhere. I got mine from a shop, and was highly pleased with the whole look and feel of it when I bought it. So I guess it is best to go and look at the guitar you are buying, make sure all is well with it.

This guitar can and does withstand live playing on a very regular basis. The tuning heads were pearline (translation:plastic) and one broke about 7 months in, so i replaced the whole set with Rocksons and they work fine. Seagull could use nicer heads, at least on the Artist Series. The finish is thin but durable, with some wear showing now with a couple years constant play under its belt. I depend on it totally, and use it without backup all the time.

Company has been surprisingly unresponsive, especially when I was faced with that broken tuning knob. I sent email and never heard back. Luckily, there are Seagull dealers in the town where I live, or I might feel out in the cold!

Been playing a few years now, love this guitar. It replaced a Yamaha I had outgrown. I would definitely buy another Seagull, in spite of the fact that the company was so unresponsive to my contacts. I love the sound and look of it. I don't play so high on the neck, so I could live without the cutaway, but it sure looks nice, just a straightforward cut.
Eventually I will have to get electronics for it, as the work keeps coming in. But when I got it I was happily choosing against them in favor of "traditional style" whatever that meant.