Seagull Artist Rosewood Spruce

My Seagull Artist Rosewood Spruce predates the compound curve that the more recent ones have by about 1 year. I am giving mine a 9 on features because it came with the LR Baggs Micro EQ which has only a 2 band eq. It took me a while to get the amplified tone where I wanted it. Other than that, it is a great guitar. The comes in the ugliest case known to man. It looks like a large, black, guitar-shaped igloo cooler, and I've had to endure some jokes about keeping the beer cold in the case after I remove the guitar (whick I'm sure this case could do with no problem.) However, a case's job is to protect and transport the guitar. This one does an excellent job at that since it is designed to protect the guitar from extreme heat and humidity changes. It is also extremely light-weight and can be carried like a gig bag while offering hard case protection from bumps and collisions.

I play blues, classic rock, and some finger style. This guitar works well for all these. It has a very balanced unplugged sound with good base response and bright treble.I would put this guitar's unplugged sound up against ANY Martin or Taylor. It is that good. A friend I jam with is a big Taylor fan, but often hands me his 3,000 dollar Taylor so he can play my 800 dollar Seagull.

The plugged-in sound is the only reason I give it a 9. Otherwise, it would be a 10. With the 2-band eq, it took a while to get the amplified sound to do the guitar justice. I understand from other Seagull owners that the i-beam and quantum electronics on the newer models solve this problem. If you can get one with the better electronics, get it. If you don't play amplified, don't worry about it.

It needed a slight (and I mean very slight) truss rod adjustment to eliminate a slight fret buzz when I bought it. The salesman was more than happy to do this for me, and it corrected the problem. Since then, I have not had to do anything to it.

The finish was flawless when I bought it, and still is. I play this guitar every day and often travel with it.

The action is great; the neck facilitates playing fast scales. Some who have played it, say the nut feels a little wide to them, but then, most of them play mostly electric guitars. I have never really noticed any difference going between it and other guitars.(I also own and play an American Series Fender Strat and an Alvarez 12-string acoustic among other guitars).

I would do a gig without a backup for this guitar without any reservations. I've had this guitar for over 2 years with absolutely no problems. It comes out of the case in tune and ready to play no matter what kind of weather I just transported it through.

The Artist Rosewood Spruce is my second Seagull. My first, which I still own, is an S-6 cutaway with a cedar top. I must say that the spruce top on the Artist has held up much better. My old S6 has some scratches on the top due to cedar being a soft wood. My experience with and (yes, I'll say it) love for my old S6, led me to try out the Artist.

I've never had any problem with the guitar. I had some questions about it when I was researching it before I bought it, so I emailed Seagull and got a response within two days. I was pleased and surprised by the speed since I had read that some had had problems getting answers through email.

I am 43 and have been playing guitar since I was 8 years old. You do the math. I absolutely love this guitar, especially its unplugged sound. I tried several models of Martins, Taylors, and Gibsons, but found none where the tone satisfied me like the Seagull did. The much lower price was an added bonus. If it were lost or stolen, I would get another one, but with the updated electronics.

I see above we have a Taylor,or Martin or ibson owner who has been properly and predictably humiliated by the sound and Quality of the Artist series Seagull line. Lol dont feel alone "anonymous" many havve been embarassed before you. Maybee it was me & my Artist who humbled you so much as to write such a ficticous review.

Nothing comes close at 3x the price. Pure and simple bliss. articulant and responsive. "made anonymous pout like a girl when comparing to his high end name guitar.

Very fine craftsmanship, an industrie reveloution in extreme Quality at unheard of truth in pricing,You may wann dry your tears long enough to write your guitar company about this anonymous.

2005 spruce and rosewood with cutaway and i-beam duet. See Seagull for complete specs. Like the short scale and wide neck, plays easy with no buzzing. Tuners are gold and hold well. The case is not your average hard shell but should do the job. Not much info on use of electronics but they're pretty basic. Can't really notice the compound curve design, I was worried it would look like an archtop.
Overall this guitar has everything I need and somewhat smaller than other dreads.

The sound is just awesome unplugged and better plugged in. I play through an acoustisonic and no feedback problems. Very natural and balanced, can play in mono and stereo. I hate to be to glowing but this guitar will hold its own with some very tough customers. I traded a martin D-15 to get this guitar and I have no regrets. It strums and fingerpicks equally well

The guitar was set up nicely you could tell someone spent some time on it before it left the factory. When I opened the case for the first time I really liked what I saw. Pretty quilted spruce top and nice deep colored rosewood back and sides. The headstock and body is bound, I wish the neck was also, but it is a very striking guitar. No complaints on the fit, it is solid and of average weight.

This guitar will never leave me. I will be doing some live playing but mostly is played at home. I put on the pickguard that was sent to protect the top and I will install a strap button. Other than that I should be set. I will give it a nine for now because it is pretty new.

No dealings yet

I have been playing six years and find seagulls a great bargin. This guitar will sell itself if you can find one to try in a shop. It took six months to come when ordered. I love the look, sound, and price. If you think this guitar doesn't sound good don't blame the guitar. Compare with anything I think you will be impressed.

Solid Spruce top, solid Rosewood back, Rosewood laminate sides. Wide Mahogany neck. MOP inlay on headstock and 12th fret. Tuners were a bit weak. I actually like the nickel style of the lesser S series better. Bridge and fretboard and indian Rosewood Nut and compensated Saddle are Tusq. Action was superb and even. Mine came with a hardshell case. High gloss finish was even and wmooth. Nice tight grain on Spruce top. Cutaway body with Ibeam duet. Electronics are outstanding.

I am a picker as well as a strummer. I play Rock, Country and Pop. This guitar shines in all my applications. The sound is better than the taylor 4 series I was originally shopping for. Sorry to anyone who may have gotten a lemon, (I'm sure it can happen with any brand) but I have not experienced any problems with workmanship or warping. Interestingly enough though I do have a 4 yr old Martin D28 (fine instrument) that split along the bookmark in back even though I keep it with a Martin Humidifier. Martin did come to the rescue with it's lifetime warranty and it has since been repaired. I haven't had to invoke my Seagull warranty as of yet so I can't commont on their service.

This is a truly hand made instument. Every joint is tight and even. Make no mistake, there is not a lot of adornments but the "ingredients" are top shelf, the frets were smooth consistent, the woods are top shelf, scallopped bracing, bridge and nut were fine too. My only regret was the tuners, they perform perfectly but have a plastic feel to them. As for the electronics, NONE BETTER PERIOD! if you have a problem with the lr baggs Ibeam duet then I don't know wht you might find acceptable

It has been two yrs. and everything continues to perform as promised. As it has only been two yrs though, I don't feel enough time has passed to give a numerical rating yet

I have had e-mail contact once regarding a question I had before purchasing the guitar. I got my respnce in 24 hrs. Again,I don't feel that I have had enough experience to give a numerical rating in this category.

All things considered, this guitar is worth much more than $1200 dollars. Yes, Martins, Taylors, Gibsons are great guitars but they have absolutely nothing on this Seagull Artist Studio except name recognition. If thats your bag than god bless and go to Guitar Center. If you make thoughtfull decisions based on research, go play a Seagull and you will blown away.

Quebec made I think 2002 or 2003 cause the 2004's have the chrome tuners and mine has the poopy plastic fake pearl tuners. Solid Spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides and the JRBaggs piezo shit pickup.

I wanted a Taylor or Martin but didn't have $700. I love the deep wood sound of Martins. When I first got the Seagull, it came with super cheap strings, very bright and plastic sounding. Replaced those but still didn't think I had that deep Martin/Taylor wood sound. I have had my Seagull for 6 months now and went to GCenter recently. I can now safely say "YES!!!" my Seagull sounds as good and sometimes better than any of the Martins or Taylors for $1500 and under.
The JRBaggs piezo pickup BLOWS. If you love that nouveau world music 80's sound all high pitched and plastic you would love this pickup.
AN oktava MK-012 sounds lightyears better.

I bought mine used off Ebay. Some store in the midwest was selling it. They had their luthier set it up and I haven't had to touch it. NO buzzes, low action, and the puppy rings. Very nice harmonics.

I learned on a beat up Seagull that had seen years of busking in NYC. This guitar will probably be with me forever.

Haven't dealt with them and probably can't cuz mine is used.

I get two comments from other guitarists. People who have never heard of Seagulls are amazed at the sound and blown away when I tell them how much it cost. Those who have heard of Seagulls act like they aren't impressed and its usually because they paid $1000 for a Martin or Taylor and now, having played my Seagull, just realized they coulda saved a lot of money.

Built in 2002 in LaPatrie Quebec Ca.

Cosmetics: Solid Spruce Top with High-Gloss Lacquer Finish.
Solid Rosewood Back & Rosewood Sides and Mahogany Neck
Indian Rosewood Fingerboard & Bridge with a total of 21
frets.

Electronics: iBeam Duet II (by LR Baggs)
Seagull Compensated Saddle (revised saddle material 2002)
Tuners: nothing fancy but the layout and balanced string

Features: The Tapered Headstock, less tuning drift. (Nice touch)

Finish: This is my second guitar the first had flaws that to
in my opinion were to large to pass the instrument off as a
First-rate guitar (more like factory second).

I did a bit of running around to get a replacement in the works
and LaSido lost track of my order. 5 Months later a phone call
re-ignited the process and after a kicking up a little dust
I received a new flawless replacement unit.

Overall This guitar is a showstopper, the detail and finesse provided
by LaSido on this product are nothing short of breathtaking.
It has a meticulous finely balanced appearance and although feels
very delicate and light can withstand the abuse of everyday use.

This is where personal opinion can overshadow individual
Classification in a review. What is good sound?

To me I have been after a guitar that can exhibit clear
clean highs and give off a nice warm natural acoustic
low as well. (ala Yamaha) but not present large amounts
of clarity as to make your ears ring if you amplified.

I guess in a word an appropriate term would be "delicate"
this is how to best describe this guitar. Although it behaviour
can easily be curbed from its factory set-up with standard
gauge strings the light strings seem to allow the body to
project its natural resonance the best.

From the factory, the guitar came with a tad of a high action
I had it adjusted (lowered) to the limit where buzzing would
occur and held it there. It can deliver strumming and hard
picking with clarity although playing hard with light strings
will produce buzzing with bar cords past the mid fret region.

Which brings me to the next section.

Pickup and amplification: As I mentioned above, if you want to
produce some strong sound I found this instrument performs best
amplified, this unit has the Duet II iBeam pickup with it.
again rating electronics is very difficult because there are
virtually limitless configurations possible between the guitars
and an amplifier.

So I will only summarize it to this.
The pickup can easily amplify and preserve the natural acoustic
sounds the guitar provides you with (I stress easily) because
It is so tempting to tweak past that using the dual pickup system
and produce out of this world sound. I cannot describe what you
can do with a two-channel amp using the Duet II electronics.

So I will have to leave you with a "must try to believe" line.

PS. you need a stereo Y cord or equivalent to split the mic and
pickup into stereo mixing mode to get the Duet effect. Otherwise
you will get a blend of live and pickup into one single source.

As I mentioned above the factory setup was a bit high.
this is nothing to worry about, in fact most guitars come in a
general pre-configured way where the action is setup
conservatively.

The Duet II electronics are designed without the need
for any internal adjustments. The user controls themselves
are quite self-explanatory and can be figured out in
a matter of minutes.

The grain and natural lines of this guitar was exceptional.
the natural spruce top grain is so tight that it gives off
a sort of 3D effect in the light. the back and sides of the
guitar has a sort of light penetration lacquer, which allows
the grain to sort of come out to the surface this again leaves
a unique appearance and feel to the instruments surface.

The tuning machines are what I would consider entry level.
LaSido should take note of this, although I have yet to complain
on the action of the tuners they?re still very smooth on all 6
strings and show no signs of wear or cracking etc. I wish
they were higher quality than the cheap plastic look they are.

however I cannot complain on there function and they have not
shown any signs of wear past the faux ivory look they came in.

I cannot comment accurately if this guitar can provide stage
use, personally this is my prize acoustic instrument. I use it
when I am relaxed and never put it away withouth a shine.

The spruce grain on my guitar is almost white, I am not suppose
to say how but I begged my dealer to try and bribe the guys
at manufacturing to hand select me the whites Spruce top guitar
they could find. he assured me that this was not possible but
I did received a very pale spruce top guuitar nonetheless. :)

The color and finish is as nic as the day I recieved the guitar.
but it never sits out in the sun, and I keep any polish and
chemicals away from it. only a damp clean cloth with water.

The guitar is stored in it's case with a humidity control.
I cannot stress that enough if you live in a variable climate
region like my own.

I would not take it on a gig myself, not because it cannot take
it but simply because I never purchased it for those reasons.

I have dealt with LaSido on several occasions since I own several
of there guitars.

Overall the response times where good and participation was good.
I used email as my mail form of communication and LaSido was not
hesitant to provide me with a phone number to talk to service
personel directly to finalize any procedures for warranty or
product replacements.

They were both curteous and proffesional at all levels and seemed
commited to providing there customers with care that would prove
above average.

I have been playing guitar for 18 years.

If it was stolen, I would be devastated and would get it replaced
ASAP.

I own several guitars, when I place this one next to others on
a wall rack it stands out from the rest because of its clean
meticulous finish and unique grain.

My Seagull Spruce top CW is unique in all aspects, it has it's own
distinctive sound and look, I own 3 other guitars and none have
come close to delivering the clear accurate sound this guitar ca
provide.

I cannot think of anything that could be added on the guitar
that could improve it in any way, any other features would rob
it of its clean appearance.

Overall, the Seagull Spruce top CW w/Duet II electronics is a
tough instrument to beat. In a line up at my dealer there were
no guitars amidst the 40 units that came close to delivering
near the same sound quality as this instrument. For the price
this guitar is a real diamond in the rough.

Guitar made in 2002 in LaPatrie, Canada by LaSiDo. 21 fret cutaway dreadnaught. 14 frets clear and cutaway access to 19 frets. Finish is gloss lacquer on the body and satin lacquer on the neck.

Top is a nice piece of finely straight grained spuce with some bearclaw figuring. An inspection of the soundhole endgrain shows no evidence of runout. In short, great looking top.

Sides are laminated rosewood. The side grain has a nicer looking figure and grain than the back, probably since the laminated wood uses good looking wood which was not suitable for solid sides or back.

Back is solid rosewood. Straight even grain, no significant figure or special contrast. It looks good to me. Nothing in the literature about where the wood comes from, but it looks like most Palisander.

Neck is a bolt-on mahogany with a reverse laminated bound headstock and laminated heel. The scale is 24.9 inches. Neck is thin and round. The headplate is rosewood. Fretboard is East Indian rosewood (Palisander). There is a pearl and abalone seagull on the headplate.

Micarta nut and compensated saddle. Palisander bridge. Tan faux wood bindings top and bottom. Pearl seagull at the 12th fret is only large mark on the fret board. There are some tiny dots to mark frets for playability. The nut is unusually wide for a folk guitar 1.8".

The tuning machines look like gold Schaller minis, but they are not marked except with a Seagull. The knobs are pearlescent molded plastic, again alot like Schallers. They are 15:1 and hold a tune for days. Smooth and acceptable.

Electronics are the Duet I-Beam from L.R.Baggs. Eq and blender processes input from an under saddle piezo and an under bridge condenser. Phase, stereo/mono and high, mid, and lo Eq. Battery for this setup is through a hatch just above the tail block.

Case is a Fort. Pretty novel deal. It only weighs a couple of pounds, but offers way more protection that a gig-bag. I probably wouldn't check it on an airplane.

This is the reason to buy any guitar. This guitar has a warm ballanced sound. Nice and full in the treble, with enough bass to fill the room. I think the cutaway is a little less bassy and loud than the non-cutaway models. I also have a rosewood S6+ Spruce, which is a better bluegrass guitar. This guitar is reasonable for fingerstyle and great for the blues. I have only been playing it daily for a month, so I believe that its sound will improve even more.

I plugged into a Fender PA and the electronics sound good, but the piezo does not pick up the high E string well. The string is not lost becsause the condenser picks it up, but I can't hear the attack like I can the other strings. I just wrote LaSiDo an email. We'll see how fast they get back to me. Overall the electronics sound very natural through the PA, certainly acceptable for gigging.

I don't know what that other anonymous guy below has against Seagull, but I find it hard to believe that anyone could rate them low in this area.

Set-up was okay from the factory. I lowered the action at the nut a hair to fret level, and it came to 7/64 at the 12th fret. From there it was perfect for me. Because I sometimes play with a slide, I don't like exceptionally low action. Frets were set up well, but benefitted from polishing.

The saddle was just a smidgeon short of compensation length (harmonic lower that fret tone). I actually cured this by sanding the saddle to lean toward the pegs a little and now it is perfect.

Top and back are well bookmatched. The sides are much prettier than the back. The neck looks terrific. No dead spots, and the frets have been checks and every position with a tuner (required the adjustment noted above). No buzzing, except when I make mistakes 8^).

The gloss finish is thin and without noticeable flaw. The binding is very nice on the body.

It looks sturdy enough. I back it up with my old Seagull, S6+ Spruce, though.

The finish is thin, but it doesn't seem to react to body oil the way my old Guild did.

I installed the strap button on the heel of the neck myself, so that one is juuuusssst right! The tailpiece strap button is the electronic jack, and it is solid.

The guitar seems pretty light, but strong.

I almost wanted to wait in posting this, because I have a call for help out to LaSiDo right now regarding the piezo. The guy with the abusive language and light knowledge below got my passion up to write a reveiw now.

I e-mailed L.R.Baggs, and they indicated that Seagull was responsible for their OEM equipment, so I just sent the email off today. I guess I'm not ready to make the call.

I saw this guitar go on a clearance sale. I am fond of my other Seagull, and this one sounds great and has great features.

If I didn't have to send kids to school some day, my attainable dream guitar is the Martin 000-28EC, and maybe I might buy it if this one were lost. Otherwise, I'll go back to my S6+ and wait for another great deal on something like this one.

Favorite feature is the full treble tones and the neck. Once you get used to this width and scale length, it is hard to go back. The 000-28EC has a neck which matches well. Least favorite is the loss of bass versus the S6. I do just like looking at the pretty wood.

I have a couple of other guitars... a Guild dread I'm selling (although the finish is sticky and never seems to dry, yuk), a Yamaha 12 string with a laminated top worth more to me that the price it could bring, a great no-name Flamenco by a Spanish luthier, a Alvarez banjo and the other Seagull.

I've been playing guitar for since about 1981. No serious gigging at this time, other than filling in for friends once in a while and in-home jam/performances. I still practice nightly with or without others, and play in worship groups. Lots of Clapton, Paul Simon, Cheryl Crowe, Robert Johnson, Neil Young, Old Timey Gospel, and Bluegrass.

Sorry for being so wordy.... I do love talkin' about guitars, especially nice ones like this.

It was made in 2000, and made in Canada.
Solid top, with an L.R. Baggs Duet pickup (Piezo/condenser)

Solid spruce top, Rosewood sides & solid back.

Glossy finish (not sure the type)

For a dreadnought sound, great.

Plugged in, I don't have a better sounding guitar. For recording, it's my best guitar... Amazing sound.

The action was a little low from the factory, a little buzz. but my guitar shop fixed that for me no prob.

As far as flaws go, there was a small defect with the inlay, which doesn't effect sound, and you have to look for it pretty hard.

I play with it live 2 times a week. I have one scratch (my own fault), and it's awesome.

Haven't needed it.

I only have one complaint overall, the guitar's battery is in a TERRIBLE spot. Frankly my big hands, can't reach it well.

This model is a 2002 manufacture from LaSiDo in La Patrie, Quebec CANADA. It is the typical Seagull dreadnought design with rounded shoulders. Solid sitka spruce top, laminated rosewood sides with a solid rosewood back, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard & bridge. The tuners on this guitar, like most of the type that LaSiDo uses these days are JUNK! Cheesy plastic knobs on semi functional gold plated enclosed type, absolute crap! Gloss finish, an 'abalone shithawk on the pointy headstock (to keep away the deomons I guess) and another shithawk-in-flight inlay at the 12th fret. No electronics - why add to the problem? No case, why would you want one? You just spent $1000.00+ & you want a case with that too?

The sound at best can be described as 'dull & lifeless'. I've noticed that while Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Norman, A & L (where do they come up with these STUPID names?)guitars made by this company are looked at as 'real bargains', you still get what you pay for. These instruments are not as good as everyone purports them to be. One of the main problems on most of their guitars is the inherent intonation problem. You can spend hours trying to tune these things only to find that various chords are laughably way out. Something else that absolutely sucks is the lack of neck bracing from where the fringerboard leaves the neck and meets the soundhole. Have a look if you own one. There usually is a downward warping of the fingerboard in this area. The best part is over time it will also compress the top of the guitar and warp it as well, great for firewood afterwards! What a joke. While you're at it, get to experience all of the dead spots on the neck. One of their favourite areas is on the 5th fret...mmmm..enjoy!

The quality is simply not there, don't look for it. LaSiDo still uses quality woods but that in itelf isn't good enough. Examine any of their guitars very closely before you buy. They are VERY INCONSISTENT in both sound & construction. Warped necks & backs as well as lots of nice fret buzzes are common. Let's face it, if you are going to spend $1000.00 or so I would be buying from one of the big companies. Play a Martin, Gibson or Guild and then play one of these ..don't laugh too.

The actual construction of the guitar appears to be intact. Likely will withstand live playing & everyday wear and tear,if the intonation, cheap tuners, dead spots & warps don't haunt you into selling it first. Hit someone you love across the ass with it if you feel playful.

50/50 crap shoot. They ignore alot of emails conveniently. They offer a 2 year warranty. I guess they figure it doesn't matter after that.
These guys are SLOW. Take a look at their website sometime. They've been updating their 'user list' for about 3 years now & want you to 'please come back soon'. Have a look at this guitar on their website, the picture doesn't come up completely. I guess the bottom of the guitar isn't included. What a joke.

BUY A QUALITY INSTRUMENT. Don't waste your money on something that will amount to frustration. You get what you pay for. Don't be a Seagull victim, 'take flight & drop your load elsewhere'.

Need I say more?