Seagull Custom Shop

My Seagull Custom Shop is a '96 dreadnaught I bought used from a music store in Texas; it came w/out a case. This is a beautifully bookmatched AAA top of gorgeous, tight-grained Sitka spruce with mild, very even flaming across the entire surface. Made in La Patrie, Canada...I contacted the shop inquiring more info and was informed that they no longer make this model, but that I could be assured that the topwood on this guitar is at least 800 years old!!! Guitar has 22 frets, came w/out electronics, w/a beatiful alcohol lacquer finish, no pick guard, ebony fretboard, bridge, and bridge pins, bone saddle, mahogany neck, absolutely gorgeous quilted maple sides and back, with wine-colored "antique violin" stain, abalone inlays encircling the soundboard, both sides of fretboard, sound hole, with signature Seagull logo on 12th fret, seagull in flight on headstock; standard gold schaller tuners/hardware. I find it virtually impossible to accurately describe the beauty of this guitar, as it keeps changing color and depth appearance with varied lighting, the wood just glows like embers in an old fire...simple beauty, I really wouldn't want more than it came with, other than the pickup I installed...

I do an equal amount of flatpicking and fingerstyle playing, and this guitar suits both styles just fine, though the action setup I have is a bit low for aggressive picking, especially on higher frets. I play mostly worship/praise, folk/blues, and a lot of original blues/rock fusion. In installed (with great trepidation!) an LR Baggs Active I-beam which involved drilling through the tailblock, but it was worth the stress! I play through an SWR California Blonde, and the subtleties of sound I can get through this guitar, I am still tapping into almost two years into playing this setup. The maple makes it aggressively bright, but the I-beam has a tendency to over-emphasize bass frequencies, so I dial it in at about 9 o'clock position on the bass end, 7 o'clock on mids, and noon on the treble end. The most amazing thing about this guitar is its understated volume, which I expect to decay rather quickly, but the sustain is INSANE! It just keeps humming and holding the tonal quality as the sound slowly wisps away like cigar smoke in a closed room-amazing! I have a Larrivee D09 which is much louder and rings like a bell, but it can't match the subtle bass end sustain or the crispness of the highs on this guitar. I borrowed the amp box that goes with my SWR and used my Boss CE5 Stereo Chorus pedal, and OMYGOD! What an incredibly beautiful sound. That SWR matching cabinet is the next thing I want to buy.

Great action, flawless finish, unpeered wood selections, tight, accurate fittings, a fretboard that plays like butter (just wish it was a tiny bit wider!), has some fretwear on the 1st three frets I'm going to need to fix soon, gorgeously appointed inlays, BUT-SEAGULL, GET REAL...IVOROID PURFLING ON THIS HIGH QUALITY A GUITAR?-c'mon! That's the only thing that dorks this guitar out...should've been maple purfling, at minimum-I was told they discontinued these guitars because it was costing them more than they could sell them for; they should never have cut corners on the purfling!

This guitar is exceptionally light, with minimalist bracing and very thin, yet fairly strong, sides and back. I will not play this guitar in tight places, and prefer to use my Simon & Patrick workhorses on most band gigs. I play this guitar if I'm soloing, playing in church, or for special occasions like song dedications, etc. I'd never take a classy woman into a biker bar, if you know what I mean! Performance-wise this guitar is incredibly reliable, and provides its own ambiance. It is so easy to play this guitar, due to the excellent action and its balanced lightness, it's tempting to take it everywhere, but I don't. I also installed a clear pickguard, and am glad I did; it's gonna stay cosmetically clean for a lot longer this way.

Answered all my questions, gave me great care tips, I know they're there for me, especially on this high-end guitar. This company is still small enough and conscientious enough that they care about their individual customers. They are, however, a bit eccentric, and it takes them awhile to warm to you...gotta be persisent-hey, they're French-Canadians!

I've been playing for five years now, and own a Larrivee D09, a Seagull 12, several Simon & Patricks, a Norman classical, and a Godin Artisan ST electric, which I play through a Mesa/Boogie Blue Angel. I dig the thing they're doing in La Patrie, and would like to buy another La Patrie Collection classical-miss selling that one. I have no regrets about this purchase, and this guitar will stay in my collection, while others come and go. This is my keeper, for life. I will hand this guitar down to one of my children when I can no longer play. If it were lost/stolen, I probably would have a very difficult time even finding another one, and it wouldn't be the same...