Seagull Grand

Well you already know about all the features of this guitar from previous reviews. But I do need to comment on the finish. I just received mine about a week ago (9/15/07) and the finish is absolutely gorgous. It has a very nice semi gloss on the whole guitar. The store I bought it from said it is Seagulls new piano finish. I was expecting a flatter finish from what I have read from you folks. It appears that it could take some normal pick abuse. I bought this guitar solely from your reviews. Thanks you guys! Mine also has a guitar strap button on the lower bought. Something else that must be new. The store also had a hardshell case made for this guitar. It was also made nicely with light gray interior fuzzy stuff that is in them. I bought it for $85. This is something I have to mention. When the strings were all properly tuned in standard tuning, the tuning pegs were all perfectly alligned. Just something I noticed.

The sound is more fuller than I had expected. All the other parlors I have played sounded a boxy so I was expecting that as well. Especially for the price it is. It sounds bigger than it is. The four top strings are bright and clear. There isn't a whole lot of bass on the E and A strings but I am sure that will improve over time. Like I say I just got this guitar and had to comment on it. From other reviewers that have had theirs awhile say the bass comes out in time. It doesn't like heavy strumming but that isn't my stlye anyway. I play blues and jazz mostly and it fits that well. It works well with flat picking and finger picking.

Like I said before the finish is gorgous and flawless. From what I have read from other reviewers about this guitar theirs don't have much of a finish. But this one sure does. I hope that they keep it up. I am a wood worker by trade and believe me I checked this thing out every square inch. I found a very small dot of stain on the top in one spot. Other than that there isn't one scratch or dent. The top is excellently bookmatched. I can only find the line because I know it is there. The back is just as good. The action was a little high for me but that was just a small turn on the truss rod. All the frets were clean and smooth. The neck is really easy to move around on too. The guitar just seems really balance to me. I have a Martin that I love and the neck drops on me if I take my thumb away. Not so with this guitar.

I can't say much in this category because I haven't had it long enough. The finish looks like it will withstand some abuse. I don't play live so can comment on that. I had originally bought this guitar to take to the beach but now I am having second thoughts because it is so pretty. I didn't expect it to be so nice for the price. My Martin might be going instead. The hardware seems very resonable. The strap button is tight and something I am thankfull for because most of you don't have one on yours. It feels dependable and it most likely will be my main guitar now.

Can't really comment here either. I can say that when I had some questions about this guitar I sent the Seagull company an email and they responded within two days. They were very curtious as well in their wording.

I've been playing guitar for about four years and have bought and sold many guitars. This one is a keeper. Along with my Martin auditorium, Epiphone Dot and my Art & Lutherie Ami Nylon. I was expecting this guitar to be more like the Ami as far as finish and quality. But for a Hundred bucks more I got a whole lot. I originally looked into this guitar because of my Ami. The body is just so comfortable. My shoulders don't like the dreadnaughts. The sound is much more than I expected as well. My favorite feature on this guitar is the finish. It is just so different than any guitar I have scene. Including other Seagulls. Maybe I have a reject or a new person doing the finshing. But the fit and feel of the neck is just what I have been looking for in a guitar. Maybe my girlfriend will get that diamond after all. Still can't believe I paid less than $400 bucks for it. For the size of this guitar it is a little on the heavy side. If it was lost or stolen I would be down at the guitar store ordering it immediately. This one took almost 3 months. It smells like it just came out of the laquer bin though. yuck! If you are still thinking about buying this guitar, just go do it. Now! The price is going to go up I am sure. This web sight was fabulous for any questions that I had about this guitar

Probably made around 2001 in Canada. Light Satin finish parlour sized (Grand Concert)guitar, solid cedar top, laminated wild cherry back and sides with plastic binding between top and sides and a full scale 14 frets to the body maple neck. Tuners are gotoh or schaller mini's style and very precise. No pick guard and no strap pins. It came with a neat little fitted hard case - eventually, as I will explain later. I have subsequently replaced the chrome tuning knobs with Schaller Ebony knobs and they look great.

With no pick guard and no strap pins it's a give away that this is a sit-down fingerstyle guitar in the "parlour" traditon (like that picture of james joyce in Trieste). I've personally never been any good with plectrums but this is definitely not the guitar for heavy strumming. when fingerpicked you get a balanced mid-range with enough bass response and sweet trebles, where you can hear each strings tone - similar to a classical guitar. I play folk in the 60's and 70's style and it's usually 99% by myself, indoors and if it's to an audience then it's probably to about 8 drunk friends singing along. The sound is louder than you'd expect for it's size and with that compressed woody tone, again similar to a classical guitar. i was probably drawin to this guitar from learning to play on nylon strings and being accustomed to the small body size and finger picking, but i've had this guitar now for nearly 5 years and it's warm sound has definitely improved with age. The body shape is very distinct and extremely comfortable to hold and it is by far the most playable neck of any acoustic i've ever held. It's travelled by plane several times and i've managed to get the thing in the overhead compartment without causing a row -although those days might be at an end now with the new security rules. It's a guitar that you can't resist picking up when you walk by and then suddenly you notice an hour or two have passed.

I tdon't know if the guitar was set up in the shop, the action was medium to high with light strings. I had the action brought down a tad and now the playability is excellent. Over the years i've tried everything from 12's to silk and steel strings and bronze to phosphor bronze. At the moment i'd say phosphor bronze 11's are a great balance between tone and playability. (I tend to break nails on 12's). the satin finish is very light which aids the tone but this means that the cedar top is very soft and i now have several dings in it. they are harmless and actually add character. The cedar, by the way has a clear fine grain and is matched perfectly. Inside, it is clean and flawless - a real testament to attention to detail and quality control at Seagull.

As mentioned, I've had it for nearly 5 years, dragged it on a plane, lived through damp irish winters, and hot humid parisian summers and it is fine. the top is delicate but structurally sound and the wild cherry body is very sturdy. Don't stand on it or give it to plectrum happy strummers and it will be looking better than you will in 30 years. I don't gig.

When i bought this guitar in Cork, they gave me a great discount as they didn't think anybody would want a guitar this size (they tried to pedal me a HPL Martin 000 at nearly twice the price). Unfortunately they didn't have the fitted case and gave me a folk-sized case. After seeing the guitar rattle arond in the oversized case I emailed Seagull in Canada and asked them why, if all of their guitars came with a fitted case, I was missing one. In a matter of days I was contacted by Lasido's distributor in Ireland saying that a Seagull Grand case would be delivered to the shop I purchased the guitar in - free of charge. The system works.

I wrote this review 5 years after purchase because when i had bought it - it was the first steel string guitar i'd ever owned and it was a brave new world for me. The dust has settled and the novelty of a new guitar has worn off - but the enjoyment of playing it hasn't. I've been playing now for about 11 years, I also own a Martin D15s Dreadnought and a Manuel Rodriguez C3-F Flamenco. Both Martin and Rodriquez have a very high standard when it comes to fit and finish inside and out and I'm happy to say that the Seagull lives up to this standard. The Grand is a perfect fingerpickers guitar - it's light, mobile, individual sounding and perfect for the solo artist or playing alongside a classical guitar or a bigger dreadnought style guitar but I really don't know how it would fit within a band setup. It seems most manufacturers have released "small body" models over the last few years but you would be hard pressed to find one that's better sounding and better made (within the price range) than the Grand. It makes you want to play and rewards your efforts. I would buy it again if lost or stolen.

Nice quality solid cedar top, laminated cherry back & sides, rosewood neck. Bridge, nut, and tuners are good as well. I replaced the plastic bridge saddles. Hardshell case is perfectly sized. No electronics in my model.

As received, the guitar was passable in sound, but lacked low end character. It did have the punch and projection of a nice parlor acoustic. After some experimentation, I found replacing the plastic bridge saddles with a brass set really improved the low end. For my playing style, I find this guitar likes a lighter pick. Heavy or agressive picking produces an overly compressed sound. As expected, fingerpicking produces a great sound with this little parlor.

Action required a bit of adjustment for my taste. Finish and general build quality is very nice - especially for an instrument in this price range.

I replaced the cheap plastic bridge saddles and improved the sound appreciably. My guitar was purchased used, and appears to be holding up well. The top is cedar with very light finish, and will be prone to scratching from picking, etc. If that concerns you, I would install a pick guard. For me: it's a $350.00 guitar. Who cares.

Haven't the need to contact Seagull.

I've been playing for 20+ years. This is a nice little parlor that produces an interesting, unique sound. It's a great value, in my opinion. As long as you're not expecting to get a boutique $4,000.00 instrument sound for $350.00, I think you will be very happy with your purchase.

I won't go into the features. You probably already know what they are and if you don't, you'll find out by looking it up elsewhere or by reading other write ups here.

Bought this virtually unused guitar on ebay. Seemed to be the only viable option in a low priced parlor with what comes close to a 1.75 inch nut. When I first played it, I was truly dissapointed. Even though it had new GHS light gauge bright bronze strings, it seemed to have a dull, thuddy, cardboard box sound on the bass strings. Trebles seemed okay, though a bit thin sounding. I tried as many different picks as I could scrounge up from my box of stuff, thinking maybe it would sound better with a different weight of pick. Only when played with a thin Fender pick did sound passably good, but it's hard to get much volume with such a thin pick and aggressive picking wears out a thin pick in no time. So I decided to try finger picking, which is how I usually play. I only tried it with a pick first because I wanted to see how loud it could get.
Whoah! Finger picking this guitar made it sound much better. Using my flamenco guitar thumbnail technique on the bass strings brought out a bit of a woody tone that wasn't there at all with a guitar pick. Since I had some experience with a cedar top flamenco guitar that always sounded dull after it had been sitting unplayed for awhile but came alive after about a half hour of coaxing, I decided to pick the crap out of this little Seagull and see if it sounded any better. Hmm. Don't know if my ears started to adjust to it's unique tonal qualities, but it actually started to sound remarkably better. I later tuned it to open D and started messing around with some hillbilly type stuff and some Arabian kind of scales. After a day or two of messing around with the guitar in open D, I realized I had become hopelessly addicted to this thing. The sound of the basses seemed to have developed a woodier tone, and the trebles had a nice silvery chime to them. I wake up in the morning and within 15 minutes I'm wrapped up in some meditative scale doodlings in open D. I'm constantly picking it up at every opportunity. I spent a good 2 hours or so going over every note on the bass strings from the 5th fret to the twelfth, coaxing every bit of tone out of those suckers in an attempt to teach this guitar how I want it to sound. I can't say this was 100% effective, but I do feel that the guitar now has a far better sound than it did when I first got it. At times, it has almost a ukulele-esque kind of tone on the D through low E strings, most noticeably above the 5th fret. From the 5th fret on down, though, it has a really satisfying, woody tone when fingerpicked with a thumbnail and thumbskin technique. It really is quite nice. I'm still working on the upper register frets and at times it sings fairly nicely, while at others it strikes me as a little dull in the bass. The trebles are wonderful all up and down the neck. I've only had the guitar about a week, so I'm hopeful that its sound will evolve. I may try ebony bridge pins or even a bone saddle. I think this guitar has enough potential to merit the expense. I'd write more, but I've suddenly got a jones to pick it up and play a bit. I'm giving it an 8 in this category, but part of me wishes there was an 8.75 category.

For an inexpensive guitar, I was impressed with the fit and finish. I found one or two little nibs in the finish and what looks like some kind of bubble (extremely small) on the back. The satin finish was OK, but I read about an easy technique to put a gloss finish on a satin finish guitar and since this was a used instrument not covered by any warranty, I went ahead and did this. I just used 0000 steel wool on the back and sides, then applied some home grown "secret sauce" guitar polish from a guitar shop I used to patronize. It was really easy to do and the result is a nice gloss finish on the sides and back.
The top is cedar with a barely there satin finish of some sort on it. Cedar is very soft and prone to scarring. I'm generally very careful with my instruments and thought I'd be able to avoid any damage, but after a couple of days playing it I was chagrined to find that I put a few small fingernail marks on the top. Now I'm debating whether to polish the top also.
The action on this guitar was superb when I got it. Although the low E string buzzes quite noticeably, it doesn't really bother me and seems to work well with the meditative open tuning doodlings I enjoy. My only gripe about the action is that the distance between the strings and the top of the guitar is a bit low for fingerpicking clearance. I would like to have a little more room there and it would help avoid damage to the top from errant fingies dinging onto the soundboard. The shape of the neck is wonderful and I really appreciate the 1.72 inch width at the nut. Would have preferred 1.75, but whatever. The other cheap parlors have a smaller nut width than this and I feel that anything smaller is unplayable for a finger picker. But, then, I come from a flamenco guitar perspective. Oh, the neck was/is straight and there are no frets protruding from the edges of the fingerboard. Nicely done. Also, this is a shorter scale neck that a standard acoustic and this makes it fantastically easy to play. As I've mentioned, there are no tuning problems and no intonation problems which I thought might be an issue with a shorter scale neck.
I don't know who makes the tuning gears on this guitar (they're probably Pings) but I am amazed at how well they work and how well it stays in tune.
The intonation is perfect all up and down the neck. This really surprised and delighted me. The only problem is a dead spot on the low E string somewhere around the 10th or 11th fret. Hit the note there and it just doesn't sustain as well as anywhere else.
All in all, for a guitar of this price I give it a 9 in this category.

This seems to be a solidly built guitar, with the only durability questions arising from the light finish applied to the cedar top and the sides. Can't really speak much to reliability/durability since I've only had it a week or so.

This is a used guitar that's not under warranty, so customer support is irrelevant.

Been playing for many years as a hobby. Have owned mid priced and high end flamenco guitars, electric guitars and steel string acoustics. Currently have an old Tokai Strat, a Larrivee OM-03MT, an old Harmony mahogany body 165, and a couple of Alhambra Flamencos. This is my first parlor guitar and I find it thoroughly enjoyable and insanely addictive. I absolutely love the size of this guitar. It's very comfortable to hold and I find myself constantly grabbing it while I'm watching the tube, or sitting in front of the computer, or outside sitting on the doorstep, or whatever. It's easy to carry around and put in the car. I love the size so much that I'm seriously thinking about someday finding a better quality parlor guitar that will deliver a bit more in the tone and volume departments. If it were stolen or lost, I'd get back on ebay right away and get another one.

The features have mostly been adequately described by the other authors.
Solid cedar top, laminated cherry back and sides, maple neck, rosewood fretboard and bridge, cream-colored body binding, miniature headstock with chrome Seagull mini tuners.
The neck width at the nut is 1.72", a bit narrow for a fingerstyle guitar in my opinion.
The satin finish is misleadingly called "semigloss" by Seagull.
Seagull S series rosette, no pickguard.
The strings were corroded, brown and really nasty - the sound improved dramatically when I put on Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze Lights.
Old fashioned "cardboard" hardcase with brass locks that fit the guitar excatly was $60 extra - the smallest guitar case I ever saw, very practical.

No electronics.

I play fingerstyle accompaniment for folk and Western songs. This guitar is certainly made for that, with its tiny size and no pickguard. Seagull calls it "fun to play and produces a surprisingly big sound". This is certainly true, but the sound does have its limitations. IMHO the sound is a bit "dry" and lacking in finer nuances compared to higher quality guitars. The lack of bass is as expected considering the diminutive size; neither are the trebles as clear and strong as on my Furch spruce/maple OM. This is probably due to the cedar top.

The set-up was decent, but I found the action was slightly low so I loosened the truss rod just a tad. Since then the action has been quite stable.
The finish is OK. The cherry back is beautifully bookmatched. The grain structures of the maple neck and rosewood fretboard are pretty. The finish inside the guitar is, however, very coarse.
The satin-finished cedar top isn't very good looking in my opinion.
The oxidized strings were, however, the only main fault.

The finish of the guitar is very fragile.
The mini tuners are a bit fast-geared but feel unusually solid and precise for a guitar in this price range.
There is only one strap button, disappointing.
Except for the finish I think it is durable.

I have mailed the company for questions. They were very friendly. However, the web site stinks. The specs table, for example, hasn't been updated for years.

I have been playing for between one and two years. I own an Alhambra classical guitar and a Furch all solid wood OM. The Grand is an extra for vacations and just playing for fun. I love it with all its limitations, but it could have had a gloss top. What I like most is the incredibly loud sound coming from such a tiny and featherweight guitar. What I like least is the fragile and dull finish and the narrow neck. I would buy another one if I lost it, or perhaps the out-of-production Grand Artist if I could get it. I actually compared the Grand to the Seagull S6+ Folk model, which sounded slightly better. I actually chose the Grand because they didn't have a case for the Folk and I had to have a case to get the guitar safely home. I don't regret that.

Canadian made: cedar top, cherry back and sides, rosewood fretboard, silverleaf maple neck. Apparantly Seagulls all have solid tops (I would hope given that they're made in a 1st world country.. that isn't meant to sound derogatory). It's got a decidedly non-gloss finish that I very much like. I understand the protection that a gloss finish provides, but it's kind of nice to have a finish that requires you to actually take proper care of the instrument.

However, while I would give the guitar a 10 because the strings stay on it and it has frets so I can make different notes, the fragile finish (however much I like it) would really benefit from coming with a case. I bought the guitar new and took it home in a cardboard box. A cardboard box is not a case. I dock points because I would have paid more for a case.

I've never had a cedar top guitar before, so it's got quite a new sound. My other acoustic that's worth mentioning (I have more than one other acoustic) is a Taylor 310, which has a spruce top. The spruce is certainly brighter. That said, I don't really see the point in comparing them.

I'm really impressed with the cedar.. that's essentially what I'm trying to say. It's much mellower, but not muddier. With the guitar's smaller size, and therefore greater emphasis on the mid- to upper-range, I think a spruce top would have sounded tinny. With the cedar it sounds quite rich.

Other reviews are quite correct concerning the volume this guitar can produce. I feel some of them have perhaps not considered the size and shape of the guitar as they've been reviewing it, though. It's a parlour guitar, not a dreadnought or a jumbo.

Should you expect a thumping bass? Buy a bass and stop reading guitar reviews.

Should you expect more treble than your ears can handle? Tighten your truss rod until your neck is a frown.

This guitar is not a "portable" substitute for a larger-bodied acoustic. It is an instrument in its own right.

I give it a 9 since it hasn't aged yet.

I didn't get the display model. I thought I was going to, but I was then told (as I was retrieving my credit card) that I would be getting a new one from the back. Eeek. I checked it out before I handed the card over. All was quite fine. It wasn't in tune, of course, but the neck was straight and I played the notes up the neck and all was fine.

Once I tuned it up, I was actually quite impressed. The action is fine, the intonation is on. I very much like the feel of the neck (I like the feel of all the Seagull necks).

I must note that the bookmatching of the top is incredible. I had to rely on the mirroring of the grain of the wood to believe that it was bookmatched. I couldn't find the seam.

There is a barely noticable veneer on the face of the headstock (my Taylor has veneer as well[without flaws].. and Taylors seem to be the star of the year these past few years [I love my Taylor to a degree I don't wish to get into, but I'm a multi-guitar person.. no company can ever be the the be-all end-all of guitar manufacturing.. and price should never be given higher consideration over price (unless the price is too high)]). I would hope that a guitar company (at any level) could pump out more or less flawless guitars on a regular basis. After all, that's what they're supposed to do.

I don't like this category. I feel it's like asking:

^Will you throw your guitar on the ground and expect it to remain intact?^

This guitar will not fall apart once you strum a chord. You can even throw open chords together with barre chords. If you're crazy, you can play some lead runs in between the two.

The finish of this guitar is not one that allows you to spill drinks on it, but you shouldn't do that anyway.

Action/Fit/Finish means that a guitar can function without doubt. This guitar is above needing to worry about this category. I feel that you should know how to treat an instrument properly if you are capable of playing one.

I've been playing roughly 10 years. I love all my guitars (I research them before I buy them.. Harmony-Central is quite useful). I've got an Epiphone Les Paul Jr. Special (I think.. it's the yellow double cut-away.. it's quite nice to play, but the pick-ups aren't as good as they could be), an Epiphone Sheraton II with GFS pick-ups (I don't remember which ones.. they're about 56435 times better than the stock pick-ups), an SX strat w/ GFS pick-ups, a DeArmond M-77T (ha Ha!), an SX GG7 hollow-body electric that I got today (the same as this Seagull Grand guitar), a crappy Yamaha that I found in the garbage (it might not have been crappy before someone threw it out), and a Taylor 310 that sounds as good as the higher numbers.

The only fault I can find with this guitar, other than the very minor finish problem that I had to actively look for, is the fact that it didn't come with a case. This isn't something that would usually annoy me, but the guitar is a strange size, so it means I'm going to have to pay a sum of money for a case.. I can't just get a generic case.

I've been wanting to get a parlour guitar for a while. I'd been spending class time (I've had internet access during class these past few months) looking at a number of different guitar makers' pages for parlour guitars. For some reason I never thought to look at Seagull, which is strange considering the fact that I've researched them at least twice before and each time I've been interested in them. When I noticed the headstock at Rondo Music, which I highly recommend (www.rondomusic.net) [I'm not an employee.. I'm a satisfied customer], I had to play them. I was impressed. I bought one. This little guy they sell is great.

I've been writing this review while listening to someone wail away on an electric guitar (it sounds rather pickup-heavy). This guitar delves into the acoustic realm of sound. It's not going to sound like a jumbo, a concert or a dreadnought, and it shouldn't.

If I had to say what the best reason to buy this guitar was, it would be:

- This is the perfect guitar to sing a child to sleep with.
- any guy who's worth a damn would do wise to take advantage of (and enjoy doing so) the last point.
- If you're used to the body of an electric and you want an acoustic that feels the same, this guitar is the best you're going to get.

'99 or '00 model with a solid cedar top, no pickguard (a problem with the soft top on this model), a simple but nice inlaid rosette, 3-ply cherry sides, 24.84" scale, rosewood fretboard and bridge, very smooth silver maple neck, very stable Seagull tuners. THis is a small guitar with a 13-inch lower and 11.something inch upper bout, and an extremely narrow waist. Best feature of all, to me, is the 1.72" nut width. I find the 1.67" width you normally find on dreadnoughts a bit cramped and the the 1.75" width on smaller-bodied guitars a bit wide until I get used to it. This took no getting used to. Seagull's typical 1.8" nut, however, is way too wide for me. Since this is a unique and fun guitar I consider a keeper, I have customized mine a bit, adding a compensated bone saddle made by Bob Colosi, cutting string ramps to create a sharper break angle over the saddle, and attaching a tortoise-shell Martin pickguard, the bottom of which I trimmed by about 3/4" inch. The bone saddle in particular was an excellent addition, compared to the chipped tusq saddle it replaced. It cleaned up the sound a bit, focusing the bass somewhat and making the high strings simultaneously brighter-sounding and less shrill. I think it made it a little louder, too.

As others have noted, one is initially surpised by the volume. The volume from string to string is evenly balanced, unlike a dread. When you strum a chord, the voice of the guitar seems focused in the high midrange, as you would expect from a cedar-topped guitar of this size. SIngle notes ring very clear and pure without a lot of complicated overtones. The sustain is good to very good. For comparison, it has slightly less sustain than a Taylor 314.

The guitar is best for single-note picked leads and fingerstyle pieces that don't rely on lots of volume and resonance from a big-bodied guitar. It's not at it's best with Michael Hedges songs, for instance. It's excellent for Irish music in DADGAD, and good for alternating bass flatpicking of old-time songs like, for instance, Norman Blake's arrangement of "You Are My Sunshine" on the "O Brother...." soundtrack. Like the previous reviewer, I used this guitar in a small bluegrass ensemble and it held it's own OK. For rhythm work, of course it didn't have the low-end boom of the other guy's 35 year-old D-18, but it has a decent twangy percussive sound when you dig hard on the low strings, and the "chicka" part on the upper strings slices through well. Different, but not bad. A friend who plays a lot of country blues says its good for that too. I'll take his word for it.

The guitar's biggest limitation is in straight, hard strumming (the way, I think, most people who bang around on guitar play.) It just doesn't sound good when 5 or 6 strings are ringing at once. Dunno why--maybe a result of the focused, non-overtoney sound that makes this an interesting-sounding fingerpicker?

Not bad, not great. The action was fairly high when I got it. I can see some glue here and there and the inside looks a bit rough. Finish was basically perfect and the wood looks excellent (although the wild cherry back looks more like a dresser than a guitar.) There were no manufacturing errors I could discern.

Everthing feels solid after four years or regular use at home, at work, and playing with friends. The cedar top is sort of dented up. I covered the worst of it with a pickguard, however.

I've sent them two emails. They answered one, and ignored the other.

I bought this guitar to help me get back into acoustic playing after years of playing only electrics. I thought the small body would be less irksome and make me more eager to practice. It proved excellect as a student instrument, and would work well in that function for a small adult or older child.

It's by no means an all-purpose guitar, since it sounds fairly lame when you strum it loudly. But it sounds great for more intricate playing styles--even bluegrass flatpicking. It's now an excellent second guitar, and complements my Taylor 414, which is an excellent all-purpose guitar. It has served its purpose well and I don't plan to sell it. Rather, this will be the guitar my children will learn on once they're old enough (assuming they want to play.) If lost or stolen, frankly, I doubt I'd buy another. Like I said, the Taylor is an excellent all-purpose guitar.

Cedar top, Wild Cherry sides/back. Single-0 size body. (SMALL!!!). Baggs ribbon transducer. No cutaway, compensated saddle, decent tuners. NO pickguard. For the money, quite a bit of guitar.

Well, it sounds like a cedar. You can't bang chords on it too hard with a pick, because the low end compresses and it just gets harsher. But the people who say it isn't loud are wrong. This thing (like all cedars) has a TON of midrange and will CUT through when using a pick, like a lead electric guitar. Think Willie Nelson tone. I have played it with acoustically with loud Bluegrass bands and had no trouble being heard. But it AIN'T gonna sound like a D-28. It's not designed to.

Fingerpicked, it is stellar. It is one of the finest sounding and playing fingerpicked guitars I've ever seen.

Plugged in is very natural with the ribbon. The top and bottom are more filled out, and the guitar sounds much more full and not as biting as it does acoustically. But I have noticed that the tone on the ribbon changes drastically as the strings age. Much more so than a piezo. It's weird. It's almost like the pickup sound gets BRIGHTER as the strings deaden. Even so, it's not so bad. A little tweak of the EQ can compensate.

Plays great. Has a lot of fingerboard clearance above the body, which makes it much easier to fingerpick.

OT NOTE *** when you have a refret done, most luthiers shave off alot of fingerboard to level it. CAUTION...if you're a fingerpicker, you'll ruin your guitar this way. My D-18 has been refretted 3 times in 30 years and now I get horrible thumb cramps when fingerpicking it, because there's not enough fingerboard clearance above the top.

Back to the Seagull...It has a satin finish, which I love. Guitars with satin finishes sound good out of the box, they don't have to "age" as much like a guitar with a heavy gloss finish does. The D-18 took years (and many "weather cracks" in the finish) before it really started to sound good. The Seagull sounded good when I bought it, and is definitely MORE resonant now. It's aging very nicely.

I would say it's not as durable as a gloss top guitar. But that's the tradeoff you get for getting good "aged" sound out of the box. It has no pickguard, and I'm starting to wear the top, and could eventually get a "Willie hole". Everyone thinks that's cool, but I have noticed that the cedar seems softer to scratches and pick marks than spruce. The Cherry back/sides are solid as a rock. Nothing is gonna hurt that. Overall, the guitar is only about 10 years old, but looks older. Of course, I play it ALOT.

Never had to deal with them. Well, wait, once I had a baggs pickup replaced for free because the luthier called for me. Baggs is the same company, and I heard they are very easy to deal with. But still no issues with this guitar.

I'd never sell this guitar. It's become a part of me, and is a lovely, unique instrument. It has a tendency to "howl" in the lower mids when plugged in and turned up LOUD, so it's not fully usable with a loud band. That's the only thing I don't like. But the sound of the guitar has character, and far outweighs that one deficiency.

OK, I've had this for two years now, so I think I'm ready to rate. It has a body, a soundhole, a neck--all the features its needs except a pickguard.

This is where this guitar shines. My main guitar is a nice mid-70s Martin D-28. While the Grand has nowhere near the lush, all-enveloping sound produced by the Martin, believe it or not, for pure volume, it's nearly as loud. However, when strummed this hard, the sound is muddy and compressed. Strum with a light hand, or fingerpick and your're rewarded with an incredibly balanced, sweet sound with great sustain.

Action when new needed to be brought way down to make it medium-low. Some sandpaper on the saddle and a quarter-turn on the truss rod fixed that. Wood finish was good, however, small amounts of glue are visible inside and various other places, like under the bridge. It doesn't look like the braces were even sanded before glued in place.

Will withstand live playing. This is a solid guitar except for the cedar top. The Seagull tuners work great, and the guitar stays in tune very well. There really should be a pickguard. I finally cut and installed my own over the area where the greatest conglomeration of fingernail marks had developed.

Not needed.

If you're looking for a super-cheap small-bodied guitar with beautiful tone that improves rapidly with playing, and don't mind slightly sloppy cosmetic fit-n-finish issues, look here.

Parlor size guitar made in Canada of laminated wild cherry with a solid cedar top, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard and bridge. plastic saddles, sealed mini tuners, minimalist godin quantum pickup/preamp system (volume, bass, treble) with battery compartement in the lower bout (not really nice but you would not like to change a battery inside the body 2 minutes before the gig). thin satin laquer finish. craftmanship is a bit robust, especially inside the body. this little pecker has nothing fancy about it, but a solid "tool-vibe". every detail is functional, simple and effective.
Mine came with a padded gigbag provided by the dealer.

This little friend has a nice light and bright sound that suits well for recording and accompaniment. Cannot produce HIFI-Sound like a bigger guitar - but that's not always what suits in a real life situation...With a strong midrange and treble and lean bass response it blends well with a band. And it does not dominate the singer.
The pickup suits this guitar just fine, with help of the bass control you can fake some fullness. The lean acoustic sound results in less feedback than you would get from a bigger guitar. With my AER compact as well as with my JBL control 1 speakers the sound is very natural - although I'd still prefer a microphone for recording.

Setup was OK - I had to adjust the neck and was ready to go. Intonation is quite good for an acoustic guitar. then neck feels just fine for me.
This guitar is a pleasure to play and to carry around. As I allready mentioned the craftmanship inside the body is rather coarse - but I don't mind...
I returned the first guitar they sent me because the pickup was not installed correctly so that some strings were noticeable louder than others.

The finish is very delicate - although I play with my fingers and nails I produced some scratches into the top immediately (on the other hand that skinny finish contibutes to the open sound). Besides that it feels sturdy for such a light and small guitar. Keeps it's tuning quite good. The preamp is sealed well. All the features of this guitar are designed to perform so I'd rather take an extra battery (which can be changed in an instant due to the battery compartment) and spare strings to a gig than a second guitar.

Did not deal with Seagull, but the dealer changed the guitar with the faulty pickup) without problems

Although I have been playing for like 27 years this is the first acoustic steelstring with a pickup I own (did borrow some if I needed them for projects, though).By now I played electric guitars everywhere. I bought the grand for a new project in which I play acoustic guitar exclusively, some kind of soul/jazz with an acoustic band. As I am a bit tired of the sound of electric guitars and of carrying amplifiers I can't wait to go on tour with such little effort and such a natural sound. This little guitar sounds and plays great. I am sure there are better guitars out there but for that price the grand is just a bargain.

I'll just start off by saying that I don't actually own this guitar, but I play one a lot live, as I don't yet have an acoustic with a pickup. It's the singer's.
Nice features for a guitar at this price point: solid Cedar top; laminate "wild" cherry back and sides; rosewood fingerboard; silver leaf maple neck. It also has the optional LR Baggs Micro EQ system. The LR Baggs is a nice choice for this guitar, and is nicely minimalist. It's got good tuners, which are nice and small. Because the finish is practically non-existant - just a thin semi-gloss - it's a very natural looking guitar, and the dark back and sides of cherry add to this folky feeling. Couldn't ask for more, though either a pickgaurd or a tougher finish would be very welcome - I'll go into that later.

The reason why I'm writing this is because of the previous reviews about the sound. If you read this, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was some sort of super guitar, especially for such a low price (about $300 US I'm told). Well, for that price, yes it is quite nice, but it's far from a great tone in my opinion.
It's obviously very different from a dreadnaught style guitar, and that's great. It's quite low in volume, but that doesn't really matter I don't think. You'd plug it in for gigs anyway. The sound is quite balanced, but it reminds me of a cardboard box. That may sound a bit harsh, and I do like that it's got a different character from most guitars you can get for the price, but it's still quite boxy to my ears. I play all sorts of music, and it definately responds best to fingerpicking. I use it for quite folky stuff mainly, and it's fine for that, as long as I don't use a pick, or strum too hard. I often play this for lead acoustic work over the top of another acoustic. Trying to get a bit of grunt out of it ends up in the tone just farting out, with an overcompressed feel. Not only that, but transients feel like they're actually distorting, and this is without it being plugged in. Of course, I'm making it sound worse than it is, because I'm comparing it in my head to some lovely Martins I'm tossing up between, which are still not dreadnaughts, but at almost four times the price. At the moment, I own a Cort Earth acoustic, which is a dreadnaught, and is probably worth about the same amount. It's got quite a bit less character, which makes this Grand quite refreshing to play, but the Cort is more reliable across the dynamic range. For the price, certainly a contender, but there's plenty out there.
By the way, plugged in it sounds very good, or rather, much like it does unplugged. The pickup is very good. To tell you the truth, I haven't been able to hear it from an audience perspective much, so I can't comment very well.

I don't know what it was like when it was bought, but it's in great condition now. The action is quite low, and so it's very easy to play, when you consider the short scale length. All the frets are right, with no sticking out edges or badly levelled ones. The neck feels great, and is quite fast. The back is bookmatched so well that it looks like one piece of wood, that just happens to be symmetrical. The only problem I have is that bits of the bridge saddle have cracked under the strings, instead of wearing down normally. This means that there is a buzz on the D and G strings, so obviously the saddle needs replacing, which isn't my call, as I'm not the one to be paying for it. This is partly a durability problem I guess, but I've never seen a saddle chip off in this way, so it's a problem with the material (plastic) that they use. I'd give it a 10, but the saddle is a problem.

This is the main problem. The finish on the top is very pretty, but not remotely protective. There is no pickgaurd either, and as I have fingernails (and most people who use it would be fingerpickers I think) this is a problem, as if you tap the body you'll ding it. The Top of this guitar is covered in small dings. Also, the back finish scratches easily and leaves very light marks, so they are very visible. I don't mind a few dings on my guitar, but it makes the guitar a lot more of a hassle to gig with, especially seeing as it's not my guitar, I always feel nervous holding it in case something happens. I can't imagine this would last long at all in nice condition with a tough gigging schedule.

Can't comment

Look, for the money, this is a perfectly good guitar, but don't think it's a Martin or similar higher priced guitar. I think Seagull make great guitars, but I'd recommend saving up and getting something that will be more reliable and with a better tone.

First, let me just say; I don't mean to sound like a complete idiot, but I am a professional guitar repairman. I have worked at most of the major guitar shops in New England. I am also a professional orchestral trombone builder (please don't ask why). I have been working on fretted instruments since 1977.

Besides the countless other guitars I have owned, and the dozens which are currently in my possesion, I have two Seagull Grands; a 1998 and a factory 2nd made in 2000. Both are identical with cedar / lam wild cherry, big leaf necks, yada, yada, yada. Neither has a pickup.

The 1998 is my all-time favorite player. It's the first guitar I've ever caused fret wear just from playing it so much, and I have a light to medium touch. This guitar is very customized. The entire finish has been hand rubbed to a gloss. The headstock is now light maple with a large MOP star at the top (like a Vega). There is an abalone diamond inlaid into the fingerboard. I've installed a customized JLD bridge truss in the body. I also installed a shaped tortoise pickguard, mini gold Grovers with ebony buttons, and ebony / abalone bridge pins. I've compensated the saddle a bit differently. The intonation is superb!

My 2000 Grand is basically stock. I bought it as a backup and because it was only $150. So far, I've only installed a white pearl pickguard on it. However, I will begin operating on this guitar soon.

We all know the sound of a guitar is a personal thing, so I will just say; this guitar's overall tone suits me just fine. Despite its small size, its still a "full-voiced" guitar (for what it is). Its tone constantly brings joy to my ears. What else could I ask of it?

I have used my 98 Grand in many different venues. It's most fun while I'm sitting on my bed or at the computer playing it. At jam sessions, it' has a bit less volume than the dreads, but everyone adjusts accordingly.

Both of the Grands have some differences in materials and ornamentation, but they are basically the same in construction.

The quality is excellent on both instruments. There are some fine luthiers in Canada

In my opinion, commenting on action is about as pointless as talking about tone. Here's what I will say; as with all wooden guitars, action changes slightly with different weather patterns. It's never a problem of any kind because I adjust it.

Oh, I forgot to mention.... One real nice feature that the boys at Seagull were intelligent enough to incorporate, is a double action truss rod. WAY TO GO GUYS!!!

.

I got the 2000 Grand for low dough because the neck bolts had come loose and were flopping around behind the label. Not sure why this happened, but I can say my 98 Grand has never had a problem of any kind.

I won't mention the soft cedar top as everyone else who has reviewed this guitar has.

I once sold a young girl a brand new Seagull 12 string in cedar. She brought it home and dropped it hard on the floor. The headstock joint broke completely off. I could see that there were large voids in the hardened glue. Icalled Seagull, and they immediately sent her a new guitar directly to her house via overnight delivery. Need I say more?

I have tons of vintage axes, tons of hand-mades, tons of chicago-built garbage, and everything inbetween, and I have owned thousands of other guitars. MY 1998 SEAGULL GRAND IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE!!!

parlor size Seagull Grand in a satin finish....21 frets....14 to the body... white body binding front and back, compensated saddle, GREAT MARTIN like 24.8 scale length, nice comfortable 1.74" (basically a
1 3/4" , ALL other Seagulls seem to be a bigger 1.8 ) nut width. SOLID CEDAR TOP, laminated cherry back and sides. SMALL in size, BIG in tone for the size!

very well balanced sound... it is "fun" to pick up and play... I love to fingerpick this guitar. I have even strummed it hard and it sounds fine. Just a little jangly, but that is to be expected for its smaller size. Has a big sound for a small instrument. I put in a Martin thinline under saddle pickup and it sounds great thru my acoustisonic jr.

haven't found anything wrong, and I am kinda picky! Neck feels like a standard guitar, fretwork is great! Intonated saddle is a nice touch !

cedar top marks easily and so after some hard strumming I noticed I was putting some good scratches on it below the soundhole..... DEFINITELY PUT ON A Larrivee like clear pickguard, shape it how you like it( not much room, you have to trim it!) and you are good to go!

haven't had a reason to contact Seagull....

I love the fact that a travel guitar or kids guitar has laminated back and sides (durability factor) , and the SOLID CEDAR TOP (tone factor)..... and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like some other parlors, and that the neck is basically a FULL scale length (24.8") Very comfortable nut width (1.74") , and the small parlor size body makes it oh so EASY to pick up and play.... anytime... anywhere!
one last thing... I had a great experience at Milano Music, go see Don Pogrant, he will fix you right up! peace love music :)

My new guitar is the Seagull Grand, solid cedar top, laminated wild cherry body, cream binding with a satin finish, I've had it 2 weeks. Many details have been covered in other reviews. This is an acoustic only, no pickup. I really like the satin cedar top but I had a clear pick guard added to protect it from my strumming. The Grand is a plain looking guitar and the more I look at guitars the more I like the models without alot of decoration. I appreciate the simple beauty of nice wood grain.

I am a novice player and haven't developed an ear for what others may consider "good sound". I have made several trips to guitar shops to compare sound and tried 2000 dollar guitars and many less expensive models. The Grand is one of the guitars that I thought sounded very nice especially when the price is considered and it does sound like a smaller guitar, not at all bad just different. The cedar top provides a warm, full sound with plenty of volume. This guitar has me believing that "good sound" doesn't have to mean big dollars.

There were three Grands at the shop to choose from, I looked them over carefully. They are all well made guitars. My decision came down to which had the nicest wood grain. All had very tight bookmatched tops so my choice was determined by the side and back wood grain. The action was fine as is but this shop is also a very good repair center, I don't know if they do any adjustments prior to displaying their guitars. I liked the satin finish from the first time I saw it and I do think you need to take care when handling it. I have another guitar to knock around with, certainly not my Grand, it will be cared for.

Well again I think the Grand needs to be cared for and then should stand up to the challenge of live playing and gigging. It will show marks easily if you are not careful, the finish is thin but looks great. The purchase price includes a nice hard case which I feel it needs, I live in Arizona and have to "water" my guitars every 3 to 4 days.

I have not dealt with Seagull and probably won't. Like I said the shop where I bought it is a very good repair center. When this guitar needs attention I will bring it to them and if there is ever a warrany issue they will help me determine the course of action.

I have only been playing seriously for about 1 1/2 years, I'm now 44. I bought a Guild G37 in 1983 and took lessons off and on but till recently haven't been a serious player. I still have the Guild which I treasure also I bought earlier this past year an Alvarez RD20SC with a hard gloss black finish which is the guitar I'll use for knocking around, not that there is anything wrong with it, it's what I wanted it for. It has an electronic pickup with built in tuner and is a very handy guitar. Now back to my Grand, I love this little guitar. Slim chance it would be lost or stolen but I would replace it. I like the size, it's very comfortable to play, I like the look the cedar is beautiful, I like the sound. I'm proud and happy to have a Seagull, it probably won't be my last one, (I'm so addicted to playing I will have other guitars). I feel Seagulls are very good guitars and a great value.

Made in Canada, 20 frets, solid cedar top, laminated cherry sides and back. Stained maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Satin finish, very thin, no pickguard. Parlor sized guitar, generic tuners with small buttons, plastic bridge pins, synthetic nut and fully compensated saddle (I believe it's not TUSQ, but Graph-Tech sells replacements)... 24.84" scale length, plastic body binding, nice herringbone rosette. It's your basic guitar.

For folk/celtic fingerstyle, it's not bad... it's got a lot of punch for solo lines, but it's not super loud... Because it's a smaller body, it has a very strong fundamental and a very focused sound... not sparkling like an OM-sized guitar, but almost sounding like a nylon-stringed guitar. Compared to the spruce-topped Simon&Patrick equivalent (it's 12-free fretted sibling) it has a warmer, more responsive tone... not as bright, which is good for a small body guitar... sounds as good as a full solid Larrivee, if not better...

Although the construction seems rugged, the whole setup sucked. Some fret overhang, super-high action at both the saddle and the nut, truss rod set wrong... These were all easily fixed and after some fretboard leveling and fretdressing, saddle and nut-slot adjustments and all, I got the thing set exactly like my Larrivee: 3mm low E, 2mm high E at the 12th. But even with the fully compensated saddle, the intonation sucked. Here's the MAJOR MAJOR problem: normally, to set the scale length, you take the distance from the nut to the 12th fret and double it to find the bridge position. To compensate for intonation (in addition to the slanted saddle), you can take ~0.02" off the fretboard at the nut side (see frets.com for an explanation). When I measured the distance from the nut to the 12th fret and compared it to the 12th fret to saddle distance, the nut-12 distance was LONGER than the 12-saddle distance, which is wrong and BAD. So some filing at the end of the fingerboard later, making the nut-12 distance ~0.02" shorter than the 12-saddle distance, now the intonation works. I don't know if this was isolated, or just poor quality control, or the builder didn't know... I do have good things to say: top wood is beautifully bookmatched, with the narrower grain in the center to offer more strength, and the wider grain at the sides/edges to give more flexibility where it's stiff. Disclaimer- although I rate this section low, I purchased the guitar with the knowledge that I had the skill to fix these problems... if you don't know how to do these things, get your shop to set it up before you purchase it... I got mine at Tom Lee music, which doesn't seem to have an on-site acoustic tech, so they rely totally on factory setups, which, for this guitar, was horrible, but repairable.

Cedar top, with the thin lacquer makes for lots of top dings if you're not careful. I put a clear pickguard on, to help out. Otherwise, the overall construction seems durable.

n/a

just purchased a seagull grand made in "oh canada"... a 2002 model. they are still doing it right. no electonics, solid-cedar-top and if you've read this far, you know the rest. a fine "parlor" guitar, in fact, i'd have to say the best out there... regardless of price... yes, you read right, REGARDLESS of price... (also tried the larrivee marinr 000 series, and after reading all the rave reviews the taylor big baby)... i paid an incredibly inexpensive price (bought mine in toronto)... with the exchange rate... it came to $275 w/HSC (that's american dollars, btw)
)

i play many different styles of music. This guitar is best suited for fingerpicking or light strumming. it has a tone all its own. the combination of cedar and cherry (though laminated) produce a sound that has depth and yet rings out. it sounds so good, it's hard to put down... seriously.. the sound overall, is a bright sound... with some serious depth (as aforementioned) thrown in...

i played four of these babies before deciding on this particular unit. fortunateley the dealer had a lot in stock... he claimed that he owns one himself... not sure if that was "puffery" or not... personally, i don't care, but after playing this one for half an hour, i could believe that he does. the guitar itself is very austere in apperaance. no bells, no whistles, nothing but clean plain looks and a beautful tone. the overall appearance is... i would have to say, understated ellegance...

the top of course is solid cedar... a very soft wood (incredible tone). haven't played "out" in about fifteen years (sighs, i am getting old!) the fit and finish are perfect. the finish is soft gloss, no pickguard (you knew all of this already, right?... sheesh). if i were "still" playing gigs... i wouldn't hesitate to use this without a backup... still?... with THAT in mind, this is a guitar of "special use" (in the real world) not a guitar that i would use on every song... hell, it's a fantastic machine, for what it is... if you are looking for a nicely appointed (ok, so you've got to be a bit of a minimalist, lol) incredible sounding, easy to play...guitar that stays in tune... perfect intonation... up and down the fretboard!..
then this is a way to go...

as for whether it will remain as sturdy as it appears, well i can only tell you about my other seagull an S6+ fold model which i've owned for seven years and never had a problem with...

the guitar comes with a 2 year "limited" warranty... i've never had cause to contact seagull re: my other guitar and don't expect i will need to regarding this one.... sooo, having no opinion on this matter ./... hell, i hate to give them anything less than a 10....lol.. but, that would be dishonest.. so?.. will a 9 bother anyone?...

i've been playing longer than i have fingers and toes to count on...i own TOO many guitars...lol.. including... guild, martin, taylor, seagull, fender, gibson, yes peavey... oh god... get me to the looney bin!..lol..(and seriously, too many others to mention)

there is absolutely NOTHING about this guitar (at the price i paid) that i would change...and, as i said... regardless of price this is one guitar that you will play... will put a smile on your face... make you feel wiser than your years (for having found it) and, will bring a lifetime of joy to all that hear you play it!....

See previous reviews for specs. This is the non-electric model parlor-style acoustic guitar. Body starts at the 14th fret! What a great feature! The cedar top produces a superb warm woody tone. Nice looking head stock. Simple yet elegant looking.

Sweet, soft, woody tone. She was built to be finger picked softly.

Excellent construction quality and materials! great neck, beautiful organic look.

Seems stout, yet delicateat the same time. Should last a lifetime.

don't know

Been playing for 36 years, and have owned many acoustics (and electrics). If you're looking for an acoustic that is a big departure from the big loud sound of a dreadnaught, this is your guitar. A very sweet player. I'll never sell it.

2001 Seagul Grand, solid cedar top etc... I love the look of the guitar with except for the headstock which I find unattractive. Great case made by Seagull, I paid an extra 50 bucks or so for that (gladly)

Great resonance and sustain. I usually play a Gibson J-45 so I'm used to a solid bass, but this little guitar is almost as loud when I do a lead run. Very bright, tight and sweet. It encourages me to play with my fingers. Its a nice companion soud-wise to my Gibson, sort of diametrically opposed strenghths, i'd say. I've been neglecting my J-45 since I got it. I just love to hear it ring in a quiet room.

no flaws, actions was fine. I had the opputunity to pick my guitar from 4 exampls at the store where I purchase it. that was very nice beacuse they did have different voices and feeling. I like the flast satin finish (also very different from my (sunburst) which is so finished it dosen't look like wood anymore)

I've been playing for about 20 years. I played for the first fiften on a sh**ty Ibanez that cost more that this one way back then. If only I'd have started out with a good guitar (I had the usual catch 22 - tryin to learn on a crappy instrument) This guitar is a great value.