Seagull M12 Gloss

Solid spruce top had a nice flame along the bookmatch. Laminated mahogany back and sides. Single truss rod. Mahogany neck, and there was a nice flame in the fingerboard. Seemed like plastic nut, bridge pegs, and saddle. Single strap button.

The spruce top projected very, very well. The sound practically leaped out of the guitar. I once owned a Fender DG1012 which featured a solid spruce top and laminated mahogany back/sides but it did not project nearly as well as the Seagull. I read that this may be attributed to Seagull using a mahogany-cherry-mahogany laminate. At any rate, it certainly projected well and had volume that was actually hard to compete with. That was the M12's chief distinguishing feature because the timbre wasn't noticeably different or different than what you could expect from any other guitar with a solid spruce top and laminated mahogany back and sides.

Action was unreasonably high and difficult to play after only a year. By the time I got rid of the guitar two years after purchasing, it was essentially unplayable. I don't know much about truss rod adjustments so maybe this could have been rectified, but it never happened with the three other 12-strings I have owned. The tuning pegs were loose and jiggled around in their places when no strings were installed. The top was beginning to bow up around the bridge, which was alarming. I've never seen that happen on any other instrument. Intonation deteriorated with the action.

Wouldn't stay in tune. I don't buy the whole "Seagulls stay in tune because of a tapered headstock" bit. It's the installation of quality machines which result in quality tuning.

Didn't have to deal with them, guitar was purchased "used as new" from a local dealer.

I don't know if it was a defective model or what but I can't say it was a good experience. I paid too much for it, and kept it for too long while not really using it.

'05 Seagull M12, gloss solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides. Easy to play neck.

Crisp 12 string sound, somewhat bright, especially when compared to the cedar top version. This guitar can get fairly loud and sounds good quiet or loud.

Guitar was beautiful from the store - action, fit and finish were flawless. The top had a dark streak area at the bookmatch that I thought looked good.

This Seagull was standing up well. I don't play it regularly, but I get it out once in a while for a few days or so. I hadn't played it for a while when I took it out recently and the top was cracked right at the bookmatch. I've always been careful with this guitar and this was a big disappointment.

I took it back to the shop where I bought it and they loked it over and told me to get back in a few days while they contacted Seagull. When I got back to them, I was told Seagull would repair or replace it, even though its 2 years out of warranty. I will see when I get it back in a month or so. Right now I'm hoping for a replacement, I don't know how they could fix a big crack like this and make it look good. I'll give a final verdict when I get it back

Guitars shouldn't crack at the bookmatch, quaility control at the Seagull factory must have been on break or something. I like the guitar and enjoy playing it, well see how Seagull stands behind this one.

same as everybody else , kind of plain looking , spruce top Mahogany back and sides

I've had this for a bout a year now , bought it used , it's an 2000 model .I really liked it at first , but now I find it a bit to mellow . I have been trying maple 12's and they seem to have more punch ?I find the sound sort of tinny and sort of unbalanced , no lows
But maybe that's just my ear ? I know now after trying many 12's I prefer the maple sound .

Action is not bad . Seems fairly low and doesn't buzz , not like a 6 for playabilty though but again I'n not a star. No flaws that I can see

I have had for a bout a year and keep it standard tuning. No bridge lift , I keep it in a humidified case during the heating months.Holds it tune very well! Will try it live this weekend as I'm just putting a pickup in it but should be no problem to use live.

Well I'm now gassing for a maple 12 but can't justify the cash outlay for my meager uses! I love the sound a 12 can bring to the mix but this one just seems to muted or mellow , it's still nice and once the pickup is in I'm sure it will work fine live but first chance I get will bag a maple one by Tak or Alvarez or something else in that range . The sound may suit other players better than me.

This is a Canadian made guitar. It has 21 frets, a solid spruce top, mahogany plywood back and side with a cherry core, a mahogany neck, a rosewood fingerboard, and a thin glossy hard laquer finish. It doesn't have any electronics. It has 12 chrome plated tuners which carry the Seagull logo. The nut, bridge and pegs are white plastic. It has one chrome plated strap button. The saddle is rosewood. It has a simulated tortoise shell pickguard. The body has simple 2-ply plastic binding. One feature I should point out is that the neck comes unfinished from the factory. I have actually found this to be a very desireable trait. I rubbed in some raw linseed oil to keep the wood from drying out, and now after a year of playing, the neck has developed a very wonderful shine where my fretting hand has slowly polished it while I play. It is very comfortable, and realy gives the feeling of the guitar responding to your touch over time. I am giving it a 10 for features because it has everthing it needs.

The sound of this guitar is outstanding. I use light .010 D'Addario phosphor-bronze strings and keep the guitar tuned to open G, and the sound is really quite unbelievable. The notes all ring beautifuly and fully. The sound is full of bright harmonics and character. There are no dead notes and the sustain is very good. I realy have never heard a guitar quite like it. This guitar records very, very well with a tube condensor mic, and requires no EQ-ing if the room is set up right. I am usualy disapointed about something on any given guitar, but I am wholey content with this one. It has all the sound of great high end acoustic, but has a unique feel and character.

The gutar was pretty well set up when I bought it. Of course I altered the set up to accomodate my playing style and favorite strings. Now the feel of this guitar can be desribed as being very smooth to play. The fingers just kind of glide over it in a very comfortable way, and beautiful music happens. The fit and finish of this gutar was flawless. It has all the precision of being put together by a robot, but it maintains its handmade charm and character, if you can understand that. I realy like the thin application of laquer. It is thick enough to protect the wood, but not so thick that it dulls the tone. It's thinness also lets the grain of the wood show through, as the spruce top has a slightly raised wavey effect. The neck is very comfortable and very well shaped. The appearance of this guitar is very attractive and full of character. I should also point out the fact that I am a woodworker of the highest calibur, and I would say that the fit and finish of this guitar could not be improved.

I have played on this guitar every day for about a year now, and I don't have any complaints, only praise. The top has darkened slightly, and has developed a rich amber color. The neck has developed a wonderful shine from my hands rubbling it when I play. The frets wear similar to any fret I have used before. The body and finish have remained flawless, except of course for playing scratches. One thing I have noticed is just how well it stays in tune; I rarely have to tune it. This guitar has never let me down, and if I ever needed a backup, I would buy the same guitar no matter how much money I had.

Never dealt with the company.

I have been for about 10 years or so, and use this guitar professionaly. As far a guitars go, I also own a Washburn J6 electric jazz hollowbody and a pawn-shop-special solidbody with a custom electronics job. For amps I own a Peavy Studio Pro 110 transistor amp (which sucks more than you could ever imagine), and a wonderful Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue with dual Weber 10" alnicos. I don't own another acoustic, nor will I ever need to. This is a keeper. I have played on many other acoustics, and I have never heard anything that even come close to this one, except some Martins and Taylors, but at six times the price why bother when you get a comparably great tone out of this cheepy. Like I said before, this thing has the great sound and clarity of a top end acoustic, but has its own unique feel and character. There isn't anything that I would change about this guitar, I wouldn't even put electronics in it because it mics so well. Overall, I am absolutely satisfied, and even still marvel about it great tone.

Hand made in Canada. Solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides. High gloss finish, 15:1 tuners, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Came with a hardshell case. No electronics on this model. Not a lot of bells and whistels but a very nice looking guitar. I had my luthier add a strap button onto the neck heel as this model does not come with it.

This is one of the reasons I bought this guitar. It has a beautiful, rich sound that projects fully and rings out with outstanding tone. Sounds exceptional either finger picking or strumming. The sound blew away every other 12-string in its price range and even the Martin's and Ovation's that were two and three times the price. When I went shopping for a 12-string, I tried every model under $1200.00 in about five or six music stores. I played maybe two dozen different makes and models of guitar and the only one comparable in sound was a Taylor, I forgot what model, that cost about $1100.00 or $1200.00.

The action and feel was the other considering factor I was looking for when shopping for 12-strings. And once again, this guitar blew away every other make and model in its price range and up to the $1200.00 range. The only other models that were comparable were the forementioned Taylor and an Ovation 1866 Legend which was in the $1000.00 range. The finish is perfect, but I bought this guitar over the internet from a dealer in Virginia and the truss rod was overtightened when I received it. I don't know if it was set up from the factory this way or if this was done by the dealer. Either way, I had my luthier set it up and it now the action is nice and low and sounds and feels great. He did have to shave down the bridge saddle a little but now it's perfect. Another feature that I loved about this model was the feel of the neck. It's thin and contoured to fit my hand very comfortably. The neck was also very slightly off angle. This is definitely from the factory, but is so slight that it does not have any adverse effect. The only other problem I had with this guitar besides the tight truss rod was that one of the cross braces had come unglued, probably while at the dealers, but before I received it. This had led to some slight lifting under the lower end of the bridge wing. This was also corrected expertly by my luthier. I'm rating this catagory a 9 only because of these problems. Otherwise, the action, feel and comfort would easily get a 10.

I was very impressed with how solid this model felt when I 'test drove' it and so far have had no problems except for what was mentioned previously about the cross brace.

This is where I feel Seagull dropped the ball. First of all, they never responded to my email about the bracing and neck problems and had no sense of urgency responding to the dealers repeated calls. They agreed to do the warranty work themselves, but refused to pay for the shipping to Canada which was roughly $60.00. They also would not authorize my luthier to do the work whom I trusted. I have read horror stories about it taking months to get guitars back from them for warranty work and decided to go with my luthier who did expert work and had the guitar back to me in one week. I was reimbursed the $60.00 from the dealer since he offered to pay the shipping to Canada which was admirable. So I ended up paying about $35.00 for the balance, which was worth the time it took to get back to me and knowing that it was in good and dependable hands.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this guitar. It's definitely the superior 12-string in its price range and comparable to the better guitars two and three times the price. I have been playing for twenty-five years and know quality when I hear/feel/see it. I would definitely replace it with another if I had too, even with their poor quality service. I currently also own a Taylor 310, a Fender f270sce, a fender strat, an Olympia ob3ce acoustic/electric bass and a 1952 Silvertone mandolin that was inherited from my grandfather.

2001 Model purchased as a Cristmas gift to myself.This guitar like all
Seagull's, Simon & Patricks, Normans & Art & Luthrie's was hand made
in LaPatrie Quebec. As the other reveiw states this guitar features
a solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides, a high gloss finish,
mahogany neck, indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge. This one does
not have electronics at this time, although I will have some installed later. The tuners are excellent 15:1 schalers.

An absolutely amazing sound comes out of this guitar. The guitar is plenty loud enough but with beautful a resonence. The combination of
mahogany and spruce give it a full rounded sound- not too bright- but full. I suppose it wouldn't be as booming as a Martin- but I could care less. I also didn't mortgage my house to buy it. Beautiful sound for the price- or for any price for that matter. The guitar can easily outplay an Ovation, a Washburn, or a Guild and sounds and feels like a $1500 (CDN) guitar. I use fingerpicking and light to medium strumming- contempory Chistian music.

The action could be set slighly lower- especially at the top frets
but I haven't taken it in for an adjustment yet. There are no cosmetic flaws on this guitar, the finish is beautiful gloss and the inside is clean ( no excess glue). The neck is very comfortable- the top is perfectly bookmatched and the bridge properly routed and the fret work is excellent. A well crafted instrument by guitar makers who take pride in their work. Only an 8 for the action.

I have not had this guitar out yet but it seems solid and stable.
The gloss finish should be quite durable without sacrificing the guitars ability to age. The usuall problem with Seagull's- only one strap button- I will have another one installed. The tuners are top notch. A 9 because of only one strap button.

They have a good reputation but obviously I haven't needed them yet.
Their website is quite informative though.

I choose this guitar for the sound and the reputation of Seagull and Simom & Patrick- in fact any guitar made in this town in Quebec. This guitar has not disappointed. I would buy another one if it was lost or stolen but this isn't going to happen. Over-all an excellent quality guitar for under $600.00 Cdn. I would highly recommend Seagull to anyone.

2001 Made in Canada. Mahogany sides and neck, laminated mahogany back, solid spruce top, Indian Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. High Gloss finish on top, back and sides.15:1 tuners. Hardshell case.

This instrument has a rich, organ like sound when strummed but is even better when used for fingerpicking ragtime songs. The volume of this guitar is incredibly loud. This instrument has much better sound than it's price tag would indicate.

The action from the factory is very good. It could be slightly lowered at the higher frets. The gloss finish and look of the mahogany is excellent.

I will have no reservations about using this instrument for live performance. It seems to be well made for a guitar in it's price range.

Limited Lifetime Warranty.

I've been playing for 33 years. I've owned much more expensive Guild 12 Strings in the past that didn't sound nearly as good as this guitar. I would highly recommend this instrument to anyone looking for a reasonably priced 12 String. This is not an old Martin but it doesn't cost $2000 - $3000 either. A great value for the money.