Seagull Maritime SWS Folk

This is a "OM" size guitar, a comparatively small guitar, but very comfortable for playing around the house, where probably most people do their playing. Made in a little town in French-speaking Canada. It has a beautiful high-gloss finish, with a simple, elegant face with no pick guard. All of the top two series, Maritime and Artist, have solid tops, backs and sides, and this one has a well-constructed spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, and mahogany back and sides. I tried the folk model in the series just below, the "Performer" folk guitar, which has a maple top, and definitely less rich a sound. This model has a small onboard electronics plate, which includes a tuner. The latter is handy, but the on-off switch is quite small, and it is easy to leave it on without noticing, burning out the battery. Has 21 frets. Gig bag or case is an optional extra. I got it new (2009)

I like the sound of this guitar, mellower than my rosewood-backed Martin guitar, and sounding overall as pleasing, though costing one-fourth of the latter. I play mostly fingerstyle and strum, and it suits those styles fine. Not surprisingly for a small guitar, its bass response is not as full as that of a dreadnought, but it still is quite enjoyable

There were no apparent flaws in the instrument, though the shop did need to lower the action when I purchased it. Otherwise it looks and plays fine.

I've had it only a short time, but it looks to have a solid contruction, and the finish looks very durable. The tuning pegs are small, but work fine.

The guitar comes with no warranty description or any other paperwork, which I consider not very helpful. I did email the company on some minor questions, and their response was quick and helpful.

I've been playing 20+ years, and have Martin OM-28 and Taylor GC-4 guitars of the same size as this. For its price, the Seagull compares very favorably to those at a fraction of their price, and has its own mellow sound, complementing theirs. I really do love this guitar. It sounds and looks beautiful, and I can relax, not worrying I might scratch it, since its price was very reasonable. I thus bought it as a travel guitar, but play it as much as the other two. I would definitely buy it again, if lost or stolen. It sounded distinctly better than a dozen other guitars I tried in its price range.

The guitar is finished in a beautiful high-gloss finish, but not so thick that it muffles the sound. This guitar is a dreadnaught style. It comes with Seagull tuners which in my past experience with this guitar and a Seagull M6 I had several years ago, hold their tuning wuite well. The neck on mine is a 24.84" scale which seems like an odd measurement but I find it the same as any other acoustic I have played that are made by Seagull or any of it's cousin's (Norman, Art & Lutherie, Simon & Patrick). It has 21 frets and a Solid Spruce top. It was made in Canada in either 2008 or 2009. I rate it a 9 simply because you can get a better featured Seagull if you have more bucks to spend.

I bought this to have an acoustic in my collection. I had a Seagul M6 before and had to sell it. I missed it and this guitar is just a little better than the M6. It has a bright sound and plays well on every string. Very nice ring to my ears . Since it gets better with playing I look forward to spending my retirement years with this sweet sounding guitar. Everyone likes a different sound from an acoustic guitar. This one just sounds good to me. I like spruce. They make a cedar top model too. Go to a dealer and try one, or try all the Seagulls they have in the store. Each one is an individual.

The action was typical for a factory setup. I get a free setup from the dealer so I will have the action lowered a bit. The top is nicely bookmatched. There was a fleck of something small in the finish. No biggie but that gets it a 9 in finish. Everything else feels solid and secure.

I don't play live. I just play at home for a hobby. I believe this guitar will stand up well over the years, as long as I am careful with it.

I hear they are very good.

I have been playing guitar off and on for over 30 years. I also have two electrics. An Ibanez Artist AR200, and an Ibanez RG421 which is more of a heavy rock/metal guitar for me. The guitar is well worth it's price, and sounds just as good as guitars costing twice as much. I can't compare it to a Martin as I have never played one.

This guitar has a high gloss finish, "Folk" or "OM" size body (Upper bout 11.14", Lower bout 14.76", Waist 9.45", Depth 4.5"). The tuners are 14:1 Seagull. The guitar is short scale 24.84" with a 1.8" nut and fairly full mahogany neck capped with a rosewood fretboard. This is a new model introduced 1/2009 at NAMM, and is made in Quebec Province, Canada. The neck joins the body at the 14th fret, no cutaway. The guitar has a solid Spruce top, solid Mahogany back & sides, Rosewood bridge and Tusq nut and compensated saddle. This model does not have electronics or on-board tuner.

I gave it an 8 because of the solid wood construction in it's price category and I'm a sucker for high gloss finishes.

The smaller body belies the sound the guitar can produce. I like to play older folk/rock style songs with this guitar (Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby Stills Nash, Bob Seger, George Harrison, Van Morrison, Eagles) and I find the guitar has a nice mid range focus and surprising volume. It sounds like a mahogany & spruce guitar. I think pick & string choice can make the guitar a lot brighter, but I usually use an Ultex .73 and find a good balance in the sound.

I can't comment on the factory set-up, but the luthier I bought it from spent some time asking me how and what I liked to play and it was set up perfectly for that. I used to have a hard time playing acoustic, but this is almost as easy to play as my Fender Strat.

The top and back have nicely bookmatched grain, but the seam on the back looks a little skewed from centerline. The high gloss finish is gorgeous.

I think the guitar can stand up to live playing very well. it's acoustic so I don't think it would survive a Townshend bashing. Tghe hardware is well made, but hte tuner buttons are a little small compared to modern Fender tuners, but larger than Fender vintage tuners. I also like the tapered headstock with straight string pull.

I would use it without a backup, but bring some extra strings.

Lifetime warranty, haven't had to use it or call Godin for support.

I'm an amatuer/hobbyist who has been playing for 3 years. I have had other acoustics (Ibanez AW, Taylor 814ce & Guild D-25), but I like the smaller size of this guitar over the dreadnaughts and grand auditorium sizes. The short scale is a plus for me. My other guitars are a strat, Gibson ES-339 and an Epi Elite ES-335.
I was also looking at a Martin 000C-16GTRE, but it's 3x the price of the Seagull.

If it was lost or stolen, I would definitely get another one, but this one would be impossible to replace as it's serial #1.