Seagull S6+ Cedar 20th Anniversary Maple Edition

well, it is a 20th anniversary edition s6, and the specs have been documented in previous reviews. cedar top, maple back and sides. very restrained, almost sparse presentation. soundhole rosette appears to be a decal, but still nice design. finish is first rate, certainly good for the money, although ibanez and alvarez are at least the equal at the same price point.

i play mostly 60's-70's folk rock, country rock, "outlaw" country, hank williams. unplugged, always. that is why i appreciate the outstanding volumne capabilities of this guitar, especially when played with plastic finger picks. i often play impromptu party settings, and there is no problem with being heard. very controllable midrange and treble, but the bass will turn...brassy, "clangy", if overdriven. this is no rosewood d28, but the d28 can't touch the harmonics and clarity of this box in midrange.

action is excellent, far more comfortable than my d28, and about the same as an ibanez artwood i bought for my daughter as a learner.

haven't had it long enough to make a determination based upon experience, but it appears about average, maybe a little more fragile than most. but i don't plan on rowing boats with it.

no experience

i have played for about 45 years, but that is deceptive. i played steadily from high school through law school, and then up until, oh, the early 80's. then i stopped, made a brief comback in the early 90's; stopped again after a couple years, now on my latest return to a wonderful way to pass the time.

my favorite feature is the marvelous mid range ring; a hint of harmonics weaves throughout even moderate strumming. if the bottom end was equal, i would never buy another guitar, and mr. godin would be rich as bill gates. who knows, maybe it's the cedar/maple combo. i don't have any strong dislikes. it's just a great value, and a fine tool for sitting around the house, running through your repertoire, noodling a new song into life.

Made in 2001-2 in that scenic little village in Canada. Solid cedar top with laminated, but gourgeous, flamed maple sides and back. Stained dark and finished in a high gloss "French Polish". Neck is of farm grown Canadian silver maple. Dreadnought size, slightly thinner at the front bouts to bring up the treble and smooth out the bass. Roseword bridge, separate intonation angles set in pairs. Schaller type tunning machines, gold colored metal with abalone finger buttons. 21 fret, 24.84 scale, thin (in my opinion) neck. Medium frets with flat tops on a rosewood fretboard. Off white binding along back and front of the body and on the headstock. Matching flamed maple laminate on said headstock. The only thing keeping this from getting a ten is the unbound fretboard. Came with an optional pickguard if you want to stick it on the soundboard...I wouldn't, it'd cover up too much of the beautifully grained cedar top.. As features on a straight foreward accoustic guitar go, what else should there be? Also came with a really freaky space age rubber foam case.

I'll play anything I like. Country, rock, blues...This box is suprisingly loud and clean. Very crisp! ...that's maple for you! It's an accoustic...very rich...beautiful tone for Rock-Ballad mode...remember those? Can't get dirty with it...the maple sound is just too bright to be convincing in my opinion...same short coming of my beloved Rickenbackers, will do anything but get ballsie.

I've played over twenty years. The action on this box is soft as butter. I've played some very expensive boxes over those two decades, and this one's action is the closest to a high quality electric feel on an accoustic as I've ever played...it's unreal. Fingers or a pick, no difference. No rattles, buzzes, or dead spots. Played scales and Barre Chords all the way up to the 14th. I pulled it straight off the rack and with the first touch I had that wonderful experiance all axe mongers quest for...the perfect natural feel, plus good tone. The only other time I got that feeling was when I first picked up my 360 Rickenbacker from it's shop stand, and that was years ago. I can find no gaps or glue dollops or finish flaws on it anywhere. What I can see of the interior of the box, it's just as emaculate inside as it is on the outside. There is a slight grain imperfection on the upper rear bout about half the size of a dime...not bad, just adds a little character.

I've had a Seagull 12 string cedar box nearly four years now...it's had the hell played out of it. Other than a few slight scratches in it's satin finish a few chips along the unbound back edge, it looks and feels and sounds as good as it did when I bought it new. But...I do take reasonable good care of my axes...(Some would say I can be fussy...the baby can ride on the roof of the truck, but my Ric gets the passinger seat.) I installed a second Schaller strap button on the heel of my 12, will probably do so on the 6 also. I wish more makers would use two buttons on their accoustics, I hate screwing around with the tie-to-the-head type straps. Based on my experiance with my 12, I wouldn't hesitate to go solo with it in a coffie house, or any small accoustic type setting.

Two year warranty...That's all I can say.

Been playing and accumulating some twenty years...I'm just naming the good stuff. 360 Ric, Gibson SG Special, American Standard Fender Strat. Yamaha 300 series P bass, (from back when they were near exact copies of the '57 Fender.) Fender Gemini III accoustic, (only made 'em for two years back in the seventies...I bought it new...this should tell you that I'm an older fart.) Seagull cedar 12 string accoustic. Several odds and ends not worth mentioning. Amps are an R50 Ampeg Rocketbass...(Ampeg IS bass amplifaction) Crate B10 Practice bass amp. Laney twinhead 50 watter, Fender Frontman 25 watter (for dragging around in the truck...the Laney weighs a ton.) Several other Crates and odds and ends. I also use an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger and Matrix stomp box...the modern version of David Gilmour's onetime love. The Ric with the flanger through the accoustic side of the Laney, playing the bridge pickup, is the voice of God. I use an old Shaffier sound hole pickup in the 12 string, and through the accoustic side of that amp that little Seagull 12 banger rivals the voice of God. I bought this new Seagull for my twenty year old daughter while she's here at home from college. She's been highjacking my 12 banger lately. I played Guilds, Washburns, Takamines, Ovations, (I hate Ovations...my nephew has had one for years) and even a Dean. I won't touch an Ibanez...don't know why, I just don't like those axes. I played all these and a few others over the last three weeks searching for a geniunely good accoustic for a decently affordable price. Based on my experiance, this "dressed up" Seagull S6 is a winner hands down...yeah, you can do better, but you're not going to come anywhere close for the price. The dealer had two in stock, and I wanted the other one for myself...but the wife put her foot down on that...Thank God...All serious guitar mongers such as myself should have a voice of reason to watch over them somewhere. No matter how painfull the voice of reason experiance may be...Peace.