Seagull S6+ Folk

My second acoustic guitar, I first saw a Seagull in a local shop. Didn't know anything about the company, so I went to their website. Liked all the reviews, so 7 months ago I took the plunge and bought this guitar, because it was for fingerstyle players and hey, that's my style. I am betting it is 2000-year , although I can't be sure. I purchased it from a dealer in the NE coast, and when I received it, the action was high- I mean, really high. I though I had tough fingers, but I couldn't go through 5 minutes of playing with it. The local luthier worked wonders with a simple setup job. Oh, how this guitar could PLAY! Smooth as silk! No pickups, though- which is good for what I do with a guitar. Frets all the way up- they felt a little close at first, but I got used to them. Everything else is simple, understated- and classy. Tuners are run-of-the mill. No pick guard, which is okay, like I said, I fingerpick. No included accessories. The shape and size of the guitar match a classical. I rate the features an 8, because it came as advertised, no suprises, but a bag or case would have been nice, as well as a truss key. Extra strings came with it, however.

Suits my style perfectly. Every now and then, I do a simple strum with the backs of my fingernails (not thumb) and it sounds great that way. I tried a pick, and really I almost think it is too much. If you do use a pick, use a very light one. Fingers are fine, and give you plenty of volume- this baby was built to give volume. The sustain on the high e and b strings isn't as long as I'd like, but it's good enough. When you get into the mid and lower range, though, lookout! The sound BOOMS. Don't use a thumbpick- you won't hear the higher notes. You just don't need to give this guitar any help in the sound area. It stands on it's own two feet. I had to file down my thumbnail so as not to drown out the higher notes, however. I think this is because the mid and lower range is so loud, and the high range is just average, or a little above. At first the low E-string had a slight buzz, but it must have settled in because it's not there anymore. The A sting is the loudest, and has a lot of sustain. The whole midrange is so balanced and loud, plenty of volume- my other acoustic was the same price as this one (different brand though) and just doesn't compare. I'd say this sounds like a low end Taylor. I really would. The longer you play, the better it sounds.

Poor setup at the factory- I don't know if they even bothered. But it spent some time with a luthier, and came back PERFECT. So, count on spending a little change for a decent setup once you purchase the guitar. As for the finish, it (to me) is very lovely- I like the shape, size, and color. GO EASY ON THE TOP. It's not waxy or laminated, and the solid cedar top scratches pretty easy. You will have to baby it a little. That is the tradeoff for thousand-dollar sound at 300-dollar prices, and it shows you that Seagull has it's priorities right (better sound quality, and solid wood). Construction is excellent, but I have a minor complaint- the bridge is starting to lift a bit. I'm not sure if I am going to repair it, though, because I hate to have it away!

Great for sitting on a stool and playing. BUT- if you are trying to cut this guitar in half with a pick, it WILL cut in half, and before your others do. Treat it with care, and it will last you a long, long time. The strap button is tight, very tight. Bottom line, I think you need to buy a hard case if you are gigging with it, but I'd trust the guitar with my life aside from that. As far as I'm concerned, if I did happen to break this baby, I'd buy the same .

Never had to worry about it, so I can't rate it in this area. The warranty is average.

Straight out, I'll tell you now that if your style is not at least 75% fingerstyle, this guitar is probably not for you. On the other hand, for the fingerstyle genre, I couldn't praise it more highly. For the price, what you are getting is a SOLID wood, great-sounding, easy playing (after setup), awesome-looking guitar. If you are looking at buying an 800 dollar guitar, think about this one first, because it's worth more than that. I have been telling everybody about my find- I just can't believe it. For sure, worth the money. If you have your heart set on a 2,000 Martin, then of course it won't compare. But for us (poor) fingerstyle players- man. What a gem of a guitar!

This is a circa 2000 Canadian made 21 fret (frets all the way to the sound hole!) acoustic. Size is Martin 000 size, called Folk by Seagull. The body size and shape is nearly identical to both of my classicals. The neck has is a bolted glue-less wood-to-wood heel joint that meets the body at the 14th fret. Neck heel is dowel reinforced. Headstock is mitre cut from the neck, reversed and re-glued back on to create a reverse-grain joint between headstock and neck. The neck, sound-hole and bridge are proportionatly located the same as any normal steel-string acoustic. X-braced. Solid cedar top, 3-ply cherry sides and back (no junk wood, cherry all the way through in all 3 plys). One piece top/body binding only. Silver Leaf Maple neck. No binding on back, neck or peghead. Pure acoustic with no electronics. Indian rosewood fretboard and bridge. Angle compensated bridge slot and individual string compensated bridge saddle saddle. Nickle (chrome?) fully enclosed Seagull tuners, similar in appearance to Grover Rotomatics. 24.84" scale length and 1.8" nut width (comparitively shorter and wider than the ubiquitous 25-1/2" scale and 1-11/16" nut dimensions). All the basic right stuff without frills. I give this a high rating because of the quality of its basic components and the design attention to getting all the necessary features right. I knock off only two points from 10 because, even though it hasn't got the really fine inlay and binding features of some guitars, its designers created an appearance that has balance and elegance in simplicity.

This guitar is perfect for a smaller bodied plectrum (pick) style and finger picking style solo and light accompaniment music. It also works well with rhythm strum use, but its real forte is in pick style and finger style. I predominately play classical and am used to this body size and, obviously, finger style carried over from classical. This guitar has good balance, tone, voice and sustain. Strings and notes are clear, full, distinct with bright overtones and harmonics. It is not ringy. The voice holds up well going up the neck and has no sudden changes between strings. The G string (an acoustic's tonally weakest string) hasn't got any glaring voice, strength, sustain or intonation faults commonly found in inexpensive guitars. The low E string is as rich and bright as the other bass strings and not tonally dead as sometimes occurs in inexpensive smaller bodied guitars. There is sometimes a trace of muddiness, but noticable only to a critical ear and its overall character is far better and more pleasing than most guitars I hear.

The action was too deep (even for persons that prefer a deep action)as delivered from the factory and needed to be lowered. The store did most of the lowering of the saddle at the time of purchase. I did a small amount of lowering and polished and squared the saddle bottom at home. A bridge saddle is something that every guitar owner should know how to do and web resources abound for instructions on how to do them correctly. The nut is harder and most owners should leave it to a luthier with the right tools, glues and experience. The nut and compensation were well set. I've never had a new or used guitar, regardless of price, that did not need simple action adjustments to fit my preferences and playing style. You should always negotiate a simple action setup, including truss rod set for your preferred guage of strings, as part of the deal. The neck and heel are properly set into the body. The top is bookmatched. The bridge is correctly constructed and set. The bridge saddle could be a little more snug in the saddle slot. A properly fitted saddle shouldn't bind stiffly in its slot, but it should fit just snug enough to not fall out from gravity if you hold the body up, top down, with no strings. There are no obvious flaws. Close critical inspection revealed two places where minor natural wood blemishes less than 2mm in size were filled in a way that shows in the satin finish. All guitars have these somewhere. These were a little easier to find on close inspection than some of my expensive instruments where they exist, but are very difficult to find. The finish thin satin lacquer. The rosette is all wood. I don't know how deep it is, but it is not a decal or plastic like other inexpensive guitars and, sadly enough, some very expensive guitars. Colors are a natural cedar top, reddish ivory top binding and dark crimson body and neck. The pegface is opaque dark brown. Finish, colors and woods all go harmoniously together for a very pleasing appearance. The thin lacquer finish is part of how they get the sound so nice. However, you have to take care, especially with the cedar top, becuase the lacquer does not armor plate the surface the way some polyurethane or polyester finishes do. The cedar is softer than spruce and will show pick damage a lot easier than spruce or heavy finishes. Lacquer is more easily repaired by a good luthier than the other finishes and so is more desirable for that and the ultimate sound. Close inspection also revealed the finish had several tiny places that showed some "store rash". This is inevitable for any instrument that gets displayed and played, so I am not reducing the rating for them. They are not the maker's fault. I tried several guitars of this model in the store and got the store to let me replace some really old, dead strings on one (that I didn't eventually choose) before I picked this one for its superior sound. I have heard several of this model with voice problems in the low E string. These were of an earlier design and construction with the old label and truss rod adjustment at the peg head instead of in the heel block. I don't know if it is an earlier bracing design or just individual guitar differences that causes this. However, with this experience, I would definitely try out the one I was buying first and not just take one new in a box from the back, unheard and action unadjusted. As with the features, simplicity is this guitar's virtue in action, fit and finish.

This guitar withstands live playing well. The finish is thin lacquer, so don't knock it around or strum it roughly. Keep it clean. I had another one of these that I bought used. I played it infrequently, but the prior owner played it regularly. The finish will hold up if maintained and kept clean from sweat and skin oils. It has no pickguard (desirable for tone and projection), the finish is thin and cedar is soft compared to other top woods, so go carefully with a pick. The end button is screwed in place, but you will need to add one at the heel if you want to use a strap. Follow their directions on how to attach one to the heel (i.e. in the heel end cap and not its side) to avoid doing serious damage to the neck heel or its joint strength. It is perfectly dependable and I would gig without a backup. If your playing style breaks strings, then you need a backup anyway, but not due to any guitar reliablity faults. While this is a no-frills guitar, they got all stuff necessary for reliability and durability right. I subtracted one point for the thin finish, but you've got to trade in something for that extra mile in sound.

Two-year original purchaser and authorized dealer sale limited warranty against defects in workmanship and materials. All warranty work to be performed by La-si-do in Canada. Never needed it for the last one and don't expect to need it for this one. I've never had any contact with them, so I have no opinion. As I've repeatedly said, they get all the basic stuff right on their guitars, so I don't expect to need this warranty.

I've been playing classical for 5 years and acoustic for less than 1 year. This is my second one of this exact model. I bought this one new and traded in my old one because I was dissatisfied with the voicing of the old one. I also like the newer truss rod design better than the old one. Truss rods that adjust in the peg face leave precious little wood at a critical place where the peg head joins the neck. A truss rod that adjusts from the heel block end results in a stronger area where the peg head meets the neck because it doesn't have wood removed for the access to the truss rod end. A heel block adjustment end design leaves the peg head and neck more likely to survive a bump in that area than one with a peg head adjustment end. I bought the old one used from a professional musician husband of a co-worker a couple of years ago. It came available at a good price and I knew I would eventually play acoustic and want a small body. Everything about it was every bit as good as this one except the low E string voice was never quite right. See my comments on sound. Still, I liked the construction and basic quality enough to replace it with an identical one whose voice is really nice and more to my liking. All guitars, especially ones with solid woods in the body, are individuals and no two sound identically or have identical voices even though they have general similarities. Some are, overall, better than others no matter how expensive they get. Don, the owner at Greenshift, found this deal amusing since I traded in a used one for an identical model new one. I'm the customer spending money, so I'm always right! Besides, he cut me a really good deal and I willingly paid the difference to get a voicing I really wanted. I would recommend all of La-si-do's acoustic guitars (e.g. Seagull, Simon & Patrick and one other label) as being best buys. You will find it difficult to equivalent woods and construction quality at even twice the price. They are a prime example of how one can save significant money by giving up frills without sacrificing quality materials, design and workmanship.

beautiful though spartan finish.Very nice tuners.No case included.

Tried many higher end brands,NONE sounded better...NONE.

Super comfortable action,very smooth.Absolutely no flaws.Nothing fancy , understated...classy. Would like to see a LITTLE inlay... somewhere.

Playing off and on for over 20 years.Seagull was highly rated by not only sales staff, but ALL info I could gather before purchase. Store recommended even over more expensive brands.I would highly recommend!

2000 model Seagull, handmade in Canada. 21 frets, 14 clear. Solid Cedar Top with a 3 ply wild cherry back and sides (not press board wood), and a "semi-gloss lacquer" finish (if feels like satin basically). No electronics, though you can get the Baggs stuff on it. The neck is silver leaf maple (bolt neck construction like a Taylor) satin finished and stained to match the back and sides (the wild cherry is stained a dark crimson red, it looks pretty damn cool). It has a 24.84" scale with an Indian rosewood fretboard. The neck isn't "oh my GOD" wide, or "look, I can touch my pinky to my thumb while holding the neck." It's a good all purpose sized neck, so you can fly if you want. The body style is a mix between a Larrivee L-Series and a Martin 000-series. It's a bit more compact like a 000, but the body resembles the nylon stringed classical-inspired Larrivee (no cutaway). The bridge is Indian rosewood with a compensated saddle for intonation. The tuners are sealed Seagull tuners, not totally cheapo or way high end, but they do their job to keep the guitar in tune. It didn't come with a case, but it *was* shipped with one. I think the dealer was just trying to act like they were giving me an even better deal. I talked them down from almost $400 to $350 with a case (since this is a factory second, and they put a strap button on the heel for me to boot). No pickguard, I'll have to put one on. I give an 8 because I think it looks cool being so plain, buuuut, most people prefer a bit more. And, I would prefer a bit more finish on a cedar top, they just don't hold up like spruce.

This sound wasn't even what I was looking for, but damn, what a pleasant surprise! I play everything, I hate to limit myself. I'm more into acoustic Clapon and BNL right now. I thought a more bass-heavy bluesy sound would be cool to have, but man, this thing just sings! It doesn't have the booming bass of a dread, but that's no complaint. The lows are present, not overbearing. The highs cut, but they aren't overly harsh. The mids give the guitar a full, rich voice. Basically, it's very well balanced. I will admit, you can get pretty prickly sounding playing with a pick, but again, it's not a complaint, you can really cut with this little box. Overall, the guitar is brighter than expected, but man, the brightness just gives it that singing character. You can get great variety though, by changing your picking position closer to the sound hole from the bridge, or just going chop sticks and finger picking. This thing is a finger pickers dream come true, it sounds really robust. Soundwise, I just about love everything about this guitar. I have a Tacoma DM-18, and this thing is just as loud, if not louder than it! And it plays like butter to boot.

The set up from the factory was great. This guitar was waiting for me, no set up at the store. It plays like I said, like butter. The top is bookmatched well, with the binding done almost flawlessly. This is a factory second though. There's a scratch by the nut from some sloppy cutting. It's smoothed over though, not a problem, merely appearance. Also, on the upper bout of the back, the wood shows a small flat spot (maybe too much sanding) and a hairline area that is un-stained. But, that's very minor considering the price. The unstained part of the back can be touched up, and the scratch by the nut is nothing major. But, I gotta deduct some points for it.

Alright, people need to get it through their heads, this is an ACOUSTIC. This isn't a Strat. If you play Pete Townshend, you've destroyed your investment. But, if you're careful, this guitar will withstand live playing. Be very careful with the finish though. Both strap buttons are solid, so are the tuners. I would gig without another acoustic back-up. But, I know this will get dinged up with that thinner satin-like finish, so I have to deduct a bit.

I've e-mailed Seagull a couple times, and they always reply relatively fast, and are always coureous. There is a 2 year limited warranty with the guitar. No complaints.

I've been playing for going on 7 years, I own 2 strats (one that I cou-built), a Paul copy, a Samick Artists Series, a Peavey Wolfgang Special, a '72 Tele thinline (as well as a Dillion Tele thinline copy), a Tacoma DM-18 dreadnought, a Jasmine classical guitar, aaaaaand I'm boring you with my gear. I wish this guitar had a more substantial finish, but hey, it does help with sound with a lighter finish. I would definately buy this guitar again, it's a great value. I love the unique tone and how diverse it is. I love the unique shape as well, way cooler looking than a regular dread. I compared this against two Martins (OOOM and 000-15), some Ibanez Artwoods, and some Fender dreads. The 'Gull walks on the Ibanez and Fenders, and more than holds its own with the Martins, I thought it sounded better than both 000's (at half the price). I chose this because of the unique tone, look, and affordability. I think I'll end up putting a Dean Markely Sweet Spot pick-up in, or a Fishman Matrix. But, that can wait. I bought this guitar because I didn't want to take my expensive Tacoma to college. Instead, I have something that can run neck and neck with it! Plus, it's more comfortable to play, and sounds cooler (and just as loud). For those looking for a cool, hybrid guitar, that sounds great an is affordable to boot, this is your box. I give it a 9, only because of the minor finishing flaws.

Made in Canada, this guitar is a beauty. Very understated without a pickguard, which is cool, because I fingerpick. Solid Cedar top, thin Lacquer finish, Cherry back and sides. 14 fret neck, with a slightly wide neck 1.8" nut.

Perfect sound. Completely balanced from the open low E to the high 12th fret E. I love just picking this thing up. To my ears this guitar is better sounding than the lower end Martins.

Very well built. I dig the semi-gloss finish, where as I find super glossy acoustics too plastic looking. As I stated earlier, very simple apointments, but I rather the manufacturer spend my money on good tonewoods and clean workmanship than some cheesey inlay or fancy finish.

I've play it for nearly 2 years straight, dragging it to the park, friends houses, work, .... with no problems. I would use it on a gig, but I play bass when I play out.I think I have a lifetime partner here
one that will age nicely. I don't know how they do it, but I hope they continue

I have never had to deal with them.

I would definately get one again. I am planning on getting a La Petrie concert, which is a nylon string made by them.