Seagull S6 CW

My S6 CW has a solid cedar top and wild cherry back and sides. The guitar has Schaller tuners and no electronics. The neck is Silver Leaf Maple with a rosewood fretboard. It came with a pickguard which it needs because of the softness of the top.

With a cedar top, the sound is mellow with a lot of mid range. It is great for finger picking. I play acoustic blues on it mostly. Heavy strumming tends to over drive the top. When I bought it, I had intended on just window shopping that day. Because of the sound, I could not leave the store until I had bought the guitar.

The guitar had an excellent setup. The action on the neck allows for some fast fretting. I did not find any flaws with the guitar. Several people comment on that the nut feels wide. It is a little wider than some other acoustics. I didn't notice it when I bought it because I also play a lot of 12 string.

I love my S6, and you can tell that it gets played a lot by its scratched top (I use a pick mostly). With the cedar top, it will scratch easily since cedar is such a soft wood. I don't gig with this guitar, but I take it everywhere. If it had electronics, I would have no problem gigging with it with no backup. I would give it a 10 for reliability, but since the top is so soft, I'll rate it a 9 for durability.

I have emailed the company with questions about the guitar, and they have responded fairly quickly.

I have been playing for about 43 years and have had this guitar since 1993 or 1994. I love the way it plays so much that a few years ago, I bought a Seagull Artist Rosewood Spruce with electronics. I had intended to sell the S6, but can't part with it. I play them both now. If it were lost or stolen, I would be very upset. If I did not have the Artist series guitar, I would have to buy it again.

L R Baggs ribbon transducer with 3-band eq (incl. sweepable mid.)

It's got a soft buttery sound that's just perfect for fingerpicking. The string spacing is also just right for this.

I use a Carvin AG100 amp, but at open mics I go straight through the house system. The guitar always sounds "live" through amplification. The sweepable mid band is an amazing feature in a guitar this price and it really helps keep the guitar out of the way of your voice. Anyway, the Baggs system is still the best as far as I'm concerned. It's positively transparent--no piezo-quack here!

It might be too mellow a sound if you're looking for a Neil Young type thing. And I'd probably have gone for a model with maple for the back and sides (mine's mahogany) if I knew how I'd be competing with the guitar with my voice.

I've never seen another Seagull with the same fretboard as mine. For fret markers it's got tiny steel dots between the D and A strings (w/ a second dot btw the G + D at the 12th fret) just like a Godin. It's also got no pickguard, so it's a really elegant-looking instrument.

Finish is first-rate. Nitrocellulose instead of polyurethane is a big plus--when you're making a guitar of such fine wood, you don't go spraying plastic on it!

There are a few rough fret ends up high, but nothing that'll really interfere with anything. I had to feel for them to find them.

There's a scuff on the bridge, but I don't know if that's from the factory or the store.

There are a couple of buzzes, but nothing too upsetting. It probably needs a truss-rod adjustment after 5 years.

I get nervous live and so I can get a bit rough with my picking hand, usually thumping the bridge to keep time as I pick and strum. The guitar hasn't flinched (and actually, the technique sounds pretty good).

I'm careful with my instruments, but I'm also a bit of a dolt; the finish on the Seagull has stood up admirably. (I've recently put on a transparent pickguard, as the guitar came with none--not because it really needed it, but because I thought it would be cool.)

I don't take any other guitars with me when I play, so no, you don't need a backup if you've got a Seagull.

I'm looking forward to growing old with it.

Get this. I buy the guitar in the summer of '98. Then I see the new models a few months later have compensated saddles. I'd just dropped a grand (w/ case+tax) so I was a bit put out that every new model would have better intonation than mine. I contacted Seagull by e-mail and asked them how I could purchase a compensated bridge for my new guitar. They asked for my address so they could send me one free of charge. Nice.

I've been playing for 12 years (man! has it been that long?) and I've had this guitar for 5 of those years. If I had to collect on my tenant's insurance, I'd buy another Seagull, no hesitation.

I bought it because I thought after playing for 7 years on a laminate-top urethane-finished Yamaha (they make some fine guitars, but not for $250), and a modded up Squier Strat (with nothing left stock but the body and wiring), I felt it was time for a REAL acoustic guitar. This was it. It's "my guitar". I mean, if you're lucky enough to own an instrument that just fits with you, you know what I mean. It's comfortable, it's dependable. It's perfect.

I bought my Seagul S6 C.W. over 10 years ago. It was made in Canada from aged cedar and spruce. It has a cut away body, rosewood neck and no electronics. It did not come with a gig bag or even a case, which is fine as the guitar itself is quite amazing where value for money is concerned. The lack of decorative inlays and flashy tit-bits only adds to the beauty of this simple yet wonderfully crafted instrument.

I purchased my Seagul for only 225 pounds in the UK. In the store, I compared the sound and feel of this guitar to several high end Ovations and Gibsons that retalied at over 700 pounds. I felt that the Seagul had a comparable tone and a far nicer feel. I played classical guitar for about 8 years before investing in a wire string guitar. Now I play blues, folk Irish and some good old British pop. The full, rich sound of my Seagul does a great job of making me sound far better than I actuall am. Through an amp, I get better results with a mike than a pick-up or bug attached to the guitar. I wish I bought a model with a built in pick-up.

The factory set up was perfect in every way. No flaws, top quality wood and constructed with precision craftsmanship. If anything the action was a little high for my liking. but it was easily adjusted.

The Seagul has been fine on stage. I tend to use a mike rather than an external pick up mounted on the guitar. The mike option tends go give better results, but prevents me from hopping about on stage. I like to sit when I play the acoustic as I tend to finger pick a lot... engrained from my classical guitar days.
The hardware has lasted 10 years and still seems to be working well. I find the plastic string guides at the neck and bridge have worn a little. For a few strings I need to insert a small piece of paper to lift the string up a bit. I am sure I can get if fixed easily. I wish they were made of fish bone instead of plastic.
The strap buttons are solid. I can totally rely on this guitar for gigging without a back up, although I always have one.
My only criticism is the durability of the wood finish. Any little bash tends to leave a dent. I travelled around Asia for a year with this guitar strapped to my back. Dare I say it does not look like I have really looked after the poor thing. However, it still sounds perfect. After reading the other user opinions, I now realise that I have a great guitar and will treat my Seagul to a complete overhaul.

I did once pop into a Seagul dealers in Vancouver, Canada. I told them about my neck and bridge wearing away. They seemed to be quite keen for me to bring it in and get it fixed up, but I did not have the funds at the time. I assume from their attitude that Seagul dealers have some pride in their product, and so they should

I have now been playing for 20 years, starting with classical, changing to blues, folk, Irish and pop. I am now into my strat and really getting into blues and rock with a little bit of funk thrown in here and there.
If my Seagul was stolen or lost I would fly straight to Canada and buy a new one (this time with a built in pick-up).
I love the sound and feel. What more can you ask for in a guitar. It is extremely easy to play all the way up the fret board. I chose this guitar because it sounded and felt as good as other guitars in the store that were selling at more than three times the price. Even though I have enough cash to now buy an expensive guitar, I would definitely go for another S6 C.W.