Seagull SM-6

1999 model. Solid spruce top, very straight and tightly grained. Almost no run-out. Solid book-matched mahogany back. Mahogany/cherry sides. Note: many all-solid guitars are overrated because the sides don't contribute anything to the sound. Look for solid top and backed guitars in the woods of your choice and don't be fooled by the higher priced all-solid entry-level models from the big manufacturers. Straight acoustic (no electronics). Came w/ nice hardcase. Glossy laquer finish (very nice). Fully compensated saddle.

It's your basic no-frills acoustic. Tastefull styling.

Beautiful sound. Long sustain with rich harmonics. It really opened up after about 6 months of playing every day. Now has a smooth buttery sound that has remained bright. Buy a humidifier, you won't believe how much proper humidity affects sound. Very balanced bass to treble, all the way up the fretboard. Likes fingerstyle to medium strumming and picking. Some compression under hard strumming/attack.

Every time I play with friends they always want to play my guitar. Several people have heard me play and ask "What kind of guitar is that? It sounds great." This comes from the Martin/Taylor guys, too.

Quality shows. No gaps, glue marks, buzzing. Good action, but I lowered the saddle a bit for personal preference. Very nice top. Very straight, tight grain.

No problems at all. Stays in tune for weeks.

Sent e-mail. Got response within a couple days.

Love this guitar. Been playing since college (I'm 29 now); self-taught guitarist who started with chord charts and fumbling in smoky college houses, progressed to tab and figerstyle, and who can now figure out most stuff by ear and actually sing along decently. If lost or stolen I'd buy another one. Highly recommended. Best value for price. To qualify the "10", it's the best guitar made for under $1,200 (there are some comaprable Larivee's and Tacoma's, but they cost more), would be an "8" when compared to almost anything priced higher than that. When you pay more than $1,200 for a guitar, it usually isn't any better, it just has fancier appointments.

Solid spruce top, Mahagony back, sides, Honduras Mahagony neck, Indian Rosewood fingerboard, and bridge. Dreadnought, with no cut-away or electronics. Semi-gloss finish. Back and sides are a three layer lamination of hardwood not pressboard.

For a mid-priced 6-string the sound can not be beat. I strum mostly and do a little fingerstyle. Very "open sound" strong treble and solid bass. It sounds like your typical high quality Mahagony back and side, solid spruce top guitar.

Action good, intonation good, playability good. Good bookmatched tight grain solid spruce top. Neck very straight. No flaws. Very good quality wood (especially for the price!) I am equally impressed with the fingerboard (Indian Rosewood) Good fret work, nice wood, nice finish. I give it a 10, but I mean a 10 for the price range. You can get them new for $359.00. It sounds, looks and plays like guitars you can get for $600 to $1000 in my opinion (and I am relatively experienced).

Strong, Dependable

Never had a problem, it is a work horse and has been played for about 3 years.

The point I want to make is that seagull guitars are THE guitars to buy if you are looking for a low/mid range priced guitar that has the quality of higher priced guitars! I did a ton of research before I bought this guitar and I found the same opinion over and over in review after review. This is the highlight of their guitars. If you want a cheap laminated top for around $100 to $150, then in my opinion you are wasting your cash. If you want a high end guitar $700, on up to the sky, go do your research and don't get a seagull. But seagull's are a fantastic value, especially if you get them used.

Solid Spruce Top, laminated mahogany back and side. Very simple, no cutaway or electronics, decoration except for metal marker dots (stainless steel?) on the fretboard. Your basic budget steel-string guitar. 5/10 just indicates a no-frills guitar, just the kind I like.

The guitar suits my style (folk, acoustic rock) very well. There's volume when I want it, and subtle tones when I want them. This guitar sounds great. The difference between the sound generated by the solid spruce top and a laminated top is remarkable, with lovely resonance and pure harmonics. The intonation is spot on, and its warm earth tone sounds even better in open tunings (usually G or C). For a guitar with laminated back and sides, it sounds exceptional, not like a budget guitar at all.

When I bought the guitar (second-hand, about 2 years old) the action was a little high for me, and some of the lower frets were worn, and I wanted to use a guitar strap. So I has a professional luthier dress the frets (file and polish them), lower the action at the nut and at the saddle, and install a strap button in the heel of the guitar. The action is now wondefully low all the way up the fretboard. The guitar reponds equally well to picking and strumming (my playing style often uses both in the same song), even when played hard. Besides a couple of the normal dings, the guitar is very well-constructed, with no obvious flaws.

I don't play live, but the guitar seems tough enough. I've banged it gently a couple of times without damaging it. If I were to play live I wouldn't need a backup.

I read in a newsgroup that someone had asked Seagull to send them a compensated saddle, which they were making a standard feature of their new guitars. I e-mailed them about this, and recieved a reply within hours (!). Even though I had bought the guitar second-hand, they quite happily sent me a compensated saddle (I live in the UK) free of charge. So service is very good. I ended up trying but discarding the new saddle, as the old one worked better, but still I am very impressed by their level of service.

I've been playing off and on for about ten years. I own a handmade Spanish steel-string with solid cedar top, solid mahogany back and sides, cutaway, Fishman prefix plus, as well as an AS50R Marshall Acoustic solo amplifier.
If it were stolen I might replace it at some time inthe future with another Seagull, as a good secondary guitar, but my next guitar will be an all-solid wood model. I may go for another handmade guitar.
I chose this guitar because I read some positive reviews about it, and had heard it compared positively to Takamines (an opinion with which I agree). I prefer this guitar to the lower-end Taylors I've played, too, but that's a matter of taste.
The only added feature I wanted was the extra strap button, which it now has.
Recommendation: always have a newly-purchased guitar setup professionally, either by the seller, or by a luthier, as this can make a HUGE difference in the sound and playability.
If you're looking for your first 'proper' guitar, you can't go wrong with a Seagull.