Simon & Patrick SP6 Cedar

Plain but good looking dreadnaught guitar. Bought new in April 2001. This is the first solid-top guitar I owned and I liked the sound quality of the cedar top.

I like the sound. I am currently trying to upgrade and find I have to spend a lot more money to get a better sound. It compares well with the entry level Taylors and L'arrivee guitars. It is way better than the entry level Martins. The cedar top seems to prduce a nice balanced sound with adequate bass. I use D'Addario light strings. The strings that came with the guitar were horrid!

Just great.

I have only had this guitar for a few months so I can't say much other than the observation that it seems quite fragile.

Mail-in warranty card was returned by US Post. Company has moved with no forwarding address according to them. Weird.

I played 30 years ago and just recently started again. I bought a cheap Mitchell to start and then bought this S&P. I like this guitar and will probably keep it but I am now looking at the $1500 range and I must say the S&P holds up pretty well compared to the low end Taylors and Martins. For the money I think this is a great guitar.

Hand-made in Canada in 2000. Standard, no-frills dreadnaught. SOLID Spruce top (not laminated - a big plus point) finished in a thin laquer which leaves the guitar looking great. Good-quality, closed-lubrication tuners. It didn't come with anything except a truss-rod wrench, but then you don't buy a S&P for its features, you buy it for its minimalist good looks and knockout sound.

This guitar sounds absolutely fantastic at the price. When you buy a S&P, you don't pay for frills and shiny bits but for the gorgeous shimmering sound which it produces. I replaced the medium strings with some medium-lights - each chord shimmers, every note has great sustain. This is one great-sounding guitar; people are impressed by its sound, not by its inlays. I upgraded from a Yam F310 (fine beginner's guitar, but no comparison to the S&P) and believe me your playing will improve due to not wanting to put the S&P down. Make sure you change the strings regularly to keep it sounding so good.

Dunno about the action from the factory, but the action was set up fine from the place where I bought it. It's a low action for a dreadnaught, but don't think it will be as low as an electric guitar - no acoustic is. Fit & finish are exemplary, probably because these guitars are lovingly hand-built. No flaws whatsoever in construction, however the light finish will mark easily, so drop a bit more money and get a decent case, such as a Hiscox.

This guitar is certainly reliable - it holds its tuning brilliantly - I check tuning with an electronic meter everytime I pay, and this guitar can take a pretty sustained amount of hard strumming before any strings drop out of tune. As I said before, the finish is light in order to let the top vibrate freely (and make the great sound) so it won't withstand pints of beer being thrown at it or a fall down some stairs, but look after it and it will last years - mine has just started to age and the sound is getting better all the time.

No idea about customer support - I've never needed it.

I've been playing for two years, originally for a bit of a laugh on my first guitar, a Yamaha F310, which I played for one year. When I got the S&P, my playing improved dramatically and I began to practise for many hours each day. This guitar sounds great, looks great, and is fantastic value for money - how many other hand-built solid tops do you know of for South of #400? Not many, I'll wager. If you want to treat yourself to a nice guitar that will grow with your playing, but don't have a small hill of money to spend, get a Simon & Patrick.

Made in Quebec in 1998-9, the body is from maple wood. It doesn't look like it's been laquered, so at first sight the guitar appears unfinished, although the people at S&P say it's covered in a special alcohol laquer which retains the natural look of the wood. A very nice looking guitar, but the delicate finish means you've got to be careful with it - it scratches quite easily so make sure you buy a hard case for it, you won't regret it. I wouldn't take this guitar on tour! The neck is average thickness I suppose. It doesn't have any eloborate decoration like fretboard inlays which is a plus in my opinion - natural and understated.

I play acoustic blues and rock stuff mainly, and for these purposes it's fine. I think S&P do a similar model with a cutaway (I believe it's a semi-acoustic) but for anyone who is developing their style and might want to play higher then 12th fret, consider getting a model with cutaway. The sound is deep and rich, but what I especially liked when I bought this was the feel of the fretboard - the frets are really responsive and the fretboard has not been polished so it's quite grippy.

The guitar was perfect when I bought it and remains that way. There are actually 2 styles of S&P 6, the only differences are cosmetic - the one I have has a dark brown scratchboard but S&P do another with light brown scratchboard and slightly different patterning round the soundhole. I play extensively almost every day and the frets are just as responsive as when I bought it. However the B string often sounds as if it's the wrong pitch even when it's perfectly in tune, it just sounds a bit flat. This is not a fault with the guitar but owes to not having changed the strings for two years. I might fit lighter strings (it comes with mediums) for blues solos. Just a bit easier on the fingers and a lighter sound for strumming.

Don't know about playing live, personally I don't like to let it leave the house just in case it picks up a knock. This is a guitar to cherish, but if it's not looked after carefully, the appearance will degrade quickly. Other than that, it's very responsive and sounds as good as the day I bought it. I'll give it a seven, because the light finish means you have to be careful. Don't give it to your mate who only knows three chords!

I guess the warranty was 12 months, I haven't had to deal with S&P but I know they're a division of Godin who are quite reputable, so it's probably okay.

I have been playing almost four years and traded up to this guitar from a Legend acoustic which was a good beginners guitar. For about a hundred quid it had a lovely sound but the finish was quite shoddy (lots of buzzing, varnish chipping off, kept going out of tune). The S&P delivers more finesse in your playing than other acoustics in the same price range, and even the more expensive ones I tried in the #500 range. I think it comes down to the raw finish and the feel of the fretboard - really easy to grip and nice to play. This is the only guitar I own at present but I'm thinking of going electro-acoustic soon. If this guitar was stolen I would probably cry and then rush out to buy the S&P electro acoustic with cutaway, but I'd try other makes too. The quality of these guitars is superb and the sound excellent. It is very natural looking which I also like as too much decoration can just clutter the appearance of a guitar. Apart from wishing it had a cutaway due to my playing becoming more advanced, it's perfect. Excellent value for money - if you want a great sounding acoustic then give the S&P a try, you'll be glad you did.

the 1999 model fairly plain looking. A well crafted inlay, but doesn't call attention to itself. a no frills guitar it did stick out in the store though cause of the plain but nice look it has. It's a plain looking guitar but I like the way looks better than most guitars in the price range. If you notice the mixture of cedar and cherry woods on the body you would see why I was noticed this in the store. It just looks like a finer quality guitar than the rest for someone not able to shell out the big bucks.

I play Blues, folk, reagee, punk, I mean whatever I can figure out to jam on. A nice rich sound that will fill up a room, when you plug it in through a Pa system it keeps the sound. it definitly looses some of the fullnes when you go outdoors but then again thats no suprise. I recomend upgrading if you wanted to get serious, this is not a profesional level guitar. It does however have a great sound the first time you sit down and jam with it you gonna find out. It gets very very loud. But it is not hard to control the sound, or to squeze out the noises you really want to hear. For the money this is what I went for. I havn't found a guitar in this price range that has better holds notes better period

not to tight not to loose It's right for me any one else I couldnt say. Did contain what sounded like a fret buz on open g when I first got it but not any more.

Ive driven across the country with this guitar played with it on farms in North Carolina to the corners of sixth street in Austin to Mountains in Tennessee, {You get the picture}. I dont get worried when I bring it into a party or a friends appartment. Of course its still a guitar so always exercise extreme caustion. I have played live with this guitar with out a backup, but you would probably want a higher quality guitar than this to do much serious gigging. I have worn away a lot of the wood near the pickguard and sound hole but than again look at Willie Nelsons guitar its good to make it uniquely yours. I give a ten because it has definitly not been a stay at home guitar like I said though it is still a guitar so take the ten as a fragil number

nope never dont even see it happening

I would probably buy another guitar if this were lost. not because I dont like this guitar, I love it. But theres millions of guitars out there and I havent played hardly any of them. Plus I do want to upgrade to a higher level guitar. I feel like this guitar is uniquely mine I mean ive done home recordings with it plugging it into effects peddals and amps you can do whatever the hell you want with it and not loose the sound. the last thing I heard from the old man at cates music was you'll have a great time playing that guitar. I have. I can definitly say its a good enough guitar that you can have fun playing with anyone but like I say its got its limitations but what can you expect it cost $400 but I dont think I was going to find as nice of a guitar for the cost.

Has a solid cedar top - made in 1986 (Quebec, Canada). Is a satin finish dreadnought and came with a case. I've had it since 1986 and liked it mainly because of its lack of features (resources appear to have been aimed at quality of instrument vs inlays, gold bindings, etc)

I like a lot of different musical styles - as long as it's good. I'm a blues guy (for almost 25 years) and have played the same Les Paul for the past 20 years for the most part. However, the SP has certainly helped me realize my acoustic urges (although I haven't really did any comparison playing until very recently). I bought a Washburn DM2000SCE recently and it is a better-sounding guitar - however it cost more as well. Of course, sound is very subjective - the SP has a "browner" tone and I had trouble with getting a balanced mic'd sound for recording (brownness seemed to mush the sound). Of course, that could have been the mike.

After doing some comparison shopping prior to buying the Washburn, I realized how lousy the setup on the SP was - however, if I had been a little more proactive years ago, I would have gotten the action issue resolved. Live and learn. The cedar is nice but obviously the finish is thin to the point of appearing unfinished - not necessarily a flaw.

I hate giving up on guitars if I think there's any life to them. Therefore, my SP is currently in the shop having the bridge reattached (it began to rise a while back - hence the eroding action, intonation, etc). I'm optimistic that it'll be worth the money once I get it back). I'd use the guitar for performing (I don't care how good the guitar, you need a back-up), assuming I can mic it so that the natural sound is captured. The low rating is attributable to the bridge problem (I have taken care of this guitar over the years and am very conscious of temperature and humidity with all of my guitars).

Not sure what the warranty was. However, I e-mailed S&P recently to get some info on the guitar, and received a great response in less than 24 hours.

I've been playing for approx 25 years, primarily an early eighties Les Paul Deluxe through a Marshall JCM800 combo (and recently a POD). If the SP were rendered useless, I'd simply stick with the Washburn purchased recently (I needed something with an onboard pick-up and the Washburn fit the bill). For this price range, I think I would consider another SP, or at least its cousin the Seagull. The things I like are the natural brown tone, and that SMELL. I'd love to put a LR Baggs in it (assuming it comes back from the shop ok), however $$$ will likely hold me back (for now). I will say this much - a $1500 Larivee/Takamine/etc is not three times better than a $500 SP or Seagull, nor is it twice as good for that matter.

As you have seen from the above submissions it is not really known for its features but the reason you would buy one of these I would say is for a decent quality guitar which is a solid top and is HAND BUILT - Major factor. I got this guitar for just over #300 with an acoustic pick up 4 years ago and it has been great. As my guitar has a pick up I am going to give it a higher rating.

I myself, hae a fender stratocaster and have played many guitars including les pauls and other stuff. For an acoustic, I could not ask for more as all i want to do is pick up a nice sounding guitar which can hold its ground well on stage. I am in a band and it records well too. In my opinion, if your after a decent guitar that sounds excellent it is definitely worth considering! I love the sound of mine and its mellowed beautifully, especially through my 100watt marshall reverb amp

I have found the quality exceptional for a guitar in this price range. It is hand built in canada and the frets are very well placed on my guitar. I have had NO problems at all and the wood is fantastic quality too. The machine heads are great and hold the strings in tune very well. I consider myself to be quite a fussy kind of guy as i play numerous instruments and in my opinion - I CANT FAULT IT!

As I have discovered, this guitar withstands live playing very well. Provided you have a good enough amp you will find this more than satisfactory on stage for the money. My guitar is now 4 years old and considering it has not had a single fault i can see it lasting till im in my 80's! I find it a very dependable guitar and would definitely use it at a gig without a second instrument. I suppose the only thing that could happen is if a string would break but as it has the easy install string pins they are easy enough to install.

never dealt with them and doubt i will ever need too

As I have said above I have played many instruments and own various guitars and am incredibly happy with this guitar and will never sell it or buy a replacement. If it was stolen I would definitely buy another because nothing compairs to it in its price range. I compaired it to various ovations and a couple of takimines and to be honest, the sound quality from the simon & patrick disgraced them. If you do buy one I would suggest buying a hard case for it. I invested in one and it has really protected the beautiful wood well. in my opinion I would buy this guitar as its the strongest contender with the best quality sound in its league. (oh yeah, and if anyone owns an ovation has read this, try the guitar out for yourself)

Dreadnought made in Canadian made C. 1996;solid cedar top with satin finish, laminated back/sides;rosewood fretboard; wide/thin neck (type of wood unknown. Front of body bound with plastic; otherwise unbound. Absolutely nothing fancy, but I'm much more into functionality, and this is only a $300 guitar

I'm mainly a strummer; occasionally a flat-picker. Usually play it acoustically, but occ. with Dean Markley pro-mag through PA. Most inexpensive acoustics sound muffled (due to cheap soundboards and tone-unfriendly lacquers); this guitar has the best unmuffled sound in its price range ( in other words: it resonates well). However, the bass strings are weak and lack sustain compared especially to the middle two strings, which can really dominate the sound when strummed. When I play through a PA, I always boost the bass and sometimes add reverb...this helps alot. With new strings, it sounds crisp and full; with old strings it sounds rather dull and seems to loose some of its volume/projection.

The set-up was great...The action was medium to low; body/neck/fingerboard finished nicely; the frets were NOT crowned well. Put together very solidly and much cleaner than most inexp. acoustics (some have a little glue sticking out here or there or flaws in the finish, etc)

I play this guitar live about once/week. The top is easy to ding up bec. the cedar is soft and the lacquer is very thin. Tuners are holding up very nicely. The strings have worn grooves into the bridge plate. Holds its tuning fairly well. I give it a 9 for reliability but 5 for durability for a average of 7

I've never dealt with Simon and Patrick. Guitar had a two-year warranty (expired now).

My very first guitar. I've been playing for 3 plus years. Probably the best under-$500 acoustic I've seen. Overall, I'm glad I bought this guitar but I'm already looking for something with better balance, that is, more bass (Guild seems to have what I want). For its price, it is very well put together and vibrates/resonates well. If I needed to buy another $300 guitar, it would probably be another one like this. But if I had $600 or more, I'd look for a used Guild.

It's not really known for having any features really. I do like the look of the light finish. It's a warm, natural look. Overall, a pretty basic dreadnought.

For the price, it's a great sounding guitar. The solid cedar top gives a nice, deep bass. The higher notes are able to ring for an impressive length of time. Although, the overall sound is a little bit empty, it's probably the best sounding guitar you can get for under 300 bucks.

The action is just awesome. It is so easy to play this guitar that when you step up to a higher end one like i did, your fingers will seem weak. They did a really impressive job in this area. The neck is nice and smooth and perfect for MY hands at least. The finish, however was a problem for me. I'm a flatpicker and since the finish is so light, i've been wearing a hole under the pick guard. It is scratched up pretty badly. I call it character.

It's not really a good enough guitar for live playing in my opinion. If you're playing live, you're good enough that you should drop some cash and buy a better one. (May i recommend the Fender DG41s). The finish is the opposite of durable as i mentioned above and this guitar just doesn't have the balls to be used on stage. I use it as a beach guitar now. (a pretty nice beach guitar). However, it's delicate.

n/a

i've been playing regularly for about 5 years now. this was my second guitar and it served its purpose well. I've now moved on and bought a fender. The best one (dg41s). That was another great deal in my opinion. I'm not going to say that the sp6 is the best guitar there is like some other people have said. That'd be stupid. But for a beginner/intermediate who want's a good deal, it's the way to go. Believe me, i did alot of shopping around.

1997 Model. This guitar has a solid cedar top with plywood back and sides finished with a satin urethane. The neck has a low profile and is a little wider than most (great for my big hands). Esthetics are spartan, no flash, just excellent workmanship. It's obvious that this product was designed to be functional and cost effective. Pluses: 1) attention to quality - product is well finished; 2) wide neck with low profile; 3) hardware is all top quality; 4) price - sounds better than guitars 5 times the cost; 5) smell - can't beat the smell of cedar.

I'm a finger picker and this guitar is wonderful for my style. It's well balanced, has a rich warm tone that rivals the other dreadnaughts I was trying out when shopping - Guild, Gibson, Yamaha, Ovation, Takamine, Washburn and Martin. I was blown away by it's rich full tone. It may not project as well as a spruce top, but it's warmth can't be beat. I'm getting an LR Baggs Dual source installed in the next couple of weeks and I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

I love the neck on this guitar. It's action is fast and it's an absolute pleasure to play. As for the fit and finish, while it's not a flashy guitar, it is extremely well built. The attenton to the finishing is something I'd expect from Martin or Gibson. This guitar was definitely made with loving care. I'm actually happy that it's a somewhat palin looking unit, that way I blow people away with it's sound and not it's looks.

I've been playing it faithfully for the past 7 months and haven't got a bad thing to say about it. I don't know how the satin finish will hold up over the long run, but then again if you're rough on equipment the finish don't matter. I have to admit I baby it. The tone is getting better and I want it to have a long, long life.

It comes with a full year warranty. I don't see how I would need it though. The guitar shop I bought it from love to sell 'em. They say they don't have problems with them. When they go out the door, they only come back for tune-ups. So far, that's been the case for me too. I have contacted LaSiDo to get information on their other products and they have been prompt and courteous to all my inquiries.

I've been playing off and on for about 10 years. I decided I wanted to further my playing habits and went out looking for a good solid dreadnaught. I was willing to pay good dough for something I would enjoy playing. I was totally blown away when I picked up this baby. Not one of the brand names sounded nearly as good - (well that's not true, there was that circa 1945 Martin D45). Everybody says there a good buy for the money. Sorry, I think "Great Buy" is more appropriate. I'd definitely buy another, and another and another. I just hope that others will have the chance to try one of these great guitars and enjoy what a little Canadian ingenuity can produce.