SEAGULL GUITARS

Seagull is a Canadian company and sub-brand of Godin Guitars that produces acoustic guitars. Born out of La Patrie, a small village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, this company hand crafts acoustic guitars targeted towards working musicians. Established in 1982 by Robert Godin and a few of his friends, this company specializes in making acoustic guitars with solid tops as opposed to laminated tops.
Solid top guitars offer richer sound and wider dynamic range (they play better at both soft and loud volume levels). The most interesting thing about a solid top guitar is that it will actually sound better over time (see AGING). All Seagull guitars are made with select pressure tested solid tops. Each solid top is made from a single layer of Spruce or Cedar and is pressure tested to ensure its highest level of rigidity and stiffness along with maximum harmonic vibration. The extraordinary wood used in Seagull guitars comes from trees that are hundreds of years old. The tight, straight grain in this wood produces a unique combination of strength and flexibility. The top is strong enough—in the direction of the grain—to withstand the pull of the strings, while at the same time it's flexible enough—across the grain—to vibrate freely.
The concept for the Seagull guitar was to take the essential components of the best hand-crafted guitars (such as solid tops and beautiful finishes) and build these features into guitars that could be priced within the reach of working musicians.
Of course there is much more to a great guitar than a solid top with a special finish, so we produced this illustrated guide to help you gain some understanding of the basic elements of a great sounding acoustic guitar.
Seagull guitars come in three basic body sizes. The full sized body is used through most of the line including the cutaway models. Slightly smaller than a typical Dreadnought size guitar, the Seagull is narrower in the upper bout. This shape discourages unwanted boominess in the sound and is one of the factors that results in Seagulls being such excellent recording instruments.
The folk sized body shares its dimensions with those of a classical guitar and projects more midrange. The Folk models work beautifully for fingerstyle playing and solo guitar.
The third Seagull body style is the compact body used in the Seagull Grand. The small body is tuned to produce a very clear fundamental which makes it another excellent choice for fingerstyle playing.


Seagull Entourage Rustic Review:

Features : 8 Not a lot of bells and whistles, but, an extremely beautiful guitar for the price. I have always had solid reviews from my friends in Canada. They all swear by these Godin/La Patrie/Seagull guitars. Mine is a 2006 model(?) straight acoustic, no electronics and has the following features: a solid cedar top, sides and back are laminated wild cherry, neck is silver leaf maple, fingerboards and bridge are, I believe, rosewood. The saddle and nut are tusq. The polished finish is rustic burst...dark-ish and deeply nutty. The pick guard is a dark brown. The headstock is non-standard by most guitars, but standard for this company. It tapers toward the top and then rounds out and it has a siganture graphic of a seagull on it. chrome, non locking tuners and a 1.72 nut width. The case is signature as well, albeit kinda wacky. High density styro with interior plastic. The guitar fit nicely inside and it feels solid. Not your stadard TKL or chipboard or wood...More like a molded SBK. The features all make this guitar even more attractive day in day out!
Sound : 10 Ya know, I tried several guitars at the time of purchase. All of Martin/Taylor/Breedlove/Gibson/Parkwood/etc that I tried on are all fine guitars. However, after trying and re-trying each guitar/maker, I came back to this guitar. It was, simply put, the right tone and warmness that I was looking for. Nice bass response, not muddy. Loud enough but not "boomy". Articulate highs and mids. Just well balanced with good intonation across the neck. Honestly, It was between this and a Taylor for me. This guitar offered almost everything that I liked soundwise in the Taylor at a 1/4 of the cost.
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 The factory set was good for me. The fretwires were all good. No sharpness on the edge of the frets. The wood is beautiful. No flaws in the finish that I could see at the store, nor when I got it home. I have left it on the stand for a few days to see f any of the lustre fades....nada so far. The construction of this guitar looks like it was done with care and affection for the process of actually making a quality instrument. the guitar came with a factory check list attached. Everything on their quality control list was to my satisfaction
Reliability/Durability : 5 As I am not a "profession, gigging" musician, I will discount the durability aspect of this opinion. It seems solid to me. the finish seems well done and that it could withstand playing it night after night.
Overall Rating : 9 I am, as they say, a "duffer". I am not a professional musician. I play for enjoyment with friends. So far, the friends are envious of this guitar because it can stand toe to to with their high end "big name" guitars. Along with this newly purchased guitar, I own a Michael Kelly Fretless 5 string Bass, a Fender Jazz, assorted amps, etc...I am more of a bass player than guitarist. I wanted a straight acoustic to fulfill certain sound needs that a bass does not offer. I could not be happier!