Seagull S6 ?

I wonder if they will add electronics and gloss top to the left handed version of S6.

And one thing i am wondering is , that , the washburn i am considering is actually of only 200$ value (the extra 129 is because of pre amp and lefty).Whereas , the seagull starts at 350 $ (for the right handed) , so can i say , that difference in the prices between these two tell something ?

Also , what do you mean by 'darker' sound out of a cedar top ?

Then again , i am not much concerned about scratches etc.I keep and play my guitar pretty carefully , so it won't be a big problem with me.Still if i can get the gloss top , nothing better.The only thing , that was bothering was , that ,the marks , dings might not reduce the playbility or the sound of the guitar.That is , i hope the wood won't get broken up by long playing right ?

funny thing. when i got my guitar i couldn't wait for it to get scratched up. i think that new looking isn't cool at all.

From the seagull website this is what they say about gloss tops -

http://www.seagullguitars.com/productlistinggtseries.htm

Now , what is the meaning of ' High gloss finishes offer a little more protection in terms of scratch resistance but ultimately involve some compromise in top sensitivity'

Does this mean , i will lose the S6 cedar sound due to the gloss top.(because of less senstivity)??

I also emailed the seagull team this question.Lets see , what they have to say...

Rahul,

Folks have discussed almost everything about seagulls on the acoustic guitar magazine forums as well as guitarflock. You might want to read the old threads there.

Also, I have an S6+ spruce and I highly recommend it. Also look at Takamine, Washburn and Ibanez which all have pretty good guitars at the $300 price range. I would recommend deciding whether having a pickup/preamp a high priority since you'll lose some quality if you buy a $300 guitar with electronics compared to one without.

Also especially Ibanez and Washburn should be more readily available all around the world vs Seagull. I know that in my home country a $350 Seagull (which can be bought in the us for $315) starts at $500.

oktay

Oktay , seagull doesn't make S6 spruce lefty , so i have to have cedar.And then , if i want spruce , i can go with the washburn

Again , however seagulls (as they claim ) are all handcrafted , made with great care.So i want to go with it.

My gloss top S6 lefty will go for 440 $ whereas martin DX1 -

http://www.music123.com/Martin-DX1-i59249 .

will about 500 $.Now again some confusion over getting a martin or not ????? :shock:

Is getting a martin (wow) better than the seagull for some extra money.And look at the number of awesome reviews there !

i own both a cedar top s6+ and the MArtin DX1 and I much prefer the Martin. it's just a better sounding guitar to me, built like a TANK and uses alternate materials. great guitar

Rahul,

You keep asking this question comparing two very closely matched guitars. You've read the reviews so you really already know the answers. There are no guarantees when you buy one and have it shipped that you will love it, no matter how many opinions you get. I've played high end guitars that I thought were tonally limp. I've played lower end guitars that I've thought were brilliant. I've played two guitars in the same store, exact same model, same strings and thought one was excellent and the other crap.

The short answer to your question is no. In this price range, with similarly priced guitars, with known brand name guitars, there is no quantitative difference in quality. There is only personal preference. Sadly for you, you have to play the guitar to find out.

My preference, Fred's preference, Yitzak's preference don't matter a hill of beans. I've played guitars that other people swear by and just don't like them at all. Some people have picked mine up and not been wowed by them.

Seagull, Martin, Washburn, Alvarez, Ibanez, Fender, Gibson will all serve you well. Cedar, Spruce, the tree that fell over in my back yard, will all make a good sound. Left handed models will sound the same as right tonally.

You can keep asking if you want, but what makes a guitar the perfect guitar for you is a personal thing. My opinion on which is best shouldn't be a deciding factor. Go take a look at the guitars on Harmony Central. Everybody rates their guitar a 10. Why is that? Because that's the one they liked. That is the one they bought. If they thought one was an eight and the other a ten, which would they buy?

If you see two guitars in the same range with the same features toss a coin or pick the one you like the looks of most.

And remember, the magic is in your fingers.

As a left handed person and one who, like anyone over the age of forty, grew up at a time when finding left handed guitars in the States was like it is finding them today in India (most of us bought right handed ones and restrung them, as you have done with your classical only we did it with electrics, twelve strings, whatever we could find - I guess that's why I don't think twice about brand names or models or whatever - I learned that whatever guitar you have in your hands is the best guitar on the planet), I still have to agree with Nick.

While it's good to be asking these questions, you're really running into the risk of what some folks call "analysis paralysis" - when you're getting all the info in your head but you're still not actually doing anything. You have the ability now to go out and to listen to the difference between a spruce and a cedar top (your Yamaha should be a cedar if it's the model I think it is). Most people, truth be told, won't really hear much of a difference. It can be subtle, depending on how the guitar is played.

You also have the ability to go out and check out similar guitars. Even if they are right handed, you can get an idea of feel as far as the neck and action are concerned.

But the thing to keep in mind is that guitars are very individual instruments. You can take two that come off the same assembly line at the same factory one right after the other and one can play like a dream while the second one simply feels wrong.

And when you get opinions off the Internet or even face to face with people, everyone has his or her own conception of what the guitar sounds like. They can even mean totally opposite things while using the exact same words. For instance, I'd never say that a cedar top has a "darker" sound, but I understand why someone might think that. To me it's just that you get a better separation of bass, middle and treble than you do on most spruces. But part of that, at least as far as the Seagull is concerned, is that it's not a dreadnaught shaped guitar. Classical shaped guitars tend to have that sort of sound, which is why many people prefer them for fingerstyle playing.

At some point you have to make a leap of faith and go out and do something. I can appreciate that you feel you want to get the most for your money and what not, but another very important thing most people rarely take into account is that you yourself are constantly changing. What you think is important in a guitar now may not be later on. So all your thinking and planning can come to naught.

Bite the bullet, as they say, and take the plunge. Should worst come to worst, you'll have a great guitar while pining away for something else. That's not only normal, that's human.

As far as the Seagull goes, I own an S6 folk cedar. Love it. It's beaten up and battered and sounds wonderful. It will eventually have to be replaced but I will play it (and any guitar I get my hands on) to the beautiful end of days.

Peace

Thanks for the replies , both david and nick.Actually these are the kind of reviews that really get me puzzling - (for the martin DX1 from harmony central , give rating 1 in sound.Almost everyone rated its sound 10 , perfect for all styles , ,except this one...)

"Low end on this guitar is great, but, it is a little too bright on the high end. I do a lot of fingerpicking and this guitar is really too quiet for that style.

My biggest complaint, the neck. I think with the composites the neck doesn't like to stay in one bend. I have had to have it adjusted approximately every two months. Humidity in my house stays between 48-50 as I have a whole house humidifier and temperature is constant. The nut has been replaced, the bridge tweaked but I get fret buzz while playing an E on the A string and playing an E or F on the D string.

Because of the neck problems, I live with fret buzz until it become unbearable and it is back to the shop.Due to this, the sound is the lowest rating."

I hope you understand my situation. :oops:

This is the guitar i am having currently (and all the recordings that you might have heard , have come from this one )

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Yamaha-C70~ID~3026.asp

As it mentions there , it has a spruce top.Now i really don't know the difference between the two and nither i know what sound characterises each one.

Some folks have said that seagull s6 is meant for fingerstyle.Well , its also not clear what exactly the mean by fingerstyle playing.(Is it classical guitar playing or simply fingerpicking or just strumming without a pick ?)As far as i guess , i am going to play both strumming (with or without a pick ) as well as fingerpicking (like you can hear in my 'summer of 69' or 'leaving on a jet plane' )

I wish there could be soundclips to compare the guitars.To get a guitar unseen in real , unheard in real and totally on trust is not an easy deal when you are going for around 500 $ something budget.I would like this guitar to last me a lot of years and i keep my guitar very well , so care on my side is assured always.

And i tell you how i got my yamaha.I basically wanted a steel string acoustic.But my uncle got the classical guitar from dubai and at that time i didn't even know what is a classical guitar and initially was mourning that i have been handled some kind of a strange or forged guitar which contains 3 nylon strings...From there , i have embraced the classical and have started liking it sound , feel , look etc.

More then an electric (which i will get local made ) , i am looking for a good steel string guitar that will last and play beautifully , when done with care.

I never want to trouble anyone with my questions , but , only you guys can answer them.Here no one is having a martin guitar and most people aren't interested in playing acoustic , most are submerged in nu-metal.Many people sometimes get tired by my relentless questions , however , you have been quite patient in answering them...and after all , isn't that the meaning of the forums here ? :wink:

David , if you could post sound clips of your seagull (and a martin , if you have that ; i have requested U2bono that too ) , that would be so helpful.That is only a humble request.

Yes , i am sure , i will take the plunge and go for it.Either a seagull or a martin , but believe me (with god's blessings !), i will get something for myself.

Thanks again ,

Rahul

Rahul, you are missing the point.

How David plays isn't like how you play.
The guitar David plays isn't like the one you will get.
The strings David uses won't be the same as yours.
The room he records in won't be the same.
The Microphone he uses to record won't capture the sound you will hear.
David's guitar is played in and yours won't be.

I could go on and on, but the point is you can't compare apples and oranges. Heck you can't even compare apples and apples in this case to the degree you want.

The reviews are pretty pointless too.

Low end great high end too bright? I guess so to the guy who posted that. I guarantee you somebody believes there isn't enough low end and the high end is just right. It's perception that matters and only yours counts.

Neck problems? Well I guess if you happened to get one and you are all pissed off about it you will post something like that. I guarantee you there are thousands of other owners out there that don't have neck problems or buzz. Besides does that guy live in an extremely low humidity environment? Did he replace the strings with heavy rather than light? Who knows. You can't dismiss or worry about a guitar based on a single review.

Guitar meant for fingerstyle? Perhaps to the poster. I've seen David play his Seagull with a pick and even a bottleneck slide. Should I stop him next time I see him do it? I fingerpick my Gibson J200. Am I wrong to do it? I mean it is a bluegrass machine.

Don't go all obsessive compulsive or you will never be satisfied no matter which guitar you get.

Either of those guitars are good choices and will last you a long time.

Rahul, I sat down, one day, with an 1800 EUR Larivee LM guitar. I'd listened to the sound clips on their site, etc., but was mightily disappointed at what I heard, or more pointedly, what I didn't hear. It sounded flat and lifeless.
Other Larivees, that I've heard, weren't like that - they had other shortcomings.
My Seagull has far more life (S6 Folk cedar top), although I didn't have the opportunity to play the Larivee at home, maybe it would have sounded different to playing in the guitar shop.
At some point you have to bite the bullet and buy something - I'm in no hurry, I've got the Seagull.

I fingerpick my Gibson J200. Am I wrong to do it? I mean it is a bluegrass machine.

Dear Nick@Guitarnoise.com,

Unless you stop that immediately, you should consider your Gibson Limited Lifetime Warranty voided.

Best regards,

The friendly folks at Gibson Acoustic

P.S. We prefer to call the J200 a "Divinely-inspired instrument of the sublime artform that is American Country & Western." We encourage you to do the same. Also, to help you find your way back onto the road to redemption, we have thoughtfully enclosed one genuine faux tortoise shell Gibson medium gauge plectrum. Use it.

LOL, that made me spray diet coke.

Okay, I'm wrong to do it. Point is it can be done, just don't tell anyone.

Thanks for the pick. 8)

Rahul - I sent you a PM

Greg - that was hilarious

everyone all together - I think once you reach a certain point in your playing, whether or not "this guitar is good, and this one is bad" becomes irrelevant. Rahul, you will reach this point soon. I own 6 guitars now. When I bought my first one, my Martin, I made a post here asking "what is a good beginners acoustic???" I got a lot of good places to start, and I heeded the advice given to me. But in the end, I played alot of guitars and chose the MArtin hands down because it sounded all out the best. Now, if I want a gutiar, I don't have to go asking here what's good and what's not. I don't have to. I can play a guitar and know in 5 seconds if it's good for me or not. notice the key word: PLAY. until you play one of these guitars, you can't know for sure if you will like them as much as you want. they are good guitars and will serve you well, but how will you know if they are right for you? you won't! so you just have to make a decision. And after you have played guitars, and bought alot of guitars, suddenly, you will know EXACTLY what to do. it's a good thing.

You might, if you want to here a soundclip of my Seagull, click on any lesson I've written in the past four years. Except the rare exceptions where I specifically mention that I'm playing the twelve string or an electric.

I don't own a Martin, but will be happy to provide a soundclip of one should anyone leave such an instrument here at my home.

And Greg, that was way too funny! :wink:

Peace