Seagull Coastline S6 GT Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar  

I bought my S6 GT Burst on an auction site. I had played a friends S6 and figured it was worth the risk. Well, this guitar has massively exceeded my expectations. Its obviously done some work and was much loved by the previous owner (who incidentally bought a new Seagull). When it arrived I took it straight to my local luthier to have it checked over and setup. Very slight twist in the neck (fixed) and that was it. I love this guitar and hope to never have to sell it. Its a testament to the build quality of Seagulls.

There is no comparison of this model to any Pac-Rim made guitar on the planet. Fretbosrd and spacing are like butter. Did not need setup. Solid built, yet lighter than an S6 that I sent back because of poor fretboard. I thought the Coastline series might have better quality control. I was right. Super volume when pushed. Brighter, but not quite as balanced as an American Martin, but way better than the Martin imports. Sunburst finish is terrific. Blends perfectly into the cherry (lam) sides. If you look real hard, you will see that it is not finished quite as well as a $1,000+ North American, but again, looking real close. If you want a terrific guitar, that will look, feel, and play far into your future, this is the one. No one can knock it. The fact it was a bargain will be a distant memory. Did I mention, you can drown out any of your buddies dreads in volume... so practice! ;-)

Not a bad guitar right out of the box, untouchable in this price range.  But at times the sound did seem a little tinny to me before making a couple of upgrades.  It didn't come with a pick gaurd, so I immediately took care of that.  But the best thing I did for sound was replace the factory saddle and bridge pins, which I think are Tusq, with custom bone replacements from Bob Colesi.  Wow...what a difference.  There's no strap button at the base of the neck either from the factory.  But I also ordered one of those from Bob Colesi, and followed Seagull's specific instructions to install it.  I recommend running either D'Addario EXP's, light gauge, phospher bronze, (not 80/20's). Or Elixir, same type & size.  Or go with medium lights if you insist on 80/20's.  It seems these two strings give me the richest sound, at least with the bone upgrades.  This is a solid, well made instrument made in Canada by Godin in Quebec.  It has a slightly wider neck, (1.8), than most steel strung guitars which I have grown to really like.  Upgrades, or not, this guitar is untouchable in it's price range.  And in fact competes with guitars well over twice it's cost with just a little love. P.S.  I also ended getting a Matrix Infinity pick-up installed last week.  The plugged-in sound is unbelievable!!!

Though this guitar doesn't have all the fancy inlays, it is second to none in looks. I bought this guitar in January 09 and it still holds its tune well.  Like all Seagull guitars,  moving up and down the fretboard is so much easier then most other guitars I've played.  It really responds well when flatpicked.  It has good highs and lows.  The only thing I didn't like was it seemed a little quiet and muffled when played fingerstyle. It is still a good buy, no doubt. 

I bought this baby used after the New Year for a very reasonable price. Unfortunately it hadn't been played for almost a year and  the wood was nearly dried out from being stashed away. Luckily I have some Ernie Ball fret conditioning wipes and polish, so once I stripped the strings I gave this baby a total makeover and WOW - it is something to see in person. The beautiful Sunburst tone is a classical look that not only accents the rosewood frets and cherry wood sides well but hanging on the wall it can be a centerpiece in anyone's collection. Holding this thing for the first time felt like I had something organic in my hand. That's a huge statement considering that most of the guitars in this price range feel really boxy and mass-produced, like something without a spirit or personality. Man does this guitar have PERSONA! You can tell from the satin cherry wood side/back to the rosewood wood frets that this thing comes from REAL wood. Something that was once alive and breathing before being manifested into a beautiful piece of art through years of tradition (Godin is known for its love of fine woods and craftsmanship). I have to wipe it down with polish after every nearly session! With quality built tuners that help sustain tone throughout, I only had to re-tune once during the re-string after I let the strings stretch. Since then they have been set and hold in place nicely. The bone colored nut and bridge pins, along with saddle offer a nice touch visually but are not the real thing. I see myself upgrading to real bone soon. The only downside to this guitar is that it can be a bit difficult to play at first. The action is a bit high from what I'm used to (2 Yamahas and an Epiphone) and the frets are in fact larger than standard. Playing open chords can be easier, but barring and transitioning will take some time and practice due to its oversize. But what it lacks in playability it redeems itself in TONE. The recommended string gauge is about an RPM 12, but I placed DR Rare 11s on and the bass response is still pretty good. Not too heavy, but strong mids and bright highs. The tone is very warm and surprisingly very uniform. I own a Yamaha FG720s and I thought that was a pretty darn good guitar, but right off the bat the Seagull made its presence known. It is something I will hold onto for many years and I wait anxiously for it to mature into my collection. I can't wait to hear what it will sound like in 10 years!