History of Seagull Guitar & Series Review

Established in 1982, Seagull Guitar has quickly become known as a producer of some of the best acoustic guitars available today. While technically Seagull is manufactured by Godin Guitars, the Seagull line targets working musicians with emphasis on quality construction and affordable pricing.

A commitment to quality and to producing the best sound available ensures that all of the Seagull acoustic guitars are made with the new compound curve top; a design that allows Seagull guitars to be lighter weight (due to the need for less bulky bracing) without giving up their tradition of using solid tops on all of their guitars instead of using less expensive laminated tops.

A commitment to affordability means that Seagull guitars do not usually have a great deal of aesthetic extras (such as engraving or inlays). The focus is, instead, on purity of line and the tone of the guitar itself as the true work of art.

Seagull Guitar Series Roll Call

As you will see, the Seagull’s various series have a decided emphasis on the quality of the guitar’s construction as well as its tone, and they take great pride in their craftsmanship. While series may differ in woods and finishes used on the various models, they are all designed specifically to encourage the best quality of sound at the least possible price.

Entourage Series

The Seagull Entourage series guitars are designed to be quality guitars offered at inexpensive prices for players at all musical levels. Each of the models in the Entourage series has a solid cedar top and wild cherry back and sides that give them good projection and a warm, well-rounded tone though the higher notes can tend to get a bit ‘tinny’ if treated too aggressively. The Entourage Rustic comes in both a standard model and a cutaway model to allow for greater reach to the higher frets; in addition, the Entourage Rustic Mini Jumbo has a nice curvy shape that makes it easy to hold. Entourage models also have a slimmer neck, which make them an excellent acoustic guitar for beginners, for younger guitarists or for those whose fingers do not have a very long reach.

Original Series

The Seagull Original Series guitars are considered to be an excellent value, quality cheap guitar for any player. Being where Seagull got its start, the popularity of the Original Series guitars is a good indicator of the overall quality and value of the Seagull brand. Made with solid cedar tops, the back and sides of the Originals are three-layer Wild Cherry wood laminate. The S6 model, in particular, has proven to be extremely popular due to its excellent playability and richly warm sound that projects surprisingly well regardless of your playing style; the award-winning S6 slim is indeed one of the best acoustic guitars for beginners. Compared to the Seagull S6 model, the Seagull S6 slim has a narrower nut width.

Coastline Series

The Seagull Coastline Series guitars, while similar in construction to their Original Series brothers (with back and sides made of three-layer Wild Cherry wood and a solid cedar top) the Coastline series comes in a greater variety of models. From the Coastline Cedar Gloss Top to the Coastline Cedar 12-string, the quality of these instruments can’t be argued with. The Cedar Grand and the Cedar Folk in particular are designed more specifically for finger-style playing and can become rather strident if subjected to pick playing, but are still subjected to the same high-quality workmanship that the other models display.

Performer Series

The Seagull Performer Series guitars not only have the solid cedar top sported by all Seagull guitars, but stunning Flame Maple wood used on for their back and sides. Built with performing artists specifically in mind, the Performer Series has a clarity of tone that enables each individual note to be heard whether they are being played fingerstyle or picked out individually. A further emphasis on projection and the inclusion of Quantum 1 electronics makes sure that the performer’s work will be heard.

Maritime Solid Wood Series (SWS)

The Seagull Maritime Solid Wood Series carry a variety of models, all of which are of solid wood construction. Each and every one not only has a solid spruce top, but solid mahogany back and sides as well and comes complete with a custom polished finish. This emphasis on solid wood construction gives the Maritime Series guitars a rich and mellow tone that range from the deep resonance of the dreadnought style to the more traditionally warm folk style. As may be expected, because of the solid wood construction this series is a good bit more expensive than their laminate body brothers. But in comparison to solid wood guitars made by other guitar brands, the Seagull is comparatively inexpensive.

Artist Series

The Seagull Artist Series guitars sport Seagull’s new signature compound curve top. All Artist Series guitars are made with solid wood backs and sides as well as the Seagull signature solid tops. Wood for the Artist Series are chosen by hand and while there are a variety of models to chose from, each of the Artist series guitars has a narrower waist making them easier to handle. The combination of the compound curve top and narrower waist gives the Artist Series guitars a particularly good end response, though the top notes can lose a bit of their punch when subjected to fingerstyle playing and even the high-gloss finish sported by each of the Artist Series guitars encourages more aggressive playing.

Why Choose a Seagull?

While there are those that look down at Seagull guitars because of their price or their relatively recent entrance into the world of acoustic guitar craftsmanship, once you’ve played a Seagull you will understand why those that use them don’t hesitate to defend their quality and consider them to be some of the very best guitars for sale when it comes to value and quality construction. A Seagull may not have the reputation (or price) of a Martin or Gibson, but for the working musician it has the advantage of providing a beautifully constructed instrument with an excellent quality sound at an affordable price.

You will always find positive comments about Seagull guitars in the reviews. Seagull makes only high quality instruments, starting with solid-top guitars. These instruments are real gems!

Seagull Acoustic Guitar Reviews

This Canadian guitar maker is a sub-brand of Godin and they make acoustic guitars exclusively. All their instruments are hand crafted and are of the highest quality and workmanship. As far as price, Seagull targets the working musician. Seagull does have a few entries for the casual player, though, with the S6 and the Q1 (acoustic electric). You can own one of these Seagulls for around $315 to $529. You will find mostly positive comments about these guitars in any Seagull guitar review! Notable players include Kim Deal. Joni Mitchell has played Seagull as well.

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