Share your "Godin" guitar experiences (Seagull, Simon&Patrick, Norman, Art&Lutherie)

[catfish]

Originally Posted by Everton FC

As you can see from my signature, I have two from the Godin family. My first was the Seagull Entourage Rustic. $225.00 used, with gigbag. Great guitar, so easy to play, sounds and feels like a more expensive guitar, though light as a feather. I must admit, though, it's the one of my four acoustics I play least...

My S&P Songsmith Concert Hall is my go-to guitar. CDN$80.00 - best $80 I'll ever spend. I love this guitar - it can take pretty hard strumming for it's shape and size, and is wonderful when fingerpicked. There something about the solid spruce top w/the lammy wild cherry b/s that makes this guitar almost sound woodsy, like Mahogany, but not. Hope that makes at least some sense! It's light a feather - almost like a toy. But it growls when I lay into it w/a pick. Both have D'Addario EXP16 PB Lights. As a matter of fact, I never used the EXP16's until I had to put them on the S&P, due to the shop I went to being out of Elixirs! Haven't looked back, in terms of string choice.

Wondering how my Seagull would sound w/80/20s?

Yesterday I put Martin 80/20 012 set of stings on my Seagull M6 Gloss - Sitka Spruce top, Mahogany laminate b&s. I played it yesterday for a little while, it sounded a bit tinny, zingy and with substantially lower volume comparing with previouly used EJ16. Today it started to sound more fully, a bit more loud and with complex overtones (complex for Mahogany, of course ). I like the sound when I fingerpick, it has pure tone, very different from PB. For strumming it is yet zingy. It is surely 'an acquired taste', I will see if I will switch to 80/20, but I'm glad I tried these strings. When I was a teenager (in 1970-ies), these kind of 80/20 were the standard, so I had the experience before but I forgot it.

By the way, I'm suprised that both of your guitars are light as a feather -- mine is heavy, possibly because of the wide chunky neck.

[Everton FC]

My Yamaha and my Alvarez are very heavy. The S&P is incredibly light - like I said, feels almost like a toy. The Gull is a bit "heavier", but the word "heavy" doesn't translate to the Gull, and it's a dread.

The Alvarez is a tank. Ditto the little Yammie. Even though they are not Martin's/Taylor's/et al, they are four interesting, very different guitars. But the S&P would be the keeper, of the group.

[catfish]

Originally Posted by Everton FC

My Yamaha and my Alvarez are very heavy. The S&P is incredibly light - like I said, feels almost like a toy. The Gull is a bit "heavier", but the word "heavy" doesn't translate to the Gull, and it's a dread.

The Alvarez is a tank. Ditto the little Yammie. Even though they are not Martin's/Taylor's/et al, they are four interesting, very different guitars. But the S&P would be the keeper, of the group.

My Seagull is also a dread, and, despite of being heavy, is a keeper. It is on a stand and I play it every day. I have a Martin 000-15M which is light as a feather, though.

[random works]

Had a LaPatrie that I enjoyed: got it used and a little banged up. It was good for a non-classical player like me for the nylon feel.

I had an S6 for a while. It was a great guitar. I eventually sold it. I would describe it as very dependable and decent sounding. I played in altered tunings and standard.

[Jaden]

Unfortunately mine wasn’t so great. Back around 1990 I bought my first acoustic steel string guitar, a Norman dreadnought that was beautifully made and finished, but it was all laminate cherry (didn’t realize this), it never warmed up in sound, and resulted in loss of interest in guitar playing for the next 25 years. If I had only stayed with Yamaha (had learned on a student classical) things could have been very different.

[Deadduck]

I have a Seagull S6 made in the late 90's. I bought it used 15 years or so ago. Good quality guitar with a good sound. It isn't as nice as my J-15 or D-28, but it's very good for the price. It's my beater guitar so to say, though I certainly don't abuse it. Only Godin product I've owned.