Seagull Flame Maple

[x12]

Do any of you know anything about Seagull Flame Maple guitars or maple guitars in general. I've been thinking about getting an inexpensive maple guitar and the person selling the Cocobolo guitar on eBay also has a Seagull Flame Maple advertised. My friend has a Gibson Maple and I like it. How does the Seagull sound? Thanks!

[cpmusic]

It's really hard to make comparisons across brands, but in general, solid maple will be brighter and drier sounding (less sustain and/or faster decay) than solid rosewood or mahogany. It's used for most mandolins and virtually all violins, and I think it's pretty common on arch-top guitars, but it's not usually a first choice in flat-tops. I like it a lot, but it's not to everyone's taste.

BTW, the Seagull Artist maple has laminated sides but a solid back, where solid wood counts more. If that Gibson has an arched back (like the Taylor Baby), the back is laminated.

[x12]

Chris, thanks for the reply. I think the Gibson's back was flat. It had a huge pickguard and big inlay on the fret board. Don't remember too much else off the top of my head other than it looked like a big GA.

[cpmusic]

I haven't actually seen a Gibson with an arched back (Guild pretty much has the corner on that design) but I've heard of them. But if the Gibson is a low-end model ($1,000 or less) the back may still be laminated. If the maple is really plain, that might be a cue. The best thing is to look it up on Gibson's website. This won't necessarily tell you which guitar is better, however -- you really need to play them to see which one speaks to you.

[Soup]

I had a Gibson J180ec which had an arched laminated maple back. It was a beautiful guitar with the starburst mop fretboard.

In comparison with my 810ce which I play now, I miss the Gibson's incredible evenness of tone across all strings. It had a very robust, but not boomy, voluminous sound that many of my friends said inspired them to take up the guitar again.

Before I bought the Gibson, I a/b'd it against literally dozens of other guitars (the store manager was wondering when I was actually going to buy a guitar after several weeks!) including all the Seagulls made. I think Seagulls are a fantastic guitar with a really nice full and airy sound - especially at their price point. To prove the point, my best friend actually bought the M6 with a cedar top at the same time as I bought my Gibson!

If you play plugged in or are a strummer in group settings, however, I would actually recommend the Gibson over the Taylor (and just about any other guitar I've tried) as it is far more suited and engineered for that purpose. Play one and see if it is to your taste.

[cpmusic]

Originally posted by Soup
In comparison with my 810ce which I play now, I miss the Gibson's incredible evenness of tone across all strings. It had a very robust, but not boomy, voluminous sound that many of my friends said inspired them to take up the guitar again.

To be fair, though, you're comparing maple and rosewood, the latter of which is bound to have a fuller bottom end. I know that laminated wood is sometimes preferred on stage or in the studio because it's less boomy, but maple is inherently bright even in solid form. I can't speak to your Gibson, but my 615, as big as it is, is rich and full without being boomy.

[Soup]

Right-on Chris -

As suggested in another thread, I'm looking into switching to a jumbo and am keen to know the differences between the 615 and 815. I'm attracted by the 615 for all the reasons...

thanks --
Soup.

[x12]

The eBay price on the seagull flame maple is at $400 with less than one day left. Is this a reasonable price for this guitar? Thanks.

[Acoustics4ed]

if its an "artist series" it is about half the price of new I think (but not sure)....and if it is I would be asking myself why? then after a few minutes I would bid on it.
hahahahha

[x12]

Darn, the price got too high. Now I will have to keep an eye out for another cheap maple.