Art & Lutherie Legacy (and a bunch of other questions)

[personatech]

Soooooo... I'm still shopping for my first acoustic and had pretty much narrowed down my list to a Seagull Entourage Dread CW QIT, Alvarez AG70CEAR (love the bevelled arm rest!), or Tak GD20CE. These are all guitars that are available at area dealers since I'd prefer to deal with someone who's not just moving boxes, but the closest dealers are probably an hour's drive away.

Then I happen to stumble across this online:



It's an Art and Lutherie Legacy with a new (for Godin) pickup system - note the top-mounted controls! I'd been leaning towards larger guitars, dreads and grand auditoriums for the most part, but if a concert hall/folk model can give me good bass response then I could go that route. I do like that the Seagull I'm most interested in has the QIT preamp - sounds good, has a tuner, doesn't take up too much real estate on the bout - but that Legacy is calling to me. Hopefully, I'll come across one locally but, in the meantime, if there's anyone who's tried one of these out, I'd like to hear your impressions!

[erniecaster]

Hi,

I actually tried one yesterday - it was a red one with a cutaway.

The finish is a shame, it´s sticky and looks cheap in real life although I really liked the look on pictures. Fretwire is very small, machine heads are fragile. The playability was great out of the box and the intonation was right, to be fair.

But...

...it sounded terribly thin. Strummed a chord an noticed that the top was moving, but back and sides were dead. Well, it´s plywood... And the guitar is not versatile at all. Strum heavy or pick lightly, it sounds the same. :-( To compare it to something, a simple Yamaha APX sounds much fuller and more lively.

Sorry for the bad news. I´ll send mine back tomorrow.

cu

erniecaster

[bluesfreek]

I have never heard of or seen this guitar in person simply because I don't generally shop for a new guitar at any of the larger chain stores here that carry Godin products. I live only 3 hrs away from where these guitars are made here in Canada. That being said I am now curious to try one out myself. I think it looks pretty cool.

[Steadfastly]

If you want a good sounding acoustic, avoid a thin body style.

I would drive the hour to check out the Alvarez.

[Wade Hampton]

It's an interesting model from Godin, which manufactures Seagull, Godin, Simon & Patrick, Norman and Art & Lutherie brand guitars.

I like the "denim blue" finish this one has - had that come out when I was in my twenties, when I wore jeans ALL the time, I probably would have sought one out.

˙˙˙

That doesn't I necessarily would have BOUGHT one, but I would have definitely wanted to try one to hear how it sounded.

As for the tone potential this guitar has, there's no reason why it shouldn't sound good. Yes, it's a small-bodied guitar, so it won't sound like a dreadnought, but it's got a solid spruce top. The body depth is proportional to the size of the top, so I wouldn't describe it as "thin-bodied," either. Thin-bodied acoustic-electrics are mainly artifacts of the 1980's and 90's*, made that way to reduce feedback when the guitar was plugged in and being used in a band situation:

Thin-bodied acoustic electric guitar

If you compare those body proportions to those of the Art & Luthiery guitar in question, you'll see what I'm talking about:

˙˙˙

Considering the price point where this guitar is being marketed, I think it'll probably sound quite good. It's definitely worth checking out, in any case. There's a consistency to the guitars manufactured by Godin that makes ordering one online less risky than with many other manufacturers' intermediate range instruments.

I'd say go for it, so long as you get a reasonable return period if you don't like it once it arrives.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

* I wrote "mainly artifacts of the 1980's and 90's" not to imply that thin-bodied acoustic-electric guitars are no longer being manufactured, but that that period was their real heyday and when they were most common.

[countryblues75]

Godin makes fine guitars for sure (I have a Seagull S6 Coastline cedar gt and i love it!).
On the other hand, I have to admit that when i tried the Art & Lutherie new parlor model, i was a bit disappointed: it sounded dull and thin and not as lively and punchy as the AMIs i had the chance to play before.
Anyway, may be it was just a dud.

[erniecaster]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

As for the tone potential this guitar has, there's no reason why it shouldn't sound good.

Hi,

you are right, that is what I thought, too. So I ordered one.

It should have sound good. It did not.

You have to try it to find out. "Tone potential" and "should" is not enough.

cu

erniecaster

[AZLiberty]

A&L is Godin's "discount line" and frankly it shows in the fit an finish if nothing else.

My advice is to drive the hour to go try the Alvarez. Every one of the newer Artist series Alvarez guitars I have played has been (IMO) outstanding for the price.

[slide496]

Is that this model -
http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/legacy-qdiscrete

I have one of the Roadhouse Bourbon parlors, and this comes with the same tusc nut and saddle and a 24.8 scale, not sure if that's best on a parlor. I think the finish is going to vary from model to model, the way they are marketing, it its coordinated with a guy in black leathers with silver jewelry so it might not suit everyone's onstage look or the music.

I looked at as many videos as I could find of different people playing, test played one and bought from a 45 day return outfit.

Harriet

[roylor4]

I like the look, but I would look at the Seagull Entourage Concert Hall. I have played several and all were very, very good. I actually prefer it tone-wise to all the Alvarez Artist series OM's I have played, except for them having a slightly narrower nut and thinner neck. The Alvarez's are contenders though, and if you have strong preferences on certain neck shapes the Alvarez may check boxes that the Seagull or A&L can't.

I bought my wife a cedar topped Seagull Grand in the Entourage series (now discontinued) and it has matured into an awesome sounding little guitar.

[Mr Uttley]

I have an A & L Legacy in black without electronics.
I really like it. I was looking for a black smaller body guitar.
I looked at the Martin Black Smoke and Legacy online and took a leap of faith and ordered the Legacy from my local small town guitar shop.
It played great out of the box. I had an opportunity to play a Martin 00-17 Black Smoke. Beautiful guitar but to my unrefined tastes not 2k nicer.
Try the Legacy. I don't think you will be dissapointed.

[Chris1226]

I also have the Art and Lutherie Legacy in black, brought it home today, bought it used at a fair price, very pleased with it.

[rstaight]

The shop I go to is an Alvarez and Takamine dealer. I have played both guitars you have listed.

Both sounded good and played well. But I opted for a Takamine GD93. Felt it gave me the best bang for the buck at the time.

[Archemi]

I had a Legacy CW Bourbon Burst for a while but traded it recently since I didn’t play it enough. It is a thin body but it has a nice balanced and woody sound. It had enough bass considering the size but of course you’re not buying a small body for a booming sound.

It definitely has its own character from the cherry back and sides. I would advise to use a heavier gauge string (Martin Retro 12s come to mind) and maybe tune down a half step if you’re so inclined. I found the guitar came more alive after this and using the ToneRite for a couple days. Whether or not you buy into the TR is up to you, but I’ve found it has increased the low end on the guitars I’ve used it on.

Also, the neck on these is pretty sweet. Satin finish and shallow D shape. Very nice!

[Wellington]

My 2 cents, you love the way it looks, but if you want decent bass you'll hate it, small thin guitar does not have the bigger sound you want. The seagull is probably more up your alley. Someone commented on the small fret wire, that's not a bad thing, in fact it's one of the main reasons why I love godin brands, the smaller fret wire, i much prefer playing on guitars like that, which is why I own a couple and have owned a couple more and am buying another (S&P Woodland Cedar), it's just so much more comfy and easy to play.