Txt: Román Vega

A few years ago, Godin Guitar Company opened the Godin Acoustic studio, a workshop dedicated to developing new acoustic guitar designs and construction techniques. Since "the studio" was created, Robert Godin has been working alongside the company's best luthiers on a series of projects that have culminated in a complete redesign of the Seagull acoustic guitars.

The History
In 1982, Robert Godin and a few friends produced the first Seagull guitars in The Village of LaPatrie, Quebec. The concept behind the Seagull guitar was to take the essential components of the best handmade guitars and build that same quality into production-run guitars that any musician could buy (in short, to bring down the retail price while sacrificing as little quality as possible).

Seagull's Concepts
A guitar produces sound as a result of the vibration of its strings. What is less obvious is the role the guitar's top plays in those vibrations. And the vibration of the top is the most important factor in the sound qualities of this type of instrument. Solid-top guitars offer a richer sound and a wider dynamic range. The most interesting thing about solid-top guitars is that they sound better over time. Each top is made from a single layer of pressure-tested spruce or cedar, to guarantee the highest level of stiffness along with maximum harmonic vibration. The wood used in Seagull guitars comes from trees hundreds of years old. The tight, straight grain in this wood produces a unique combination of strength and flexibility. The top is even stronger, along the grain, to resist string tension, while at the same time being flexible enough, across the grain, to vibrate freely.

Cedar or Spruce Top?
Cedar and spruce share the same virtues when it comes to delivering better sound and quality over time. In the end it's a completely subjective question that can only be settled by playing the guitars.

Aging
You buy a new TV and it stays new, but does it get even better the more you watch it? That doesn't usually happen with your television, but it often happens with your solid-top guitar, which, on top of that, vibrates more freely than a laminated one. This translates into a richer tone and better dynamic range. A solid top not only sounds better at first; over time, the vibrations produced by playing result in a top that vibrates more and more freely. This phenomenon is known as "aging," which means that the more the guitar is played, the better it will sound. It's important to remember that for a guitar to age, it has to be played. A five-year-old guitar may be old without having aged.

Stable Necks
Every Seagull neck starts out as a single piece of mahogany or maple. The wood is cut at a 45-degree angle, then the upper piece (the headstock) is glued on with the grain reversed. This is an essential step in Seagull's building process for delivering stable necks.

Comfort, sound and stability are the three key ingredients of a neck. Comfort is especially important today, because acoustic guitarists play along the entire neck (they don't just use chords below the third fret). A slim, comfortable neck not only makes the player feel more at ease, it also reduces fatigue.

Silver Leaf Maple and Honduran Mahogany
Silver leaf maple has a density very close to that of mahogany. This company began by experimenting with silver leaf maple for necks. This type of maple offers a couple of extra advantages: it's a less porous wood than mahogany, it has a very smooth feel, and it's a more eco-friendly choice, since local plantings are abundant. Seagull currently uses silver leaf maple for the necks in the Coastline series. Honduran mahogany is traditionally the choice for neck construction in the Maritime and Artist series.

Dual-Action Truss Rod
Most guitars use a metal bar inside the neck called a truss rod, which is generally used to keep the neck straight when string tension starts to bow it and humidity changes. If the neck starts to bow, the fix is to loosen the truss rod to bring the neck back to its original state. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, which is why Seagull has introduced a new type of dual-action truss rod in its necks. The new rod curves in both directions, providing tighter control along the entire neck.

Neck Reinforcement
Have you ever noticed that a guitar that sounds perfect needs to be tuned slightly again when it passes from one player to another? This has to do with the fact that each player applies a different force and pressure to the neck, which affects tuning. Seagull found that this problem could be eased by inserting maple dowels along the heel. This reinforcement makes the neck much stronger.

Joining the Neck to the Guitar
Great care must be taken when joining the neck to the body of the guitar. The angle of attachment plays a crucial role in the instrument's tone. Put simply, if the neck is tilted too far toward the back of the guitar, it will lose bass and the sound will be tinny. On the other hand, if the angle is too far forward, the guitar will lose its high-frequency response and the sound will be muddy. The neck-joining system Seagull uses ensures consistency in the joint. It also produces an added benefit, which is the transfer of greater energy from the neck to the body, because the neck is attached with a clean wood-to-wood connection. There is no glue to impede vibration between the lower part of the neck and the body of the guitar.

The Tests at ISP
The sound of twelve strings is really appealing to many of us guitarists. It's true that buying a good twelve-string guitar means an "additional expense" for a product we'll probably only use from time to time. Even so, the results, guitar in hand, are truly satisfying for those who connect with the twelve-string sound.

If you're going to buy an acoustic of this kind, it's not a bad idea to go with a brand that inspires some confidence. If tuning a six-string guitar is already relatively tricky, imagine twelve. For the tuning fanatics (of whom there are many, and I include myself), the twelve strings have to mesh perfectly and not produce annoying dissonances. If we bought a poor-quality guitar, one where the neck bowed easily or the frets made it prone to buzzing, and so on, getting an optimal, in-tune result (with some stability) would be an almost impossible mission.

In that regard, Seagull is an interesting option. Attractive, because its prices aren't outrageous or luxury-brand. Appealing too for its quality levels at these relatively moderate prices. So perhaps, faced with the idea of buying a 12-string guitar that we won't use as much as a conventional one, without neglecting quality, Seagull is one of the most on-target choices.

The tests went wonderfully, both in tuning and in acoustic response. The characteristic "chorus" sound of a 12-string is well represented in this Coastline series guitar. Solid lows, defined highs without harshness, and a perfectly correct blend between its strings. The pickup signal through the preamp struck me as somewhat more metallic. Personally, I'd prefer (if the situation allows) to use a mic. In any case, the preamp gives us the chance to transmit our 12-string sound through the line with a fair degree of fidelity. No fuss, no feedback, no mics, no hassle.

Conclusions
Throughout this article we have laid out some of the brand's philosophies. As you can see, it shows concern for quality construction and great consideration for the user's wallet. The sound is very appealing, and the guitar is attractive in its sweetness, tuning stability, intonation and overall definition of highs, mids and lows. I know that thinking about buying a 12-string feels like a "chore," since we always have a 6-string in mind that could use improving. For those who are in love with this characteristic sound, and for those who are sure they'll use their 12-string on numerous songs (superb for arpeggios, melodic solos and rhythm parts), Seagull is without a doubt an alternative at a reasonable price with very acceptable quality levels. You can listen to an mp3 demo at www.ispmusica.com . All that's left is for you to try it yourself.

05/28/2008