Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on July 20, 2012 at 11:03am

Is your Maritime a high-gloss finish?  Some have said that a satin finish can provide more volume than a high gloss finish for a given input.  Or, you may be hearing the difference between direct saddle-to-bridge contact and saddle-to-transducer-to-bridge contact.  Or, of course, the different construction materials...

Or, the A/B will change everything... ;-)

Permalink Reply by Jack Brown on July 20, 2012 at 11:11am

The Maritime is SG, so maybe it's the transducer that is making the difference.  I will be surprised if the S6 isn't louder in an A/B, because the difference was just that noticeable, but we shall see this evening!

Permalink Reply by Michael Swift on July 20, 2012 at 11:16am

I haven't played a Maritime, but I know my S6 is very loud. As for tone, I love the low end the S6 gives you. I like feeling it when I play. I put a standard K&K pick up in my S6. Very easy to install. Three plates mount under the bridge inside the guitar. I have received so many compliments on the sound. We were just testing sound last night and one of the discussions was based on telling the difference from the amplified sound and the pure loudness of the S6 was hard to do without cranking the speakers. We were in a pretty small room, but when I am on stage I usually can hear my S6 even without it being cranked in the monitors. I really don't understand why they aren't more popular.

Permalink Reply by Jack Brown on July 20, 2012 at 11:22am

I tell you what, I'm going to A/B it against my Eastman AC320 as well!  The Eastman is HG but acoustic only!  I think the S6 is even louder than the Eastman!!

Permalink Reply by John Robinson on July 20, 2012 at 11:27am

I've noticed that strings have a big impact on the sound of my Seagull.  It's hard to hear the difference from day to day, but definitely after replacing old strings, it sounds almost like a different guitar.  You might want to do the comparison after a string replacement on both - and maybe a few days after just to make sure things settle in.

It wouldn't surprise me if there was a little difference from Gull to Gull, but you might see some of the same differences between two of the same model as well.  It seems like the geometry of the S6 and Maritime dread are pretty much the same.  I like to think the solid wood adds something to the sound, but for me, the decision to go with solid wood was more about my appreciation of things made from solid wood in general, and I didn't really expect to hear an identifiable difference.

Permalink Reply by Michael Swift on July 20, 2012 at 11:40am

Now you guys might have read this from me before, but I have noticed a huge difference in the Gulls. Especially when playing one at stores. I know, I know, I know, the strings at the stores are old and people mistreat them, but I have to say that I am a singer first and a guitar player second. My S6 is a work horse. I rarely replace my strings and I use the Martin Lifespans. They do tend to get a little dull after 3 to 4 months, but how many of you leave your strings on that long.

Second, I picked up a S6 like mine at a Music Go Round and then picked up another S6 that the sticker was blue instead of gold and it said S6"Original". The gold label blows the doors off of the blue label. Huge, absolutely Huge difference.

Has anyone played a gold label 12 string version of the S6? Is it just as beefy?

Permalink Reply by Jack Brown on July 20, 2012 at 3:09pm

My S6, Maritime, and Eastman all have new strings, but the apples to oranges would be in the tone.  I could get a decent comparison on volume, but not on tone, because the strings are all a different brand.  The only true way, to get a fair tone comparison, would be to have the same new strings on each guitar.

Permalink Reply by Jack Brown on July 20, 2012 at 3:45pm

The volume is definitely louder than the Maritime and the Eastman AC320!!!  Amazing!!   Like I said in an earlier post, I can't compare tone fairly because of the string situation.

Jack

Permalink Reply by Mike Jorgensen on July 20, 2012 at 6:59pm

What I've always found with the godin family is that I tend to prefer the cedar top/laminated b&s models to the higher end stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love the maritimes/artist/woodland pro/showcase models, but for me volume and projection are the most important factor. I have constantly found cedar top/laminated b&s with a satin finish to be one of the loudest designs out there. There's my two cents.

Permalink Reply by FloridaGull on July 20, 2012 at 9:43pm

Have you found that to be the case regardless of the type of back and side material? I wonder whether wild cherry has some advantage over flame maple, mahogany, or rosewood in this regard...hmmm...

Permalink Reply by Mike Jorgensen on July 21, 2012 at 11:14am

To my ear the back/sides wood does color the tone, but it's the cedar top with the rigidity of laminated b/s that give the projection and volume. It's an interesting phenomenon with cedar. For centuries, classical guitars have been made with cedar tops and double laminated back and sides. This allowed them to be heard in an orchestra setting where they would otherwise be drowned out. I've found this to work well in steel string guitars as well, and a 3 ply back and sides can really let a cedar top achieve it's full potential. I'm sure there are people who would disagree with me....

So yes they seem to be consistantly loud regardless of the back/side wood, although the color of the tone does change from wood to wood. This is just my opinion, though. Everyone's ears are different.

Permalink Reply by Jack Brown on July 21, 2012 at 12:13pm

Great info Mike!  Always good to learn new stuff!!

Jack

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