Note: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
You may not be very familiar with the Seagull brand of guitars. I wasn’t, but I wish I had known about them sooner. They sound amazing, especially for the price. The Seagull S6 line of acoustic electric guitars seems like it was among the first, if not the original, line produced by Robert Godin back in 1982.
Here is a brief account of the origins of this brand as told on the Seagull website.
“In 1982 Robert Godin produced the first Seagull guitars in the Village of LaPatrie, Quebec. The concept for the Seagull guitar was to take the essential components of the best hand-crafted guitars (such as solid tops and beautiful finishes) and build these features into guitars that could be priced within the reach of working musicians.”
If you’re in a hurry and just want to check the pricing and availability of some of the guitars in the Seagull acoustic electric line, you can click the links in the list below.
- Seagull S6 Classic M-450T
- Seagull S6 Original
- Seagull S6 Cedar Original Slim
- Seagull S6 Original Concert Hall
- Seagull S6 CW Spruce Sunburst
Most of these acoustic electrics have Seagull’s own “Quantum IT” electronics inside. Sometimes you will see this shortened to “QIT” or just “QI”. I think some writers have subsequently mistaken the letter “I” for the Roman numeral one, so you may also see this called “Q1” from time to time.
In any case, know that when you do see any of those shortened versions, you are going to be looking at an acoustic electric guitar, not just a plain acoustic – of which Seagull also makes many similar models.
Table of Contents
Seagull S6 Classic M-450T
Speaking of the S6 line in general, Seagull says…
“Winner of several awards, the S6 is perhaps the instrument that best represents the Seagull philosophy. The S6 Classic offers players the opportunity to experience the great feel and superb sound provided by a hand finished neck with a slimmer, more traditional nut width, select solid Cedar top and a Custom Polished Finish.”
The main feature that makes the Classic M-450T stand out from the others in this line is the M-450T mentioned in the model name. This refers to the B-Band electronics it uses. (This is the one model here that doesn’t have the Godin QIT mentioned above.)
Apparently these electronics are a bit less expensive than the QIT because the S6 Classic is the cheapest of these guitars according to Seagull’s MSRP.
The other differences from the S6 Original are a slightly narrower nut (1.72 inches) and shorter scale (24.84 inches). You can see these similarities and differences (for all the models in this review) in the table below.
| Model | Classic | Original | Slim | Concert | Sunburst |
| Top | Solid cedar | Solid cedar | Solid cedar | Solid cedar | Solid spruce |
| Back | Wild cherry | Wild cherry | Wild cherry | Wild cherry | Wild cherry |
| Neck | Silver leaf maple | Silver leaf maple | Silver leaf maple | Silver leaf maple | Silver leaf maple |
| Finish | Semi-gloss | Semi-gloss | Semi-gloss | Semi-gloss | Gloss |
| Body Depth (in.) | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.13 | 4.9 |
| Body Length (in.) | 19.8 | 19.8 | 19.8 | 19.38 | 19.8 |
| Nut Width (in.) | 1.72 | 1.8 | 1.72 | 1.8 | 1.72 |
| Scale (in.) | 24.84 | 25.5 | 25.5 | 25.5 | 24.84 |
| Upper Bout (in.) | 11.38 | 11.38 | 11.38 | 11.19 | 11.38 |
| Waist (in.) | 10.54 | 10.54 | 10.54 | 8.92 | 10.54 |
| Lower Bout (in.) | 15.87 | 15.87 | 15.87 | 14.93 | 15.87 |
Seagull S6 Original
Watch this video from Sweetwater to get a good idea of what the S6 Original sounds like.
Per the video above, you may also be able to get this guitar in a Blue Burst or a Trans Red Burst finish. However, these options are not listed on the Seagull site (as far as I can see) nor are they offered on the major musical instrument sites, so they may no longer be available new. I’m sure you can find them secondhand though, if you really want one of these colorful designs.
The S6 Original model does include the Godin Quantum IT electronics with a built-in tuner.
Seagull S6 Cedar Original Slim
There’s not much difference between the Original and the Original Slim, other than the narrower nut, which is 1.72 inches like the Classic.
Seagull hints that this is a guitar for “entry level” players (as are several others here), but I don’t see that as a restriction on its use. I’m sure many advanced players would find this guitar suitable as well.
 Seagull S6 Classic |  Seagull S6 Original |  Seagull S6 Original Slim |
Seagull S6 Original Concert Hall
Probably for similar reasons (see just above), Seagull considers the Concert Hall model to be entry level as well. That said, their description of the possible uses of this model aren’t really made with the beginner in mind.
“The Concert Hall body shape has a focused mid-range tone, making it an ideal choice for fingerstyle players, singer/songwriters & exceptional for recording.”
Not that a beginner couldn’t play fingerstyle, be a singer/songwriter, or doing any recording, but those aren’t the first things an entry level player is very likely to perform.
Seagull S6 CW Spruce Sunburst GT
The “GT” in this model name simply stands for “gloss top”, and that’s one of the distinguishing features of this guitar. In fact, as you look at the table above, it’s one of only items that make it different from the Classic. The other difference is the spruce top with the sunburst finish pattern versus the cedar top.
 Seagull S6 Concert Hall |  Seagull S6 Spruce Sunburst |
Conclusions about the Seagull S6 Line
Referring back to the table above again, you can see that there isn’t a whole lot of difference from one of these S6 acoustic electrics to the next. The main standout is the Spruce Sunburst with its glossy spruce top and sunburst pattern finish.
With so little to distinguish the others, it will be a matter of the little things that determines which of these you like the best. All of them are good quality guitars at very reasonable prices.
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