Seagull Coastline S12 QI Review ­- The Canadian Wonder Child

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

• Check Price on Amazon
• Check Price on Guitar Center
• Check Price on Musician's Friend

In the last decade or so, we have seen a influx of high quality Canadian guitars. Seagull is just one of several names that come from up north. Their Coastline S12 QI has caused quite a stir when it appeared. It's one of the most popular 12 string guitars available.

Body and Neck

What caused so much rumble about these guitars is the way they are made and materials used. For starters, Seagull handcrafts most of their guitars reaching well into the affordable range. Next come their trademark pressure tested solid cedar tops as well as solid back and sides. In case of S12 QI we have a wild cherry shell. This intriguing choice of tonewood extends to the neck as well. Where most go with some sort of mahogany, Seagull took the silver leaf maple route. It doesn't get more Canadian than that. With all that in said, S12 QI is your standard dreadnought in terms of body shape. Investing in a hand crafted instrument definitely has its perks, especially when some of the best luthiers in North America did the work. Everything about the S12 QI is rock solid and shows great craftsmanship. Affordable mid range doesn't get better than this.

Hardware

That impressive quality doesn't stop with tonewood, though. You can see plenty of it when you start looking at the hardware as well. Bridge is a massive piece made of rosewood that features a Tusq compensated saddle. Nut is also made of Tusq. On the tuning machine sides of things, we have a set of standard die cast units which are pretty sound. Key retention is great even if you go harder on those strings. On a similar note, tuning precision and gearing accuracy is well within the specs for this price range. Since this is an acoustic electric model, there is naturally a preamp built into the guitar. The system in question is Godin QI. While it might not have the same weight as say Fishman or similar, you do get a three band EQ which is awesome in its own right. Seagull Coastline S12 QI is rock solid.

Sound

Sound is by far the best thing about the S12 QI. Just the fact that you are dealing with a handmade instrument hints that performance is going to be above average to say the least.With Seagull S12 QI, it is partially that fact, but also their choice of tonewood. pressure tested solid cedar is something only Canadian luthiers use. Same goes for wild cherry. These two types of tonewood, while fairly unusual, have distinctive tonal properties. Youget a similar effect that spruce top and rosewood shell gets you, but better in some ways. S12 QI has plenty of girth and definition. It is a loud guitar that fills the spectrum with wonderful overtones of those secondary strings. When plugged in, Godin's QI system takes over and delivers the core sound straight to the speakers. There is no artificial coloration, at least not enough to deem this system inadequate.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Seagull S12 QI is still the best bang for the value option out there. It is a handmade instrument with an abundance of quality components, materials and craftsmanship. If you are after a proper working musician's guitar on a budget, this is definitely it.

For more info about the Seagull Coastline S12 QI, click here.
For more Acoustic 12 String Guitar you might like, click here.