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#1
10-30-2021, 01:20 PM
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Any Seagull/Goden experts? Question about S6 & Entourage
I have a Seagull Entourage that I bought new around 12-13 years ago. It's got a cedar top, and laminated cherry back and sides. The neck is maple.
Recently I picked up an older S6 that was in rough shape. I had to fix a separation in the scarf joint on the neck as well as reattach a lifted bridge. This older S6 has a cedar top with laminated cherry back and sides. The only real difference that I can see between the two guitars is that the S6 has a mahogany neck, vs the maple on the Entourage. Looking inside, their bracing seems to be the same. The only other differences are that I fit a bone nut to the S6 when I repaired the bridge, and I replaced the original nut with a Tusq. The Entourage has Curt Mangan 80/20 strings and the S6 has cheap Musican's Gear strings. So... when I play them, they have nearly identical sound except quite noticeably lower bass extension and bass output from the S6. Why? Wouldn't the different neck materials have more of an impact on higher frequencies than the bass? The different nut & saddle wouldn't have that much impact, would it? I would have thought that bass output would be mostly a function of the body shape, materials and bracing. 
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#2
10-30-2021, 02:35 PM
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As far as I know the Entourage has always had a Gibson-ish scale neck, a burst color, and the 1.72 nut. The current Entorage's have a spruce top. The S6 has always had a natural cedar top, currently has a 25.5" scale, and comes with either the wider 1.8" nut (original) or the 1.72" nut (slim).
Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that at one point the S6 might have had the shorter scale neck, but as long as the Entorage line has been around the S6 has had the longer scale. That and the burst are the only two consistant differences. Being a fan of the shorter scale, and the spruce top, between the two I preffer the current Entorage models. As far as the tonal differences, quite possibly just individual character, possibly the nut or neck though? Last edited by Bushleague; 10-30-2021 at 02:47 PM.
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#3
10-30-2021, 05:36 PM
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This S6 pre-dates the Entourage line, and has the shorter scale and the narrower nut. When I originally bought the Entourage, I chose it over the S6 mostly because I oreferred the narrower nut, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this S6 was narrower too. The two guitars feel exactly the same except that I can feel the texture of the mahogany neck vs the suoer smooth maple neck on the Entourage.
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#4
10-30-2021, 05:51 PM
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Well either way, looks like a heck of a pair to me. I have a spruce top Art Lutherie and regardless of whatever guitars I own that one is always my "working guitar", handling most of the gigging, camp fire and jam duties. I recently played a standout Entorage and nearly bought it just to have a matched pair.
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#5
10-30-2021, 07:12 PM
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I bought the S6 to repair and sell it, and now it sits here next to the Entourage. They're so similar that it seems foolish to keep them both, but I'm in no hurry to move either of them.
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#6
10-30-2021, 11:09 PM
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I had an S6 with the shorter scale, before they changed to 25.5. I was sorry they changed it as I found it way more comfortable to play. I would guess that with the shorter scale there would be a slight difference in volume.
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#7
10-31-2021, 01:58 AM
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So the S6 has a bone saddle now and the Entourage a Tusq saddle? Is that right? And they have two different string sets?
The difference in bass richness you are hearing could be right there! The mahogany neck on the Seagull S6 is "unusual". I think that they are only used on the solid wood series guitars now. The "Original" model S6 has a maple neck. The "wild cherry" plywood on these guitars is made from 3 equal thickness layers glued together. The two outer layers are cherry but the middle layer is actually maple. All are rotary cut. Personally, I think that it is a brilliant material for guitar backs and sides. The cherry really rounds out and strengthens the fundamental tones and there's that bell like ring of maple going on too. I have only owned spruce top Seagull and A&L guitars but I have played my friends cedar topped S6 and it is a much dryer tone - really nice sound. My spruce topped ones have been a bit more "in your face" but then so is my playing!!!
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs. I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band.
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#8
10-31-2021, 05:49 AM
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#9
11-01-2021, 06:36 PM
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#11
12-08-2021, 10:08 AM
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Well some guitars just have it and some don’t.
One thing about the Entourage series. It is a little cheaper because the staining of the wood allows them to use pieces of wood that may not be as aesthetically pleasing as they need to use for a more naked finish like the S6. This may give that particular pice of wood used for the top of yours to have a little different acoustical characteristics than your S6 for some reason.
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#12
12-08-2021, 11:09 AM
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I think a lot of factors all contribute. Nut and saddle material, different strings, scale length (perhaps one of the more significant factors actually), and maybe even a slight difference from the maple vs. mahogany neck.
Another note since neck widths were mentioned. The Entourage has less string spacing (1.72" nut vs. 1.8" I believe) than a standard S6. But an S6 slim is so named because it's made with the 1.72" nut width, making the neck feel essentially the same as the Entourage. For my money, they're very similar guitars and I like the sound of the Entourages just slightly more. Or at least the ones with cedar tops. The newer spruce-topped ones just don't do it for me. And I actually like the uniqueness of the sunburst on the Entourage guitars that they use to hide the less pretty looking parts, so aesthetically I lean a little more toward them as well.
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Martin DC16RGTEAura Martin D Jr. Custom Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo Seagull Artist Concert Hall Alvarez MSD1
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#13
12-08-2021, 11:44 AM
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Let me say I was not trying to say anything bad when I was bringing those points up. I was merely trying to come up with differences in the guitars which could lead to the tonal differences between the 2 guitars the OP owns.
I applaud Seagull for the use of the wood in order to decrease waste. Just because something doesn’t quite look as good naked does not mean that it’s sound is any less good. I know some of the Entourages have great tone. I don’t own one, mostly because I am not as much a fan of the sunburst as the 3 that I have (Original S6, All Mahogany Deluxe A/E and my new baby the S6 Classic Black A/E). I am interested in the short scale which may get me to try one some day. Especially now that they have the spruce tops, (I have 2 cedars and a Hog).
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