History
In 1982 in the small village of LaPatrie Quebec, a Canadian native by the name of Robert Godin united with a small group of friends to produce the first Seagull guitars. Their ultimate goal was to produce guitars having some of the same qualities as more expensive guitars, but at prices that were more accessible to the working musician. In particular, Seagull focuses on production of fine tops utilizing old growth wood and shimmering varnish finishes in order to produce the best sound and most beautiful acoustic guitars possible. Seagull is just one of the subsidiary brands of guitar currently available from the Godin company.
Composition
The Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo has an incredibly solid, pressure tested Cedar top. Through countless years of research, the Godin company (amongst others) has verified that the most important element in producing rich sound and a wider range of dynamics is the quality of the wood utilized in the construction of the top. Cedar has been coveted as one of the most superior woods in sound production and can be found on many higher-end guitars. The Entourage Mini also has Wild Cherry wood back and sides, Silver Leaf Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. The sound hole is also nicely accented with what's known as a Harris Bone Rosette which increases the overall physical beauty of the guitar ever-so-subtly. The nut and saddle are both composed of the miracle substrate known as Tusq which has become an accepted replacement for bone in many guitars.
The Entourage Mini Jumbo measures 20", long by 12" wide and is approximately 5" deep. The neck measures 1.72" at the nut and the fretboard has 21 frets 14 of which are readily accessible. The headstock is similar to that of other Seagull guitars in its streamlined facade and boasts the meritorious Seagull emblem. The body of the guitar is beautiful and boasts Godin's Rustic Burst custom polished treatment which is a semi-gloss finish.
Worthy of note here is the availability of the Tric case made exclusively by the Godin company and which is an interesting and potentially valuable accessory to the Seagull guitar series. The Tric case is strong and rigid like a hard shell case and offers a similar level of protection to your fragile instrument. But the Tric case
weighs just ever-so-slightly more than a gig bag and has the capacity to resist temperature variations. Subsequently, one gets the benefits of the protection of a more rigid case with the ease of a lighter more mobile device. The cost of the Tric case is similar to a hard shell case as well so the price is reasonable and certainly manageable especially when the potential welfare of the guitar just might be at stake.
Price
I've seen the Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo go for anywhere between $250 and $350 and can be acquired either on-line or via local music stores. Unfortunately, some vendors have discontinued this item and it's unclear to this reviewer exactly why this is. Nevertheless, between the use of superlative materials in conjunction with Godin's high levels of construction standards, the Seagull Entourage Mini seems to be a good value.
Playability
To be quite honest I was a little disappointed with this particular model of Seagull. It seemed to lack some of the projective quality that I've seen in other Seagull models and felt insubstantial. However it's important to note that there's always a certain degree of variability between guitars even having the same name, model number and characteristics! Hence it's of the utmost importance that when you're looking to buy a guitar that you play more than one instrument having the same model number. It's quite possible that I may have picked up a guitar that was having an "off" day. But, the guitar still had a good mix of tones with a good representation from the treble and bass regions. I think, when compared side-by-side with the Art and Lutherie guitars also made by Godin and coming in at a similar price range, that I preferred those guitars to this one. For the money though, the Seagull Entourage mini is still a decent buy especially for an entry level guitar and has many of the physical characteristics necessary to be considered a quality instrument.