Simon and Patrick Songsmith Acoustic Guitar

If you are looking for the best bargain in the acoustic guitar world, I have found it for you. The Simon & Patrick Songsmith guitars are an incredible value.

Oh. You have not heard of these, have you? Simon & Patrick guitars are an offshoot of the Godin family of guitars. They are handmade in a 3rd world country (Canada) in LaPatrie Quebec. My understanding is that they are subsidized by the government. Sort of a make-work program for luthiers, I guess.

I found out about them when I asked my repair guy about bargain acoustics, and his shop just happened to carry them. I was impressed by the sound and the build quality, and even more by the price, which is less than half of a comparable Martin or Taylor guitar.

Today we are looking at a Songsmith model, which is also available as a Folk model. The only difference is the smaller body on the Folk, which gives a little thinner tone.

It is a pleasant-looking guitar, with a solid spruce top, and red wild cherry back and sides. The neck is made of maple with an Indian rosewood fretboard. The finish is sort of a semi-matte burst, and the body has a simple binding around the top.

The sealed tuners seem to be of acceptable quality, although time will only tell if they hold up. It has first-rate Tusq (synthetic bone) compensated nut and bridge saddles that are made by Graphtech.

The neck is made of a single piece of maple, with added sections for the headstock and heel. It has the same satin finish as the body. There is a dual-action trussrod in the neck. The nut is 1.72-inches wide, so it is a little narrow if you do a lot of finger picking. There are 21 medium frets, and they are finished well. This one had a great set-up right out of the box, and the frets are finished well, with nice edges.

As I said, the top is solid spruce, which has some compound curves in it above the soundhole to make it a bit louder, and to make it more structurally sound. Supposedly, it reduces the amount of fingerboard pressure on the top. It is flat on the bridge end, to allow the necessary vibrations to take place.

So, overall it is a nicely-made guitar, with solid materials. But, it sounds good and plays well too! It has a sweet, balanced tone. It has impressive volume when picked hard, and has a nice low-end tone. It is pleasant to play, and would be great to gig with.

If you need to plug in, S & P can hook you up with a model that has a B-Band A3T preamp and piezo transducer. The control panel is unobtrusive and has controls for volume, treble, middle, bass and presence. There is a battery compartment near the endpin jack socket. The B-Band system does an impressive job of amplifying the acoustic sound. I have not been a fan of the tone of piezos, but it works as well as other ones I have seen on much higher-priced acoustics.

The only downsides I can see are if you play left-handed (you’re out of luck), or if you are looking for something with a flashier appearance.

I have saved the best part for last: the price. MSRP on these is a mere $429 (without electronics), with a street price of about $320. You will not find a better guitar for the money.