Simon and Patrick Woodland Pro Spruce guitar

20 November 2012 | 9:46 am | Reza Nasseri

If you’re an electric guitarist who likes small C-shaped necks, low actions and smaller string spacing you’d love this guitar.

When I first heard I'd be reviewing a Simon and Patrick guitar I immediately thought of Simon and Garfunkel's The Sounds Of Silence, tumbleweeds rolling along barren landscapes and seagulls soaring over cliffs. What I really should have pictured was the craft of Robert Godin, the innovator behind his own brand of unique instruments as well as Art & Lutherie and Seagull guitars. While the Art & Lutherie guitars are aimed at the entry level/intermediate market, Simon and Patrick are a step up, appealing to the intermediate/professional player. All production takes place in Canada, so expect quality North American spruce, fine Quebecan craftsmanship and a proven track record.

Under the spotlight today we have the Simon and Patrick Woodland Pro Spruce is a simple, well-put together acoustic that'll spark some interest. This guitar has its charms because it doesn't go overboard with the bling. It's both tasteful and classy, with a selection of eye-catching woods that are still a little modest, a soft creamy spruce top with a tightly uniform grain, elegant mahogany back and sides that's wonderfully speckled and flamed, and an animal-striped mahogany headstock shaped like a lovely old Martin. The rosewood bridge and fingerboard has a fine grain and is so soft and dark it almost feels like ebony, and there's even a cool centre strip on the back of the body for something extra.

Simon and Patrick go to great lengths to tell you they only use the finest materials. Every guitar comes with “a select pressure-tested top” for the highest levels of stiffness and rigidity ensuring maximum harmonic vibration.

The body is a little bit smaller on this guitar than your average at about 51cm long and 12.5cm deep (at the base), so it's very comfortable and not bulky in any way. The most immediately striking aspect however is the toothpick-thin neck that feels more like an electric guitar. The 24.84” neck and 16” fingerboard make it a delight to play and the soft rosewood and super-slim frets makes holding down notes very comfortable and resistance free. The action is low, really low for an acoustic, so you can shred it up or play bar chords with the greatest of ease. A Tusq nut and saddle are fitted for snag-free string travel and maximum note transfer and sustain, and the custom 14:1 machine heads sit high taking a bit more string than your average tuner as well as maintaining perfect tuning stability. The review model came without a pickup, but you can also get this guitar with a B-Band AT-3 preamp. Tone-wise, this guitar sounds pretty good. The sound is fairly balanced, with a mild top end, rich midrange and a relatively loose bass that carries the note out for a while. One would have to understand that this is a smaller acoustic so it won't project as loudly or have as much bottom end thud as your average dreadnaught or jumbo.

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If you're an electric guitarist who likes small C-shaped necks, low actions and smaller string spacing you'd love this guitar.