it has a big sound for a small instrument

Unique and a lot of fun to play. I bought it form my daughter and she honestly loves it. She is a violinist, and loves stringed instruments. This is a great addition to her string family.

So easy to play and so fun. I can't out it down. My favorite instrument to play.

The media could not be loaded. I love everything about my Merlin! I am definitely one of those people that think they cannot ever learn to play music..and I'm doing it! The strings don't hurt my fingers like guitar strings do..it sounds really nice.
You should be to pick this up, and play some tunes immediately. Id recommend for older children, and anyone that maybe has a short attention span but wants to learn to play now: and not spend years taking lessons. I don't want to put my down. And I am 100% not getting paid for my opinion. But if seagull wants to send the G model I wouldn't complain. :)

I recommend the Seagull Merlin for any and all skill levels. It's a diatonic instrument (everything is in the same key) so there literally are no wrong notes. I've been an intermediate hobby guitar player for almost twenty years, and I was looking for something with a different sound (e.g. banjo, mandolin, etc.) Most of what I found was several hundred dollars outside of my price range, and then I stumbled on this gem. I guess it's based on a dulcimer, which is not an instrument I'm familiar with. I have to say, I was really surprised at the quality, especially for $170. It's all one solid piece of spruce and is made in Canada. Don't just take my word for it. Do what I did and watch some videos to hear how it sounds. You'll want to buy one too.