A hit with husband (his birthday present), but also musician son-in-law and others. Attractive as well as lovely tone.

I bought this for my son in law and he absolutely Loves it. He plays many instruments and he picked it up and started playing immediately! This is a great buy for a music enthusiast.

Despite the statement that there are no wrong notes being completely false (you haven't met me, Seagull.) The Seagull Merlin does sound pleasing enough to keep me coming back for more. I am a totally new person to playing a stringed instrument. I have never even strummed a guitar before and my ability to fret a note is absolutely abysmal right now, however, after a day of plinking around with this little instrument I found myself craving to go back to it. Not to play anything in particular on it, but just to play. The Merlin is a new instrument, so don't look for any music for it out there yet, they just started making them in 2014, and unlike other stick dulcimers (which this is inspired by) the frets are too few and it starts at the third fret for traditional dulcimer music as well when reading tabs. So, playing familiar songs are kind of a no go to be honest. You absolutely can make music that sounds CLOSE to most recognizable tunes though. I personally would rather this instrument be treated as its own thing and for new songs to rise up around it. Given its sound is similar to a banjo and mandolin crossed together it has a celtic kind of tone to it.

The instrument itself is light, very nicely made out of quality wood. Seagull has a reputation as making some of the best made guitars in their price range and that craftsman ship comes through here as well. I won't say one bad thing about the structural makings of the instrument, although a clear coat on the body would have been a nice touch to help protect the bare wood that is all over and it does feel kind of rough along the back of the body when you run your hand down it. So, solid, solid construction, but could have used just a tad more love after it was completed.

What you get with this instrument is an instruction book and that is all. It has a peg for attaching a strap (which amazon sells) and there is a gig bag (which amazon also sells) and if you aren't finger picking, consider getting ukulele picks instead of plastic ones (amazon sells those too) as the Merlin doesn't have a pick guard over the sound hole and the strings are low enough in tension that the felt picks will work fine. There is no tuner either, a simple tuner will work fine, but if you don't have one as this is your first instrument, then consider buying one of those as well (guess where you can buy one of those at.....)

All in all, I am happy with the instrument, it has a nice folksy/celtic sound, it is proving to be far easier to get into than I thought it would be, and it looks nice too. I feel that a combo pack with a strap, the gig bag, some ukulele picks, a tuner, and the instrument should be offered for about $150-$160 to make a total package available to folks wanting to get a complete gift for someone instead of having to buy all of the stuff needed to play and store this instrument purchased separately though. Get on it, Amazon. Make it happen.

As an aside, The Seagull Merlin is the name of this instrument, but it doesn't roll of the tongue to well for me. I got a buddy who plays a bard in Dungeons and Dragons and naming his instrument Merlin is pretty thematic, but having a folksy sounding instrument with a name like Merlin is odd. So, given that it is of Canadian make and when viewed from behind it looks similar to boat paddle given its solid wood design, I call a Beaver Paddle. Here's hoping it catches on.

I love the Merlin! My mahogany Seagull Merlin is very well made, and sounds great. It's very simple and fun to play, but hard to put down! My order was shipped from Chicago Music Exchange and included some stickers and a few picks which was nice.

Fun Fun Fun! Sounds great and I can't seem to keep my husband away from it, he is a new fan.