Guitar, Motif QI

Oh my! It is beautifully made in an understated way.The guitar size? This is a full scale neck with small body. What that really means is the fretboard is wide as a regular classical guitar (2". However, the fretboard is slightly radiused (curved) like an electric guitar! Which makes it slightly easier for small hands. My 10-yr old kid can fret this no problem, but a 7-yr old maybe not. The body size is PERFECT for couch playing!The sound? At first I was distraught. This thing has a bright sound. In my mind, I was expecting more of a warm Spanish guitar. I was almost ready to send this thing back. But I'm glad I didn't. What I notice is that the higher registers of this guitar really sing, and the precision of the fretboard and string height was excellent out of the box.The electronics? Well, I plugged this into a Fender Mustang amp and tried to play it through a clean channel but honestly I'd rather use my strat for that. Plus the guitar can be played pretty loud acoustically, so an amp on top of it just seems redundant. Good for gigs I guess. What I do love is the built-in tuner, works great!

I'm a 14 years player and use this guitar to play baroque music. It's a good guitar for acoustic players who want nylon sound (like me), for: 1. perfect sound at a price under 500$. 2. radial fingerboard; 3. low action; 4. good equilibrium; 5. better sound from pickup than acoustic. 6. truss rod for strings with different tension.I give it only a 4 stars for these negative reasons: 1. no wrench for truss rod came with this guitar; 2. inlays are not smooth enough for a guitar at this price.

I've been playing steel string guitars for many years and recently decided to explore classical folk music. I didn't want to mortgage the farm and set $400.00 as my limit. Spent about a month researching these instruments and found a nice old Guild Mark III which was highly recommended by many classical guitar owners. Unfortunately, I was unable to negotiate the guitar within my budget, so I continued my research. As a steel string guy crossing over into the nylon string world, I decided to narrow my choices to non-traditional classical instruments i.e. those with a truss rod and maximuum 2" nut. La Patrie, Cordoba and Yamaha fit my criteria. My research turned up rave reviews on the La Patrie brand and due to arthritic shoulders, I focused on the Motif as my parlor bodied, full scale guitar of choice. As a small bodied guitar, I then decided the Q1 electronics option would provide the versatility I need if I decide to add classical tunes to my gig routines. I spent significant time trying to find a nice used one, but I was unable to find one with the electronics package and nearly gave up when I tried one last time to find one via Amazon.I was astonished to find their last one in stock at a price that beat eBay's non-electronic used Motifs. I jumped on the opportunity and received the guitar within a week. Solid one piece satin finish cedar top with laminated mahogany back and sides. The Q1 electronics are much better than I expected and when hooked up to my Marshall AS50R amp, I was delighted at the result. My only complaint is that it came without a case (I didn't expect one) and I had planned to use my gig back, however, it is too big. Spent another hour researching the proper case and found the La Patrie Std V1052 Compact Version case on Amazon for under $100.00. The Seagull Parlor Grand Tric Case is another option at less than 90.00. I placed them on my shopping list and will soon choose between the two.This guitar joins my 1988 Guild JF30 12-string, 2003 Gibson J45 and 2010 Santa Cruz OM/PW and pretty well completes the stable of instruments on my wish list. I highly recommend this North American crafted Guitar over any Asian option. Now to practice and learn some new stuff.

I call it little but, as others have noted, it is a full sized acoustic. It just has a small body. This is perfect for playing it while on the couch or laying in bed.Appearance: it has an understated beauty. With it's matte finish and simple rosette, the guitar does not immediately jump out at you. At a second glance, you'll notice the fine craftsmanship and attention to detail and reconsider that it is not just a simple guitar.Sound: I'm not sure if this is because of special finish or because I did not understand how to handle this guitar at first, but I was disappointed by the sound in the beginning. A couple weeks have passed since then, and I think it sounds incredible. The tone is balanced and warm. The bass response is surprising from such a small body. Definitely not disappointed with the sound.Playability: I played a lot of classicals before ultimately buying this one and it is easily one of if not the most playable. I believe it is due to the radiuses neck. Playing this guitar is a comfortable breeze. No complaints here.So why 4 stars? This guitar has trouble staying in tune and that is not okay. I play it every day and I usually have to tune it slightly each time.