La Patrie Guitar, Motif QI

i sent the first QI that i received back; Buzzing is just not right with electronics nor with the La Patrie Motif. Don't accept it just because to you love it in general. It is a fabulous instrument if properly functioning. So comfortable to play, and i find it both sweet and melodic. The sustain is long and strong to my ears. Stays tuned well over great lengths of time. The neck diameter is SO comfortable for a nylon stringed instrument. The body is smaller with great amplification just the same. All personal opinions I choose to share.Sometimes when the angles between me and my sweet Patrie are just right, and I sing or even speak, the guitar reverberates and sings right back to me.I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THE STRICTLY ACOUSTIC La Patrie. It was so gentle to my ears and comfortable to cradlei that instead of buying a pick up to bastardize the instrument with I chose to by the electric QI to gig with. I now own the both and don't care to give up either, both are so wonderful. Every ear hears and loves it's own preferred sounds. The La Patrie Motif guitars have struck the right notes for me.

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.

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!

As far as I'm concerned, you will not get a better guitar for your money. I own many guitars, acoustic and electric. A Taylor 314 CE, several Fender Telecasters, Schecter Tele's, Ibanez, Alvarez and Seagull acoustics. You will not go wrong with a La Patrie. I'm 53 yrs old now and getting mellow; this Motif fits me fine. Check out all of their guitars, all are well made of the finest materials. I've been playing for over 30 years and still learning. Kudos to Seagull and La Patrie for making quality, affordable guitars. BTW, Amazon had the best price, ANYWHERE, for this guitar.

This little guitar is more fun with better sound that I would have ever guessed. I was looking for a parlor type guitar for casual playing around the house and some light travel, I haven't played any of my other guitars since it arrived.

Had to do a little bit of work on the head nut and have the neck tweeked to soften the action to my liking. Nothing else. The guitar is well finished. The electronics are good. This is the 3rd La Patrie I've owned and they have all been great to play. I bought the Motif QI with the matching hard shell case for travel convenience. It's sturdy but heavy for such a small case. I hope Godin partners with tric for a lighter alternative. It's a sweet little guitar for finger picking.

Beautiful :)