# Info Appreciated re Samick Greg Bennett Design GOM100 S/N



## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

A friend is selling a Samick GOM 100 S/N - I'd appreciate any info anyone might have on these guitars. It is orchestra-sized, with a solid spruce top and a compensated bridge saddle. It plays reasonably well, but has a buzz on low E and A when fretted on the first 4 or 5 frets. There is a small crack/dent 2" long, not quite deep enough to hook with a fingernail, on the turn of the lower bout - it seems to affect only the top layer of the laminate. The sound is kinda 'thunky', but then the strings are deader than a doornail, and I usually play a Seagull S6, which rings like a hyperactive bell...
Been looking for a smaller second guitar for a while, and the Samick is a good physical fit. I'm curious about it's possible age, what it may have sold for originally, and any experience with a GOM100 or similar Samick anyone might care to share.
Merci!!!


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

i'd check the neck for twisting first, because if a twist is causing the fret buzz it's practically unfixable (and even if it is fixable you have to question whether it's worth putting the work into it given its other issues)

secondly i'd be worried about the crack. cracks really aren't hard to "fix" if they're in an accessible part of the guitar, but they will only spread and spread every time there's a shift in humidity if left unchecked.

lastly, i'd check around for other guitars that could be had for the same amount of money. a quick google search tells me you can buy these direct from the factory for 280$ with free shipping. knowing that, and knowing all the issues the guitar has, i wouldn't personally be willing to spend more than 50 bucks for the thing.

Wholesale Sunyat samick gom-100s spruces monoboard folk guitar, Free shipping, $279.13/Piece | DHgate


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Thanks, Mike - opinion is appreciated. My friend is asking less than 1/2 retail, and Newfoundland is a long, long way from China if I get the GOM100 and it's a dud. And at that price for a new one, it's pocket change to go with a new Seagull or S&P folk...

The crack is minor - really a surface layer fracture, mostly finish, and absolutely stable. The neck is more worrisome - seems like a tad more neck relief would solve the problem, but I'm having a luthier I trust take a looksee before I make a decision. If I get it, he'll also be replacing the plastic compensated bridge saddle with bone for me - best bang for the buck in improving any guitar. 

My S6 is a cannon, and I'll keep it for sure, but it is a big guitar with a big sound, and I'd like something a little more subtle for fingerpicking. The GOM100 plays very nicely, and has a decent sound even with strings so old and dirty that they blacken my fingertips - probably a function of the sitka top. Seems nice and balanced, holds tune well, light and comfortable. If it does end up here, I can lie back in the weeds and wait for some fool to decide to part with an older Seagull or S&P...lol...


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Just make sure when you factor in the cost of whatever repairs or upgrades you decide to do with it. Samicks can be nice, I have an old HJ650 myself, but the sad reality is here on the island they have next to no resale value. Just keep that in mind if you're not sure whether or not you plan to keep it.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Hey, Morkolo,
Thanks - appreciate your taking the time to reply. Put a set of Martin Silk&Stees on it last night, and found a few interesting tidbits while doing so. The crack I mentioned as a surface fracture isn't; with the strings off, I can feel it inside too - it's faint but there. It does seem to be stable, and is longitudinal with the grain along the curve of the bout, the strongest point, which is good. Secondly, the nut simply fell off when string tension was released - the dot of glue under it had totally dried out. And under the shiny plastic saddle, which is pretty loose in the groove, there's a shim of still softer plastic that's not even close to the slot size.

That's the bad - the good is that it sounds better for sure, with more sustain if not volume, and plays quite nicely. The fretted bass string buzz is a fair bit better, and most importantly, it is the most comfortable guitar I've played for a long time. I have some issues with my fretting hand thumb - an hour or so with my S6 or a classical, and there's real discomfort; I can play the GOM100 a lot longer with no pain whatsoever. I think a combination of the smaller neck and a better playing position thanks to the smaller body does the trick. Another OM or folk would probably do the same thing.

I'm thinking that a neck adjustment and a properly-fitted bone saddle would make this a real little sleeper of a fingerstyle guitar. Can I get my money, purchase plus upgrades, back? Nope - not a hope. But my hand likes it, my ear likes it, and it'd be a fair while before I'd 'need' a better guitar to reflect my skills - if my suspicion that there's a fine little guitar hiding in there somewhere is right, I certainly couldn't hope to find anything new in the $200 range that'd come even close. A luthier friend will quick-check the neck for me in the next day or so, and we'll see where we go from there...

Thanks again...


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

have you ever had a crack in your windshield?
cracks aren't simply stable because they don't move while you're looking at them
if you can access it with the strings off it sounds like an easy repair. that'd be #1 on my to do list.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

I think you answered your own question in your opening post. You've compared the sound of this guitar to your Seagull and if I'm correct they are not even close (dead strings only account for so much). Reality is that you usually get what you pay for. You've been "spoiled" by your Seagull. You can convince yourself with a set-up, new strings, new nut etc, etc that you'll bring this guitar to life, but chances are better than not that you won't. In time you'll regret the purchase and additional effort put into this guitar and wish you would have waited for the right guitar to come along. Sorry for sounding so negative but I've been down this road too many times and it sounds to me like you're trying to justify the price when you know already the sound isn't doin' it for you.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Mike and Swervin,

Thanks again for the replies. Mike, the crack will be a priority if I do get it. It's been 'done' from the outside - a scrim glued inside and it should become a cosmetic issue only...

Swervin, I appreciate your cautions - the S6 has indeed 'spoiled' me, but comparing any OM body to the 'Gull is sort of an apples to oranges situation. The S6 is a big, bad boomer, and plays every bit as well as it sounds. The Samick's sound is not nearly as powerful, for sure, but it's clean and crisp with nice bass and treble balance - there's none of the jangly tinniness that most inexpensive guitars have. That solid spruce top has to count for something...

More importantly, the Seagull's neck is wider and thicker than most, and it appears to be at the root of a painful problem I've had for over a year at the base of my left thumb. I've now had a week of playing just the Samick, and the thumb is A1 - no pain at all, even with extended periods of playing. So there's a small-bodied guitar coming to live here in the near future. Don't know if it'll be the Samick, but one could do worse than it as-is for a learner-loaner-beater-leave it at the cabin-summertime trailer-trip sort of guitar...

Again, I appreciate the time people have taken to reply - food for thought...will let you know where it goes...


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## Beach Bob (Sep 12, 2009)

I'll leave the discussion on the pros/cons of the Samick to those with lots more knowledge than I. 

I just wanted to let you know that you can get a Seagull S6 with a slim neck; I have one not 5 feet away from me as I type. Might be something you think about if neck width is a problem with your current S6.

Good luck with an OM size guitar... I keep wanting to have one, but everyone of them I've ever tried sounds too thin to me. I guess I'm stuck with my dreads... a S6 slim, a Larivee Mahogany and a Gibson J45 (on semi-permanent loan from a friend). If you think an S6 is a cannon; try a J45 sometime...


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

i guess if it feels and plays good that's what matters most for practice purposes.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

S6 Cedartop said:


> Swervin, I appreciate your cautions - the S6 has indeed 'spoiled' me, but comparing any OM body to the 'Gull is sort of an apples to oranges situation. The S6 is a big, bad boomer, and plays every bit as well as it sounds.


Here is where I respectfully disagree. I have a Larivee OMV that rivals any of my dread's for sound and/or playability but it wasn't cheap. If you're on a budget that's completely understandable but if not don't justify a bad sounding guitar based on cost. It'll come back to bite you.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Swervin55 said:


> Here is where I respectfully disagree. I have a Larivee OMV that rivals any of my dread's for sound and/or playability but it wasn't cheap. If you're on a budget that's completely understandable but if not don't justify a bad sounding guitar based on cost. It'll come back to bite you.


I can agree with the apples to oranges comparison because I like both body styles, they just sound different.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

...and Larivee to Samick...lol...that's not a fair fight...lol...

The GOM100 is what it is, an inexpensive guitar that's capable of doing what I need done, but may not be the one to do it. Other guitars would do it better, or perhaps make doing it a bit easier; it's the old cost/benefit curve quandary - as you get nearer the ideal, the cost per unit of improvement escalates. My $225 S6 sure isn't the equal of a $ 2,250 big-name, but the big-name isn't 10x as good as the S6. It's hitting my sweet spot on that ideal vs. cost curve that's so individual a matter...and so much fun...


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

Completely understood and well said. Good luck with your decision.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Hey S6 Cedartop, if you're looking to improve the tone of your Samick try picking up a Tusq saddle for it as well. I've found some guitars work well with the frequencies that bone accentuates and some work better with Tusq, all depends on what you're looking for.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Oh, lordy...I would, but the deal on the Samick fell thru - the neck started buzzing again this morning, and there's no more truss rod adjustment left - so my friend has reclaimed it. The Ibanez goes back tonight - so I'm still on the hunt for a smaller fingerstyle. Just restrung my trusty old Ryoji Matsuoka classical and got the 'Gull out of its case - so it's back to lying low in the weeds and waiting for the right one to come along...


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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

is it the neck or the body that you find uncomfortable? i use a blueridge dread for fingerstyle and it's remarkably comfortable, but posture is important. if you're the kind of lean over to look at the strings kind of player most guitars are going to be uncomfortable...at least that's my experience.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Really good point, Mike. I'm not entirely sure what's been causing the thumb pain for the past 12-18 months - the S6 body size, the thicker and wider neck, posture, or a combination of factors. I do know that playing the smaller-bodied Samick with its narrower and thinner neck relieved the pain within a few days, and it feels fine now. I like the fit of the smaller body - used classicals for years, and I'm maybe just used to that size body. Most of the time I play sitting, left leg over right, with the guitar tipped slightly back from the vertical. I'm going to use the S6 and the classical for a few days and see what happens. One of the local music stores has some Simon&Patrick's in stock, and another is bringing a few smaller Godin-builts in...I may break down and treat myself to a new folk model if I can find a really nice one...


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

I'm not sure how far you would be interested in driving but I noticed a Takamine EG416 in Grand Falls on Nlclassifieds and a Seagull Performer CW in CBS on kijiji. Good deals pop up from time to time you just have to be ready for it. Sorry to hear about the bad luck with the Samick all the same.


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## S6 Cedartop (Jan 26, 2013)

Still looking around - been playing the S6 again, and sure enough, the thumb is acting up. I'm starting to think it's the neck shape - it's wide and shallow compared to most - that's causing the problem. I'll be borrowing a dread with a standard neck in a day or two, and we'll see how it goes...


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