NGD! Godin Mahogany Folk Rustic Burst A/E

[Campro]

I haven't seen any reviews yet of this guitar, so...

I was in search of an affordable and giggable backup guitar and stumbled across this Godin and picked it up:
https://godinguitars.com/product/mah...stic-burst-a-e

Dimension-wise, it's almost identical to my Martin CEO-9. But the body, back, and sides are all solid mahogany w/ rosewood bridge and fretboard, and graphtech tusq xl saddle and 1.72'' nut. The neck is a c-shape and the string spacing at bridge is 2 1/8th". It weighs a tad bit more than my Martin, not much.

Setup: The intonation was great up and down the neck in the store and, I frankly couldn't believe the action was set exactly like I usually have it on my acoustics: "fat" 4/64 on high e and a "fat" 5/64 on the low e. That's a first for me. The only thing I did when I got it home was sand a hair off the bottom of the nut to make the money chords a little easier to play. As it was, it wasn't pulling anything out of tune. The relief was good too. And so are the frets.

Acoustic tone: It is definitely a member of the Godin family, and can sound a little unrefined compared to the Martin. It has ample volume with a heavy dose of mids and strong highs, while the bass is less prominent/full--but it is present enough to hear bass runs/fills with no problem. The tone kind of reminds me of a cross between an old, dry ladder-braced guitar and a maccaferri like Django used. It came strung with d'addario PB strings and I was going to put some Martin PBs on it, but decided to give some Elixir nano 80/20s I had a try on it and, surprise! It smoothed out the overall tone, reducing boxiness and pulled it all together without making things too bright. Go figure...

Electronics: Surprisingly, I like this Fishman "Presys VT" UST with vol and tone controls. I've never met a UST in my life that I liked until this one. I plugged it into a Loudbox Mini with everything set flat and it sounded full and warm, without the quack. Made the guitar sound much bigger than it really is. I'm guessing it won't be too hard to tweak a few eq pedal settings and off into my PA for my live set up. My Martin has a K&K pure mini in it that I really like, but I'm leaving the Godin system as is, as I'm pretty sure it will give me what I want.

Value: At $799.00 list this guitar represents a very good value. I ordered, played ,and returned a $1649 Yamaha FSX5 a few days ago that had sloppy workmanship and was loud and harsh. Fit and finish on this guitar is first rate!


PS: The serial number consists of the model number, a long string of zeros and ends in the number 15. I think I've got the 15th one made! Cool!

[SalFromChatham]

Looks like an LG-2! Bet it sounds great. I gave my son an A&L legacy Havana Brown. The tone was warm, and the craftsmanship first rate.

[Campro]

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

Looks like an LG-2! Bet it sounds great. I gave my son an A&L legacy Havana Brown. The tone was warm, and the craftsmanship first rate.

Funny you should mention the LG-2, that was a guitar I wanted to check out too (but didn't really want to spend the money on :>). Now that you say it, I guess you're right! I just found this hanging on the wall at a store and was impressed enough to buy it. It ticked all the boxes and was a great price.
I just looked up that A&L Legacy, that definitely looks like a cool guitar, I'd love to give it a spin!

[Rockysdad]

Congrats on the Godin, I'm going to need to check these out.

All Mahogany, try some Martin Retros on it.

[Monty Christo]

Congrats! Godin always impresses. Love a short-scale, and it's nice to see the Gibson nut width.

[jricc]

Congrats on a cool looking Godin. Definitely an LG vibe, and that's a good thing. Enjoy

[jaymarsch]

Congrats on your new guitar. Enjoy!
Best,
Jayne

[baseball]

Doesn't Godin make a lot of the other affordsable guitars? Simon and Patrick/Art and Lutherie ? Seagull?

I have liked ALL of those, but I have never seen a Godin badged acoustic like that...that looks really cool...and thanks for comparing it to a Martin because that is always a good reference.

Might have to go down to Corner Music and see if they have these.

[Jim Owen]

That’s a fine-looking guitar! Enjoy. And thanks for the review.

[Robin, Wales]

It sounds like you have picked up a great workhorse guitar for gigs. Congratulations!

I have an A&L Legacy (spruce top, cherry laminate b/so version) and a Godin 5th Avenue acoustic archtop (cherry laminate). They are the two guitars that I play daily and gig with - and the Legacy travels with me when I go on trips.

I'd like to try that folk size all mahogany version out that you have found. I can't think of any other small bodied all mahogany guitars with maple necks? And that neck will I'm sure be shaping the timbre to be a little different from other all mahogany guitars.

Interesting what you say about the timbre and your general impression. Godin family guitars do have a unique feel and tonal character. Sort of homely. And I've seen reviewers use "honest". These aren't the usual metaphors you see used in guitar reviews. So I guess many folks see these guitars as being a little different. I think that the maple necks play a part.

Try monel strings on it. They take a while to settle but then round out nicely. And you can gig for a year on a set!

[Campro]

Yeah, it's definitely worth checking out. I was wondering too how the maple neck affects the sound. I'll keep you posted on how it works out at gigs and I will try out some monels on it once the Elixirs wear out.

[DownUpDave]

Congratulations on a fine looking and apparently sounding guitar. Very nice to hear you like the stock UST pick up. I love the Godin family of instruments as I am biased being a Canadian.

I have discovered 80/20 strings for all mahogany guitars as well. My Martin 000-15 loves them. So when I got a Journey Instruments OF312 (all mahogany travel guitar) the third string change were 80/20s and bingo they are the ones.

[Knollhaven]

Congratulations on your Godin! Great looking, versatile & unique guitar for the same budget range as a Martin DJR.

I have your Godin’s cousin, a 2016 Simon & Patrick Woodland Pro Folk, sitka/mahogany sunburst with slotted headstock. Mine is a little workhorse, stable for porch picking or going out to jam circle. It’s my couch guitar. I just had it set up with 80/20 strings, 11-52 gauge, and its tone got even sweeter.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

Looks like an LG-2!

IIRC Their "folk" models are the shape and dimensions of a standard classical guitar. The photos certainly don't contradict that (w.r.t. shape at least).

[Campro]

Originally Posted by RJVB

IIRC Their "folk" models are the shape and dimensions of a standard classical guitar. The photos certainly don't contradict that (w.r.t. shape at least).

Thanks for pointing that out! I held it back to back with a washburn classical guitar I have and they're almost an exact match.

Here are the Godin's body dimensions as measured with a tape measure (if any one's interested):

Depth:
At heel: 3 1/4”
At end block: 4”

Width:

Upper bout: 11 1/16”
Waist: 9 1/4”
Lower Bout: 14 5/8”