During my archtop quest I played a few Godin 5th avenues. I didn't like how any of them sounded acoustically - to me they were very tight and dead, almost like playing an electric guitar unplugged. I ended up taking my Eastman MDC 805 mandocello and converted it to a 6 string with new nut and bridge. Now the mandocello is intended to have 8 strings, all heavier than guitar mediums, so its braced heavier than its guitar brother the AR805 (according to an Eastman rep I spoke with). I found heavier strings (.013's) really brought out its acoustic voice. Try a set of retro monel .013 or even .014 on your Kingpin.
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