Godin Guitars

Sword Bringer · #1 01-30-2014, 09:23 PM

Here's a company that doesn't advertise or pound it's chest about how innovative and customer oriented they are. I have two of their wonderful instruments. A Session which new cost about $425. It sounds and plays better than any American S/S/H stat I've ever played. the Maple Neck and fretboard make this guitar greatly playable.

I also just bough their Icon 2 convertible. I wanted a guitar that could get a myriad of sounds like I should have got with my Taylor Pickgards. The Icon has seymour Duncan P-Rails. These are humbuckers made from P-90's combined with a bar type single coils piece. You can get a P-90 , Humbucking and single coil tone out of both the Neck and Bridge pick-up. Add their patented revoicer and you now have something like 30 different sound combinations. The P-90 combined with the rail give awesome humbucking tone. you can have a P-90 in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge or the opposite. This guitar has a set neck, is mahogany with Maple top, has an ebony fret borad, tusq nut and and a GraphTech NV 1 Bridge system.
Who needs loaded pickgards anymore. I might sell my Taylor SB. I'm not sure anyone will want them now.

Bobby1note · #2 01-30-2014, 09:38 PM

It's too bad,,, and somewhat amazing,, that more people don't mention Godin Guitars. If I'm not mistaken, they're the second largest builder in North America. I've got a beautiful MultiAc Grand Concert Duet,,, and the build quality is top-notch.

I played one of their 6-string electrics a while back, and it was superb. Almost played itself.

Mooh · #3 01-30-2014, 09:46 PM

I still have these Godins:
Freeway 5 string bass.
LG with humbuckers.
Progression.
Richmond Belmont
LaPatrie Collection classical acoustic.
Norman folk acoustic.

Plus several others that I've dealt, like an Acousticaster 6 string, Acousticaster bass, Montreal, a couple of other electric guitars, S&P dread, S&P folk acoustic, 2 other LaPatrie classicals, and maybe others I can't recall.

Godin is a big deal around here.

jonfields45 · #4 01-31-2014, 07:00 AM

My A6 Ultra does everything they claim and the build quality is excellent (much better than Gibson or Fender and approaching Taylor...though any of these brands are certainly more than good enough). Jon

brad4d8 · #5 01-31-2014, 07:25 AM

I have a Godin ACS (?), nylon string with the synth pickup. I prefer it to my Gibson Chet Atkins. Over on the jazz forum there's a lot of respect for their archtops, as well.
Brad

Steve DeRosa · #6 01-31-2014, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brad4d8

...Over on the jazz forum there's a lot of respect for their archtops, as well...

I own two - an acoustic 5th Avenue and a CW Kingpin II - and I can't say enough good things about them. The CW has become my go-to hollow and my steady backup for my P-90 LP, as well as possessing a tone which even my wife - who dislikes archtops in any form - loves...

mikealpine · #7 01-31-2014, 08:45 PM

Played a few and almost bought a model with synth and Piezo. Very nice! The one you bought seems similar to the Vox line with the Coaxial pickups. Very, very versatile. I have a Vox HDC-77 that is excellent, but doesn't have a Piezo, which I use all the time, so I don't play it any more. When I do, I'm always amazed at the variety of sounds, and the overall quality. Enjoy the Godin...seems like a terrific instrument!

Sword Bringer · #8 02-01-2014, 12:18 PM

I've been playing this guitar for several days and have a better idea of what the good and bad points of these Duncan P-Rails are. I think they are revolutionary and can be greatly improved if they haven't already. They're pretty darn good on their own.

The Humbucking tone is unique and excellent owing to the different type of coils in the same pickup. The top set is a standard P-90. So when set on P-90 you get excellent traditional P-90 tones. When you select the Humbucker, the P-90 combines with the single coil bar row. So you get a humbucker with P-90 spank characteristics. Quite a good unique sound! The Single coil on it's own is louder with more mid's than the stock Fender Strat Pickups. Now I am going to digress from the P-90 for a moment.

Godin makes great pickups. Ihave Godin S-1's on my Session, which is their version of the Strat Pickup. It sound great. Great quack and Mid's,- much better than the Fender stocks and better than the single coil sounds from the P-Rail. Godin makes great pickups. If they can't do it themselves they put in Duncans or Lollars. Their standard humbucker is rated at 14.5, and is one of the most powerful commercially available.

Her's where I think I have an issue. the Icon 2 is a fabulously built set neck chambered body Mahogany guitar, unless you buy the sunburst which had a carved maple top. I think the Mahogany top makes the guitar sound darker. It's hard for me to not break up on my Blackstar on clean settings. For some that's an advantage, especially for hard Rock. I play all styles so i need clean tones with quack. Mark Knoffler would not be happy with this guitar. I'll bet the Maple top ones give far better definition. So for me, this is a great guitar esp. for the money. Maybe I need to try it through my Fender Twin Reverb.

I find the variety of tomes mind boggling and the P-90 is the best idea since the frying pan guitar. I find the Icon 2 convertable a bit muddy and I atrribute this to the Mahogany tops. The Maple top could very well give PRS a run sound wise.

I keep coming back to my amazement that this company, who builds guitars in Richmond, Quebec and New Hampshire, USA. isn't, itself, an Icon. Forget those expensive H/S/S/ Strats. Get a Session for $500 or $250 used. You'll wonder why you spent so much money on Fenders. I used to think Godin didn't communicate very well. They don't but that's part of the charm. The manual for all their guitars are a one page internet printout. hen you see them Demo'd by a Godin Rep you can barely understand them because of the heavy French Canadian accent. Maybe that help them keep their cost so low. the difference between the Canadian and American dollar can't hut either. Next time up in Montreal I swear I'm going to visit the factory and see where the magic happens.

In conclusion, try a Godin before you drop Thousands on a guitar with a popular name, that isn't built as well or sounds as good. I can honestly say, the Icon isn't a PRS Custom. But for $2,500 less, it's pretty darn close.

Steve DeRosa · #9 02-01-2014, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I own two - an acoustic 5th Avenue and a CW Kingpin II...

...and now I want a third - thanks, SB...

blue · #10 02-01-2014, 01:05 PM

I played an SSH with piezo at GC for about 3 months. Kept waiting for the price to drop because it was "High EBay" price. One day it wasn't there. I was quite disappointed. I really needed a bargain on it because it was blue. I don't generally do blue guitars...

pietro · #11 02-02-2014, 03:05 PM

I've owned 3 Godins and a Seagull...

...all great great guitars. They are a bargain.

Don't feel bad for them, though, they actually sell a LOT of guitars. Very successful.

Dru Edwards · #12 02-02-2014, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pietro

I've owned 3 Godins and a Seagull...

...all great great guitars. They are a bargain.

Don't feel bad for them, though, they actually sell a LOT of guitars. Very successful.

They do sell a lot of guitars. I'd like to know how much. I've think I've read here that they make more than Taylor.

Sword Bringer · #13 02-03-2014, 06:32 AM

If Godin sells more instruments than Taylor, they must have the entire Canadian market sewn up. Even if that's true, it's an amazing feat since these guys don't advertise, spend lots of money on glossy quarterly news magazines and don't have an article in every Guitar Magazine on the planet each month.

Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere!

jonfields45 · #14 02-03-2014, 07:00 AM

Godin (Seagull, Art & Lutherie...) has a large selection of maybe more conventional lower end offerings than Taylor's Big Baby and also covers the low end electric segment with a lot of product. The bridge just lifted up on my 5 month old A6 Ultra :~(, which aside from a Traveler MKII (that would certainly get some strange looks), is my only guitar with a PU and I have a fairly busy gig schedule starting in March (luckily I played my last February gig last Saturday night). I've emailed Godin and Sweetwater and am waiting to see how this plays out. Jon

jonfields45 · #15 02-03-2014, 07:09 AM

Godin (Seagull, Art & Lutherie...) has a large selection of maybe more conventional lower end offerings than Taylor's Big Baby and also cover the low end electric segment with a lot of product. Not surprising to me that they are #1 or 2 in North America.

The bridge just lifted up on my 5 month old A6 Ultra :~(, which aside from a Traveler MKII (that would certainly get some strange looks), is my only guitar with a PU and I have a fairly busy gig schedule starting in March (luckily I played my last February gig last Saturday night). I've emailed Godin and Sweetwater and am waiting to see how this plays out. I'll keep you posted.

Jon