Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin (Natural) On Reverb

[fpuhan]

In another thread, someone posted a query about an archtop good for travel and one of the responses was the Godin 5th Avenue.

Now, I just recently had a custom archtop made and delivered to me, and it's my dream guitar! I had it made so I could "retire" my Gibson ES-225. I also have a delightful Ibanez AG95QA, which was inexpensive, but too pretty to drag around with me.

So it happens that I came across a used Godin 5th Avenue in natural finish, which one poster suggested is the one to consider. It's on Reverb, and with S&H would total US$600. That wouldn't break the bank. At the same time, I really don't have a need for one. I have travel guitars a=plenty. Just not an archtop.

What think you?

Oh, the link is here: https://reverb.com/item/64312618-god...ig-bag-natural

[mr. beaumont]

Oh, they're great. Best budget archtop on the market.

[Steve DeRosa]

Buy it - end of conversation...

[Mandobart]

The few Godin archtops I've played were very uninspiring played straight acoustically. I didn't have a chance to plug them in. Most of my playing is unplugged, so I personally need my instruments to have good tone and volume unplugged.

[mr. beaumont]

A laminate archtop with a pickup is not an acoustic guitar.

Judge this by what it is, its not an acoustic guitar. Its a dang good electric archtop.

[grandstick]

I’m in the process of preparing to move. As part of that, I’m looking at what instruments I am keeping, and what I will let go. One of the guitars I pulled out was my acoustic 5th Avenue.

I had installed a Benedetto floating pickup on it several years ago. I have acquired a few other jazz guitars since then, so this has been kept in its case, basically forgotten by me.

Since the pickup and volume/tone controls are mounted on a floating pickguard, the modifications don’t alter the tone of the instrument and are reversible.

Playing this guitar again reminded me of why I bought it in the first place. It has a nice, broken-in feel, with a sharp barking sound that is good for rhythmic jazz, or even gypsy jazz music.

But as Jeff stated, the instrument you’re looking at would probably be better suited for electric playing rather than pure acoustic.

(Edit— Wow - I just looked at the formatting of this post, and it looks pretty stark!)

[Rudy4]

I'm not a fan of the look. I wouldn't be able to get beyond that, regardless of what it sounded like.

[Golffishny]

I once played a used fully acoustic 5th Avenue in a store. I was surprised how much more it reminded me of a flattop than an archtop. I was always sorry I didn't buy it. I went back for it 2 days later but it was gone. My first guitar was a Harmony Monterey so maybe it was a little bit of nostalgia.

[rmp]

I have the 2 P90 version.



The neck profile is something like a D profile if I had to put a label on it. Kind of chunky, I have small hands.

I struggled with the stock strings (12 gauge rounds)

Tried 11 rounds, nope... still wasn't there yet.

Flatwound 10s? yes! We have a winner.

The P90s in mine, not quite as aggressive as other P90s I've used, I think they (Godin) say that they are underwound.


the stock case is a semi hard gig bag, not included of course.

if you decide to do it and need a case and want an aftermarket one, this one fits pretty good. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...dnought-guitar

[Dadzmad]

I have one of the blonde Kingpins a nice recent ES125 type.



Although I usually plug her into an Excelsior Pro, unplugged she sounds great playing along with a flat top.

[Steve DeRosa]

My CW II's also a blondie:

[rollypolly]

To the OP: I’d say go for it. The Godin has been on my to try list for a while. At the price it’s hard to pass it up. The competition for it might be a nice used Eastman arch top which pop for similar prices and are possibly a bit better quality. Godin has the made in North America appeal going for it.

[nbs2005]

I was looking at an acoustic 5th Avenue today. Really wanted to pull the trigger as I loved the sound in a short test. But upon further inspection I noticed the bridge was as low as it could go and the action while good, was not great. Looking closer revealed a small gap at the back of the neck heel; the neck had tipped forward a few degrees. I've read of this happening on a few forums, including here, on the 5th Ave. While it looks like there are two screws holding the neck, Godin is also know to use epoxy in a lot of applications. I decided to pass. I'd suggest you get some pics and ask about the neck angle.

[Dreadward]

I agree with Jeff and others above. My Kingpin is my only archtop, and I’m fine with that. With nickel strings it sounds lovely plugged in, and while it’s not going to trick anyone into thinking it is an L5 unplugged, it’s perfectly serviceable as a couch guitar.