The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Archtops

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 10-28-2008, 04:18 AM
bshpmark bshpmark is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 639
Default Godin 5th Avenue Archtops

Anyone have one of these or played one? What are your opinions. I am considering adding an archtop to the collection and the price on these is quite right.
__________________
Eastman E8D
Alvarez AJ80CE
Alvarez AD80SSB
Alvarez RD20S12
Fender Telecaster
Ibanez AG-75
Martin 000X1AE
Cort Earth 70DE
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-28-2008, 06:37 AM
badguy1971 badguy1971 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 104
Default

Hi, I played one just yesterday for a few minutes in the store. I am currently shopping for an acoustic as I dont own one yet, so I am unable to make comparissons or describe its tone completely. That said it sounds nice to me, but it sounds a little different than a flat top. It doesnt "ring" like a flat top. It does "ring" just in a different sorta way. It plays VERY nice and is VERY comfortable and I am thinking of getting it to be my acoustic guitar.
Oh and it looks hella cool too.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-28-2008, 07:29 AM
robkreole robkreole is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Urbana, IL
Posts: 137
Default Godin 5th Ave.

Hi and yes I have played a Godin 5th Ave. archtop. I played one this summer at a music store in Denver. I was really impressed with the 5th Ave. In fact, I think that this guitar impressed me as much as any new guitar (in that price range) that I've played for years. How does Godin do it? They keep building great guitars for the money. The archtop that I played was solid black and I loved the look. These archtops are well-constructed, play easy and have a great tone. With one of my band-mates standing about 40 feet away, he told me that he was really impressed with the projection of the guitar. I'm totally set on getting one of the 5th Avenues at some point.

One word of caution is this. If you are interested in getting one with a pick-up, Godin will soon be releasing a 5th Ave. model with a P-90 style pickup. Called the 5th Ave. Kingpin, I bet this guitar will be really fun to plug-in and play. See the link for more info.

http://www.godinguitars.com/godin5thavenuekingpinp.htm

All the best,

Rob K.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-28-2008, 08:11 AM
JoeInOttawa JoeInOttawa is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 624
Default Okay for the Money

For a completely plywood guitar, it actually sounds not too bad. Obviously my Taylor (even a lowly 210) blows it into the weeds, but it costs roughly double the price. I'm considering one for my daughter for Christmas, as it's a smaller body with a very nice neck. I may also splurge a bit and go for a Masterbilt of some sort -- but that's starting a different thread, isn't it?

So long and short of it, it's not necessaily a guitar I would buy myself, but it's a decent value for the price. But keep in mind, it IS a plywood top, back, and sides.

Joe
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-28-2008, 08:35 AM
Shadowraptor Shadowraptor is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Survive in Winnipeg, Manitoba - just North of Fargo, N.D.
Posts: 1,156
Default

For a completely plywood guitar ...

Say what???

I love my 5th Avenue - first guitar I was ever able to get a harmonic out of. It's quiet, has a slightly shorter scale, and is easy to play. Plus it looks great!
__________________
Have a safe and pleasant day.

Rob
Canada

Brackett Sitka/Walnut Dreads 'Carol Ann' and '26' plus other stringed stuff ...
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-28-2008, 01:50 PM
tj_mangum tj_mangum is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 588
Default 5th Avenue

I've played several of them. As others have said, cool looks and good sound for the $.
Good luck,
tj
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-28-2008, 02:47 PM
drive-south drive-south is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 4,630
Default

These are made of laminated Cherry wood (plywood). Godin has a deal with the Canadian gov and gets their woods for next to nothing. That's how they keep prices low.

I played a few this summer and was considering getting one. Then I came upon a 1961 Guild A50 at a local store for about the same money and scooped it up. I now have 6 Guild guitars in my arsenal and love em. I'm planning to attach a DeArmond pickup to the Guild eventually.

drive-south
__________________
"Vintage taste, reissue budget"
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-28-2008, 03:26 PM
photomat's Avatar
photomat photomat is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Edmonds, WA
Posts: 1,042
Default

I have had a Godin 5th Ave for a while now, and really like it. It does have its own sound. I like playing old Carter Family tunes, and it sounds great for that as well as bluegrass and jazz. Here is a link to some recordings I have made of my guitars. This Godin recording was done with my Boss BR2 recorder, and the gain was high so it is hissy. Just click the download button for the Godin.

http://homepage.mac.com/wm7n/FileSharing64.html

Here are some photos as well.



__________________
An old Alvarez and a few others...
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-28-2008, 04:52 PM
badguy1971 badguy1971 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 104
Default

apparantly, from what I remember reading, the laminated top allows for more sustain, bringing the sound closer to that of a flat top guitar rather than a carved top solid archtop guitar. It DID sound like a flat top while played gently, yet had a sort of boxy gritty grumbly sound to it when played hard, which I liked alot... it reminded me of say an acoustic with "distortion"...got a nice chunky percussive like sound out of it.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-28-2008, 05:53 PM
Grenvilleter Grenvilleter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 336
Default

"Godin has a deal with the Canadian gov and gets their woods for next to nothing. That's how they keep prices low."

Try another guess. The above quote is wrong. Reasons being, the timber industry is regulated by the provinces, not the Feds.
Also, the price of a cord of wood is composed mainly of the labor used to get it from tree to raw lumber. Wood is a really cheap, undervalued product. The equipment and labor used to process it is what costs the lions share of the money.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 10-28-2008, 09:34 PM
rforman15 rforman15 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: we stopped over in Santa Fe
Posts: 2,384
Default

I like the sound of your recording of your Godin photomat. I would buy one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by badguy1971 View Post
apparantly, from what I remember reading, the laminated top allows for more sustain, bringing the sound closer to that of a flat top guitar rather than a carved top solid archtop guitar. It DID sound like a flat top while played gently, yet had a sort of boxy gritty grumbly sound to it when played hard, which I liked alot... it reminded me of say an acoustic with "distortion"...got a nice chunky percussive like sound out of it.

This line of reasoning holds no water as I have owned many archtops and there is no comparison between a carved piece of genuine tone wood and a pressed piece of laminate. The laminate may have the advantage of being less feedback prone when electrified and amplified. But basically, then, you are in the realm of talking about electric guitars.

A real carved acoustic archtop guitar, however, can cost you 10K and sky is the limit. So don't confuse the two. That said, an archtop or even a pressed laminate archtop is a completely different sound from a flat top. If you expect your archtop to sound like a flattop you will be unhappy with the sound of your archtop. The archtop requires a totally different attack than a flattop. If you try to play your archtop with the same attack that you use on a flattop, you will be unhappy with the sound of your archtop. The archtop is a different beat altogether.

That said I have heard positive things about the Godin archtops, and they cost under $500. My first archtop was an old pressed top L-50 Gibson that I paid $350 for. And it was a great guitar. So it can be done. The Godin archtop is a good value but it can't be mentioned even in the same sentence as something like an L-5 or Epi Broadway or modern luthier archtop guitar.

Last edited by rforman15; 10-28-2008 at 09:44 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 10-29-2008, 02:59 AM
bshpmark bshpmark is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 639
Default

Thanks for the input folks. Much appreciated. I think I am going to put one of these on my Christmas wish list.
__________________
Eastman E8D
Alvarez AJ80CE
Alvarez AD80SSB
Alvarez RD20S12
Fender Telecaster
Ibanez AG-75
Martin 000X1AE
Cort Earth 70DE
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 10-29-2008, 06:43 AM
badguy1971 badguy1971 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 104
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rforman15 View Post
I like the sound of your recording of your Godin photomat. I would buy one.




This line of reasoning holds no water as I have owned many archtops and there is no comparison between a carved piece of genuine tone wood and a pressed piece of laminate. The laminate may have the advantage of being less feedback prone when electrified and amplified. But basically, then, you are in the realm of talking about electric guitars.

A real carved acoustic archtop guitar, however, can cost you 10K and sky is the limit. So don't confuse the two. That said, an archtop or even a pressed laminate archtop is a completely different sound from a flat top. If you expect your archtop to sound like a flattop you will be unhappy with the sound of your archtop. The archtop requires a totally different attack than a flattop. If you try to play your archtop with the same attack that you use on a flattop, you will be unhappy with the sound of your archtop. The archtop is a different beat altogether.

That said I have heard positive things about the Godin archtops, and they cost under $500. My first archtop was an old pressed top L-50 Gibson that I paid $350 for. And it was a great guitar. So it can be done. The Godin archtop is a good value but it can't be mentioned even in the same sentence as something like an L-5 or Epi Broadway or modern luthier archtop guitar.
oh no, dont get me wrong, I wasn't trying to imply that this lam sounded better than a solid carved archtop, I dont have any basis for comparison to be qualified to even think of doing so.
If I recall correctly, Godin wasnt after that "pure arch top sound" but rather just wanted to capture the look feel and vibe of the cool arch tops, yet voice their guitar closer to that of a flat top.
This is just what I remember from reading various reviews and interviews on the web.
It is a cool guitar reguardless.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 10-29-2008, 09:16 AM
brianmc brianmc is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 123
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bshpmark View Post
Thanks for the input folks. Much appreciated. I think I am going to put one of these on my Christmas wish list.
You should also have a look at the Godin Kingpin - a 5th Ave with a pickup installed.

http://www.godinguitars.com/godin5thavenuekingpinp.htm

Brian
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 10-30-2008, 07:06 PM
bshpmark bshpmark is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 639
Default

Well, I did it today. Went and bought a 5th Avenue. Pics are posted in another thread.
__________________
Eastman E8D
Alvarez AJ80CE
Alvarez AD80SSB
Alvarez RD20S12
Fender Telecaster
Ibanez AG-75
Martin 000X1AE
Cort Earth 70DE
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Archtops

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=