Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin Hollowbody Electric Guitar - Cognac Burst Reviews

Play what ever you want on this beautiful guitar …it's got a voice like no other

Received the Godin 5th avenue kingpin a few days ago so had some time to play it and go over it with a fine tooth comb. I agree with all the 5 star ratings and have nothing but positive comments for this excellent instrument from Sweetwater. Given Sweetwater´s attention to detail, the solid/safe packaging, and two year warranty I think it is very wise to use them as a source for musical instruments.

The huge factor that distinguishes Sweetwater is the thorough description of their instruments. Every detail of the instrument is covered, unlike most vendors wherein you see a picture and a few words from the manufacturer. As a luthier, this alone, demonstrates you get exactly what you pay for and are able to select your specific instrument.

On the Godin, a beautiful instrument that performs as described. My Kingpin came with a perfect setup on arrival. Intonation is perfect, action was almost perfect_I lowered it a bit to fit my playing style but for the most part I doubt anyone would need to adjust it. No fret buzzes and edges are smooth as glass. Fit and finish are perfect with absolutely no flaws. Tuners are smooth and keeps the guitar in tune. A very comfortable, light archtop that plays like a dream. The neck shape is ideal for me. I have an older Gretch archtop with the sharp v-neck which is ok but not as comfortable as the Godin.

The P-90 pickup is an excellent P-90 with all the given characteristics. The tone is clear and bright. If you prefer something a little warmer the tone control does the job. I love the width of the neck and can actually play classical and fingerstyle. It is also right at home for blues, jazz and rhythm.

I may customize this Kingpin to add my personal touch, I.e pick guard and tuner knobs. I may also experiment with a TV jones pickup just for fun but everything OEM is just fine. As a Luthier I have many options to customize. As everyone else has commented this fine guitar from Sweetwater will not disappoint.

This guitar has got that vintage tone. For just one P90, this thing really sings. I love the simplicity of just the Volume and Tone. This is my first jazzbox and I love it. It came with D'addario flatwound 12's. I have it set up in all fourths tuning so I put an 11 and 15 on for the high C and F strings. I did have to do a bit of setup to it. The nut had some sharp corners that were catching the flat windings. I opened those slots in the back a bit to allow for smooth tuning. I did a little bit of lowering the string slots at the nut, but they were actually pretty low. The low E was notably high though. The height of the pickup is not adjustable, but you can adjust the magnetic field a bit by turning the screws on top. I had to do that to balance out the response from string to string. I am not particularly thrilled with the Tusq nut and bridge. I feel they impart a really bright tone. I will probably swap out the bridge for a rosewood bridge at some point. The thin tailpiece is also a little problematic as it sings like a cymbal as the guitar vibrates. I had to stuff foam underneath the high strings, squeeze the bars of the tailpiece with a velcro guitar cable strap so it doesn't vibrate, and I slipped some felt in between the wounds strings where they leave the tailpiece. That tailpiece will also probably get replaced at some point with a rosewood tailpiece.

The guitar is very light and doesn't have much of a neck dive. It is comfortable in both sitting and standing position. The neck carve and their "ergo cut" fingerboard edges are really comfortable. The satin finish is super smooth. Although the guitar is not as loud as my thinline classical, it resonates really well and sounds great when I mic the sweet spot at the cross section of the treble foot of the bridge, the volume knob, the end of the pickguard, and the corner of the F hole. The output jack is solid. I don't feel like it will be coming loose. The guitar sounds great through my Fender Champion 20, my Fender Acoustasonic 40, and DI into my recorder through an ART Tube MP Preamp. You can hear the resonance of the chamber and top in the amp. It maintains that acoustic quality. I really love that about this guitar.

Aside from the great playability, good balance, and great tone, this thing is a really beautiful guitar. I have the Cognac Burst.

If you watch some videos on the 5th Avenue series from Godin, you may notice that this model resonates better than the latter models in the series. I have a feeling it is due to the full chamber, as opposed to having less internal space due to the cutaway, and the fact that it doesn't have an extra pickup choking the vibration of the top. After watching a bunch of videos, I realized I wanted this style of guitar with as much of it's natural tone as possible. I'm glad I got this one. It is amazing. I am more than happy with it.

This guitar is awesome. I've been playing rock/blues guitar for over 20 years and have recently started to get into jazz so I was looking for a classic archtop. This guitar is beautiful, its inspired in the early Gibson models, particularly the ES-125. It has all the vibes and tone you could expect. Really great finish and craftsmanship considering its price point. Fretwork is very smooth and every other aspect of the guitar is either just fine or surprisingly well done. I changed the strings to flatwounds 12s and bought a black pickguard directly from Godin's website to give it a more vintage look.

Compared to flatops the sound is more focused, less expansive, with super clarity and nice balance between all the strings. The acoustic sound is pretty nice although its not as loud as a flatop and sounds a bit dead if you compare it with a Dreadnaught (which is to be expected). Pickups sound great, I had a bit of a hard time dealing with the bass but I think its because of my amp and bc it's my first electric hollowbody. With flatwounds its really a great guitar for jazz. If it had some roundwounds, blues, slide, and folk fingerpicking would sound amazing too.

My only critique is that it should come with a case and that the Godin brand name is necessarily included in the pickup cover and pickguard - I used a black sharpie to hide it. Overall its an excellent guitar for the price, go for it.

Got my Godin Kingpin and it is truly great!
Mor important a 5 star rating for Michael Duncan, my rep at Sweetwater. The man knows his stuff.
He's a great listener! How often do you get that kind of service these days? I explained to Mike that I have a bad back from lugging Fender Twins out of the backs of trucks and up flights of stairs to the gig, so we shared a couple war stories then focused on the benefit of going with Godin. At under 4 lbs, my back thanks you , Mike.
The acoustic sound is awesome, and, like another positive reviewer, I am playing the guitar through my Henricksen BUD 10 amp. Couldn't be happier. Thanks, Mike. I'll stay in touch should I need or want any accessories or guitars in future.
Doug

I have had Rickenbackers, Fenders and Gretsches, some made in USA some not.

I puchased the Godin because its made in Canada with Canadian hardwood and by a family owned company. What I wanted was a guitar that could add a little more acoustic sound to the Gretsches - which I have played the most in the last three years.

Since late August last year I kept grabbing this guitar. I was blown away by it. I never expected it to be more than a strummer in the mix used only occasionally.

When I first played it - I actually thought it was almost cheap feeling. It was so light, the wood seemed thin. Especially compared to my Gretsches which are much heavier.

After just a few days it all clicked. These guitars are so well designed. They are the easiest to play - they fit my hands and style of playing perfectly and like no other.

To combat the hum and feedback of my Fender modeling amp I purchased a Yamaha THR-5 and ran it on batteries. I couldn't believe it - the sound was so much better through this tiny amp with this awesome guitar.

I just sold a bunch of stuff on Sweetwaters Gear Exchange so I can buy the Godin T Armond.

Your mileage will vary - but this little guitar has been like magic - it has changed my playing and sound like no other I've played.

I write instrumentals using this guitar and an NS Designs 5 string cello. These songs are at switchingyard

As a bit of a Martin snob I was shocked by the build quality of this guitar. Sweetwater packed it like fine china including slipping it into a foam tie top bag. The 55 point inspection is for real. Not just talk. Overall best receiving condition of any guitar I've ordered on line. The fact that you can select your personal guitar by photo and match it with the serial number is over the top service. Must say as a sales guy myself….SW really goes the extra mile. Very impressed. And the guitar….I'll quote my son. Wow that thing sounds as good as it looks! Plays like butter. Very happy with my purchase.

THE PICTURES ON SWEETWATER SITE IS SPOT ON THE SITE WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO MAKE A POSITIVE BUYING DECISION. PAUL ALLEN ALONG WITH HIS ASSISSTANT TINA WILL EASILY NAVAGATE YOU THROUGH THE BUYING PROCESS AND DO IT QUICKLEY.. I LIKE THAT. THEIR ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS MUCH APPRECIATED. AGAIN THANKS FOR YOU HELP. MY GODIN IS FLAWLESS PLAYS GREAT AND THE FIT AND FINISH IS FIVE STAR. I PLAY IT MANY TIMES A DAY, IT IS MY FAV. BUY ONE YOU WILL BE DELIGHTED THX WALTER

Although my "fanciest" guitar is the Fender Tele Thinline, my favorite guitars are the Korean made Gretsch 6 and 12 string - because for the money the value really is as good as it gets.

I was hoping that this Godin would also be in that category of superb value - and it is - but it took a few days to figure out its "sweet spot" for what I wanted in an acoustic guitar sound - which was a nice warm strum sound but that matched the Fender and Gretsch sound.

Since all of my other guitars have 2 pickups - I purposely wanted a less over powering sound. This single pickup guitar did check that box off - but at first I though "this guitar is smaller and thinner than I expected".

Then I put the Royer R10 and SM-57 mic's on it with the SSL2+, and recorded a pair of mono tracks with the pickup into my Fender Mustang Amp - and then just acoustic - no amp.

WOW - the combo of the full on electric sound with the full on acoustic sound is exactly what I had imagined in my minds eye. The full sound out of this guitar is amazing - it seems to defy its size. Also - I'm getting the full warmth that I wanted added to my other guitar sounds.

Thanks AJ - and Sweetwater - this is a great guitar - the construction, build and sound are a superb value and it looks very, very nice.

I have wanted a hollow body electric since I saw Steve Howe with his ES-175 when I was 16 but circumstances seemed to always get in the way. In searching for an affordable option, I looked at and played several Epiphones and Ibanez Artist series, which are all great guitars, I just wanted a single P-90 pickup and all the Ibanez have humbuckers and the Epiphones are now made in China and have super high gloss finishes, yuk! I wanted the real thing, but that price point is way out of my range. So I started looking around to see what my option are. Imagine my surprise when I found that Godin makes the 5th Avenue in Canada, from Canadian Hardwoods! I could not place the order fast enough and it is everything I have dreamed of and more at a price I never thought I would find for a new guitar of this quality. I am gonna put flats on her this week to get the tone even more buttery. I have never felt the vibrations from the body of a guitar while playing like this one. I love everything about it. And if you want something a little more modern, they make a double P-90 version with a cutaway for a more rock sound.

If you are in the market for an incredibly made guitar at a price you will not believe, the Godin 5th Avenue just might be what the doctor ordered! It sure was for me.

I bought this to replace a Gretsch historic series G3900. I traded the Gretsch some years ago and missed it ever since but it was out of production. This guitar is very similar but better. Better tone and much better neck action. The fret board is straight and smooth; a joy to play. Also I like the matte finish and the natural grain of the wild cherry wood. I removed the pick guard and restrung it with light gauge acoustic strings and am very pleased with the warm, mellow tone. Sounds great plugged in or not. The P-90 is sensitive and bright and has a lot of response to the tone knob. Playing just for fun, mostly Folk, Country, soft Rock, and Americana. It's my new favorite and hard to put down.
My experience buying from Sweetwater was great from start to finish.

Ok, I've played many years and know what archtop sounds like because I've owned older Gibson's, and Epiphone's, and Gretsch's. Yes, I've played electric guitar for over 50 years and been in studio's that long too. The Godin 5th ave. nailed the old Gibson archtop sound. Put phosphor bronze strings on it and you have a good acoustic electric. Put flatwound strings on it and you have a Jazz archtop. For scoffers, the Gibson J-160e has a P-90 also. Older Taylor expression system had a humbucker installed under the neck, and the Godin A6 has a Humbucker also and they all have acoustic strings. I sounds great plugged in, So its a no brainer guitar to own, weighing 5lbs, its lighter than my Taylor dreadnought.

This guitar is outstanding. I was never a friend of this type, as I am not into Jazz (mainly lack of this kind of talent), but I connected with her immediately. Absolutely effortless play, beautiful and clean sound, holds the tune forever, flawless manufacturing, elegant matte finishing, and a pleasant touch feeling of the neck.

On first playing, it felt more like an acoustic guitar than an electric. Not simply because I had yet to plug it in, it feels and responds like a acoustic guitar. Unplugged it is surprisingly full bodied. Not quite as loud as an acoustic, but having the same balanced tone. Plugged straight into a '68 Princeton Reissue, it sounds earthy and swampy. I am still experimenting. I told my wife that I thought I had found a guitar that played like I did. Obviously, this guitar would be great clean playing jazzy stuff. However, it's also suited to alt country, blues and vintage rock & roll. The action was higher and stiffer than your typical solid body electric, but that was to be expected, especially with the acoustic strings. The intonation was spot on perfect. I am very happy 24 hours in.

If you look back at the September 2019 reviews, you will see I bought a Kingpin back then. I foolishly traded the one away and regretted it almost immediately. I play better than I did two years ago, and wanted to experiment again with another electric arch top for blues. So, I bought another Kingpin. Everything I said back in the review back then is true of the new one. I play this one through a Henriksen Bud amp amp, and the clean jazzy tone is just right for the Kingpin. Add in sales engineer Devin Cunningham's normal excellent advice and service, and Bob's your uncle. I won't be selling or trading this one. PS: The Ibanez certified fit case I got with fits the guitar perfectly and is made in Canada. A match made in the great white North!

I've grown attached to it already. I've had it two days and I can't put this thing down. The P90 is as good a any P90 I've heard. The guitar resonates great, the neck feels nice, and the frets were done very well. And the guitar itself is just beautiful to look at. I can't wait to see and hear what music I write with it.

This is a wonderful guitar. It sounds great and has quick, comfortable action. Set up great out of the box. Beautiful guitar. Good bang for the buck.

One thing about archtops- you have to hold them away from your body to let their backs resonate and thicken the bass response.
This guitar is a semi-thinbody so you can play comfortably and still get that great sound.
I swapped the heavy chrome tuning knobs for ebony, and the silver-top volume & tone knobs for gold-tops.
Now it's perfect. Sounds great plugged in too.
Plus, Sweetwater dropped the price since I bought mine last month. Grr... Oh well, it's a great guitar at either price.
It arrived quickly, wrapped and double-boxed. Can't ask for more there.

I had a chance to hear the Kingpin directly compared to a '59 ES-125 and honestly heard no difference between the two. That was very impressive!

I have or have had many Guitars both acoustic and electric but this 5th Ave. is my first True "Musical Instrument"! So clean so pure is the sound that I will be getting another Godin soon.

I'm a senior musician still playing out solo. I am not a "jazz" guitarist but I can fake it for a few songs over the night.

I have a dreadnought case that fits it fine. I swapped out the knobs for 6mm chrome dome knobs. Way nice.

The satin finish sets it off nicely. No frets sticking out or sharp ends.
The "Tusk" nut and bridge are first class.. Not some cheap ebony that needs to be replaced asap. There is no need to do any pickup changes.
Looking up about the tuners I found Bass side 18:1, Treble side 26:1. This guitar is so well thought out its unbelievable.

Set up: No guitar is going to come set up. I don't are what it is or who's it is.
I set the neck at 010, the string heights at .060 - .070 and it plays up and down the fret board like "I cant stop playing" this thing. I have about worn out Autumn Leaves. Some SRV Cold Shot isn't too bad either.

It sounds and plays so beautiful it has that traditional jazz sound. I can't wait to take it to a gig.

It came double boxed and packed super securely from Sweetwater. I could have found a sale somewhere here and there but with Sweetwater I get to see the guitar I was actually buying and select from a few guitars full photos. This is important to us over picky pickers, yes I will pay for that no problem, I have been a Sweetwater customer for decades. And I do mean decades. My guy Jeff Barnett has been with Sweetwater for eons.

This guitar sounds as good as it looks, and it looks beautiful. I'm glad I bought it when I did because I have a hunch that these guitars are going to become much more popular and expensive. I was nervous about buying an instrument online, but Sweetwater did a great job. I like that they photograph the serial number so one you see is the one you get. The packaging for shipping was exemplary, double boxed, well padded, the guitar was in a cloth bag and had what I would describe as an inflatable life preserver vest around the guitar. After unwrapping it was in perfect condition. Very pleased with the purchase all around.

The Godin 5th ave is a really well crafted instrument. The neck feels like a very expensive guitar and plays like a dream. A very robust sound for an archtop, and only gets better when plugged in. Excellent craftsmanship. Cant beat it for the price. I love Sweetwater too. Great customer svc and the "choose your favorite" feature is very useful.

Fantastic hollow body Electric, sounds just as good acoustic as it does electric. If you're like me and you're looking for a guitar that you can play both acoustically and electrically under $1,000 this is definitely the guitar. Godin is a great Guitar Company probably one of the most unheralded guitar companies there is.

Nice archtop guitar. Great quality. Made in Canada. It looks and plays like a $1000 plus instrument.

I love it! It's just what I wanted and sounds like I dreamed it would. Godin makes great guitars and I can't wait to get another one! Shout out to my sales rep Josh Hacker for his excellent service and tour of the Sweetwater facility. Made it worth the long trip to Indiana. Thanks man!

I am usually pretty skimpy with praise for products because I feel like you usually get what you pay for. That is not the case with my new left handed Godin Kingpin. Sitting here looking at the guitar resting on a stand, it looks like it should cost thousands not hundreds. The contours of it's design are more akin to a piece of sculpture than a musical instrument. Sounds great out of the box and it truly is a guitar you won't want to put down.

And now a word about Sweetwater's 55 point inspection. When my sales engineer sent me professional pictures of my guitar, I noticed that there was some paint scratched off of the brace holding the pickguard. Upon unboxing the guitar I saw that the scratched piece had been replaced. Thank you Sweetwater for living up to your inspection promise and for correcting this problem.

In the final analysis, I could not be more pleased with this guitar and my sales engineer, Kurt Martin. I feel like I got much more than my money's worth and I recommend this guitar to anyone.

This guitar is the finest playing acoustic, in my herd. I am selling and giving away all non Godin guitars to my family. I now have three Godins, and cannot forsee ever needing or wanting any other manufacturers products. From srv to ccr, doing it right every time. No holes or compromises, only wish is that i knew about Godin guitars, earlier in my musical life.
Regards

I've had another high end hollow body that was MIJ, well made and four times the price of the Godin and I hated it. I love this guitar, I mean love this guitar. I seriously have nothing but love for this axe. It's a simple very well made true hollow body. I really like the voicing of the P-90. I've had this for just a couple of days and the more I have played it the more I like it. I adjusted the action down and no buzzing just amazing playability. The neck shape is different from anything I have and its kind of the bomb, I dig it. I've seen a few used ones for sale, some people say they are thin sounding, I'm not hearing that at all. I may have got a really good one but this thing is beyond sweet, rapidly becoming a true favorite. For the price it's the best value of any guitar I've ever bought.

The other reviews here pretty much say all the good things about this guitar. Plays, sounds and looks great pretty much sums up the positives about it. I decided that this guitar needed a little something more in the appearance department so I took off the plastic pickguard and truss rod cover and used them as templates to make ebony replacements. I also replaced the knobs with some chrome domes with ebony inserts. The final touch was adding some open gear 18:1 tuners. Enclosing a picture of the body to show the mods there.

It is hard for me to imagine getting more guitar for the money. I wanted to experiment with an arch top guitar without breaking the bank. I am totally delighted with the Kingpin. The wood, fit, and finish are excellent. I dropped the string height down and put flat wound light gauge strings on it. I was able to get the strings low without any buzzing or intonation problems. Plugged it into a Vox tube amp. Sweet clean tone that changed to a nice blues tone with a roll of the volume knob. The acoustic tone is still nice, just less loud. This guitar is a keeper for many years.

The guitar came in perfect condition. The finish is absolutely gorgeous. I brought the guitar to get a set-up done because their was some buzzing going on. It was corrected and it plays and sounds beautiful. This guitar is very well built and the place that did the set-up was very impressed with this guitar. The owner told me he was going to get one for himself. I'm playing it through a Carvin Belair 212 combo amp and I have more than enough power. Not allot of volume without the amp but it is good for me because I can practice without the amp because I live in an apartment. It has a nice tone and volume control, which I like because it keeps things simple. The f holes give it a nice deep warm tone which you can't attain with a solid body.A really nice guitar and you can't beat the price. Made in Canada and I watched their video of how they are made and was very impressed. I would highly recommend this guitar.

My father-in-law has a 1950's Gibson ES-125 that I love to play. I'd love to own one, too, but a good vintage ES-125 is tough to come by, and very pricey. So I emailed Sean at Sweetwater and asked for some alternatives. He suggested a few, including the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin.

I was totally blown away once I received my 5th Avenue!

First, let's talk tone. Having played other archtops, I was expecting a somewhat muted/mellow acoustic sound when compared to a flat-top, but this was much louder and much brighter than I thought it would be! Don't get me wrong, a dreadnought will still play louder when strumming chords, but this little guitar holds its own volume-wise, especially when playing finger-style. I was really surprised by the clarity in the mid-range when finger-picking. The 5th Avenue is especially articulate compared to the ES-125 that I'm used to playing. Then I plugged it into my amp --- wow! Clean, dirty, jazzy, woody, it's all there. This little guitar is extremely versatile! The P-90 is well suited for this type of guitar. I was a little worried I'd have to replace it, but I won't need to do that, it's a high quality pickup that does it all.

Next, let's talk quality. This is an extremely well-made guitar. The cognac burst is beautiful! The choice of woods is fantastic! The cherry body sounds great, and looks great. It really does look like a french-polished violin. The rosewood fret board is thick and has a comfortable bevel on the edges. The pick guard is a wonderful 3-Ply that really does enhance the overall appearance of the instrument. The neck is very comfortable, not too wide or too thick. I'd say the thickness sits somewhere in between a Gibson 50's and 60's Slim taper. The chrome button tuners look vintage, but hold their tune. I was expecting the Tusq bridge to sound funny compared to a rosewood bridge, but I don't think it makes any material difference in tone. The guitar also feels very solid, I'm sure it can take all the strumming, picking, rocking, and anything else I throw at it and be just fine. All in all, I am impressed with the fit and finish of this guitar. The value for this price point is amazing.

Finally, let's talk Sweetwater's service. My wife bought me this guitar as a surprise for my birthday. She knew I was looking at guitars on Sweetwater.com, but she had no idea which one. So, she called Sweetwater, and they were able to look at my account, find the guitar I wanted, and order it for my wife. In addition, the guitar was out of stock at the time, with an ETA of ~2 weeks. However, Sweetwater was able to get a hold of a new guitar in 2 days! This is proof positive that Sweetwater has some close connections with suppliers - and is able to request and get product that is out of stock everywhere else.

In summary, the product exceeded expectations, and Sweetwater's customer service is top notch. I'm absolutely thrilled with every aspect of this purchase!

I am a chord melody soloist and I have a number of nice archtop and other guitars by quality builders. I have the purely acoustic 5th Avenue and wanted something like it with a P90 pickup. I know from experience that Godin makes quality guitars at very reasonable price points and this instrument is no exception. It is a lot of fun to play as it has the acoustic sound and feel I was looking for.

This instrument was in stock when I purchased it and Ryan Sloan and his team literally got it to me within just about 24 hours of placing the order. This was just two days before Christmas. I ordered a set of D�Addario strings which they threw in for free and even put them on the guitar for me. It was well set up out-of-the-box and all I needed to do was just adjust the action to taste.

I have always been leery of ordering instruments online. I bought from Sweetwater because of their return policy. I will not be returning this guitar. No dents, no scratches, no dings and it met my expectations. The customer service exceeded my expectations as they were prompt, courteous and polite. They were able to dispense information to aid me in my purchase.

This was a very positive buying experience and I am very pleased with the product, the service and the delivery time.

The workmanship, quality of materials, sound and action are just beyond expectations at really any price point. The really amazing thing is this instrument is designed and produced with North American materials and labor.

The acoustic output and balance is top notch for any archtop. That said, like all at archtop guitars is quite prone to feedback so don't expect it to behave like a solid or semi hollow instrument. Highly recommended.

I found myself un-obligated, bored and holding a fist full of cash one Friday afternoon, so I wandered into my local guitar shop. With a new found love of single coil pickups I had been eyeballing the Gretsch and Guild hollow bodies unfortunately too poor to actually buy one. On this afternoon, however, I played the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. It was love at first strum. Mine is called Cognac Burst. The satin finish on these instruments is beautiful, and give it a vintage, played look. This guitar has a really nice feel in terms of the neck and the thickness of the body. I have fairly long fingers and the neck is comfortable to play. It feels to me, a bit like the thicker necks on the Les Pauls of the late 50s. When I got the guitar, the shop said they’d dial it in for me for free, but frankly, I have no complaints as it is. With the classic style floating bridge you can drop the action impossibly low before you start to get fret buzz. After I brought mine home, I did just that and it plays like a dream. The frets are finished well and there is a bevel on the edge of the fret board and frets that keep them out of the way if you’re in the habit of sliding your hand up and down the neck quickly. The Kingpin has a warm mellow tone when unplugged that is perfect for playing jazz and blues. I also enjoy the lower volume of the guitar since it has f holes when I play later in the evening. Plugged in, the P90 kills and sounds good clean and driven. It also retains that warm, mellow tone when played without distortion. I haven’t had any trouble with feedback as I tend to keep the volume a bit lower for small spaces. My one complaint about this guitar isn't even the guitar. It's the hideously ugly case that they want 80 bucks for. It's bulky and made of what looks like extra tough styrofoam. I understand Godin was going for lightness, but this thing is ugly. All in all, this guitar is a great choice and plays as well as my Gibson Les Paul and my buddies Gretsch 51… whatever

no wonder Guitar Player Magazine had it as "Player's Choice" when it debuted in 2008... it is an "entertainer" for sure... put me in a corner with this one and I will stay out of trouble... it is everything as advertised

This guitar is first and foremost a visual beauty. Exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail mark this as the one guitar you want to keep on display when family and friends visit.

More importantly though is the glorious tone: warm, rich, and eminently comforting. You could not only play this guitar all day, but you could also listen to it all day.

Just bought this in the last month. I have bought Guitars and Amps from Sweetwater; best vendor there is.

Pros:

Prefect finish. Brilliant acoustic sound. Book match top is great

Very playable guitar

Cons:

Bridge\saddle slides on top taking tuning to Mars. If you have an ear you can slide it back in to tune in a hurry. Not the greatest for live performance. I admit I play heavy handed(no pick; thumb and knuckles. maybe a learning curve for me). Solved the issue with a few spots of .5 mil double side tape under the saddle.

Feedback at midrange is annoying but useful with palm mute.

Static charge on pickguard snaps though p\u. Easy fix; remove guard

All in all, a beautiful Guitar to add to anyone's collection. Plus made from wood and craftsmanship by our friends to the North. Canadian Cherry and Maple are choice woods. You can smell the Cherry as you play

Can't say anything bad. If you crave an Acoustic\Electric Archtop this is a great value. For $ add hard-shell case. Worth it.

//d

What a wonderful instrument. With just one pick-up, it's not "fancy" but it's beautiful. It's a solid, basic good sounding and playing guitar. Un-amplified or through an amp, it sounds like a guitar is supposed to sound. It was almost in tune right out of the box. The playing action is super, like butter. ( After a week I restrung with flat-wound strings and it's really smooth ) It's not a large guitar. I love the weight and how it feels holding it. It's beautiful to look at. Amplified, with no effects it sounds like a nice steel string acoustic. With today's effects racks and boxes it can sound like anything you want. I like it plain and natural, maybe a touch of reverb, sometimes a little chorus. I'm very happy with this guitar.

This is a wonderful guitar! I did have to put somewhat heavier strings on it and re-adjust the action and neck relief to my specs, but after that quick adjustment, something I expect to do on any guitar, even one as well set up as any from Sweetwater, it played like a vintage 40's/50's archtop f hole guitar.

The acoustic sound is quite good, maybe not as loud as some of my other older archtops, but the tone is opening up as I play it and most likely after a year or so it will have an even better acoustic voice. I can play it acoustically and enjoy the tone - and when plugged in, it sounds rich and full, and more versatile than i had thought a single neck P90 guitar would be.

The finish is simple but well done, it looks very good and seems durable.

My need was for a new working acoustic/electric jazzbox. it fits the bill very well indeed!

Ordering a guitar is a gamble and it paid off big time on this beautiful in every way arch top Godin. The value is unparalleled. It's easy to play and holds in tune.

The staff at Sweetwater is amazing and this guitar is better than my expectations. It was well set up and his play like a dream the quality of the craftsmanship and the sound are unbelievable in this price point

I got this because I don't want to take my es-125 on the road. This is a great guitar, especially for the price. Probably the best bargain in the world of archtops, imo. Definitely get it from sweetwater. The set-up on the guitar was really nice and it sounded and played great right out of the box. I didn't give it five stars because there is a really annoying buzz in the tail-piece when I play the high e string on the 4th fret. I'm sure I can fix it when I change the strings and in the meantime i just put a small piece of foam beneath the tail-piece and it mutes the buzz. electronics are nice and clean and the pickup sounds great. this guitar is really light too. quality instrument made in N America. very pleased.

It is a great playing, looking, and sounding guitar. It’s called a budget archtop, but hardly looks or plays like one. The Canadian wild cherry body is beautiful! The action was good out of the box and I like the nut width for fingerpicking. I love the tone control the best. You bleed it off and you get some nice, mellow jazz tones or turn it up for some edgy blues. Rockabilly sounds great too.

While I will generally agree with other owners here that the guitar’s craftsmanship is superb, I was surprised to find a line drawn on the fretboard between the second and third frets. Apparently, during the construction of the guitar, a line was drawn for the purpose of fret placement but they discovered it was off by about a half-inch. Oops! I am surprised that Godin’s quality control let this sloppy issue pass inspection.

One thing I am fussy about is fret ends. My guitar is pretty rough on the bottom edge of the fretboard. This is an other issue Godin should have taken a closer look at. Is it now the responsibility of us guitarists to keep a fret file in our guitar gear? For some brands I guess so.

Despite my grumbles, this guitar is a keeper.

This is a beautiful guitar. The cognac burst has the look of an old elegant violin. This guitar is very well made and the good craftsmanship is evident. The guitar came with a checklist of 11 parameters such as fret wire, neck, bridge, finish etc. next to which were the initials of each inidividual craftsman that had quality controlled the product. The finish and set up were excellent out of the box. The genius in the guitar is the simple elegance. Instead of trying to copy 1,000 + dollar guitars with cheap appointments, Godin concentrates on quality over quantity. Sure, it doesn't have a fancy neck binding or pearl inlays but what it does have it does very well. I tried Ibanez, Epiphone and Gretsch at this price point or close and I can tell you for craftsmanship the Godin wins hands down. Everyone who I show it to handles it delicately mistakenly believing its an expensive guitar. It has a beautiful finish, tight tolerance, nice sound. It does however feed back quite a bit at higher volumes. This is a guitar for jazz or blues gigs with low stage volume. It doesn't come with a case which was disappointing. I personally would not pay the kind of money they are asking for the TRIC case. I don't think it's worth it personally having used this case. I think it could have at least come with a case for a $700.00 guitar. Overall, still an amazing buy,

Great guitar for the money. Feels a little stiff at first, but after a couple of weeks of playing gigs, this guitar is becoming a staple for me. Plays more like an acoustic than an electric, but has the classic early jazz era tone even straight through a PA without an amp. Highly recommended.

I've owned this guitar for a year now and it has become my go-to guitar. I play a variety of styles, fingerstyle, jazz, praise and worship, etc. This guitar handles those styles well. The fit and finish are very good. The guitar is every bit as beautiful as the pictures, maybe more so. It's light so it can be played for hours. The neck has a nice profile. The pickup is good for a stock pickup. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is the tuners. While they are good, functional and vintage looking, I can see myself upgrading them down the road. It's not necessary, but they aren't the most expensive tuners. They are good enough. One nice thing, the bridge is made of Tusq, but looks like ebony or dark rosewood. It transfers the sound quite nicely. I've even used this guitar in place of an acoustic, and when eq'd it can sound pretty close. I've gotten lots of compliments on the looks and sound of this guitar. It's a keeper and I would immediately replace it if ever lost.

Oh my god man the new guitar is so sick! Sounds amazing. I feel like the gal that got away came back today. Just sounds so good with like my style of finger picking, chords, and palm muting. The hollow body brings out a sweet play with your voice if you force it. Never will need to plug it in. Even when playing with other people. Like only when I sing through a mic. Neck is heavier than I expected and body is bigger. But, maybe just because I have been playing on a darn mini so much. Ah! What an axe! Could chop down some trees with this thing!

Only bummer is there are some small bumps in the finish on the top side.

i have read all 6 pages of reviews.-- yes, it is a pretty guitar. yes, it appears very well built. and, yes, i like the look and finish of the canadian wild cherry. and, yes, it has a nice tone.

i do have a "fly in the ointment" complaint, however, and it has to do with the strings the guitar came with.-- i play several guitars, not very well, but very enthusiastically. and, no other guitar requires the effort to depress the strings, and properly fret them, as does this godin. i am going to replace them with a lighter gauge, probably some ernie ball's. (and, yes, as delivered, the "action" on the guitar was very high. talk to godin, and have it set lower.)

oh, gasp!!! definitely not a purist, you are saying. correct. i am 75 years old, and do not need weight lifter forearms. it won't sound as resonant as the strings on it now, i suspect, but it will get played more.

i will keep you posted. john jay