Godin A6 Ultra - Natural Semi-gloss Reviews

Purchased this 5.5 years ago from Sweetwater after seeing Rik Emmett use one live, and it's definitely the finest playing guitar I have in my collection. The neck is absolutely incredible. I take the Ultra A6 through an HX Stomp XL using an acoustic IR on a stereo preset, and it sounds like an authentic, high grade acoustic with no feedback. There's the added benefit of blending in the neck humbucker to sweeten the tone as well. No need for a ToneDexter, Aura or even an LR Baggs Hi-Fi here.

Canadian manufacturer Godin (pronounced Go-DAN) is incredibly underrated, and their craftmanship is second to none. I also purchased a second Godin earlier this year, as Genesis touring guitarist Daryl Stuermer introduced his solid body DS-1 signature model in 2019. That's a keeper as well.

I recently tried the new updated Taylor T5z Custom Koa last week to see if the competition has caught up, but returned it because it doesn't even compare to the Ultra. I have several Taylor guitars that I love, but the T5z was trebly, brittle and lacked warmth.

So, if you're on the fence about an acoustic electric, you definitely can't go wrong with the Ultra A6 (and it's now going for almost double what I originally paid for it). I'm one satisfied customer.

When you have to record tracks over and over again this is a great guitar it's easy on the fingers and easy on the wrist. The only issue I have with this guitar is the plastic 9 volt battery casing on the back... feels a little cheap. But this guitar all around is worth every dollar and it's a great guitar!

I use a Helix, so I have the ability to have an acoustic sim and that worked great for a while, I came to a place where I just needed the actual acoustic... real sound and feel, but needed a slim body because I have short arms. You know, like a T-Rex only a little longer. LOL I have been searching and stumbled across the A6 Ultra on Youtube. After watching several demos, I decided to order one from Sweetwater. I love it! The A6 Ultra does what I needed and plays beautifully.

I wrote a previous review of this fine guitar a few years back (scroll down for that) and since then, I did have to replace the tuners on it because the plastic heads on a couple of them broke (no big deal). It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and in keeping with that I have to say that "sound" also fulfills that adage. That being said, if you want to hear what this guitar sounds like in a live situation, just click on the provided link. This was a live improvised performance at "The Lost Chord coffeehouse" in Port Colborne, Ontario (Canada) on March 19, 2014. My younger brother Mich had written a blues tune and wanted me to accompany him onstage. Completely unrehearsed (except that he sang me a couple of bars of the tune and we agreed on the key to accommodate his C harp). I plugged my Godin A6 Ultra into the sound system and away we went! Unfortunately a friend who was photographing the event switched his camera to video mode a bit late and missed the opening bars and the soundman turned the volume down at one point thinking we were done. Fortunately he realized his mistake, turned the sound back up and here you have it. Although I have 9 other guitars (acoustic and electric) I'm so glad I had the Godin there that night!

unbelievable love it ! blew away both my Martins !

It plays like a dream and sounds like one, too. I've wanted a solid body acoustic guitar for years and glad I settled on this one. Sweetwater's sales engineers are the best.

I am a solo acoustic guitarist in a three person vocal group. We play restaurants and bars that do not offer optimal spaces to set up - there is no "stage." Usually it's a corner from which they move a table or two. Set up is throw-and-go. Consequently we set up tight, usually not in the best place in relation to our PA. As a result of that, I have constantly fought feedback wars with my guitars using various pickups, EQing, phase reversal and creative positioning techniques. All this in concert with an attempt to get a full, balanced tone from the instrument through the PA. The obvious answer was to go electric, but I wanted that acoustic tone and fullness.

The A6 Ultra seemed to be an obvious theoretical solution, but they are hard to find so I watched a bunch of "reviews" on YouTube; but nobody was doing what I do, which is to finger pick the guitar using brass fingerpicks. So I really didn't know how it was going to sound. But I went ahead and ordered one from Sweetwater.

It turned out to be the absolute solution to my problems. It sounds tremendous through the PA, big and full just as I'd hoped. With enough volume you can get anything to feed back, but as of yet I have not been able to get this guitar to feedback at any frequency. For my needs, perfect. I had also anticipated that EQing might be difficult to get the sound I want, but I find I simply have to set the PA channel flat, and handle all the EQing with the instrument itself. I'll no longer have to carry my Baggs PADI to gigs to compensate. I should add that I am primarily concerned with the acoustic sound, and I believe that is where this guitar shines. The humbucker, while touted by many reviewers, is best used, in my view, to augment the acoustic sound and smooth out some of the harshness often associated with piezo transducers. I use it sparingly if at all.

As I said, I am currently a solo guitarist. But were I playing acoustic in a band situation, this is exactly the instrument I would use.

Plays great. Sounds great.

Great acoustic and electric tone. Light weight is a plus. Thanks to Sweetwater and Dave Walent for their usual great service and price.

I've bought several guitars from Sweetwater and sales engineer/rep Philip Courtney. The service is outstanding. I like the fact that when I call Philip knows immediately who it is along with my history and preferences.
I learned about Godin after speaking with Heath Wright/ Richochet about his.
Wow, Godin didn't disappoint. This guitar sounds fantastic. I received it a few days ago and gigged with it once in an acoustic duo. It was killer. I use the one output and blend in just a tad of the humbucker for some added punch. This guitar sounds better as an acoustic guitar than a lot of acoustic guitars.
I will be adding a natural in the future to handle alternate tuning needs.
Godin, Sweetwater, Philip Courtney A++++

Bought this guitar without playing one; no stores seem to carry or want to stock it...big mistake on their part.
Simple in appointments; nice cedar color (natural). The back is beautiful as well. The whole thing is really eye candy. It came with a nice carry case.
The set up by Sweetwater was right on, no scratches; clean all the way. It was actually in tune when I took it from it's double boxing. Nice pack job Sweetwater.
The sound is really complex, a bit bassy at times which could be my style of hitting and picking the strings too hard at this time. Everyone who has heard it has liked the sound. I took it to its first gig last week and asked folks to let me know what they thought about it. I had about 6 people come up to me and said it sounded anywhere from great to awesome. Play it through an amp or PA; either works.
I love the ability to mix the two pickups and I will be on a new adventure for quite some time playing with the many variations of mixing the pickups and the EQ's. It is very, very easy to play after having played medium gauge strings on my Martin D-35 for many years. This will be a welcome break for my fingers.
Thinking about buying one? Don't....Just Do It! You will be more than happy with the expenditure.

I play about 90% acoustic guitar in a string band but need electric tones on just a few tunes. Grew tired of dragging an acoustic rig and an electric rig to our shows. Have tried a number of different acoustic/electric hybrids and have never been satisfied with either acoustic or electric tones. I've have a beater Seagull acoustic for years and love the neck so I thought I'd give this a try (somewhat expecting I'd end up sending it back). This one is not going back. GREAT neck and playability, GREAT acoustic tones, acceptable electric tones through the humbucker, but the real value of this guitar is the ability to blend the acoustic and electric pickups. There is where the sweet spot lies. I am running the acoustic pickup through a Radial Tone Bone PZ-Pre into the board and the electic output goes to a Vox AC4TV with an SM-57 in front. Very Very happy with this guitar, and the folks atSweetwater are awesome to deal with!

Out of the box I started to play and it was incredible. The neck and action were a dream. What a versatile guitar that creates so many different sounds. Thank you Sweetwater for the great packaging and your customer service is amazing. Bart, you are the best!

First and foremost, big thumbs up to the guys at Sweetwater. My Godin A6 was in tune and perfectly intonated out of the box. The action is pretty much perfect.

The guitar itself presents a limitless expanse of tonal options. Two outputs, one for the humbucker and one for the under-saddle transducer. Or run both pickups through a single out put jack. What can't you do with that arrangement? Two amps, two effects loops... its almost mind boggling.

The purely acoustic sound of this chambered solid body guitar is surprisingly loud. Its also one of, if not the most, responsive guitar's I've ever played. You know that feeling when the thing almost feels alive in your hands? When the slightest movement or change in touch produces some subtle nuanced response from the guitar? Well, this thing has it in spades.

Fit, finish and fretwork are all top notch. Overall, this is simply a superlative guitar, and a tremendous bargain at the price.

I am primarily an acoustic player. I've owned everything from Santa Cruz, Taylor, Gibson, Rick Turner, Langejans, Martin and everything in between. I play live 2-3 times a week with a large band\vocalist. While it will never be an actual acoustic, it is the closest I've come for a natural, convincing acoustic tone. Add a PA, Delay and Chorus and you'll be blown away!

Being able to "dial in" the sound I'm after, not to mention cutting through the mix, is very easy to do with this guitar. The uniqueness seems to come from the ability to blend the humbucker with the piezo. That's where the fullness these guitars are known for seems to come from.

I've owned T-5's and SST's and while they are good guitars, the Godin has that low end that really sets it apart. I don't play electric very often so I can't comment on that side of it. But, fit, finish, action, playability...all top notch.

I've had major back surgery so comfort, weight are all factors in my rig. If you are looking for a great Stage\Studio guitar that has EXCELLENT acoustic tones while having the ability to be fully electric...this is for you. Dual output jacks, quality gig bag...what more could anyone ask for.

I love my Natural finish so much I'm going to buy a black HG. One for the office, one for home.

Thought long and hard about this purchase - so glad I did. The quality and construction of this Godin is nothing but flawless. I love the 'C' shaped mahogany neck, the thinnest of the body and the electronics of this model. The finish to the top is perfection, as it the choice of cedar. Unplugged it resonates beautifully, and when plugged in, it's sonically exceptional. If I had any regrets, it's that I should have bought the Koa top version.

What a guitar! I sold a Taylor T-5 a couple of years ago and missed the versatility it had. However, I didn't like the tonal "challenge" it had with the high E string so I started looking at alternatives. The Godin A6 Ultra really intrigued me and I took the plunge. WHAT A GUITAR! It's incredibly fluid to play and the sound I get when I plug into both an acoustic and electric amp blows me away -- very full and satisfying.

I played this side-by-side with a friend who has a Koa T-5 over his amp system and the Godin put the T-5 to shame -- and at a quarter of the price. The humbucker and the under-saddle transducer working together are an indescribably potent combination.

This is now my "go to" guitar for everything from folk to acoustic rock and blues. It even sounds great when I play jazz.

In summary, this is one fantastic guitar!

Where do I start. It arrived yesterday and I couldn't put it down. It handles any type of music you want, and the sound quality is amazing. The workmanship was etter than expected, and the playability is great. Someone put some thought into this fretboard. It plays easy like an electric, while still being able to get the sound quality of a good acoustic. If you need a very versital acoustic electric, this is the guitar for you. It can do anything!

I was looking for a thin-bodied acoustic guitar because a shoulder injury makes it too painful to play my full-bodied acoustics. After doing a lot of research online, I decided to give the A6 Ultra a try. I went to a local music store and gave one a good workout for about an hour and was amazed at its playability. Through a Fender acoustic amp, although it didn't sound exactly like a good full-bodied acoustic such as a Martin or a Gibson, it had its own sound, blending its under-the-saddle piezo with the humbucker. It also had a real acoustic guitar feel when finger-picked. At the same time, it had the playability of an electric guitar. I've tried finger-picking my Strat and my LP but that has always felt weird, not at all like picking my favourite Armbrust custom-built cutaway.

A bonus is that the Godin is surprisingly loud when played unplugged.

The A6 Ultra incorporates both a piezo and a humbucker pickup wired through a pre-amp/EQ with volume and tone controls for both pickups. When using the "blend" output jack and playing through a good sound system, by fiddling with these controls, I was able to get a sound that literally blew me away! Okay, not a true acoustic sound like my Armbrust of Gibson SJ25, but a warm round full sound with all the definition I hoped for with chords strummed or picked and with individual notes just sparkling at the high registers and yet well defined at the bass end.

It is possible, using both output jacks, to have the output from the piezo going to one amp while the output from the humbucker is sent to another amp, handy for recording, I would think, but that's not something I'm into right now. Still, nice to know that option is there.

I've got the natural satin finish model. I love the fact that there's nothing hiding the natural good looks of the real cedar top. I've never liked gaudy acoustic guitars. The shape of the body and headstock are classic in their simple yet aesthetic lines.

Basically, this axe feels like an acoustic when finger-picked and yet plays like a well-set-up electric such as a strat or tele. The best of both worlds.

Feels good and solid overall although I've read that some have had problems with the tuning machines. Haven't had mine long enough yet to give an honest opinion.

A well-made (Canadian, eh?) guitar which fills my needs admirably. Worth every penny I paid for it.

I'd almost given up playing my acoustic guitars (my first love) because of this shoulder injury. This guitar has made it possible for me to get back to doing what I love best, finger-picking folk/folk blues and open/modal tuning instrumentals. Can't put a price on that!

Great build.
Sounds great, feels great. Unplugged its loud enough for practicing.
If battery life of 300 hours is true, that will be a big plus.

I wish there was a standard master volume on the guitar when using the mix output.

Professional build, fair price. Fast shipping.
Excellent help from my sales rep Patrick!!
I'm glad I chose the A6 ultra.

The A6 Ultra has been my go-to guitar for acoustic duo/trio shows for almost 3 years, and I'm on my 3rd one. The reason for going through 3 in 3 years is because they are not always perfect right out of the box for my needs. The first one (purchased new) sounded excellent, but was pretty hard to play - high action and not-so-great intonation. So I sold it and bought a used one. By this time I learned how to shim the neck to adjust the action (shims place under the heel in the pocket) and intonation (shims placed on the butt end of the neck to lengthen the strings a little). Although it played great and had good intonation, the low E was considerably louder than the other strings. I tried the technique of placing cellophane tape under the saddle under all the strings except the low E so that it makes contact last (which I did on another acoustic/electric successfully), but couldn't get the desired final outcome. So I used it that way for a years and recently bought another new one and made my adjustments to the neck as needed... and this one is superb! My only complaint was that one of the tuners was super tight, but Sweetwater's customer service sent me a new one and all is good again. Had I tinkered a little more, my first one (in cognac burst finish) would've probably sufficed, but here I am, and I'm happy. If I had to come up with one gripe it would be the slider used for volume control. I think a single volume knob (like on an electric guitar) would be so much more comfortable and intuitive, but I'll live with the slider in exchange for the comfort, sound and playability of the A6 Ultra.

I use my Godin A6 Ultra primarily for solo and duo acoustic gigs playing cover tunes (James Taylor, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Chris Stapleton, et al.)

I do not utilize the stereo option of running 1 cable for acoustic and another for the electric pickup. I plan to try this in the future, but for now I don't feel like lugging an amp to gigs in addition to my PA. That said, I find a lot of value in playing direct into the PA and mixing in the humbucker to fatten up my tone on solos.

I have friends who gig that don't love this guitar. They play very hard and are more accustomed to a full body that they can bang away on for a percussive element. For me, I have a pretty mellow attack, and I'm often doing a lot of single note lead playing.

Feedback is almost never an issue with this guitar. It's great for late night playing when my 4yo is sleeping. I highly recommend it.

The Godin A6 Ultra is a very well crafted guitar from Canada that shows excellent craftsmanship , but just wasn't exactly what I was after. Both the Piezo and the humbucker was very dominant on the low strings giving it a very bass rich sound to me. I love the fact that it can be hooked up in a stereo configuration which is the main reason I got one. I read so many reviews that claimed it was one guitar that did everything I just had to give it a shot.
Other reviews said it played just like their electric guitars, but it didn't really feel the same to me. My opinion is that it does play like a very good acoustic guitar, but nothing like my PRS or Les Paul. The fit and finish is very good, and it sounds great and much louder than expected un-plugged. Still a bit "stiff" to play, and I never found the right settings to get the electric sound I like.
This is my opinion, and I will say that the guitar may very well be perfect for the others. It is a superbly built guitar in a very fair price range for what you get. In fact, Godin could probably raise the price and it would still be a good deal.

Pronounced Go-dean. yada yada. Sweetwater set the A6 up for me with Elixer 12 53's 80 20's and it sounds and plays great through Fishman loudbox. I prefer thin picks and they sound smooth. Blended pickups sound great, don't really care about the electric sound as I bought it as an versatile acoustic. Ordered the case yesterday as the gig bag is garbage. Way to go Canada!

I thought I would a review for the Godin A6 Ultra. I"m a jazz guitarist and I needed to have a "back up" guitar because my archtop needs to go into the shop for a little work. I didn"t give this guitar 5 stars because after trying it out with just the humbucker in use, I found it the bass strings to be "too bass heavy" for my taste (I"m a jazz guitarist!—I like warm tones but not this much—maybe it"s standard to let the guitarist tweak the pickup for themselves??). In every other respect I really like the A6 Ultra, I think it"s a lot of guitar for the money! Looks so good too! I decided to make a manual adustment on the humbucker by lowering the side of the pickup under the 6th, 5th, & 4th strings. I checked to see if this made a difference and it did—much improved! After playing the A6 Ultra with this adustment I felt the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings were sounding a little too bright. I lowered the pickup on that side of the humbucker — still leaving it a bit higher than the low end of the pickup—leaving the pickup at sort of a slight angle rising from the low strings toward the high strings. I just got back from a gig using this guitar and with the adjustments I made the guitar"s humbucker sounded nicely balanced! It now has the warm, jazzy sound that I like—not too muddy, not too bright.

Now a few words about Sweetwater: My sales guy Enej took my order with my request for it to be set up for .13 gauge strings, changing the bridge pins from plastic to ebony, and to keep the action as low as possible without "buzzing" — this was all carried out perfectly. The guitar was delivered with the appropriate packaging and precautions—it even had a "caution label" to wait 24 hours before opening the box! I already knew about letting the guitar acclimate before opening the box — still I was impressed Sweetwater made sure to make that clear. My experience with Sweetwater has been a 5 star rating! Well done guys and thanks to everyone that worked on my guitar!

This is a neat guitar, with some cool features from our Canadian friends. It's quite light and comfortable seated or standing, and has a great neck feel. From a distance, the EQ and volume/tone controls appears to be an unlikely placement for a sound hole, but everything is accessible and easy to adjust. Two output jacks if you wish to split the signal and run the humbucker and piezo to different amps, or you can combine the signal using the non-electric output jack. Creative use of a volume pedal might help when you wish to bring in the humbucker and it wouldn't be too hard to add a little dirt to the signal chain if that's your thing. When changing strings, best to have a wound 3d (G) string, and while acoustic strings will work technically, they'll not work as well with the humbucker pick-up--which would seem to miss the point of choosing this guitar. Some reviewers opted to change to lighter strings (it comes with .012-.052 strings), but that remains a highly personal choice. I find it quite versatile and I like blending the sound with multiple amps--it's one of those "if I had to take only one guitar" kind of deals I find, and I'm impressed with Godin more generally--and this from a PRS guy(!). (Down the line, I'd happily get another guitar from Godin's catalog, like the LGX-SA possibly). I opted for the natural finish, but it looks nice whichever finish you choose and a lot tend to lean towards the Cognac Burst (there's also a Koa version of the A6, but I'm not certain SW carries it -- check with your sale engineer, or call mine, Dan Overstreet, at ext 1706).

I love this guitar. Action and playability are great! I put Heavy bottom/Light top strings on it (electric) and it is awesome because I play a lot of lead guitar - I like to be able to bend that G-string a whole step with ease. The finish and workmanship is great and having the Humbucker mix is perfect for doing leads and wanting a boost over the mix without any feedback (just a blend). The only reason why I gave a 4.5 star is because I have a line 6 spider 5 (acoustic amp settings) and the G10 wireless which is awesome - however for some reason I hade to by an adaptor (trs to ts) for the G10 wireless to get it to work (works in my other 10 guitars) - some think it is wired opposite because it is made in Canada?? Anyway, that whole combination works great and you can also run line out to the PA. Even can play some saturated leads in the mix without any problems! I played the Carvin AC 275 before this and this has more to offer to me because of the stereo ouput and humbucker mix! If any one knows why the Wireless G10 doesn't work like it should - please post!! I recommend this guitar - especially if you like to play lead!

I can only say that this guitar is the best one I've ever had so far. It sounds greate, the thing I love the most is that I can add more body sound with the EQ, even though it's a little guitar I can make it sound like if it was a bigger one. everytime I play it I thank to myself for buying it. it feels so smooth, and sounds so greate!!!!!. I JUST LOVE MY NEW GUITAR.

I really did a lot of homework on this guitar ,When I first got it the action was very high could not play two songs with out getting tired tried a adjusting the neck truss rode with no success so I read a review about shimming the neck so I took of the neck very carefully and shimmed it with a 1/16 my be a little more piece of Formica a perfect thing shaped nicely and screwed the neck on , this guitar is almost perfect now can, t. put it down,Had a gig last nite worked beautifully .ps I think Godin needs to look at the height at the neck joint I think that's the problem love it .

Great quality , set up is great as I like most of My guitars . I have recorded it and love the sounds / tones it has .

Enjoy the body size,very easy to play without the width of a full body acoustic. Wish it had more control with Volume and eq controls. The two outputs is very handy , mixing of pickups is great .The fit and finish were very nice a good looking guitar. Had the action set up with a Shim under bolt on neck to lower string height without messing with saddle and new strings Godin strings sounded tinny to me.It's a keeper for me,this and Les Paul, all the Guitars I need.

Like the guitar ,but found out some problems that need to be looked into.
I really think think The Godin factory needs to Recheack the hight on the bolt on area of the guitar that need to be raised about 3/16 of an inch for the strings to be at 1/8 off fret board to be played comfortably,
Next thing is the high E sting breaks so fast that I got to have extra E strings when I Play this guitar can't understand why ,I don't know if any others owners have this problem can be very frustrating
Why Godin guitars don't have a Battery light gauge or some thing I find that not good also. AJ on board tuner would be nice , with those 4 adjustment this guitar would be a perfect working instrument

I have had a goldin A6 Ultra for several years now - love the concept - has a nice sound plugged in. I really like the mix the best. However, I seldom play it in public, because it is very difficult to play in tune.
The slightest squeeze of the stings when playing chords will makes my ultra sound out of tune - strings go sharp. Wish this was not the case. If played in tune - would give it five stars.

I dig this as i stated in my 1st review, but it is eating batteries big time. I emailed Godin, they said it should get 300 hours. mine gets maybe 20 hours plugged in and when the battery goes there is a horrible loud screeching sound. must be the preamp. anyway, i'm sending it back and not sure if i will get another one.

I had a friend order this guitar a year ago man what a mistake ,
Really tried to love this guitar ,it's just not right for me I really wish I can
Trade this in , it's just hard to play performing with this is very hard ,
Most of my gigs are three hour gig and it is torture on my hands.
Plus every time I play break a High E string ,and the nine volt battery dies so quickly
Batteries are very expansive in the al most $ 6.00 each .
I have many other guitars that work fine strat epiphone Taylor yamaha
Not for me