First Archtop

[withoutasound]

Im new here so hello!
Im looking to buy my first archtop, ive been playing guitar for about 7 years but now im starting to play more jazz stuff but I wanna be able to play indie/folk music (fleet foxes, midlake) with it too.


I was looking at the Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II, it seems nice for its price!
But i also found the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin which was a little bit more expensive but seemes to be better quality.

My question are:

1. Would it be worth the extra money for the Godin?

2. Is the neck fat on the Godin? Im used to a Gibson SG neck.

3. Is the Godin made in Canada? Handmade? That sounds much nicer than China!

Thanks all and sorry for my bad english!

[Gramps]

Check out a Loar archtop too.

[TruthHertz]

For a thinner neck, make sure you try out some Ibanez guitars. If you look on Ebay, you can get some idea. I have a friend that has an AK-85. I did switch out the pickups and he uses it professionally now. The AG series is nice too.
David

[mongrel]

Originally Posted by withoutasound

Im new here so hello!
Im looking to buy my first archtop, ive been playing guitar for about 7 years but now im starting to play more jazz stuff but I wanna be able to play indie/folk music (fleet foxes, midlake) with it too.


I was looking at the Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II, it seems nice for its price!
But i also found the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin which was a little bit more expensive but seemes to be better quality.

My question are:

1. Would it be worth the extra money for the Godin?

2. Is the neck fat on the Godin? Im used to a Gibson SG neck.

3. Is the Godin made in Canada? Handmade? That sounds much nicer than China!

Thanks all and sorry for my bad english!

I own an EPI Joe Pass. I bought it used four years ago for $500 including new TDK hard case. Before I bought it, I played all the new and used archtops in a couple of shops near me. I really liked the Godin 5th Ave. but preferred a single cutaway and the 5th Ave's pickup seemed sort of one dimensional. Granted I played it in Guitar Centre through a used Blues Jr. It fed back uncontrollably with the amp vol. at 1.5 with neutral tone settings and that was the deal breaker. Plus it was $700 without case. I played a couple of new Joe Pass's all made in Indonesia. No joy there. Finally found the Korean made JP in a used shop and took it home. I replaced the stock pickups which were marginal at best with a set of Vintage Vibe HCC's. Liked them a whole lot better than stock buckers but then put a set of Duncan Phat Cats in it and it sounds great. You can find the Joe Passes used on Ebay and elsewhere all day long for $300 +/-. The Godins seem to have retained their values very well. I would do a used Joe Pass, especially one made in the Samick factory (code letter "S" before the serial number). If you end up not liking it, trade it for a 5th Avenue. My JP has a neck that feels similar to the 1969 Les Paul Custom I used to own but slightly thicker like an older LP. I have short stubby fingers and it plays fine for me. The tuners are perfectly OK and the switch and pots get scratchy periodically (it has been sitting out on a stand in my basement for 4.5 years) but a short spray of contact cleaner every couple of months quiets them down. I have had it strung with .014's with no truss adjustments necessary. It does not feed back easily. You can play killer blues on this guitar if you string it with roundwounds. It came with .010 round wounds--some sort of rock and roll strings-- when I got it and it sounded just as good as my '69 LP through my Twin Reverb. Just wasn't what I was aiming for so I put the flats on it.

[backliner]

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

For a thinner neck, make sure you try out some Ibanez guitars. If you look on Ebay, you can get some idea. I have a friend that has an AK-85. I did switch out the pickups and he uses it professionally now. The AG series is nice too.
David

The Ibanez archtops are a terrific value for what you get for the money.

The Godin will have the beefier neck, but it's not shaped like a SG profile. They seem to run from hand-filling chunky, to downright clunky feeling.

I have seen several Godins needing a neck reset already. That seems premature to me. Take a good look at the bridge to make sure there's plenty of adjustment left for lowering the action further in the future if need be.

There's a lot to like about the Godins, but I wouldn't buy one sight unseen. I'd want to try it out in person first.

I've had various cheap Ibanez models, and Godins too. Today, I'd probably save the money and go with a cheap Ibanez.

[mr. beaumont]

The godin neck is 1.72 in. Across the nut, and it is a slim profile.

Pretty sure the neck bolts on...hard to imagine any resets being needed.

I owned an epiphone. I now own a kingpin. In my opinion, the difference between the two in terms of quality, tone and playability was night and day. I cannot reccomend any non korean made epis.

The ibanez's are decent for the cash. They have little to no acoustic tone. There's nothing wrong with them, but I find them kind of bland...lots of glossy finish, little that gets me excited about playing them.

Definitely check out the loar. Play before you buy if you can...looks like there's great ones and some real duds out there.

[FrankLearns]

Originally Posted by withoutasound

Im new here so hello!
Im looking to buy my first archtop, ive been playing guitar for about 7 years but now im starting to play more jazz stuff but I wanna be able to play indie/folk music (fleet foxes, midlake) with it too.


I was looking at the Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II, it seems nice for its price!
But i also found the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin which was a little bit more expensive but seemes to be better quality.

My question are:

1. Would it be worth the extra money for the Godin?

2. Is the neck fat on the Godin? Im used to a Gibson SG neck.

3. Is the Godin made in Canada? Handmade? That sounds much nicer than China!

Thanks all and sorry for my bad english!

I own both. First of all i do not share the point of view that all non korean Epis are bad. Mine happens to be from indonesia and is fine, plays incredible, looks nice, sounds nice (with a few upgrades). No complaints whatsoever. The only thing is the quality of the stock hardware. But that applies to all Epis except the elistist series that was so good that Gibson apparently had to stop it after a short while. The current Epis tnd to be "upgrade projects" from the start.

The two guitars are fairly different instruments. The Joe Pass is a real "Jazz Guitar". It asks for flatwound strings and goes for that fat mellow Jazz sound that many jazz players like so much (especially with a wood bridge and afer putting decent pickups in).

The Godin is a more vintage oriented instrument. It does not have that fat jazz sound but in my opinion is more of a steel string acoustic guitar (Godin actually recently released a much more expensive version of this guitar that is geared towards Jazz players, the fifth avenue Jazz. It has a thicker top, a mini humbucke and other important modifications that is changing the tone). Like all Godins, the build quality is excellent, quality control rigorous and it doesn't need any upgrades (althou many people report improvements after changing the bridge). The p90s sound nice in my opinion. The neck is not beefy at all, for my taste rather a bit slim. For the music that you have been mentioning i think the Godin would probably serve you better.

[burchyk]

Would probably repeat that both are different kind of instruments except being a hollow guitar. If I had to choose one the decision would be based on what kind of guitar I wanted, not the make.

[KevinV]

Originally Posted by Gramps

Check out a Loar archtop too.

I did that recently and received 2 substandard guitars. Not even in line with $300 guitars let alone $800+. You can read about the two I got here...

Loar LH-600 Experience

I was very excited to try these and was left disappointed. The quality of the Epiphone Emperor Regent I use to own far surpassed this guitar in quality and at a few hundred dollars less.

After returning the second Loar, I ordered a Gibson LP Junior to have something to play while I save for an L-4 CES. The Junior won't be ideal for jazz, but I play other styles as well and it will hold me over until I get a good archtop again.