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Has anyone tried one of these yet? Upgrade from the 5th Ave acoustic - ebony fingerboard, gloss finish, floating humbucker, flamed body, etc. I would have preferred the tone/volume controls on the pick guard, but it still looks very nice to me.
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04-15-2012 03:46 PM
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A whole bunch of folks who have had positive experiences with the 5th Ave line were really looking forward to this guitar, but at nearly 4X what I paid for my laminate Kingpin, I don't expect this laminate to be a big seller.
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Same here. Looks great, and I'd love to want one - but the $$$ seems out of the expected range by quite a bit.
Chris
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Yeah, I don't get the pricing on this one either. The Kingpin has two pickups for half the price!
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Played one a few months ago. Unplugged it was Meh... then I tried a regular 5th ave (also unplugged) and it was even more Meh.
I have never hid the fact that no matter how much I want to like the 5th ave I havent been able to.
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Mine has certainly grown on me. I didn't like it much at all at first; picked it up on sale during a "got money burnin' a hole in my pocket" period. But after I had it set up and changed the strings to TI GB 12s, I really started to grow affectionate toward the thing. It's light, sounds nice unplugged, and plays very well. I'd pick up a Kingpin II if I had an extra grand lying around.
Originally Posted by SamBooka
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Keep an eye on Guitar Centers' Used section. I snagged a pristine Burgundy KPII for $550, w/ original Tric case. I'm on the East coast, but found it in Reno GC online. Originally Posted by FatJeff
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Hey, that's a great tip! Thanks. I see two out there...one for $699 and one for $799. I'll keep checking until their price and my wallet match. Originally Posted by RoyaleT
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Interesting. I really like my 5th Ave acoustic. Good fit for me and sounds quite nice as my "couch" guitar and the one I take to lessons; I did swap the bridge for a stewmac rosewood. Agreed that the price on this new guitar is really high, I hadn't checked street pricing before I posted.
I'm planning on installing a Kent Armstrong "Smooth Top" floating humbucker and hidden knob control kit from archtop.com on my 5th Ave acoustic. Hopefully, it will sound really sweet. Maybe I could hacksaw my own cutaway... <chuckle>.
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I actually had my local luthier take a look and see if he could drop in a P90 to my acoustic 5th Ave, but after he checked out the inside, said it wasn't practical - there is bracing that would get in the way. Hence my search for a Kingpin II...what I really want is a Gibson ES125TC but those would be double the price, even for a beater. Originally Posted by ah.clem
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I understand about the 125; have you considered one of the Kent Armstrong handmade floating single coils? I have read good reviews of the pickup, might even be some youtube of it. Might be worth considering. Originally Posted by FatJeff
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Yes, I considered something like that, but I already have a floating pup guitar, so I'll prob. just get a Kingpin II at some point.
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I thought that Kingpins have the fingerboard set high enough above the top that you dont need to cut the top. Just a hole for the wire and two for the mounting screws. Any Kingpin owner here to confirm/deny? Originally Posted by FatJeff
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From what I've been told, my Kingpin and the all acoustic Fifth Av. are identical guitars, and that the P90 sits on a spacer with only three holes drilled in the top-- two into braces to secure the pickup and one hole to route the wire through...
Also, I recently played a Fifth Avenue Jazz, and it appared to use higher quality materials across the board when compared to my Kingpin.
It was a very nice guitar...worth 1k more than my Kingpin? Questionable? But every bit as nice as say, a 175, and half the price of that...
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I checked mine, and that is correct. But Godin uses their own P90 for the Kingpin; others MIGHT require more clearance. Has anyone out there tried to drop in a replacement? Originally Posted by SamBooka
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The Kent Armstrong handmade built-in PAF description says it's the same dimensions as the Gibson humbucker, but they also have the same pickup available as a floater (Armstrong Handmade Adjustable Floating PAF). Would that change the sound very much as opposed to a built-in?
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I am interested in knowying this also, I wanted to put some Bare Knucles P90 in there! Originally Posted by Norman931
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Here are the dimensions on the Kent Armstrong P-90 built-in from their website - maybe someone can compare them to The Godin or Gibson dimensions? I'm at the office so I really can't do that now. The only reason I chose the KAs are because of their reputation for decent sound and I like the sound, no affiliation other than that.
"Armstrong Handmade Built-In Single Coil, metal cover in black, chrome, or gold. String spacing: 1 15/16" ( 49mm). Mounting hole dimensions- L: 2 3/4" (67mm) W: 1 1/2" (38mm). Mounting ring dimensions- L: 3 1/2" (89mm) W: 1 3/4" (44mm)."
No height given. A call to Godin tech support would probably clear this up pretty fast. Someone else has to have switched out the pickups in a Kingpin.
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IIRC (and I usually dont) there is a mother of a spacer on the kingpin to get the P90 to fit. Originally Posted by Norman931
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[Mr. Beaumont] >>> [Godin Jazz is] every bit as nice as say, a 175, and half the price of that...
I had not really considered it from that angle, and yet that may very well be how Godin looked at it.
So: A North American made 175 competitor with arguably better workmanship and consistency for 1/2 the price. And that from a country whose currency is way up above its traditional position vs. the USD.
OK, so maybe not so odd a price proposition in that light.
Chris
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It just seems odd because of the comparatively low price of say, the kingpin.
But Godin's been selling their top tier guitars for around 2k for years...they might have been better served not linking it to the fifth avenue line.
But it's a gorgeous guitar...played perfectly, sounded great (I even liked the floating minibucker, which I'm usually "meh" about)
If I saw one on ebay for 1200, I just might be playing a fifth av. Jazz...but i'd like a gloss sunburst, which they showed at NAMM but doesn't appear to be available anywhere...
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I had a chance to put a 5th Ave Jazz through the paces at the local Music Store and I really liked it. Played really well even with the action a little higher than I would like. The body size and weight I found super comfortable. Plugged in it sounded good but might be too bright for my concept of jazz guitar sound - was strung with round wounds so it might darken up a bit with flats. Still, it felt like a real quality piece. Priced a little high for me to take chance on at this point but maybe in the future...
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I don't know how the concept would port over from the Kingpin to the 5th Ave. Jazz, but when I replaced the roundwound strings that came on my Kingpin with D'Angelico 12-52 flatwounds, it took the edge off of the slightly bright sound I got from the stock strings. And, it didn't reduce the acoustic volume as much as most flats will.
The D'Angelicos are called flatwounds, but they feel a bit like what used to be called "groundwounds". I now have them on all my electrics.
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