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I hear you Doctor Jeff, I think the MP may be the ideal gigging guitar for most types of music, i.e. country. R&B, blues, rock and roll, rockabilly (with the Bigsby especially) ... and works great for jazz.
Now that I've learned to love the MP and Godin I'm totally gassing for a Fifth Avenue Jazz ... from the videos I watched/heard the traditional jazz tone is all there Big Time. Maybe I'll start a new thread on that model if there isn't one already ...
Yeah, it's the magic combo of light weight, resonant sound with rich harmonics acoustically, thin profile, and the open channels in the center block that does it. What a versatile package! And the tone is very nice for many (most!) types of jazz. I think much of the magic is the combo of a mahogany neck with their "open" center block. (If they made the Fifth Avenue Jazz with a mahogany neck I'd have bought one already.)
I discovered the MP in a music store and just tried it then fell in "like" with it, I was very intrigued however and there was a magnetic pull. I waited for a month or so thinking it over and when I went back to buy it, it was gone ... so I ordered one. Ordering a guitar you've never played is a very hit and miss proposition, guitars are very personal and to each player unique. I've bought a few over the Internet and am generally disappointed.
This is one purchase I do NOT regret, though!
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02-27-2015 03:15 PM
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The bridge on mine doesn't even have thumbwheels. I adjust it using a small screwdriver.
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I was reading about a few other semi guitars with Piezos which have EQ/ Tone for the Piezo and wondered if this is possible:
Piezos are normally for adding a bright thin crispy high end for more "string" tone upper harmonics but I wonder if possible to roll off ( reduce drastically ) the high end and Subtly add the bassier part of the Piezo to simulate a bigger body archtop on certain tunes with the Godin Montreal.
Anyone try this ?
Also people have mentioned that the Godin does not have the darker/deeper neck Tone of a 335 ...
When you listen unplugged/ acoustically - is the Godin thinner/ brighter than a 335 ?
And is the neck Bolted on rather than Set Neck ?Last edited by Robertkoa; 11-09-2015 at 08:48 AM.
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Jack - if it is dark sounding but still decent
overall resonance - would / could it be good with a pickup change ?
I am going to start another thread about this including a few other Guitars semi hollows and would really appreciate your input on that thread ( would be a Thread Hijack to start mentioning other Models here).
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The Montreal model in this old thread is, I believe, the older model that was a semi solid body, rather than the newer 335ish guitar.
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Picked up a Godin Montreal Premiere.
It's a superior instrument. Pro level in every respect and so well thought out - not just a clone of a Gibson.
Pros
- Small but not too small 14 3/4 lower bout. 24 3/4 scale. Comfy when played on knee.
- Light - 6lbs 4 3/8 oz by my digital scale (2.85 kg)
- Well balanced and comfy - no neck dive on a strap and it sits on the knee about the same as a Strat.
- Nice neck carve. Neck is a medium C. About the same size as an early 60s strat.
- Loud acoustic tone for a semi hollow. Loud enough for decent practicing without an amp.
- Great plugged in tone. The pickups are powerful enough for a good jazz tone but not muddy. Great clarity on neck pickup into a tube amp. It gets (to me) that grant Green tone with my amp Eqed correctly or it can get a nice blues tone with a bit more gain. Not to dark and not to bright. Tiny bit of breakup when pushed hard. Slightly woody tone - you can tell it has a lot more air and resonance than the ES 335 clones and ES 339s I have played.
- Good electronics, control layout except switch - it's in the les Paul position which makes switchig on the fly more difficult
- Flawless workmanship and the violin burst is very attractive.
Cons
- Comes with an OK gig bag. My La Patrie (a guitar that sells for 2/3rds the price) came with a Godin Tric case. It's not a crap gig bag but certainll not as good as a Tric. Minor point I guess.
- The neck is not bound. This is a mere cosmetic thing as the neck shape is great.
- Tuners are some sort of Kluson style with a pretty low ratio - maybe 12:1. I prefer higher ratios but they still tune up and the guitar stays in tune just fine.
- Bridge pick-up is a bit thin but then I may never use it. Sort of a rockabilly vibe to it.
Overall a great guitar that just bumped my Epi Es 339. Of course the Epi is less than 1/2 the price but it's more than just that. The whole concept of the Godin is as if a musician designed it. It's light and airy but well balanced. I had a Thinline Tele partscaster with a spruce top that weighed the same but the maple neck made it uncomfortably neck heavy with bad neck dive and it didn't have as good a jazz tone. The Godin just works in every way. What a revelation compared to a typical ES 335 that weigh in the mid 8 lb range. Even my Es 339 weighs mid 7lbs which is just fine as my back is in good shape. But the 6lb Godin is like a feather.
This guitar should be showing up in some pro players hands - it's that nice.
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Been eyeing one of these of for some time now. They certainly look the part, and I always have preferred the look of a single cutaway over the double cut ES 335 shape.
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Congratulations DRS - I couldn't agree more - a great purchase.
Your list of cons reads like the inspiration for creating the Montreal Premiere Supreme - like the one in my avatar
Compared to the standard model the Supreme comes with a cloth covered TRIC case (lighter and more shock proof than a standard hard case); it has white bindings on the finger board. It may have the same tuners as the standard, but it has a gorgeous flamed maple veneer on top of the wild cherry laminate. Nevertheless, none of the cosmetics were that important to me; I really like the look of the standard natural finish. However, when I played them both in the shop, the difference in the bridge pickups was what sold the Supreme to me. The SD Jazz II and particularly the SD Custom Custom in the bridge, make a world of difference.
Are these upgrades worth the price difference ? When I factor in the larger discount I got on the Supreme and balance the difference to the standard against buying after-market pickups and a TRIC case, then yes it was worth it.
The Supreme is all round the best sounding guitar I have played. The clarity of the Jazz II at the neck is amazing and works exceptionally well with the tone control to dial in whatever shade of mellow is your taste, without ever becoming muddy or ice-picky, whilst the bridge pickup is rich with overtones and even sounds great clean - i.e. without the overdrive I would normally need to fill out the tone of most bridge pickups.
Would I change anything ? Well, yes - I swapped the cheap looking control knobs for some white-on-black speedknobs and I still think the pickguard is a bit naff (but I think that of most pickguards), plus if I were re-designing it, I would probably have separate volume and tone controls for the two pickups. Despite those minor issues, I can't ever imagine selling this guitar.Last edited by newsense; 07-27-2016 at 03:29 PM.
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This thread needs some pics......
(Congratulations btw!)
Last edited by Little Jay; 07-27-2016 at 04:33 AM.
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"The whole concept of the Godin is as if a musician designed it." That's it in a nutshell.
Great guitar, I bid on a couple on Ebay including a prototype with a different, more subtle fade and more figure, unfortunately didn't win the auction. Shortly thereafter I got a Peerless Sunset at a great price (also a great guitar!), which scratched my thinline itch for awhile.
I have a Gibson ES-135 and I would say the Godins I have tried actually seem somewhat better built and have a nicer neck. The Godins are also quite a bit lighter. Soundwise, though, I would give the edge to the Gibson.
They both have the same no-nonsense, function-over-frills vibe.
Personally I like having a Gibson because I like having a Gibson. I could sell it today for more than I got it for.
However, since they aren't making the 135 right now, the Premiere is one of the best quality thinline guitars for the money out there, IMHO.
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are there any demos that bear this out? None of the montreal clips i've heard convince me it's in the same league as the 335 or 339, muchless the sadowsky
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Ultimately a video will never be any better than either the player or the quality of the recording but that being said, I think this sounds pretty good.
Originally Posted by agentsmith
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Liitle Jay wanted more photos.......
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How about a Supreme with the P90s. THAT would be awesome.
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Is there one version that is semi hollow with the stop tailpiece and one that is fully hollow with the trapeze?
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No, the Supreme, which has the trapeze tailpiece, has the identical sculpted centre-block to the standard Montreal Premiere. Originally Posted by lammie200
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I must give credit where credit is due - although the above photos of the Supreme (and my current avatar) are of my actual guitar, they were the advertising shots used by Richard's Guitars in Stratford-upon-Avon where I bought it.
Just to make sure he gets due credit - Richard is a great guy to do business with. He is a stockist of Godin, Eastman and G&L and other brands that are relatively rare in the UK. So it is always worth a visit when you are doing the Shakespeare tourist stuff ! (I have no connection, other than having bought 3 guitars from him in the past 5 years).
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I've had my Montreal Premiere (not a Supreme) for almost 3 years now. It's become my favorite guitar - so comfortable to play, so versatile in sound - never met an amp it didn't like. I've posted a lot about here it in the past. The gig bag was adequate, but I sold it and got a TRIC case.
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I also like the fact that (with two pickups) they have ONE vol and tone control. I have always hated the 4-knob setup.
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Played a number of Gibson Es 339s. The Godin is much better. Played a few new Es 335s and I like the Godin more. Never played a Sadowsky but as the Sadowsky's are $4925 and the Godin is around $1500, I will be sticking to the Godin. The Godin does seem to be very similar to the Sadowsky Semi-hollow. Originally Posted by agentsmith
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Haven't heard of headstocks spontaneously snapping off Godins.
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What kind of block is it? Full length? Small just under the bridge/tail? Originally Posted by newsense
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From what I have seen, it's full length but with archways cut in for air flow except at the bridge. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Their centre block are full length indeed and look like a Roman Aquaduct:
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I think it carries tone from the neck toward the bridge. It's one of the wonders of the luthier world. Originally Posted by Little Jay
Their centre block are full length indeed and look like a Roman Aquaduct:
Seriously, having seen and read about those Roman aqueducts, they are truly amazing engineering feats. One wonders what of our accomplishments--Hoover Dam? Empire State Building? will be around in 2000 years...
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