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I have never played a Kingpin before/or ever even seen one in person, but in my search for a low cost 125-ish type guitar I stumbled across the Godin.
It took 3 phone calls to different retailers, 2 failed coupon codes, and some price matching but I was able to grab a new Kingpin for less than the used drilled-into ones on my local Craigslist.
So Kingpin players, what are your preferred strings?
I’m normally a Thomastik flats kind of guy but should I put something slightly more acoustic on this?
Thanks in advance
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03-07-2019 12:14 AM
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i love the sound of a 125 but have never played one, the kingpin should be great with flats
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I liked it with flats, also tried bronze on it. I think it's very flexible.
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Dogal v25 flatwound acoustics?
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Monels!
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I like rounds on mine and have settled on Martin monels. I tried TI rounds, and didn't notice any improvement over the Martins.
Enjoy, they're great guitars.
John
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
is there a another brand I should be checking out?
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Curt Mangan has monels too.
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You are in for a nice surprise I think. Love that guitar. Just FYI there can be a lot of hum in the pickup if you have bad wiring in the house. After I got mine years ago I was so disappointed that I was ready to sell it, then I discovered the EHX HumDebugger. Highly recommended if ground level hum caused by electrical interference is a problem where you play.
Re' strings, my 5th Avenues get rounds, because I somehow think it's more appropriate for the vibe they're going for, especially with the P90. Plus my other archies have flats. I think I have DA Pure Nickels on it, 11's as I recall.
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Originally Posted by tfling
John
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Most has been said. I had three sets of strings on mine during the first week. Returned to roundwounds after flats and half-rounds. Pickup hum depending on the venue and how close to the amp you have to perch. Stingy trebles, but tamable. A fine substitute for a large acoustic archtop in big band comping. Surprisingly loud acoustically. The Tric case is great in cold climate. A future classic.
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Originally Posted by Brian B
and I love them on my Emerald X20 acoustic.
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Originally Posted by dhd
I bought two sets of the v25's, and put one on my '98 Epi Zephyr Regent. They work quite well on that. I don't own a true acoustic archtop (yet!), so the 2nd set I'm thinking I tuck away for when I do.
I'm wondering how they'd fare on a vintage L7... hmmm...
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Originally Posted by Gitterbug
Experiment a bit with polepiece height on the pickups...lowering can mellow the sound out a bit.
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Does anyone know what the neck taper is like, i.e. thickness at the 1st and 21st frets? Also how thick is the laminate/top compared to say, a 175 or 295
Last edited by Frank1985; 12-10-2023 at 08:02 AM.
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Originally Posted by John A.
Sigh, I suppose the next step is to get the actual alloy information from the string makers. To come.
FWIW, according to emails I received directly from Rotosound when their Top Tapes were being discussed on the forum a few years back (around here somewhere), the Top Tape guitar string wrap was switched to stainless steel from Monel, despite what they say on their packaging and website, which continue to say that it is Monel. Figure that one out!Last edited by Hammertone; 12-10-2023 at 06:25 AM.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
I had Monels for my flat top acoustics, and loved them on one guitar, disliked them on the others.Last edited by ruger9; 12-11-2023 at 09:30 AM.
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Can anyone answer this for me
Originally Posted by Frank1985
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Hey Frank. Mine measures 13/16 right behind 1st fret. Neck joins body at 14 and heel starts happening right around 10th. So at ninth fret it's 15/16. I'd call it a comfortable C shape. Very normal feeling to me.
Thickness of top is 5/32. Don't know how that compares to the Gibsons you mention. My Borys B-120 is 3/16, so it's a fairly thin top. Probably adds to it's acoustic tone. It's a lively laminate.
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Thank you ccroft!
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Originally Posted by ruger9
I got my Kingpin as a very budget friendly approximation. Granted it's a P-90 instead of a CC pickup, but there's some similarities. Anyway I could always hear on Charlie's recordings and early Raney that they were using rounds. I did a little research, and found out that possibly they could have been using a string made of an alloy like monel. So that was enough for me to try them.
When I plugged in to a small tube amp, the sound I heard was what I wanted. So I stayed with them and haven't looked back.
I have also tried monels on flat tops, they were terrible on my old Seagull dreadnaught style, and absolutely perfect for my all mahogany Martin 000-15.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
BTW- I recently bought a Loar LH-309. Apparently they are still hit or miss; the one I got sounded good but had a chip out of the nut and a faulty high E tuner. I sent it back. Godin will be my next purchase (please don't say "I told your so" LOL!)
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Originally Posted by ruger9
The Loars always have potential, but the cheaper ones seem so fraught with issues. The more expensive models (600 series and 700 series) are pretty great, might need a little work, but excellent "raw materials."
Hopefully the Kingpin works out for you. I still think they are one of the best values on the market.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Originally Posted by ruger9
naming chords?
Today, 01:48 PM in Theory