Just ordered a Godin Kingpin, what am I in for?

[tfling]

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

[patshep]

i love the sound of a 125 but have never played one, the kingpin should be great with flats

[blille]

I liked it with flats, also tried bronze on it. I think it's very flexible.

[Brian B]

Dogal v25 flatwound acoustics?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[mr. beaumont]

Monels!

[John A.]

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

[tfling]

Monels!

I was thinking about either the Martin monels (retro) or the Rotosound top tape flatwound

is there a another brand I should be checking out?

[medblues]

Curt Mangan has monels too.

[Doctor Jeff]

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.

[John A.]

I was thinking about either the Martin monels (retro) or the Rotosound top tape flatwound

is there a another brand I should be checking out?

bear in mind that "monel" is a range of nickel alloys, and there are a lot of strings with windings that are metalurgically one of the "monel" alloys without being labeled as such. This includes TI Jazz flats and rounds, D'Addario Pure Nickel, and Gibson "Vintage Reissue". If you read through threads like this one, you can see that there's a range of subjective opinion on how different or similar these are. I've used TI and Martin. My experience is that there's a slight difference in feel between the two, but they sound the same. The TI's are reputed to squeak less, but I didn't find that to be the case.

John

[Gitterbug]

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.

[dhd]

Dogal v25 flatwound acoustics?

The V25 are very light gauge
and I love them on my Emerald X20 acoustic.

[Brian B]

The V25 are very light gauge
and I love them on my Emerald X20 acoustic.

True. I think next order I get a set of the v24's.

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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[mr. beaumont]

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.

Nice to hear. I think it'll grow on you even more, too.

Experiment a bit with polepiece height on the pickups...lowering can mellow the sound out a bit.

[Frank1985]

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

[Hammertone]

bear in mind that "monel" is a range of nickel alloys, and there are a lot of strings with windings that are metalurgically one of the "monel" alloys without being labeled as such. This includes TI Jazz flats and rounds, D'Addario Pure Nickel, and Gibson "Vintage Reissue". If you read through threads like this one, you can see that there's a range of subjective opinion on how different or similar these are. I've used TI and Martin. My experience is that there's a slight difference in feel between the two, but they sound the same. The TI's are reputed to squeak less, but I didn't find that to be the case. John

Disagree. Monel alloys are very close to 2/3 nickel. 66%+/-. Pure nickel alloys are typically something like 90%-95% +/- pure nickel. VERY different, metallurgically speaking. Whether they sound really similar or different is another story.

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!

[ruger9]

Monels!

Just curious what is it about the Monels that you think matches so well with the Kingpin?

I had Monels for my flat top acoustics, and loved them on one guitar, disliked them on the others.

[Frank1985]

Can anyone answer this for me

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

[ccroft]

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.

[Frank1985]

Thank you ccroft!

[mr. beaumont]

Just curious what is it about the Monels that you think matches so well with the Kingpin?

I had Monels for my flat top acoustics, and loved them on one guitar, disliked them on the others.

You know, I'm a HUGE fan of Jimmy Raney and Charlie Christian, both who played ES-150s back in the day.

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.

[ruger9]

You know, I'm a HUGE fan of Jimmy Raney and Charlie Christian, both who played ES-150s back in the day.

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.

Great info!! Thanks!! I also have "researched" CC a bit.... and the Monel part of the equation I never considered... I just assumed since they were acoustic strings, they were not for electric purposes. Very interesting!!

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!)

[mr. beaumont]

Great info!! Thanks!! I also have "researched" CC a bit.... and the Monel part of the equation I never considered... I just assumed since they were acoustic strings, they were not for electric purposes. Very interesting!!

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!)

Lol, I won't.

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.

[ruger9]

Lol, I won't.

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.

Unfortunately, they don't have a 600 model with a P90

[mr. beaumont]

Unfortunately, they don't have a 600 model with a P90

It might be just you and me, but I think that's a definite gap in their lineup.