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Am I the only one who does not like the Godin, 5th Ave guitars. I see nothing but love for them on this forum but to me they sound like cardboard boxes with strings on them. Just awful.
I think they are fine if you are looking for an entry level archtop. But, I could not imagine ever owning one if I wanted to enjoy hearing what I play.
Please note, I do like Godin as a company and am glad a Canadian company is doing well, and getting people to play archtops.Last edited by Littlemark; 03-16-2019 at 04:36 PM.
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03-12-2019 02:32 PM
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What are you comparing them to?
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I think this sounds pretty good actually.
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I didn't like the flat radius, otherwise a good guitar.
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Good job Jim
a slight imbalance in the mids ?
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I tried playing one at CME a few years ago and the frets seemed rough and unfinished to me.
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They use cherry for back and sides. I used to have a cheap Simon & Patrick acoustic guitar (same company) that also used cherry for back and sides. It did have a bit of a cardboardy sound. When I tried a 5th avenue at a store, acoustically it also had that exact same sound. I think it's the sound of cherry, there is a definite cardboard quality to it IMO. But 5th avenue sounded pretty OK through the amp. However if I owned one, I would've perhaps eventually start hearing that sound of cherry wood through the amp as well. That would annoy me just because now I associate the sound of cherry with cheap guitars.
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Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises
Sifflera bien mieux le merle moqueur ...
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Originally Posted by Gobi34
When we sing cherry time
Will hiss the blackbird better ...
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nothing personal,
Le temps des cerises is a French song related to the 1871 revolution attempt
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Originally Posted by Gobi34
Now Mahogany/mahagonny...
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When it comes to lyrics, I would not trust Google
my personal translation would be
"will whistle the mocking blackbird better"
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Originally Posted by Gobi34
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I suppose I'm comparing it to ES 150s or the loar vs300 I have. Single pickup archtops really. But even compared to the new epi archtops they still lack lustre.
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Are you implying I'm starting a failed revolution
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I haven't tried the Loar VS300, but I had an LH309VS and the sound was severely lacking compared to my Godin 5th Avenue to my ears.
But, you like what you like and if the sound of a particular guitar doesn't please you, don't buy it.
FWIW, I sold the Loar but still have the Godin.
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I had an acoustic 5th Ave. Compared to the other laminates in that kinda price range I thought it sound the best .It was my first archtop and I was on a strict budget. I replace the pick guard as it was to thin and flimsy and bent to easily when I used it as an anchor which I do a lot. I replaced the bridge and saddle with a full contact rosewood and fitted it to the top which hugely improved the tone to my ears. I added a Shadow AZ48 floating pickup rather than get one with a pickup already installed as I didn't like the factory pickup as it sounded thin to me. I dressed/cleaned and polished up the fret ends they were annoying and rough out of the box. I think I squeezed everything I could get out of it and enjoyed it for a while but at the end of the day it lacked the nuance and complexity of tone and dynamic I was hoping for.
Will
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Originally Posted by Littlemark
John
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Yeah, I think if you compare it to a solid wood (or even solid topped) archtop, the sound isn't as good unplugged. But honestly, for what it is, a small laminated box--I think it sound a heck of a lot better unplugged than the other laminated guitars in it's price range (Epiphones, Ibanez, etc.)
As far as "lustre" goes, that's all the Epiphone "Masterbuilt" line has, in my opinion. I much prefer Epiphone's electric archtops (broadway, Joe Pass, etc.)
Plugged in, it's a P-90, and a pretty good one, imho. You either like that or not.
If we're comparing apples to apples, the single pickup Kingpin is most like an ES-125, and fares quite well in that comparison.
But hey, we all like different things. World keeps spinning.
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All 5th Avenues are amongst the most comfortable guitars to play, for me anyway, and they can sound great. Like any guitar, and more than most, 5th Avenues benefit from a really good setup.
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
I can't play like Jim, or Jeff, but the guitar in my avatar certainly works for me.
And I should add, I've always found the Kingpin II surprisingly lively for a laminated box with two pickups drilled into it. I got mine from Jay (Jehu on this forum) so it may be that he'd done some work to it before I received it, but the fretboard feels great, there's a liveliness to the unplugged sound as I mentioned, and it excels at a plugged-in sound in its price range, IMO. Of course, that's a different discussion re. the P90s...
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I too had lately an opportunity to try out the famous Kingpin. Second hand, very cheap. Very veeery beautiful! Gorgeous!
But when I changed the stock bridge to a brass TOM bridge I noticed that the original brigde – and the holder too – was plastic. No wonder that it sounded, uh, plasticky!
The brass bridge didn’t bring it alive for me. I didn’t have enough patience to buy and try ebony bridge and holder, I was too disappointed and I sold it for same price I bought it.
I hope everyone else have had better luck!
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I had one for a while, and thought it was a great guitar but the lack of cutaway and p90s ultimately didn't work out for me.
I thought it was a great playing guitar and that it sounded good too, just not the sound I wanted. Happier playing an Ibanez archtop (happier still playing a tele).
For a brief moment I had a Godin Glissentar. A fretless 11 string instrument that was a mix between a guitar and an oud. Now that thing was cool! The ebony neck and nylon strings felt amazing. But, I decided I didn't want to dedicate myself to that (and it was sitting unplayed too often) and let it go.
All that to say that even though I don't have a Godin now I think they're a really great company and make really great guitars.
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I'm surprised when I see how many pros use them as a working guitar. It makes me assume they are a basic dependable tool that gets the job done....as an electric jazz guitar.
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Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
edit: That's not meant as a Godin dig - I just can't make 'em work in my hands.
Anyone hip to Joshua Breakstone?
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