Used Epiphone Joe Pass 2014 or Washburn J6 Montgomery or Godin Kingpin II ?

[Yanick]

Hello all,

I'm new to this site and new to jazz guitar although I have been playing for 35y+
I'm want to buy a jazz box and after researching what is currently available in Montreal on the used and new market I'm considering 3 guitars (although I'm open to suggestions)
My budget is around 1000$ Can (800$ american, 700 euros) for new (with finance plan) or 3/4 of that for used

I'm considering
-A used 2014 Epi Joe Pass with case 700$
-A Washburn J6 Montgomery with case 750$
-A new Godin Kingpin II cutaway with case 995$

I'm mostly looking for a good bass P/U sound (à la Kessel, Pass, Montgomery) and a confortable neck. I own a few guitars, among my favorites necks are my 1976 SG, Epi ej-200 and Highway One Strat

What are yout thoughts?

Thank you all

[Doctor Jeff]

Are those dollar figures in Canadian $$? If so, they all sound like good deals.

I am not familiar with the Washburn. I have owned an Epi JP and a Godin Kingpin. The JP is a good guitar…I think the ‘14s are made in Indonesia? Anyway, it’s a nice, comfortable guitar with a great neck as far as I’m concerned. I did replace the pickups on mine, which is a fairly cheap and easy fix.

I really like the Godin, and still have one. It also has a very comfortable neck, light weight and great quality. I personally like the P90 pickups, which differentiates it from the JP and Washburn. There is one for sale near me for about $700, and it is hard for me to resist buying, but I don’t really need another guitar.

Acoustically the Godin will probably be superior to the others, even though it’s a laminate.

[Cunamara]

All the Epi JPs I've played have had big stout necks. I don't know if that's universal, but nothing at all like any Strat or SG neck I've tried.

[Bill Eisele]

I just posted a 2014 Epiphone ES-175 Premium for sale in the For Sale section located at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, TN in the States. Not my personal guitar but looks nice and for sale at $850 USD. I don’t know about the latest CITES restrictions on rosewoods and I’m not sure if the fingerboard is a rosewood species, but the shop should know. I understand that folks like these guitars so perhaps something to consider.

Epiphone ES-175 Premium 2014 – Carter Vintage Guitars

[ab4zt]

This past Monday I picked up a 5th Avenue Kingpin II with the HB pick-ups. I don't know about the Washburn but the Godin has a slightly wider neck than the Epiphone, which was just what I was looking for. I have a 28-year old Seagull S6 with basically the same neck width and radius, as well as scale, so I knew how that felt. I have an Epiphone Les Paul and the neck seems a touch narrow for me, especially if I persevere with learning fingerpick style.

Of course, the best way to decide is hold each one in your hands, but that is not easy these days with limited and scattered inventory. If you can find a Seagull S6 nearby to try, it should give you a pretty good idea of how the Kingpin neck will feel, although Seagulls these days have a 25.5 inch scale instead of 24.84. They both have the flatter neck.

I will say that 4 days in I really am happy with the Godin, but that is me and it may not be for you. Good luck!

[John A.]

Those 3 models have pretty different specs -- the J6 is 17" and has a pressed spruce top and lam maple back and sides; the JP is 16" and is all lam maple; the Godin is a little under 16" (and slimmer than the other 2), and all lam cherry, plus the P90s sound pretty different from the humbuckers on the other 2. Neck shapes are different on all three, and the Godin has a flatter fingerboard radius.

I had the 1-pickup non-cutaway variant of the Godin. Loved the sound and body size, didn't love the neck. Didn't hate it, and could play it, but prefer necks with less taper and a smaller fingerboard radius. But that's me. There's really no way to say if my preferences apply to you.

I don't think the wood species differences matter all that much, but the pickup and dimension differences are significant enough that you should try to figure out which ones work better for you. And you should also try to figure out which pickup sound you prefer (and whether or not single coil buzz bothers you). I don't think another person can make this decision for you.

That said, they're all pretty good options. I guess the JP is probably the safest choice. 16", all lam maple, humbuckers, is kind of the "can't go wrong with that" feature set.

[Yanick]

Hello guys,
thanks for the advices and tips.
thought id give a quick follow up.

I ended up buying a used Godin kingpin II CW P90 after watching interviews with Robert Godin. He is passionate and seems to care a lot.
In the interview he says he wanted the kingpin line to be the best jazz guitar a regular dude could buy. They might not be to everyone’s taste but Im yet to find a bad review on Godin’s workmanship and quality.
I have to agree with everyone. They’re quality guitars!!!
Really really happy with my purchase.
thank you all