NGD Soon. Godin 5th Ave II

[rsclosson]

I thought I had settled on my last guitar until I made the mistake of walking into the local Guitar Center. On the used wall was a pristine 5th Ave with P-90s. I had to try it out and was immediately stricken. As nice as my Ibanez is, I never liked the encased in plastic feel of the finish.

The Godin has the right feel finish wise and the P-90s are warm and sweet and dead quiet. The grain on top is a little weird but everything feels and sounds great. Now I have 2 guitars up for sale and the 5th avenue on layaway. I snapped a quick pic of the body before they put it away.

I need to stay out of music stores!

[softjazz]

Sweet looking guitar.

[Gitterbug]

Congrats! I like the top grain. Wild cherry looks - wild.

[rsclosson]

What I really like is the amplified tone. You can hear the wood, or what I call the organic tone, when plugged in. It is subtle but adds a nice dimension to the great sound of the P90s. I am guessing that the light finish is a contributing factor to that.

[Gitterbug]

That guitar is a modern take on ES-125, originally an entry-level student guitar and now in high esteem. It remains to be seen how the cherry laminate matures over decades.

[rsclosson]

That guitar is a modern take on ES-125, originally an entry-level student guitar and now in high esteem. It remains to be seen how the cherry laminate matures over decades.

I hadn't thought about the cherry wood. I wonder if that is something to consider.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I thought I had settled on my last guitar until I made the mistake of walking into the local Guitar Center. On the used wall was a pristine 5th Ave with P-90s. I had to try it out and was immediately stricken. As nice as my Ibanez is, I never liked the encased in plastic feel of the finish.

The Godin has the right feel finish wise and the P-90s are warm and sweet and dead quiet. The grain on top is a little weird but everything feels and sounds great. Now I have 2 guitars up for sale and the 5th avenue on layaway. I snapped a quick pic of the body before they put it away.

I need to stay out of music stores!

Aren't P-90s the reason humbuckers exist? How can you get a P-90 not to hum?

[rsclosson]

Aren't P-90s the reason humbuckers exist? How can you get a P-90 not to hum?

To that question, I have no answer. I tried it on several different amps and I heard no hum. Others in the store also did not hear it. Believe me I asked.

[John A.]

I hadn't thought about the cherry wood. I wonder if that is something to consider.

I had the single-pickup version for a while and have played the 2-pickup version a few times. They’re very cool guitars. The cherry wood is an unusually thin laminate that gives it more of an acoustic voice than a typical laminated guitar. According to them, they chose it because it’s locally abundant (as is the maple they use for necks), which makes it relative sustainable and cheap.

Also, the top is not routed for the pickups. Rather, the pickups are attached to spacers that are screwed into the top, leaving the top freer to vibrate then a routed top. The fingerboard extension sits higher above the body than on other archtops in order to leave room under the strings for the pickup (which necessitates a different neck attachment and angle …).

The whole thing — wood species, angles, component mounting, choice
of pickup, etc., is an integrated solution to the problem of making an inexpensive, but lively sounding archtop. It’s very cleverly done.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I just saw this version of the 5th Avenue. Not a Bigsby fan, but it looks interesting...

[Doctor Jeff]

That is a nice guitar. I had the single pickup version years ago. I imagine the pickups in combo would cancel out any hum. However, the single pickup is very successful to ambient electromagnetic fields and can hum loudly.

I solved that problem with the EHX HumDebugger. Worked like a charm.

There is one identical to yours that has been hanging in a local guitar shop for probably 2 years. Priced about $750 iirc. I have been tempted to go in and make an offer, just haven’t gotten around to it.

[ruger9]

I am still considering the 1-pickup version (the Kingpin) to scratch my ES-125 itch... the necks are kind of club-by tho

[rsclosson]

I had the single-pickup version for a while and have played the 2-pickup version a few times. They’re very cool guitars. The cherry wood is an unusually thin laminate that gives it more of an acoustic voice than a typical laminated guitar. According to them, they chose it because it’s locally abundant (as is the maple they use for necks), which makes it relative sustainable and cheap.

Also, the top is not routed for the pickups. Rather, the pickups are attached to spacers that are screwed into the top, leaving the top freer to vibrate then a routed top. The fingerboard extension sits higher above the body than on other archtops in order to leave room under the strings for the pickup (which necessitates a different neck attachment and angle …).

The whole thing — wood species, angles, component mounting, choice
of pickup, etc., is an integrated solution to the problem of making an inexpensive, but lively sounding archtop. It’s very cleverly done.

That is very helpful information. I did notice that the top was very thin. I hope someone who has played a similar Godin can weigh in on any durability concerns.

[rsclosson]

That is a nice guitar. I had the single pickup version years ago. I imagine the pickups in combo would cancel out any hum. However, the single pickup is very successful to ambient electromagnetic fields and can hum loudly.

I solved that problem with the EHX HumDebugger. Worked like a charm.

There is one identical to yours that has been hanging in a local guitar shop for probably 2 years. Priced about $750 iirc. I have been tempted to go in and make an offer, just haven’t gotten around to it.

The one I tried had no hum on any setting.

[John A.]

The one I tried had no hum on any setting.

Whether a single coil pickup buzzes or not is almost entirely a function of the environment. In a room with bad light dimmers, fluorescent lighting, computers, hvac equipment, transformers, other wiring issues, etc, P90s buzz (a lot). In electro-magnetically cleaner environments, they buzz less. It’s the nature of the beast.

[Christian Miller]

I like those

[Gabor]

A very lovable instrument with real character and great playability.

[Doctor Jeff]

Whether a single coil pickup buzzes or not is almost entirely a function of the environment. In a room with bad light dimmers, fluorescent lighting, computers, hvac equipment, transformers, other wiring issues, etc, P90s buzz (a lot). In a electro-magnetically cleaner environments, they buzz less. It’s the nature of the beast.

Yes believe me in the right (or wrong) room you will get unbelievable hum with those pickups. I have found that other single coils like Telecaster pickups hum a lot less.

[John A.]

Yes believe me in the right (or wrong) room you will get unbelievable hum with those pickups. I have found that other single coils like Telecaster pickups hum a lot less.

Yup. My strat is quieter than the Godin. The Godin's are still very cool guitars, but I would recommend factoring a Hum Debugger into the total cost.

[rsclosson]

Yup. My strat is quieter than the Godin. The Godin's are still very cool guitars, but I would recommend factoring a Hum Debugger into the total cost.

I wonder how a noise gate or other less expensive devices would work.

My Epiphone has a single P-90 and so far have never had an issue. I must have been playing the right venues.

[entresz]

That makes me miss my acoustic 5th Avenue I had some years back. They're terrific guitars.

[John A.]

I wonder how a noise gate or other less expensive devices would work.

My Epiphone has a single P-90 and so far have never had an issue. I must have been playing the right venues.

Noise gates will silence the hum while you’re not playing, but as soon as you start that gate opens. Depending on how bad the hum is, it could be audible while you play. The Hum Debugger works differently and can neutralize hum while you’re playing.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Noise gates will silence the hum while you’re not playing, but as soon as you start that gate opens. Depending on how bad the hum is, it could be audible while you play. The Hum Debugger works differently and can neutralize hum while you’re playing.

So what is the HumDebugger, a notch filter? Propriety wizard's spell?

EDIT: I used a noise gate and didn't like how it chopped off the tail of some notes.

[rsclosson]

So what is the HumDebugger, a notch filter? Propriety wizard's spell?

EDIT: I used a noise gate and didn't like how it chopped off the tail of some notes.

I am not totally skeptical, but I have used several P-90 equipped guitars over the years with no issues, and this is at any and every venue I have played. Once I pick up the guitar I will test it out and make my decision from there.

[John A.]

So what is the HumDebugger, a notch filter? Propriety wizard's spell?

EDIT: I used a noise gate and didn't like how it chopped off the tail of some notes.

I don't know exactly how it does this (I am not at all an electronics or DSP expert), but it reads the line voltage to capture its frequency in real time and filters out that frequency + some of its harmonics (depending on which of two settings it's on) from the guitar signal. The magic is not really is in the real time analysis of the line voltage. If you just set a filter to a specific frequency it might not work because the line voltage itself varies slightly (and all single coil noise is that frequency or a harmonic of it). The HDB is constantly tuning its filters to whatever the line frequency is. A noise get just shuts down the signal when it falls below a threshold. If the noise is bad enough that to be heard alongside quiet passages, setting the gate to cut it off can also cut off quiet playing (e.g., reverb tails). The HDB is only cutting off specific frequencies, not the entire signal.