Godin (Guitar Manufacturer)
Encyclopedia
History
Godin started building Robert Godin's guitars in 1972 in La Patrie, QuebecLa Patrie, Quebec
La Patrie is a village of 800 people in Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada. It is located at the base of Mont Megantic.Some industries specializing in the field of forestry have settled in La Patrie.-Light Pollution:...
.
Godin Guitars' head office is located in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and they build their instruments in six factories in four different locations, three in Quebec and one in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
.
Godin Guitars makes instruments under several different labels. Norman makes entry- to mid-level acoustic guitars. Art & Lutherie makes entry-level budget guitars. The Simon and Patrick brand make mid- to high-range steel-string acoustics. La Patrie manufactures classical guitars. Seagull is known for manufacturing solid wood entry- to mid-range acoustic guitars. Guitars under the Godin brand are primarily mid-range to top-of the-line electrics that are made of high quality wood from the northeastern part of North America. They have many models that feature synth pickups and some with piezo
Piezoelectric sensor
A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure pressure, acceleration, strain or force by converting them to an electrical charge.-Applications:...
pickup-equipped bridges. Godin are notable for their use of synthesizer pickups as a standard feature in their high end models, and many of their electric models use piezo-acoustic pickups integrated with the bridge assembly. Aside from their technical innovations, Godin has a strong reputation among guitarists for their product quality. Most Godin guitars have the same distinctive, yet traditional, body shape, which has been described as a hybrid of the Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
and Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
bodies.
Godin's guitars have won several awards, including Guitar Player Magazine's Editors Pick for the LG, Exit 22, and Freeway Classic.
Notable Godin players include Sylvain Luc
Sylvain Luc
Sylvain Luc is a French jazz guitarist. His musicality, his great sense of improvisation and his virtuosity, and unique, technical abilities with the guitar have earned him high praises from all around the world, including from many musicians he has played with...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Stuermer
Daryl Mark Stuermer is an American musician who plays guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most of his solo tours and albums.-Biography:...
, Eric McFadden
Eric McFadden
Eric Byron McFadden is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from San Francisco Bay Area, California, at times described as "an authentic old-west troubadour and an absolutely wicked 6-string maestro."...
, Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens is an American guitarist and songwriter.He is best known for playing for other artists and less known for his critically acclaimed solo efforts , collaborations Steve Stevens (born as Steven Schneider on May 5, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter.He...
, Habib Koité
Habib Koité
Habib Koité is a Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist. His supporting cast, Bamada, is a super-group of West African talent, including Kélétigui Diabaté playing balafon.- Musical style :...
, Andreu Zaragoza, Michael ATONAL VVVick, RG Hughson, Rumesh De Mel, Michael Holmes
IQ (band)
IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens...
, Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp
Elliott Sharp is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer.A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released over eighty-five recordings ranging from blues, jazz, and orchestral music to noise, no wave rock,...
, Tim Brady, Hugh Cornwell
Hugh Cornwell
Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.-Career:...
, Jandek
Jandek
Jandek is the musical project of an anonymous outsider musician who operates out of Houston, Texas. Since 1978, Jandek has self-released over 60 albums of unusual, often emotionally dissolute folk and blues songs without ever granting more than the occasional interview or providing any biographical...
, La Barranca
La Barranca
La Barranca has been a successful ongoing outfit for over a decade. Based in Mexico City, they are led by guitarist and songwriter José Manuel Aguilera, who previously and concurrently worked with Sangre Azteka, Jaguares, Cecilia Toussaint, Steven Brown/Nine Rain , and more...
, Curtis Merriman, Hiran and Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore is a guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.-Biography:Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware...
. They are also very common among session players and sidemen.
Performance Series
- Radiator - A unique Godin design with a pickguard over the entire body and Godin designed single-coil pickups
- SD - Somewhat of a cross between a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul. This model has the pickguard, bolt on neck, and single coil pickup configuration of the "Strat", While bearing the Bridge humbucker and Scale Length of a Les Paul. This yields a tone that is most similar to a Les Paul or SG, despite the guitar's mostly "strat-like" appearance.
- Redline - a double cutaway body with one active EMG pickup and no tone controls, available with flame maple tops. The Redline was introduced in 2007.
- Exit 22 - Similar to the SD in pickup configuration and scale length, but with a fixed bridge and solid mahogany body. The Exit 22 does not have a pickguard, and is available with a solid maple neck, or maple with rosewood fingerboard.
- Freeway series - A recent addition to the Performance line, it is a Dual cutaway body with options such as MIDI and Acoustic pickups, Locking and Non-Locking tremolo systems, and flamed maple finishes. It is also available with two EMG 81 pickups, or a Floyd Rose tremolo system. The Freeway line was expanded in 2005 to include the Freeway SA and the Freeway Floyd. The Freeway Floyd is no longer in production.
- LG - The LG is a fixed-bridge, mahogany solid body with p-90 pickups or Humbuckers. It is also available with flame maple tops as of 2008.
- xtSA - The xtSA is a solid-bodied electric with conventional pickups as well as acoustic pickups and MIDI pickups (Synth Access). It features a non-locking tremolo bridge.
- Freeway bass - Available in four and five-string configurations, and active electronics.
- Triumph - Introduced in 2006, the Triumph is a single cutaway guitar. It has 3 Godin single coil pickups, and is available with either a sparkle finish or natural mahogany finish. The sparkle model has a silver leaf maple body with poplar wings while the mahogany model has a mahogany body. Both models have a rock maple neck. It is no longer in production.
- Velocity - The Godin Velocity features a double-horned body, consisting of a silver leaf maple center with poplar wings and a natural, solid high-flame maple top, unique to each guitar. The new Velocity is the first of the Godin Electric models to feature the Godin High-Definition Revoicer. The H.D.R. revoices and augments the frequency range of each pickup and allows the player to go from passive to active pickups with the simple push of a button.
- Progression - Introduced in Fall 2009, the Progression is a double cut-away design made out of Maple body with Poplar 'wings', either a Maple or Rosewood fretboard, and is available with Black, Sunburst, Trans Cream, and Trans Caramel finishes. The Progression has three single coil GS-2 pickups as well as Godin's High-Definition Revoicer. The Progression has a larger body than Godin's other double cutaway designs including the Freeway and Velocity series.
- Session - Introduced in 2010, The Session is a double cut-away design, similar to the Progression, made out of basswood with either a maple or rosewood fretboard. It is available in satin or high gloss finishes. It has two Godin GS-1 single coil pickups and a bridge humbucker. The user can split the humbucker with a push/pull tone knob.
Signature series
- Godin Summit CT - A single cutaway guitar with a carved flame maple top and 24 3/4" scale length. It has a string through body design, two Seymour DuncanSeymour DuncanSeymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
humbuckers and flame maple tops. Like the Velocity, the Summit has H.D.R - LGXSA/LGXT - Similar to the LG signature, but with Acoustic and MIDI pickups. The LGXT comes with a non-locking tremolo.
- Montreal - Semi-hollow electric with optional Acoustic pickups. Aimed more at Jazz and Blues players than hard rock players like other Godins. The Montreal was introduced in 2004.
- Multiac Jazz - Based on the Multiac acoustics with acoustic and MIDI options, but with a Mini-humbucker in the neck position and flamed maple tops for warm electric sounds.
Multiac and A series
The Multiac and A series are acoustic/electric guitars with thinner bodies than traditional acoustic guitars (Godin's sister companies produce traditional Acoustic designs). They are offered with hexaphonic pickups as well as steel or nylon strings. There are various models of the Multiac. These are the Multiac Nylon SA, the Multiac Concert SA, the Multiac Spectrum SA, and the Multiac Nylon ACS-SA. The A series are similar, but offer basses and mandolins and no synth-access options.Passion Series
- RG-3 - Godin's "top-of-the-line" electric, a 3-single coil chambered solidbody available in Sitka Spruce or Cedar bodied versions with maple or rosewood fretboards. This guitar also features the H.D.R. circuit present on other models such as the Velocity (see above). Each RG-3 guitar is entirely hand-made in Quebec, Canada, unlike most other Godin models (parts crafted in Canada, guitars assembled in New Hampshire).
Glissentar
The Glissentar is a unique Godin design. It is a fretless nylon 11-string acoustic/electric guitar with the five high strings doubled like a 12-string guitar, and a single low-E string. It is aimed at players who want to incorporate non-western sounds into their music, and is based on a combination of the tradition Western guitar and the North African oudOud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
.
5th Avenue
Full-sized archtop guitarArchtop guitar
An archtop guitar is a steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with blues and jazz players.Typically, an archtop guitar has:* 6 strings...
s including electric and acoustic models. They come in the following finishes: cognac burst, black, and natural. The lowest model, the acoustic with no pickups, has a street price of about $520 U.S. Dollars. Made from Canadian Wild Cherry, the body of the 5th Avenue features a molded arched top and back, as well as an adjustable bridge, classic f-holes, contoured high-gloss headstock, floating pickguard and cream binding.
Guitars No Longer In Production
- LG Signature - A Signature Series version of the LG. Available with AAA or AA grade maple tops, the LG Signature had a carved top, 25.5" scale length, mahogany bodies and necks, Seymour Duncan humbuckers, and rosewood fretboards. The LG Signature was first produced in 2003 and was discontinued at the end of 2007.
- LGT - The "T" in LGT stands for Tremolo. Hence, this was an LG model with a floating Tremolo bridge made by Schaller. It has locking Schaller tuners, Schaller Trem 2000 bridge, a five-way selector switch, two single pickups (neck, mid), a humbucker (bridge) - all Godin design. The scale length is 24 3/4", with a 16" radius. The body is Maple, with a one-piece mahogany neck and an Indian Rosewood fretboard. Because this particular model was on produced for a year (between 1996-97), it is one of the rarest Godin models around.
- Flat Five - A hollowbody guitar, the Flat Five had a flame maple top, a 24.75" scale length, silverleaf maple body with poplar wings, a mahogany neck and rosewood fretboards.
- Flat Five X - A Flat Five model equipped with L.R. Baggs transducers.
- Artisan Series - some of the very first guitars produced by Godin Guitars. These were produced up until around the turn of the century, models are as follows:
Artisan ST1 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), birdseye maple top, maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 3 single-coil pickups, standard trem bridge.
Artisan ST1 Ultimate : same as above with birdseye maple neck.
Artisan ST2 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), limewood top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 3 single-coil pickups, standard trem bridge.
Artisan ST3 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), no top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups+1 humbucker, standard trem bridge.
Artisan ST4 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), figured maple top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups+1 humbucker, fixed bridge.
Artisan ST5 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), figured maple top, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 1 single-coil pickup+1 humbucker, Floyd Rose bridge.
Artisan ST6 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), figured maple top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 1 single-coil pickup+2 humbuckers, Floyd Rose bridge.
ST Signature : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), figured maple top, birdseye maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 3 single-coil pickups, Wilkinson bridge. The 1999 and 2000 ST Signature has 3 Seymour Duncan Little 59's pickups.
Artisan TC1 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), flame maple top, birdseye maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups, fixed bridge.
Artisan TC2 : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), limewood top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups, fixed bridge.
Artisan TC3 : maple body, no top, maple neck, maple or rosewood fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups, fixed bridge.
Artisan TC Signature : maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), maple top, birdseye maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 2 single-coil pickups, fixed bridge.
Some mid 90's TC1 and TC Signature guitars have 2 humbuckers.
- G-Series - Along with the Artisan series, the G-series guitars were amongst the first produced by the company. Some, if not all guitars in the range have "G-Series USA" written on the headstock, meaning that they were hand-crafted in Canada, yet assembled in the USA. The models in the range are as follows:
All G Series models (except the G tour) have a maple or limewood body (depending on the production year), a maple neck a maple or rosewood fingerboard.
The G1000 has 2 singles and a humbucker and a standard trem bridge.
G2000 : has 2 singles and a humbucker and a trem bridge with a locking nut.
G3000 : has 2 singles and a humbucker and a fixed bridge
G4000 : has 2 singles and a humbucker and a Schaller trem bridge
G5000 : has 1 single+1 humbucker and a Floyd Rose bridge.
The G Tour has a semi acoustic laminated poplar body, a laminated cedar top, a maple neck, a rosewood fingerboard, an acoustic guitar bridge, and a single-coil pickup. It was only available in 1993 and 1994, and it is doubtful that more than several hundred were made.
- Detour - A dual-cutaway "superstrat" design with a fixed bridge and two humbuckers. Some models have active EMG humbuckers and is aimed at modern metal and heavy rock players. The Detour was introduced in 2005.
- Freeway Floyd - Similar to the Freeway Classic But more agressive in tone and playing style. Floyd rose tremelo and NHN2 Humbucker(Neck),NHS2 Single coil(middle) and NHB2 Humbucker(bridge).
- Solidac - A two-voice solidbody electric design (magnetic and L.R. Baggs piezo/acoustic transducers) with a non-locking tremolo.