Canadian guitar on the way -- you guys should be proud of me

[Eric]

I stopped by GC yesterday and put in an order for a used Godin LG Signature I had been eying on their used gear listing online. I was a bit wary of buying a used guitar that's been sitting for a long time without seeing it, so I convinced them to ship it here, and if it's a clunker, I can walk away. I can't return the guitar if I decide to take it home, however.

I got it for $350 + tax/shipping, which comes out to about $380. When Godin still made these guitars, they sold for $1000, so this seems like a pretty good deal. It's a mahogany body/neck with 2 humbuckers, but has a 25.5" scale length. According to specs, it has a SD Jazz in the neck and SD Custom Custom Custom in the bridge. There's a 5-way selector switch, and I think positions 2 and 4 are coil splitting. Kind of a reverse Strat, I suppose.

I'm pretty fired up about this guitar, as it may finally provide a viable backup to my Agile (or possibly displace it as #1). I'm kind of tempering my enthusiasm until it comes in and I can try it. It's been floating around a couple of Guitar Centers for a year or so at this point, so it seems strange that nobody has bought it. It might be kind of a dud, but I tried to build in some insurance into the whole thing with the trial upon arrival.

We shall see.

 

[kidsmoke]

I think you're gonna LOVE this guitar. Flame Top? These are well made and beauties. I'm not sold on the custom custom in the bridge of my WI-67, little too hot for my taste, but I still use it extensively.

Look forward to the reports.

 

[Commodore 64]

Same here, I can't wait to see it.

 

[Robert]

We are proud, Eric. Good work, son.

 

[Algonquin]

:canada:
So much of the Godin line is of excellent quality... I hope you're happy with your new acquisition Eric!

Play it in good health :AOK

 

[aeolian]

I picked up a used Godin ST-IV around 1997 and it is a great playing guitar. The neck is just perfect. I have played other Godin guitars in stores and they are always great to play. My guess is that you will like the guitar.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Looking forward to pics!

Break a leg with this'un.

I've never had/played a Godin, but all reports have been fairly uniformly great.

Congrats in advance.

 

[Eric]

Well, I picked it up yesterday from GC. It was too dark for outside pictures by the time I got a camera, so that'll have to wait.

I played it for a bit when I picked it up, since I wouldn't be able to return it later. I brought my Agile with me for comparison purposes, but ended up not bringing it in, since I find it fairly impossible to do much comparing in-store.

I like the 25.5" scale a lot more than I thought I would. I actually broke the high E string while tuning it up -- must have been using 9s or something, because one good bend to stretch the string and it snapped.

Both of these pickups are supposed to be SD (Jazz in neck, Custom Custom in bridge), but only the bridge one actually said "Seymour Duncan" on it; I dunno. The bridge pickup I like a lot, and the coil split on it sounds surprisingly tele-like. The middle position is also pretty nice. The neck...I found to be a little muddy, and I'm usually not exactly a pickup conniseur. I'll see how it plays out eventually. For the time being, I'm not even 100% sure it's the pickup it's supposed to be.

Last night at some point after I got it home, I noticed a crack in the paint right by the binding on the left/bass side, kind of like it was a blunt impact or something. I *think* I was extra careful with it, but it could have been me. I guess I'm kind of annoyed because I didn't notice it at first, so it either means I'm unobservant or that one of the GC guys bashed it when they were doing some cleanup on it or that I somehow hit it in transport or around home. Ah well. The first dent is always the toughest one to deal with, huh?

So...the short story for now is that this is a very high-quality axe, I like the way it plays, and will put it through its paces in good time. I'll try to get some pics and clips up eventually.

It's weird, because I want so much to like this guitar, I'm actually getting kind of anxious about it. That's a stupid way to live, huh? I'll probably let you know more once the honeymoon is over.

 

[Robert]

lt's a good guitar, and a dent just makes it more personal.

I just got a Canadian guitar too, by the way! Whoohoo!

 

[Eric]

Here's some guitar porn

 

[ZMAN]

That guitar originally comes with Godin Nitro humbuckers. They are open coils. The pickups have been changed. It could be an American made guitar. They are also assembled in Berlin New Hampshire. The necks are made in Quebec.

 

[Eric]

Hi ZMAN,

I'm not sure on this, but I think you might be thinking of the Godin LG. This is the LG Signature, which is a different model. I looked up the specs quite extensively, but I could be wrong.

 

[otaypanky]

Hi ZMAN,

I'm not sure on this, but I think you might be thinking of the Godin LG. This is the LG Signature, which is a different model. I looked up the specs quite extensively, but I could be wrong.

Well one thing that's not wrong is that it is a great looking guitar and appears as though it's beautifully made. No matter what brand the pickups may be a bit of fiddling with height adjustment and trying some different amp setting should make that neck pup a little less muddy
Enjoy it :thumbsup

 

[Eric]

Thanks, otay. I really like the guitar.

I was thinking about pickup height recently. Is there a rule of thumb on what raising or lowering will do sound-wise?

 

[Commodore 64]

Dude that guitar is freakin' gorgeous. And a 25.5 scale. I want it. BAD.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

Great AXE good for you!!!!

 

[aeolian]

Beautiful Godin you got, Eric! I am a fan of Godin guitars, like I mentioned in an earlier post I have an ST-IV. What I am impressed about Godins is that their guitars appear to have excellent consistency.

As far as pickup height is concerned, it can make a significant difference. A couple of years ago I bought a used boutique guitar with Kinman pickups which I had high expectations for, but when I got it it sounded pretty bad until I experimented with the pickup heights. It was the first time I did that on a guitar and the difference was night and day. Now I love that guitar.

Adjusting pickup height is one of the more foolproof things to try. One simple thing to remember is to note each adjustment, e.g. one turn clockwise on each side, then you can easily put it back to where you were last. I would recommend doing the same adjustments on both sides of the pickup to begin with. Once you get it to a point where you like how the pickup sounds, you may even want to adjust just the bass or treble side up or down a bit at a time to see if that gives you a even better sound.

 

[Eric]

As far as pickup height is concerned, it can make a significant difference. A couple of years ago I bought a used boutique guitar with Kinman pickups which I had high expectations for, but when I got it it sounded pretty bad until I experimented with the pickup heights. It was the first time I did that on a guitar and the difference was night and day. Now I love that guitar.

Adjusting pickup height is one of the more foolproof things to try. One simple thing to remember is to note each adjustment, e.g. one turn clockwise on each side, then you can easily put it back to where you were last. I would recommend doing the same adjustments on both sides of the pickup to begin with. Once you get it to a point where you like how the pickup sounds, you may even want to adjust just the bass or treble side up or down a bit at a time to see if that gives you a even better sound.

Cool -- thanks! I'm about to head out of town for the weekend, but will definitely futz with this when I get back. Much appreciated!

 

[kiteman]

Daaamn, that's gorgeous. :dude

Don't you worry Eric, a string change and maybe a pup change, it's gonna be a keeper.

 

[syo]

Beautiful guitar, Eric. I think Godin's are usually an excellent value. Congratulations!

I was thinking about pickup height recently. Is there a rule of thumb on what raising or lowering will do sound-wise?

Well, when too low you'll get weak/mushy output and when the pickups are too high the magnetic field will actually effect the motion of the strings causing a kind of microphonic feedback and double notes. Especially true of single coils.

Optimum height varies a little depending on the instrument/pickups. For example Gibson factory specs are 3/32" on the neck pickup and 1/16" on the bridge. This is calculated by depressing both E strings at the last fret and measuring the distance between the bottom of the string and the top of the poles. Many Fender guitars have different heights for the treble vs. bass side.

Just play around with them (playing clean) til they sound good to you but on most guitars the height will stay somewhere between the 1/16" to 3/32" range.

 

[hubberjub]

Great looking guitar. I'm a big Godin fan. Congratulations.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Looks great! On the neck pup, try lowering the "bass" side of the pup (under the low strings) and/or raising the "treble" side. Just a couple screwdriver turns can make a world of difference.