A lot of the Godin acoustics do use a cedar top compared to a spruce or maple. I know that a large majority of their Seagull brand acoustics use the cedar top. I think it sounds so much better or warmer, at least in my opinion.
That's why I want it. Actually I am lusting after the ACS SA in black, as I already have an xtSA, and it does the same magic switching from acoustic to electronic. The nut width on these falls in my sweet spot. Oh, you can buy the locking tuners from Godin for $9 each. They label them bass and treble. godinguitars.com/product/machine-head-matt-black-with-godin-logo-bass
@@scottparker7918 I could not agree more. Godin owns the cedar-top market in my opinion. I have an S6+CW I added electronics to and a S12 with factory electronics. Both were bought used and are beat to heck...but the sound...oh the sound!
I've had an A6 Ultra for 3 years now. It's been my main stage acoustic. I love it so much, I got the A12 last week. Amazing as well. You can't go wrong with Godin.
I have a Godin Session electric, great sounding and playing guitar. I've had it for seven years and not a single issue with it. Top notch quality at a great price
I've had a Godin LGX-SA since 2000. Still my favorite guitar to play. I had the Buzz Feiten tuning added and Sperzel locking tuners and after that, even the Synth tracks perfectly. The custom Seymour Duncan pickups that Godin has made for this guitar are spectacular. They probably wouldn't be best for Metal, but they are superb for anything else(jazz, country, classic rock, hard rock). And yes, the quality is excellent!
I have a Seagull S6 with LR Baggs in it. Cedar top, Cherry Sides and back. Purchased in 1994 - many miles on it live. Phenomenal guitar - as previous poster said.....would put it up against any other "brand".
Man, I've got the same from about 1998 or 1999 is when it was made. Absolutely beautiful sound, and has only gotten better during the 10-20 years old range. The long and the short of it to me is that it's a short scale, wide nut, cedar top guitar that shipped with high quality, incredible low action setup, a comfortable neck... for two THOUSAND dollars less than a Taylor. I don't know of any other big names who make a sort scale wide nut cedar top. And for $400-600?
I just bought a brand new one of these and in searching reviews found this old one of yours, It's definitely a great guitar!! Longtime viewer and subscriber keep up the great work Phil 🤟🎶
I’ve had a look at the comments....I’ve had one of these for about a year and it’s a brilliant guitar. Check one out for yourself before making a judgment on the sound. They have so many advantages. I’m pleased mine has a Rosewood neck though.....
TBH, I'm glad it had richlite. I say that because a lot of companies are replacing rosewood with RL and Blackwood Tek and not a lot of reviews on the sound or feel of them across RUclips. I'm a Canuck and it's great to see Godin get some love from an honest reviewer. Great job as always, Phil.
A fine guitar company, very nice products for the money. Having owned a couple of their guitars, I am a happy customer. And very nice playing, as usual, Phil.
I have the Yamaha AEX 500. Same basic guitar. Hybrid with a single pre amp for both pickups. One volume knob, One blend knob. With a single 3 band EQ. The Yamaha is a hollow body with 2 F holes. And a bolt on neck. Wonderful guitar with one drawback. It is very neck heavy. I would love if you would address fixing guitars that are neck heavy. Great video as always. Thank you
I have an A6 and in my experience the the two-band EQ on the humbucker is mostly useful if you're playing the mix output through a single amplifier. Then you can cut some of the highs on the humbucker to allow more of the acoustic sparkle to come through. Also I'm not sure about the newer versions but the one I bought came with flatwound strings (which I still haven't changed!)
I use this guitar as my main gigging guitar in a pub duo. I run the two outputs into a helix LT pedal which then run through their own lines on the pedal. Just reverb on the piezo, and a full amp, cab and pedal setup for the humbucker. This then goes out together into an rc300 (and then to FOH). I have snapshots setup on the helix so that I can hotswap between the acoustic sound, clean electric, dirty electric and a bass sound. I beat the guitar in the same ed sheeran does with his little martins to get a live looped drum kit, along with swapping between the electric sounds for guitar solos/crunch etc.
i have a godin session, and i LOVE it! it looks like they discontinued the least expensive model (the one i have), and long and mcquade has them on sale for a hundred bucks off. i am super tempted to buy another one before they're gone forever.
I saw Rik Emmett (Triumph) live in Atlanta a couple months ago and he used this same guitar the entire show, along with Dave Dunlop, excellent sound and I had no knowledge of this brand before that show. Very impressive. And for those of you that don't know who Rik Emmett is, you're missing out on an excellent songwriter and guitarist, he's Canada's Eddie Van Halen.
I bought the A6 without ever playing one based on seeing Rik Emmett play one. Needed to fill the gap between full acoustic and Piezo equipped electrics.
I LOVE Godin. I discovered them last year when I bought an LGX and was blown away with the quality, versatility and bang for buck. I was so impressed I bought another 2 a couple of months later. I’m currently doing about 25 gigs a month and the Godins are what I’m using.
I don't know whether this is in part a response to my question in last week's KYG live cast, but either way, thanks for identifying the mystery guitar for me. It's a beautiful instrument and has me itching to look for one in my local guitar shop.
Phil thanks so much for the review. I have a Godin session. I purchased that guitar after I watched one of your shows which emphasizes supporting product made in your home country, in your case you were speaking about supporting Gibson and Fender. I thought yeah he's right so I bought the Godin. I am Canadian. I really like it and when I can I will support my American friends and have a Gibson and Fender too. Thank you for all your support.
Running across this vid inspired me to pull mine out and play it amplified for a while. I got a great deal from MF about 1 1/2 yrs ago for $600 shipped. NOS sale and 15% off. Acoustic sounds are very nice IMO. Neck pickup is a little bassy, but that can be fixed at the amp. I haven't noticed it being mentioned, but the magnetic pickup adds a nice fullness to the piezo when blended in. To my ears it mellows that piezo quack and makes for a more natural acoustic sound. IMO it also makes a really nice substitute for a single pickup hollow body jazz guitar. I wish it were 24.75 scale for my small hands, but an awesome guitar for the money if it serves your purpose.
Godin guitars are awesome. Build quality is very high for the price range, and this is the case for all their instruments, even their lowest tier offerings. I have an old Godin Freeway Classic (electric).
Nice review Phil! We're big Godin fans too, we have a lovely 5th Avenue Kingpin II that sounds fantastic and plays beautifully. Couples great with GrandMeister and TubeMeister.
I ordered a Godin Slim. Still waiting after a month. Never saw or played a Godin in person, but I have high hope it is going to be fine after watching this video.
Beautiful guitar Phil! Sounds nice! Your playing skills are something to behold. I feel like I should be writing lyrics when you play. Great choice in licks. I could play those licks on repeat for a while actually.
I have an A6 and love playing it. It has little voice unplugged which is fine practicing by yourself. But once plugged in you can EQ what you want and is very versatile. Excellent build quality. Love this guitar as well as xtsa. Godin +A. 😀👍👍
Nice review. I have an A6 Ultra and for the most part agree with everything that you said. I'd like your thoughts on how this guitar compares to the new PRS SE Hollow Body II Piezo? Considering buying one. Thanks.
Hi Bryan. Have you finally bought the PRS model? I am interested in both models and I am struggling to make up my mind. I tried a Godin A6 yesterday. It felt great but with its 12 gauge strings, it clearly wasn’t as playable as the PRS. I wonder how comfortable it can get if you fit it with lighter gauge strings (can you go down to 10- ?). I also suspect the PRS humbuckers will prove more versatile when used as an electric. But the Godin sounded amazing through an AER amp...
@@en8jd I ended up buying the Music Man JP15. The piezo is wonderful on it. It is a "proper" rock guitar along with acoustic-electric. I almost always keep it in blend mode (with more or less piezo blended in). One thing not ideal for acoustic is that the string spacing is more tightly spaced than on the Ultra. But, I have gotten used to it. Traditional Cowboy Chords are a little more difficult, but I tend to play chords more up the neck and the JP15 is perfect for that. BTW, the neck is much thinner than what I am used to, but the neck is so fast and comfortable, I rarely notice. Overall, I love the JB15.
Great Demo 🔥 Phil. I’m so glad you reviewed the Godin as I saw it on your wall a few weeks ago and was very curious about the sound and those controls on the upper face etc. Wow, What a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. And at Aprox half the price of a Taylor T5 as well ! This maybe something I can at least save up for reality !!! Thanks a lot man and Happy New Year 👍🏻🤘🏻👍🏻🤘🏻🔥🔥🔥🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I have this guitar. It plays beautifully with a great sound. I was surprised the fingerboard was richlite which is fast and smooth. It looks and feels just like the ebony on my PRS Custom 24 and Yamaha SA.
The amps he used don't prevent feedback. I've played my A6 acoustic simultaneously both acoustic through a PA and humbucker through a 1978 50 watt mesa boogie mark 1 with no feedback with distortion and I play LOUD. I have to admit I was in a medium size room. One of my favorite guitars.
I've owned 2 of these. Both looked beautiful. Both arrived with the same issue; bridge set wrong, meaning terrible intonation. The first one I returned, figuring it was just a fluke. The 2nd I kept, and had my local shop reset the bridge. Godin did agree to pay a few bucks to cover the repair (although not enough to actually pay for a bridge reset and they gave the shop a very hard time about it).
@@MacSimusMusic it was off by more than 1/4". Which you might be able to get away with if you had adjustable saddles, but on an acoustic style bridge it was brutal.
I recently purchased one of these and had to return it because of intonation issues. Sweetwater was going to send me another but when they checked the ones they had in stock they all had the same issue. That’s been 2 months ago now and I’m still waiting. I also contacted Godin and this issue has been escalated to the point where the designer is scheduled to go to the factory this Friday to deal with this issue. Seems like it’s a production issue for this model.
Mark Collins Can I ask for some details about your intonation remedy you had done? I had the same issue (left my comment below). I’m still in a holding pattern waiting for one but I’m wondering if I need to give up and go another route. Maybe a T5 or something else.
@@jammer777 you have to actually take the off the bridge, move it to the correct spot, and reglue it into place. These are coming out of the factory with the bridge slightly short of scale. A decent shop should be able to take care of it for you.
I have a Godin 5th avenue kingpin. It's archtop hollow body with 2 humbuckers. Love it. Got it because it reminded me of my first guitar, cheapo silvertone. Godin stays in tune.
I have wanted one for several years...I think, but even living between Orlando and Tampa (pretty big markets with a ton of music stores), I have found only 1 store that stocks 2 models, and 2 stores that quit selling them because, "They just don't sell", and I am loathe to buy something I can't play first. Even The local Guitar Centers don't stock them. Nobody of note plays them that I've seen. I'm sure that's rough on their sales. But,...not many people play Larrivee either which is a sleeper, and which I do own because I found it used and it blew away the Martins and Taylors IMO. But I can't name an artist other than Doyle Dykes who plays Godin, and he only plays it because they bought him away from Grestch who bought him away from Taylor. Like I say, i'd like to run one, but i'm not going to buy anything sight unseen. I suppose if you say they are the largest guitar manufacturer in North America, they are, so they must be selling them to somebody, but again, you think if they are, you'd see that reflected on the music scene, so who of note plays them?
partner348 Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Alex Skolnick (Testament), John Mcvie (Fleetwood Mac), Ian Thornley (Big Wreck), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Myles Goodwin (April Wine)....... and those are just the artists off the main page. godinguitars.com/artists/ They have another list that has just about anyone who matters in the guitar world on it for the rest of their artist endorsements. godinguitars.com/artists-listing/ Godin doesn’t really have a custom shop either so there’s not really any signature models. They just make amazing guitars hands down. I’d put my Godins up against a Fender custom shop or Gibson custom shop any day of the week. I’ve owned 4 different American strats, 1 Mexican, 2 Les Paul standards, 2 traditionals and 1 studio.. all of them are gone. I have my 2 Godins and a reissue goldtop Les Paul I saved up for that I’ll never sell and not even because it plays good lol was my first expensive guitar so it’s my “baby”
partner348 honestly though man, if you were ever going to try ordering online from a guitar manufacturer... I would highly recommend you try Godin. I would be pretty skeptical about ordering online too so I definitely understand that. My 1 Godin was an online buy and I couldn’t be been happier with it. I also have several friends who have ordered multiacs and one ordered a stratacoustic online too and not 1 has ever had any complaints. They have a rock solid quality control policy in place
Good review! Like you, I was leery of a paper/plastic fretboard. Another cheap, cost cutting measure. It turns out that 'Richlite' is actually more expensive to produce than a rosewood or ebony fretboard. It is almost indestructible and offers significant advantages for the piezo pickups. I'm a traditionalist but better is better.
Not totally unlike a Taylor T5 (conceptually) - except that the T5 uses a stacked humbucker in the bridge position, another one under the neck, and a toggle-able body sensor for the acoustic sounds... and frankly doesn't have a telecaster-y feel at all. This seems like it could be a better value depending on the kinds of sounds the player is looking for.
I have a T5z and from this demo I'd say the Godin has a slightly better acoustic sound but I much prefer the EQ system of the Taylor. The bluesy tones of the Godin are certainly impressive but the same can be found using the Taylor. The Godin as a piezo pickup whereas both the T5 and T5z have a dedicated body sensor glued to the inside/underside of the soundboard which, for the acoustic tones, is linked to a hidden humbucker under the neck. I'd have preferred one setting for pure acoustic-only but I'm not complaining as the T5z sound is excellent. Cost-wise, of course, the Godin is way cheaper than the Taylor. The Godin has a chambered body whereas the Taylors are hollow bodied. There's a good demo of a less expensive version of the A6 Ultra with mahogany neck here: ruclips.net/video/934NFWa2uik/видео.html Would I change my T5z for the A6 ... no.
I tried to order the Teleacoustic from Sweetwater, they said it would not be available until February so I decided to order one of the Godin A6 instead.
Picked up the A6 Baritone. Same body , electronics with 27 3/4 scale. Tuned down to A , no problems with intonation. Richlite board feels like ebony to me. Toughest part is transposing on the fly at the local jams. Had a T5 ... nice guitar , awesome neck , but it needed too much babysitting at gigs in between sets. Went with Yamahas ... no more worries. Nice vid Phil. :)
Robert Godin who started the company was just making necks for other makers at one time because of the short growing season in Quebec makes them stronger or something like that anyway. Thank goodness that Mr. Godin decided to build his own guitar. Godin as far as I am concerned blows away a lot of the American competition, especially when it comes to quality with a good price point. They are a guitar company that is not a household name like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc. I hope it stays that way as well. I would hate to see Godin make a hugely mass produced el cheapo guitar with a made in China stamp on it. I hope that the Godin and the family of their other products never run that route. Great review Phillip, great guitar and sound and a great guitar company.
great review. you are correct they do give you more bang for your buck. the quality is there the sound the feel that would cost more in other guitars. I have several across their line from the 5th ave king pin to the Simon & Patrick songsmith , art & luthier road house. all out of the box set up and not an issue with any of them... this A6 a new one I have not seen. thanks for exposing it its pretty interesting concept
Got a bit of Sir David Gilmour going on the humbucker. Same tone as Coming back to Life! Sounds great! Check out the new Epiphone double cut. Please review. Happy New Year and keep up with your weight loss!
I have this guitar and it really is top quality and a blast to play especially with two amps as he shows. My only draw back and it's very small are the strings are acoustic. I tried to replace them with electric and it didn't work. I bought the new PRS Hollow-Body 2 piezo so I have both pickups with electric strings and it sounds awesome as well. Just thought I'd throw this out there. BTW, the PRS will set your wallet back a bit more.
@@passivepuppy I tried electric strings and the guitar just didn't feel or sound right. It was so bad I took them off immediately. maybe I didn't give myself enough time for my mind to adjust to the change. If you want to use electric you must try both before you buy the guitar. If not and you're OK with acoustic, this guitar is great.
Hi Phil..... I don't know if you are still seeing these comments since this post is a year old, but THANK YOU! On the strength of this video review of the Godin A6 I bought one. (Natural model) I play rhythm in a variety band (R&B, Motown, Pop and classic rock) and was constantly switching from acoustic to electric. I tried a Carvin AE185 (electric was great, piezo sucked), an EPI Masterbilt DR-500MCE (shadow mag was great, Nano mag sucked), and a Tele Nashville Deluxe with Fishman (piezo was so so, the rest was great ) but it was heavy as hell. I ordered a used Godin SXTA to try it out but it arrived with the head stock snapped off. I kept looking and found your review of the A6. It arrived three days ago and I am in love with it. I run it dual out into an electric Fly Rig, and an Acoustic Fly rig, direct to a powered speaker or the PA depending on the gig. I am so pleased now with this set up. One guitar, a small pedal board and a few cables. Easy Peasy. Works great with my dual Xvive wireless from the guitar to the pedal board. I also saw another video that recommended using bronze strings on the A6 (Elixirs in my case) and the difference in tone using the humbucker is negligible, at least for what I am playing, and the acoustic tone definitely improved. Thanks so much.
So two years ago or so, Hughes & Kettner went from a brand with basically no social media presence to basically a meme, and now I'm starting to see RUclipsrs I like plugging Godin guitars... wonder how this is going to go! Can't complain though, as a Canadian, I've had access to plenty of Godins in my life (even played some of my first shows in high school with one. Still one of the nicest guitars I've ever played in my life!), and they're incredible guitars (and great value for the money on my side of the 49th!).
I have two Seagull (a sister company of Godin) all solid wood acoustic guitars. They are phenomenal guitars well under $1000. I would put the rosewood model up against a Martin or Taylor in a blind test any day. For the same guitar made 30 miles south in the USA I would have paid 3x the price. I am a little bit confused on your setup. Can you send both pickups to the same amp like a typical electric guitar???
19MarkZ yes you can blend the pickups together, using the first input. You don’t have to use both outputs if you don’t want to. But running them separately you do get better results but all depends on what style you’re playing. If you’re playing some blues/jazz the two pickups blended sound really good and give the humbucker a little more attack and definition blended in.
I bought this with the idea of taking one guitar to do solo gigs. Once I get my looping down that will happen. I'm reluctant to bring 2 amps though. (I did buy it to cut down on gear) Hopefully, I can get a decent sound through my Fishman Solo PA.
You said you like locking tuners. So do I. Have you ever reviewed Ratio tuners by Graphtech, also from Canada? I recommend and install them more than any other tuner. They come in locking and non-locking.
Nice job. The only thing you should have added was the ability to blend the 2 sounds which makes this the ultimate acoustic-electric guitar. I use this guitar for my main gigging instrument and I use a volume pedal on the electric side so I can subtly or fully blend the humbucker to the acoustic side.
I have a few Godin guitars, a Icon Type 2 Classic, a SD and a La Petrie classical with a piezo pick up, a built in tuner and a separate treble and bass tone knobs. For the money,you get a well made instrument, that is made in Canada from North American components.in the future, I would like to get either a Montreal or 5th Avenue, a Mulitiac and a Freeway 5 string bass.
I'm using a Line 6 JTV 69 + Helix for both acoustic and electric at the exact same time. Seems to work pretty well, but I hate the narrow nut. This Godin isn't for me, but I like the simplicity of the approach.
Sir I love your playing and nice review 😊😊😊. Really a good guitar.If I only play the guitar with magnetic pickups, do I need to go battery free or will it work without batteries?????? Please answer me anyone 🙏🙏🙏
I love richlite fretboards and think they are glossy and easy for bends. Godin richlite has a mirror reflection that looks awesome. Makes you think you can bend further! Gilmore style. Lol. Martin guitars use richlite: no humidity issues and incredible longevity. Also never have a tacky sticky feel.
I have a Taylor T5z which is very similar. These type guitars don't replace regular acoustics or electrics....BUT...in some situations they can be very handy. Mine is my open mic warrior and sounds terrific with the many different PA systems that the local venues use. It's super light, easy to carry around, and the neck on the T5z is the best playing neck of all my instruments. The problem with the Taylor is the cost - as nearly all models are well over $2k. I elected for the "classic" finish that is the only one under $2k. Other than the finish and top wood (which makes little difference other than aesthetics) the guitars are exactly the same...so the "classic" is by far the best value in the lineup. I like the Godin...and...generally speaking I think it's a better value given its price. I may eventually get one as a backup to my Taylor. :-)
The acoustic part seems to be a little quacky. I like it with the magnetic pickup mixed. maybe a pedal like the zoom ac-3 can shape the sound more like an acoustic guitar mic’d ?
I play a Godin Solidac and I love it to death! It has the exact same piezo feature as the Multiac but has a solid LGX-type body and a rosewood fretboard. Switch to acoustic and the Godin A6 becomes a Seagull S6 thanks to the cedar top. Ugh, I walked into the guitar store that I frequent late last week for some D'Addario bendies. They're a Godin dealer but historically didn't have many in stock. I think that they've streamlined the brands they sell (read: dropped some) because now their stock is at least 3/4 Godin. Well. those BASTARDS! They have a Godin Montreal Premiere LTD in Desert Blue with the Bigsby and double TV Jones pickups just hanging over the sales counter like dangling a $2,500 carrot in front of my nose! My mandible proceeded to bruise one of my tarsals. I think that it's the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen but I'd never seen it first-hand before that day, just in pictures. I haven't felt GAS in almost TWO YEARS but it came back with a vengeance that day. It's superior to the Gibson ES-175 despite costing $1,500 LESS and I honestly didn't know that any were left so I was safe...until now. Dammit.
My only problem with Godin has been resale value ... or just being able to resell at all. In contrast I’ve been able to sell a lot of Fender (and Squier) guitars at no loss and very quickly. So make sure when buying a Godin you intend to keep it for a long time (or buy used).
Resale value is low, but thats a good thing if your looking for a used one. Guitar Center will inly give $200 -$250 on these, so plenty are available for under $500. Sucks if you just paid $1,125 plus tax for a new one.
Resale value is horrible. Just for laughs i took my A6 in a Godin hardshell case to Guitar Center to see what they would give on trade on a Taylor T5. $225 was the offer, they justify it by what they think they can sell it for based on recent sales on Ebay. They sell used ones for around $490, which is a good deal versus buying a new one at $1,000
These are amazing guitars. They sound as good as any Taylor or whatever if you run them through a pedal like a boss AD10 and probably better. This is such a versatile guitar and just what I was looking for when playing live. I have full body guitars I used to play and then went to the LTD tl-6 and it sounded better than my full bodies but I didn't really enjoy playing or like the feel. So I switched to a great deal I found on Reverb for $575 New and everything about it is nice. Feel, it's like playing an electric, intonation is awesome and I'm very particular about intonation, personally love the Richlite and 2 Jack's make it so versatile live and if you want you can go to one and combine as the have separate volumes still so u can add in whichever pickup you want more of.
Purchased an A6 late last year, before the 30% price increase. I mention the price because i feel its a good guitar at the old price but with the new "Street Price" of $1,125 with a soft bag, i don't feel its still a good deal. The guitar itself has a good acoustic sound when plugged in, much better sound thru a Fishman Aura pedal. The neck pickup has a lot of bass, maybe too much. I did see that Godin's biggest Artist, Rik Emmit, uses a different pickup, i can see why. Overall a good guitar, what keeps it from being a great guitar is some little things. The tuners are a weak link and should be replaced. You can't get it with a finished / painted neck, they wont even sell you a neck for it. The fit and finish of the back covers are horrible, one is too thin, the battery compartment is not recessed and the screws for it will snag everything. Would suggest buying a used one, you can find them under $500 and that's a good thing since you will want / need to put some money into it if you want to use it on stage. I purchased a hardshell case for it and strongly suggest everyone does the same. The quality of the case is amazing, it gives you a big peace of mind and adds some much needed value to the guitar. A great demo of the pickups........ruclips.net/video/l7GQx96vuRM/видео.html
I think you would like the xTSA model much better. It has 2 humbuckers, a single coil, a piezo and a 13-pin synth-output that will go into any of the Roland type synth processors. You can blend any combination of the three together. I like the synth for stuff like 12-string sounds, but the possibilities are endless. I love the one I had, but unfortunately had to sell it and my processor about a year ago.
Thank you for the video. Does the neck play and feel similar to a electric neck or a acoustic neck? Have you ever tried the Godin Acousticaster I believe they are called? They look pretty interesting but none of the major US online retailers seem to have them.
August 2022. $2,000 on Amazon Canada. I'm Canadadian and I am under no circumstances paying even $1,000 for ANY guitar. I love the cheap stuff, I have many. I do have 2 -2nd hand Godin solid bodies that are superior to Epiphone and Squier. I do love the A6 Ultra but no thanx. I like this review.
I'd love to see a review of their seagull acoustic-electric line. I've been pouring over them for a couple of weeks now after seeing another review of the a6
I have had my A6 for a few months now. The video does a decent job at showing what the guitar can do do leaves out some of the Quality Control issues or Design Problems. The very first thing you will notice on these is the battery compartment on the back is raised up and the 4 screws that hold in on the guitar will snag everything. There is no reason i can find for Godin to use this battery compartment since a much better, nearly flush mount one is the same price. The 2 covers on the back of the guitar is the next issue, either the material is ½ as thick as it needs to be, or the rout is twice as deep as it should be. This is on every Godin A6 that i have see, These things may seem picky, but you would not find this even on a $200 Harley Benton. Contacted Godin and they did not seem to care about these issues. My next issue with the A6 some will disagree with, the unfinished neck may be fine for most people, but Godin does not give you a choice. You can choose a High Gloss or Satin finish on the body, but no neck option. If you are like me and every guitar you have has a finished or painted neck, its hard to get use to. Most people are OK with a gig bag, but on a guitar like this, you need a hardshell case. It is well worth the money for the peace of mind and the Godin hardshell case is great.The case is very well made, very plush and the storage is plenty. Godin increased the MAP price from $899 to $1,125 late last year for the HG model. Thats a big increase and when you consider there were no new features or anything better about the guitar, it made little sense. You were able to find the A6 "On Sale" for $700 or less sometimes, but no more. Godin has made that $1,125 something of a strong suggestion to dealers lets say. You can find a used A6 for $400 and less at some of the larger stores and even less from private sellers. I would suggest buying a used A6, for that price its a great guitar, for $1,125 its not a great value. You would be better with a used Taylor T5 and they come with a hardshell case. Over all i do like the A6, but like is it. The quality does not come close to other manufactures.
The only thing that keeps me from buying a T5 is the single output and no Piezo bridge pickup. I know that is something you can buy and install, but Taylor should have that already installed, very low cost to do that.
I have both an A6 & an Ultra. I find that acoustic stings sound best, even though Godin recommends a jazz string. I've had success with DR Zebras as well.
@@SquirrelASMR I came across a video where the guy recommends DR Veritas acoustic strings. I put a set on mine, and they do work well with both the piezo & the humbucker pickup. If you're mainly running the guitar through an acoustic amp, and you blend the humbucker to fatten the sound, and decent acoustic string sounds good. It's when you want to get electric sounds from the humbucker (distortion) while getting acoustic from the piezo (separately) it's tough finding a string that does both well. The Veritas do that well, but lean to sounding better acoustically. The Zebras lean more to the electric side. Hope that helps!
Godin are great guitars but over here in England their prices for the new range 2019 is rediculous. I bought a 2018 session for £529 and for that I felt great. The 2019 version for a sd bridge pickup upgrade is £899. Almost a 60% increase on last year's price. Used it is methinks
Note: This guitar has a cedar top.
A lot of the Godin acoustics do use a cedar top compared to a spruce or maple. I know that a large majority of their Seagull brand acoustics use the cedar top. I think it sounds so much better or warmer, at least in my opinion.
That's why I want it.
Actually I am lusting after the ACS SA in black, as I already have an xtSA, and it does the same magic switching from acoustic to electronic.
The nut width on these falls in my sweet spot.
Oh, you can buy the locking tuners from Godin for $9 each. They label them bass and treble.
godinguitars.com/product/machine-head-matt-black-with-godin-logo-bass
@@scottparker7918 I could not agree more. Godin owns the cedar-top market in my opinion. I have an S6+CW I added electronics to and a S12 with factory electronics. Both were bought used and are beat to heck...but the sound...oh the sound!
Godin does cedar.
As a Canadian guitarist, thank you so much for reviewing the Godin guitar. They make amazing products. Unsung hero of the guitar world.
I just got one used it’s amazing I took it to an open mic and it crushed for me
I have two Godin guitars, absolutely wonderful guitars
I've had an A6 Ultra for 3 years now. It's been my main stage acoustic. I love it so much, I got the A12 last week. Amazing as well. You can't go wrong with Godin.
Shannon Sharp have you ever had feedback issues?
I love these kind of guitars! Owned one for about a few months now, and they are phenomenal I'd say!
I have a Godin Session electric, great sounding and playing guitar. I've had it for seven years and not a single issue with it. Top notch quality at a great price
I've had a Godin LGX-SA since 2000. Still my favorite guitar to play. I had the Buzz Feiten tuning added and Sperzel locking tuners and after that, even the Synth tracks perfectly. The custom Seymour Duncan pickups that Godin has made for this guitar are spectacular. They probably wouldn't be best for Metal, but they are superb for anything else(jazz, country, classic rock, hard rock). And yes, the quality is excellent!
I have a Seagull S6 with LR Baggs in it. Cedar top, Cherry Sides and back. Purchased in 1994 - many miles on it live. Phenomenal guitar - as previous poster said.....would put it up against any other "brand".
Man, I've got the same from about 1998 or 1999 is when it was made. Absolutely beautiful sound, and has only gotten better during the 10-20 years old range. The long and the short of it to me is that it's a short scale, wide nut, cedar top guitar that shipped with high quality, incredible low action setup, a comfortable neck... for two THOUSAND dollars less than a Taylor. I don't know of any other big names who make a sort scale wide nut cedar top. And for $400-600?
Great vid! Godins solid body electric line has some amazing hidden jems if you look hard enough.
I just bought a brand new one of these and in searching reviews found this old one of yours, It's definitely a great guitar!! Longtime viewer and subscriber keep up the great work Phil 🤟🎶
I’ve had a look at the comments....I’ve had one of these for about a year and it’s a brilliant guitar. Check one out for yourself before making a judgment on the sound. They have so many advantages. I’m pleased mine has a Rosewood neck though.....
TBH, I'm glad it had richlite. I say that because a lot of companies are replacing rosewood with RL and Blackwood Tek and not a lot of reviews on the sound or feel of them across RUclips. I'm a Canuck and it's great to see Godin get some love from an honest reviewer. Great job as always, Phil.
A fine guitar company, very nice products for the money. Having owned a couple of their guitars, I am a happy customer. And very nice playing, as usual, Phil.
Most under-rated guitar out there.
I have the Yamaha AEX 500. Same basic guitar. Hybrid with a single pre amp for both pickups. One volume knob, One blend knob. With a single 3 band EQ. The Yamaha is a hollow body with 2 F holes. And a bolt on neck.
Wonderful guitar with one drawback. It is very neck heavy. I would love if you would address fixing guitars that are neck heavy.
Great video as always. Thank you
I bought this model Godin, Gene and it really has zero neck dive. (at least using the nice leather strap I put on it.
I have an A6 and in my experience the the two-band EQ on the humbucker is mostly useful if you're playing the mix output through a single amplifier. Then you can cut some of the highs on the humbucker to allow more of the acoustic sparkle to come through. Also I'm not sure about the newer versions but the one I bought came with flatwound strings (which I still haven't changed!)
I use this guitar as my main gigging guitar in a pub duo. I run the two outputs into a helix LT pedal which then run through their own lines on the pedal. Just reverb on the piezo, and a full amp, cab and pedal setup for the humbucker. This then goes out together into an rc300 (and then to FOH). I have snapshots setup on the helix so that I can hotswap between the acoustic sound, clean electric, dirty electric and a bass sound. I beat the guitar in the same ed sheeran does with his little martins to get a live looped drum kit, along with swapping between the electric sounds for guitar solos/crunch etc.
The Godin A6 Ultra is a great guitar. Love the versatility. Light weight too.
I own one, & it’s my primary stage acoustic. I want one of the baritone versions now!
Wait, what? There’s a baritone version?
@@MikaelLewisify there is, I've since purchased it, & it's really good!
@@jwstout007 dammit! 😜. I can’t decide between that and the glissentar
Godin guitars are super awesome ,hidden gems i own 2,including a none Humbucker. A6 and a blue burst freeway great vid
i have a godin session, and i LOVE it! it looks like they discontinued the least expensive model (the one i have), and long and mcquade has them on sale for a hundred bucks off. i am super tempted to buy another one before they're gone forever.
And first? I've always thought that Godin's were a sadly overlooked line of guitars.
Agreed... I proudly own five of them 🇨🇦👊🏻🙏🏻✌🏻😎
@@StreetsOfVancouverChannel Just picked up my 3rd (plus a Simon & Patrick acoustic). Great company.
Totally agree... I have also 4 of them, and looking to getting the 5th :-)
I saw Rik Emmett (Triumph) live in Atlanta a couple months ago and he used this same guitar the entire show, along with Dave Dunlop, excellent sound and I had no knowledge of this brand before that show. Very impressive. And for those of you that don't know who Rik Emmett is, you're missing out on an excellent songwriter and guitarist, he's Canada's Eddie Van Halen.
I bought the A6 without ever playing one based on seeing Rik Emmett play one. Needed to fill the gap between full acoustic and Piezo equipped electrics.
Triumph 👍🇨🇦
I LOVE Godin. I discovered them last year when I bought an LGX and was blown away with the quality, versatility and bang for buck. I was so impressed I bought another 2 a couple of months later. I’m currently doing about 25 gigs a month and the Godins are what I’m using.
I don't know whether this is in part a response to my question in last week's KYG live cast, but either way, thanks for identifying the mystery guitar for me. It's a beautiful instrument and has me itching to look for one in my local guitar shop.
Phil thanks so much for the review. I have a Godin session. I purchased that guitar after I watched one of your shows which emphasizes supporting product made in your home country, in your case you were speaking about supporting Gibson and Fender. I thought yeah he's right so I bought the Godin. I am Canadian. I really like it and when I can I will support my American friends and have a Gibson and Fender too. Thank you for all your support.
Running across this vid inspired me to pull mine out and play it amplified for a while. I got a great deal from MF about 1 1/2 yrs ago for $600 shipped. NOS sale and 15% off. Acoustic sounds are very nice IMO. Neck pickup is a little bassy, but that can be fixed at the amp. I haven't noticed it being mentioned, but the magnetic pickup adds a nice fullness to the piezo when blended in. To my ears it mellows that piezo quack and makes for a more natural acoustic sound. IMO it also makes a really nice substitute for a single pickup hollow body jazz guitar. I wish it were 24.75 scale for my small hands, but an awesome guitar for the money if it serves your purpose.
I traded in my MIM Strat for a great sale on a Godin A6. Very Happy with it.
Godin guitars are awesome. Build quality is very high for the price range, and this is the case for all their instruments, even their lowest tier offerings. I have an old Godin Freeway Classic (electric).
Nice review Phil! We're big Godin fans too, we have a lovely 5th Avenue Kingpin II that sounds fantastic and plays beautifully. Couples great with GrandMeister and TubeMeister.
I ordered a Godin Slim. Still waiting after a month. Never saw or played a Godin in person, but I have high hope it is going to be fine after watching this video.
Beautiful guitar Phil! Sounds nice! Your playing skills are something to behold. I feel like I should be writing lyrics when you play. Great choice in licks. I could play those licks on repeat for a while actually.
I have an A6 and love playing it. It has little voice unplugged which is fine practicing by yourself. But once plugged in you can EQ what you want and is very versatile. Excellent build quality. Love this guitar as well as xtsa. Godin +A. 😀👍👍
Nice review. I have an A6 Ultra and for the most part agree with everything that you said. I'd like your thoughts on how this guitar compares to the new PRS SE Hollow Body II Piezo? Considering buying one. Thanks.
Hi Bryan. Have you finally bought the PRS model? I am interested in both models and I am struggling to make up my mind. I tried a Godin A6 yesterday. It felt great but with its 12 gauge strings, it clearly wasn’t as playable as the PRS. I wonder how comfortable it can get if you fit it with lighter gauge strings (can you go down to 10- ?). I also suspect the PRS humbuckers will prove more versatile when used as an electric. But the Godin sounded amazing through an AER amp...
@@en8jd I ended up buying the Music Man JP15. The piezo is wonderful on it. It is a "proper" rock guitar along with acoustic-electric. I almost always keep it in blend mode (with more or less piezo blended in). One thing not ideal for acoustic is that the string spacing is more tightly spaced than on the Ultra. But, I have gotten used to it. Traditional Cowboy Chords are a little more difficult, but I tend to play chords more up the neck and the JP15 is perfect for that. BTW, the neck is much thinner than what I am used to, but the neck is so fast and comfortable, I rarely notice. Overall, I love the JB15.
Great Demo 🔥 Phil. I’m so glad you reviewed the Godin as I saw it on your wall a few weeks ago and was very curious about the sound and those controls on the upper face etc. Wow, What a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. And at Aprox half the price of a Taylor T5 as well ! This maybe something I can at least save up for reality !!! Thanks a lot man and Happy New Year 👍🏻🤘🏻👍🏻🤘🏻🔥🔥🔥🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I have this guitar. It plays beautifully with a great sound. I was surprised the fingerboard was richlite which is fast and smooth. It looks and feels just like the ebony on my PRS Custom 24 and Yamaha SA.
The amps he used don't prevent feedback. I've played my A6 acoustic simultaneously both acoustic through a PA and humbucker through a 1978 50 watt mesa boogie mark 1 with no feedback with distortion and I play LOUD. I have to admit I was in a medium size room. One of my favorite guitars.
I've owned 2 of these. Both looked beautiful. Both arrived with the same issue; bridge set wrong, meaning terrible intonation. The first one I returned, figuring it was just a fluke. The 2nd I kept, and had my local shop reset the bridge. Godin did agree to pay a few bucks to cover the repair (although not enough to actually pay for a bridge reset and they gave the shop a very hard time about it).
Heard that this has been a problem with some of the Multiac line as well.
@@MacSimusMusic it was off by more than 1/4". Which you might be able to get away with if you had adjustable saddles, but on an acoustic style bridge it was brutal.
I recently purchased one of these and had to return it because of intonation issues. Sweetwater was going to send me another but when they checked the ones they had in stock they all had the same issue. That’s been 2 months ago now and I’m still waiting. I also contacted Godin and this issue has been escalated to the point where the designer is scheduled to go to the factory this Friday to deal with this issue. Seems like it’s a production issue for this model.
Mark Collins Can I ask for some details about your intonation remedy you had done? I had the same issue (left my comment below). I’m still in a holding pattern waiting for one but I’m wondering if I need to give up and go another route. Maybe a T5 or something else.
@@jammer777 you have to actually take the off the bridge, move it to the correct spot, and reglue it into place. These are coming out of the factory with the bridge slightly short of scale. A decent shop should be able to take care of it for you.
They assemble their electrics in New Hampshire. Great affordable guitars, along with Seagulls.
Love godin and seagull. The les Paul type guitars they make are fantastic. The summit classic I believe.
I have a Godin 5th avenue kingpin. It's archtop hollow body with 2 humbuckers. Love it. Got it because it reminded me of my first guitar, cheapo silvertone. Godin stays in tune.
Seagull, Norman, Simon and Patrick, art and lutherie. All top quality instruments and all under the Godin banner!
I love my A6 although I'm replacing the humbucker with at Seymor Duncan Prails with a Triple shot ring. Makes a very versatile guitar even more so.
Sound sample
Best product to come out of Canada . Godin is the largest guitar manufacturer in North America with 3 Plants in Quebec and one in New Hampshire .
Mark I’d argue for maple syrup or all dressed chips. You’re welcome
Neil Adamson lol yeah I love my Godins. I’d take them over a Fender or Gibson any day of the week
I have wanted one for several years...I think, but even living between Orlando and Tampa (pretty big markets with a ton of music stores), I have found only 1 store that stocks 2 models, and 2 stores that quit selling them because, "They just don't sell", and I am loathe to buy something I can't play first. Even The local Guitar Centers don't stock them. Nobody of note plays them that I've seen. I'm sure that's rough on their sales.
But,...not many people play Larrivee either which is a sleeper, and which I do own because I found it used and it blew away the Martins and Taylors IMO. But I can't name an artist other than Doyle Dykes who plays Godin, and he only plays it because they bought him away from Grestch who bought him away from Taylor. Like I say, i'd like to run one, but i'm not going to buy anything sight unseen.
I suppose if you say they are the largest guitar manufacturer in North America, they are, so they must be selling them to somebody, but again, you think if they are, you'd see that reflected on the music scene, so who of note plays them?
partner348 Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Alex Skolnick (Testament), John Mcvie (Fleetwood Mac), Ian Thornley (Big Wreck), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Myles Goodwin (April Wine)....... and those are just the artists off the main page.
godinguitars.com/artists/
They have another list that has just about anyone who matters in the guitar world on it for the rest of their artist endorsements.
godinguitars.com/artists-listing/
Godin doesn’t really have a custom shop either so there’s not really any signature models. They just make amazing guitars hands down. I’d put my Godins up against a Fender custom shop or Gibson custom shop any day of the week. I’ve owned 4 different American strats, 1 Mexican, 2 Les Paul standards, 2 traditionals and 1 studio.. all of them are gone. I have my 2 Godins and a reissue goldtop Les Paul I saved up for that I’ll never sell and not even because it plays good lol was my first expensive guitar so it’s my “baby”
partner348 honestly though man, if you were ever going to try ordering online from a guitar manufacturer... I would highly recommend you try Godin. I would be pretty skeptical about ordering online too so I definitely understand that. My 1 Godin was an online buy and I couldn’t be been happier with it. I also have several friends who have ordered multiacs and one ordered a stratacoustic online too and not 1 has ever had any complaints. They have a rock solid quality control policy in place
Good review! Like you, I was leery of a paper/plastic fretboard. Another cheap, cost cutting measure. It turns out that 'Richlite' is actually more expensive to produce than a rosewood or ebony fretboard. It is almost indestructible and offers significant advantages for the piezo pickups. I'm a traditionalist but better is better.
Not totally unlike a Taylor T5 (conceptually) - except that the T5 uses a stacked humbucker in the bridge position, another one under the neck, and a toggle-able body sensor for the acoustic sounds... and frankly doesn't have a telecaster-y feel at all.
This seems like it could be a better value depending on the kinds of sounds the player is looking for.
I have a T5z and from this demo I'd say the Godin has a slightly better acoustic sound but I much prefer the EQ system of the Taylor. The bluesy tones of the Godin are certainly impressive but the same can be found using the Taylor. The Godin as a piezo pickup whereas both the T5 and T5z have a dedicated body sensor glued to the inside/underside of the soundboard which, for the acoustic tones, is linked to a hidden humbucker under the neck. I'd have preferred one setting for pure acoustic-only but I'm not complaining as the T5z sound is excellent. Cost-wise, of course, the Godin is way cheaper than the Taylor. The Godin has a chambered body whereas the Taylors are hollow bodied. There's a good demo of a less expensive version of the A6 Ultra with mahogany neck here: ruclips.net/video/934NFWa2uik/видео.html
Would I change my T5z for the A6 ... no.
I would love to see what Mary Spender could do with one of these live.
I tried to order the Teleacoustic from Sweetwater, they said it would not be available until February so I decided to order one of the Godin A6 instead.
Brilliant, Tony! I agree.
I love the Idea! Mary Spender or Paul Davids, if you're reading, please try and review some of the Godin guitars!
Picked up the A6 Baritone. Same body , electronics with 27 3/4 scale. Tuned down to A , no problems with intonation. Richlite board feels like ebony to me. Toughest part is transposing on the fly at the local jams. Had a T5 ... nice guitar , awesome neck , but it needed too much babysitting at gigs in between sets. Went with Yamahas ... no more worries. Nice vid Phil. :)
Robert Godin who started the company was just making necks for other makers at one time because of the short growing season in Quebec makes them stronger or something like that anyway. Thank goodness that Mr. Godin decided to build his own guitar. Godin as far as I am concerned blows away a lot of the American competition, especially when it comes to quality with a good price point. They are a guitar company that is not a household name like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc. I hope it stays that way as well. I would hate to see Godin make a hugely mass produced el cheapo guitar with a made in China stamp on it. I hope that the Godin and the family of their other products never run that route. Great review Phillip, great guitar and sound and a great guitar company.
great review. you are correct they do give you more bang for your buck. the quality is there the sound the feel that would cost more in other guitars. I have several across their line from the 5th ave king pin to the Simon & Patrick songsmith , art & luthier road house. all out of the box set up and not an issue with any of them... this A6 a new one I have not seen. thanks for exposing it its pretty interesting concept
Got a bit of Sir David Gilmour going on the humbucker. Same tone as Coming back to Life! Sounds great! Check out the new Epiphone double cut. Please review. Happy New Year and keep up with your weight loss!
My Brian Moore C90 P(iezo) does that, it's cool. Output jack is stereo. With a standard cable it only plays through the DiMarzios
I have this guitar and it really is top quality and a blast to play especially with two amps as he shows. My only draw back and it's very small are the strings are acoustic. I tried to replace them with electric and it didn't work. I bought the new PRS Hollow-Body 2 piezo so I have both pickups with electric strings and it sounds awesome as well. Just thought I'd throw this out there. BTW, the PRS will set your wallet back a bit more.
What issues did you have with electric guitar strings? In this video he's using electric strings. Seems like it works great.
@@passivepuppy I tried electric strings and the guitar just didn't feel or sound right. It was so bad I took them off immediately. maybe I didn't give myself enough time for my mind to adjust to the change. If you want to use electric you must try both before you buy the guitar. If not and you're OK with acoustic, this guitar is great.
Hi Phil..... I don't know if you are still seeing these comments since this post is a year old, but THANK YOU! On the strength of this video review of the Godin A6 I bought one. (Natural model) I play rhythm in a variety band (R&B, Motown, Pop and classic rock) and was constantly switching from acoustic to electric. I tried a Carvin AE185 (electric was great, piezo sucked), an EPI Masterbilt DR-500MCE (shadow mag was great, Nano mag sucked), and a Tele Nashville Deluxe with Fishman (piezo was so so, the rest was great ) but it was heavy as hell. I ordered a used Godin SXTA to try it out but it arrived with the head stock snapped off. I kept looking and found your review of the A6. It arrived three days ago and I am in love with it. I run it dual out into an electric Fly Rig, and an Acoustic Fly rig, direct to a powered speaker or the PA depending on the gig. I am so pleased now with this set up. One guitar, a small pedal board and a few cables. Easy Peasy. Works great with my dual Xvive wireless from the guitar to the pedal board. I also saw another video that recommended using bronze strings on the A6 (Elixirs in my case) and the difference in tone using the humbucker is negligible, at least for what I am playing, and the acoustic tone definitely improved. Thanks so much.
So two years ago or so, Hughes & Kettner went from a brand with basically no social media presence to basically a meme, and now I'm starting to see RUclipsrs I like plugging Godin guitars... wonder how this is going to go!
Can't complain though, as a Canadian, I've had access to plenty of Godins in my life (even played some of my first shows in high school with one. Still one of the nicest guitars I've ever played in my life!), and they're incredible guitars (and great value for the money on my side of the 49th!).
I have two Seagull (a sister company of Godin) all solid wood acoustic guitars. They are phenomenal guitars well under $1000. I would put the rosewood model up against a Martin or Taylor in a blind test any day. For the same guitar made 30 miles south in the USA I would have paid 3x the price. I am a little bit confused on your setup. Can you send both pickups to the same amp like a typical electric guitar???
19MarkZ yes you can blend the pickups together, using the first input. You don’t have to use both outputs if you don’t want to. But running them separately you do get better results but all depends on what style you’re playing. If you’re playing some blues/jazz the two pickups blended sound really good and give the humbucker a little more attack and definition blended in.
A excellent guitar I love how it looks love how it sounds but I really don't want to deal with two amplifiers
Char Furman you can run just one amp and blend the two pickups together.
You'd rather deal with two guitars instead? LOL
sounds pretty dang good! what type of strings are you using on there? as in- acoustic, electric, or hybrid a/e?
I bought this with the idea of taking one guitar to do solo gigs. Once I get my looping down that will happen. I'm reluctant to bring 2 amps though. (I did buy it to cut down on gear)
Hopefully, I can get a decent sound through my Fishman Solo PA.
I totally want one of these!
You said you like locking tuners. So do I. Have you ever reviewed Ratio tuners by Graphtech, also from Canada? I recommend and install them more than any other tuner. They come in locking and non-locking.
I love them.
Nice job. The only thing you should have added was the ability to blend the 2 sounds which makes this the ultimate acoustic-electric guitar. I use this guitar for my main gigging instrument and I use a volume pedal on the electric side so I can subtly or fully blend the humbucker to the acoustic side.
I have a few Godin guitars, a Icon Type 2 Classic, a SD and a La Petrie classical with a piezo pick up, a built in tuner and a separate treble and bass tone knobs. For the money,you get a well made instrument, that is made in Canada from North American components.in the future, I would like to get either a Montreal or 5th Avenue, a Mulitiac and a Freeway 5 string bass.
I'm using a Line 6 JTV 69 + Helix for both acoustic and electric at the exact same time. Seems to work pretty well, but I hate the narrow nut. This Godin isn't for me, but I like the simplicity of the approach.
Sir I love your playing and nice review 😊😊😊. Really a good guitar.If I only play the guitar with magnetic pickups, do I need to go battery free or will it work without batteries?????? Please answer me anyone 🙏🙏🙏
I love richlite fretboards and think they are glossy and easy for bends. Godin richlite has a mirror reflection that looks awesome. Makes you think you can bend further! Gilmore style. Lol. Martin guitars use richlite: no humidity issues and incredible longevity. Also never have a tacky sticky feel.
I have a Taylor T5z which is very similar. These type guitars don't replace regular acoustics or electrics....BUT...in some situations they can be very handy. Mine is my open mic warrior and sounds terrific with the many different PA systems that the local venues use. It's super light, easy to carry around, and the neck on the T5z is the best playing neck of all my instruments. The problem with the Taylor is the cost - as nearly all models are well over $2k. I elected for the "classic" finish that is the only one under $2k. Other than the finish and top wood (which makes little difference other than aesthetics) the guitars are exactly the same...so the "classic" is by far the best value in the lineup. I like the Godin...and...generally speaking I think it's a better value given its price. I may eventually get one as a backup to my Taylor. :-)
The acoustic part seems to be a little quacky. I like it with the magnetic pickup mixed. maybe a pedal like the zoom ac-3 can shape the sound more like an acoustic guitar mic’d ?
I play a Godin Solidac and I love it to death! It has the exact same piezo feature as the Multiac but has a solid LGX-type body and a rosewood fretboard.
Switch to acoustic and the Godin A6 becomes a Seagull S6 thanks to the cedar top.
Ugh, I walked into the guitar store that I frequent late last week for some D'Addario bendies. They're a Godin dealer but historically didn't have many in stock. I think that they've streamlined the brands they sell (read: dropped some) because now their stock is at least 3/4 Godin. Well. those BASTARDS! They have a Godin Montreal Premiere LTD in Desert Blue with the Bigsby and double TV Jones pickups just hanging over the sales counter like dangling a $2,500 carrot in front of my nose! My mandible proceeded to bruise one of my tarsals. I think that it's the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen but I'd never seen it first-hand before that day, just in pictures. I haven't felt GAS in almost TWO YEARS but it came back with a vengeance that day. It's superior to the Gibson ES-175 despite costing $1,500 LESS and I honestly didn't know that any were left so I was safe...until now. Dammit.
Lado Guitars are also another top notch Canadian guitar company!
My only problem with Godin has been resale value ... or just being able to resell at all. In contrast I’ve been able to sell a lot of Fender (and Squier) guitars at no loss and very quickly. So make sure when buying a Godin you intend to keep it for a long time (or buy used).
You're right on that. You can buy a second hand Godin for near 50% off the original price.
Resale value is low, but thats a good thing if your looking for a used one. Guitar Center will inly give $200 -$250 on these, so plenty are available for under $500. Sucks if you just paid $1,125 plus tax for a new one.
Resale value is horrible. Just for laughs i took my A6 in a Godin hardshell case to Guitar Center to see what they would give on trade on a Taylor T5. $225 was the offer, they justify it by what they think they can sell it for based on recent sales on Ebay. They sell used ones for around $490, which is a good deal versus buying a new one at $1,000
Love this channel also love you reviews and helps and purchase a lot of my instruments and guitars off Sweetwater and other sites thank you Phil
Well as a all around solo guitarist singer that can go from acoustic to rock n roll this is it! !!! This is me !!.
Nice guitar, nice demo. *Richlite fretboard as in the lower end Martin guitars??? Thanks
Great sounding guitar, I am very surprised more people don’t play these guitars, sound great.
These are amazing guitars. They sound as good as any Taylor or whatever if you run them through a pedal like a boss AD10 and probably better. This is such a versatile guitar and just what I was looking for when playing live. I have full body guitars I used to play and then went to the LTD tl-6 and it sounded better than my full bodies but I didn't really enjoy playing or like the feel. So I switched to a great deal I found on Reverb for $575 New and everything about it is nice. Feel, it's like playing an electric, intonation is awesome and I'm very particular about intonation, personally love the Richlite and 2 Jack's make it so versatile live and if you want you can go to one and combine as the have separate volumes still so u can add in whichever pickup you want more of.
Purchased an A6 late last year, before the 30% price increase. I mention the price because i feel its a good guitar at the old price but with the new "Street Price" of $1,125 with a soft bag, i don't feel its still a good deal. The guitar itself has a good acoustic sound when plugged in, much better sound thru a Fishman Aura pedal. The neck pickup has a lot of bass, maybe too much. I did see that Godin's biggest Artist, Rik Emmit, uses a different pickup, i can see why. Overall a good guitar, what keeps it from being a great guitar is some little things. The tuners are a weak link and should be replaced. You can't get it with a finished / painted neck, they wont even sell you a neck for it. The fit and finish of the back covers are horrible, one is too thin, the battery compartment is not recessed and the screws for it will snag everything. Would suggest buying a used one, you can find them under $500 and that's a good thing since you will want / need to put some money into it if you want to use it on stage. I purchased a hardshell case for it and strongly suggest everyone does the same. The quality of the case is amazing, it gives you a big peace of mind and adds some much needed value to the guitar. A great demo of the pickups........ruclips.net/video/l7GQx96vuRM/видео.html
I think you would like the xTSA model much better. It has 2 humbuckers, a single coil, a piezo and a 13-pin synth-output that will go into any of the Roland type synth processors. You can blend any combination of the three together. I like the synth for stuff like 12-string sounds, but the possibilities are endless. I love the one I had, but unfortunately had to sell it and my processor about a year ago.
Thank you for the video. Does the neck play and feel similar to a electric neck or a acoustic neck? Have you ever tried the Godin Acousticaster I believe they are called? They look pretty interesting but none of the major US online retailers seem to have them.
I have always liked their stuff
I have this guitar! Love it! But I believe this is the A6 ultra Phil. The A6 doesn’t have the humbucker pickup. Great review as always!
It's one of my faves!
August 2022. $2,000 on Amazon Canada. I'm Canadadian and I am under no circumstances paying even $1,000 for ANY guitar. I love the cheap stuff, I have many. I do have 2 -2nd hand Godin solid bodies that are superior to Epiphone and Squier. I do love the A6 Ultra but no thanx. I like this review.
If you like their guitars, you should check out the basses they make. I have a Godin Shifter 5 Classic. Awesome. And so well made.
I'd love to see a review of their seagull acoustic-electric line. I've been pouring over them for a couple of weeks now after seeing another review of the a6
Thanks to the cedar top, the A6 becomes an S6 when the piezo is used.
@@AvroBellow I see what you did there.
Excellent demo.
I have had my A6 for a few months now. The video does a decent job at showing what the guitar can do do leaves out some of the Quality Control issues or Design Problems. The very first thing you will notice on these is the battery compartment on the back is raised up and the 4 screws that hold in on the guitar will snag everything. There is no reason i can find for Godin to use this battery compartment since a much better, nearly flush mount one is the same price. The 2 covers on the back of the guitar is the next issue, either the material is ½ as thick as it needs to be, or the rout is twice as deep as it should be. This is on every Godin A6 that i have see, These things may seem picky, but you would not find this even on a $200 Harley Benton. Contacted Godin and they did not seem to care about these issues. My next issue with the A6 some will disagree with, the unfinished neck may be fine for most people, but Godin does not give you a choice. You can choose a High Gloss or Satin finish on the body, but no neck option. If you are like me and every guitar you have has a finished or painted neck, its hard to get use to. Most people are OK with a gig bag, but on a guitar like this, you need a hardshell case. It is well worth the money for the peace of mind and the Godin hardshell case is great.The case is very well made, very plush and the storage is plenty. Godin increased the MAP price from $899 to $1,125 late last year for the HG model. Thats a big increase and when you consider there were no new features or anything better about the guitar, it made little sense. You were able to find the A6 "On Sale" for $700 or less sometimes, but no more. Godin has made that $1,125 something of a strong suggestion to dealers lets say. You can find a used A6 for $400 and less at some of the larger stores and even less from private sellers. I would suggest buying a used A6, for that price its a great guitar, for $1,125 its not a great value. You would be better with a used Taylor T5 and they come with a hardshell case. Over all i do like the A6, but like is it. The quality does not come close to other manufactures.
Glad I got mine when they still used rosewood on fretboard!
Interesting guitar - Liked the intro /demo music - any chance of separate vid on chords.etc?
have you ever tried the Taylor T-5 ?
The only thing that keeps me from buying a T5 is the single output and no Piezo bridge pickup. I know that is something you can buy and install, but Taylor should have that already installed, very low cost to do that.
What kind of stings does it take? Electric, classical/nylon or acoustic?
I have both an A6 & an Ultra. I find that acoustic stings sound best, even though Godin recommends a jazz string. I've had success with DR Zebras as well.
@@jeremy9216 the guy I just got mine from had acoustic strings. I'm curious to change them, but they're brand new so I'll probably wait haha.
@@SquirrelASMR I came across a video where the guy recommends DR Veritas acoustic strings. I put a set on mine, and they do work well with both the piezo & the humbucker pickup. If you're mainly running the guitar through an acoustic amp, and you blend the humbucker to fatten the sound, and decent acoustic string sounds good. It's when you want to get electric sounds from the humbucker (distortion) while getting acoustic from the piezo (separately) it's tough finding a string that does both well. The Veritas do that well, but lean to sounding better acoustically. The Zebras lean more to the electric side. Hope that helps!
The Godin A6 Ultra is a little different than most guitars and one I would check out if I saw one in a store or find a good deal on a used one.
Top notch playing
great review. what strings are you using?
Very cool instrument Phil ,nice review !
Wow. This is fantastic for us strickly electric guitar guys. It certainly has given me G A S!
Gas? I just had a hot dog fart
Hey Phillip, any advice or knowledge on yamaha Pacificias? In particular the 510v model , thanks !
De lo mejor 💥🎸👌🏾
Godin are great guitars but over here in England their prices for the new range 2019 is rediculous. I bought a 2018 session for £529 and for that I felt great. The 2019 version for a sd bridge pickup upgrade is £899. Almost a 60% increase on last year's price. Used it is methinks
Cool review. Lets talk about that song you are playing at the beginning of the video. Like to hear the long version of that!!
Thanks Phil, I love my Freeway SA solid body! If it's good enough for John McLaughlin it's good enough for me! 😉
I love my freeway too