Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Nah, that would be Polish french...

Godin has one assembly facility in the US (Vermont). The parts are fabricated here in Canada (Quebec), but some of the electric solidbodies are assembled in Vermont. The rest of the plants are in Quebec. None in Asia yet.

Godin is a highly automated company. Much CNC happening there, lots of $$$ in machinery and they run 24/7. They have an good, inexpensive supply of tonewood locally, and the plants are in rural Quebec, where labour is typically not much more than minimum wage, about $8 cdn per hour... errr... less than a poutine and a pack of smokes. (Those will run you about $30, $5 for the Poutine and $25 for the smokes...) Taxes in rural Quebec are very, very low, power is very inexpensive, and there are subsidies for local employers and entrepreneurs (yes we DO, in fact, have a word for "entrepreneur" ).

Their guitars are pretty durable and not expensive enough to cause heart palpitations, sweating, and nervous fits during breaks at gigs, but do dole out the goods during a performance. I own an Exit22 solidbody (Aitch tried this out in 2006) and a custom finished LG-P90 done for the Montreal Jazz Festival. Both guitars were under $500 and the Exit22 was under $400. They are great, fast, thin necked guitars, with bolt on necks. The neck profile on my Exit22 is very, very close to the profile on my 350V63. Excellent tone and quite a good deal for the dollar.

My biggest complaint would be the cheap pots and jacks they use. The physical sizes are not standard either, so getting quality pots to fit is difficult. I had to modify some long shaft CTS pots and drill out the mounting holes in the mahogany bodied Exit22 to get a fit. The fretwork, nut and saddles set up wasl excellent from the factory. Polished frets with "hotdog" rounded ends, not frequently seen in instruments this inexpensive. The finishes are nice, but not spectacular. They are just not quite as well flatted as more pricey guitars. Spending some time with compounds and the ScratchX & Zymol routines do wonders for them.

I would replace mine if I lost them.

My primary travel guitar is from one of Godin's line of acoustics, a Seagull Folk. The back and sides are laminate wild cherry and the top is solid cedar. It's a very good little guitar that serves it purpose of preventing boredom whenever I'm on a business trip. I think I paid about $300 for it ten years ago.

I have revceived the acoustic version now and am able to compare both the Kingpin and the acoustic one. So here are some more comments on the tone of the 5th Avenue.

First I must say that I was never really pleased with the sound of other steelstring acoustics that I played. My background is that of classical guitar training when I was a student and of playing the electric guitar most of the time nowadays. I always wanted a steel string guitar that was closer to the playability and sound of an electric guitar than my Yamaha APX-4A flattop was. I had only once played an acoustic archtop before. This sounded interesting but was not a quality instrument.

Now the difference between the acoustic 5th Avenue and a common flattop guitar is that the 5th Avenue is not as loud - yet loud enough to accompany one´s singing. There is less bass and treble and more mids, so the sound is a little warmer and indeed closer to an electric guitar´s sound than that of a flattop acoustic. Of all steelstring acoustics I have heard, this is the one I like most so far, although I will not turn into a folk picker now ...

The major strength of the 5th Avenue is its incredible playability. The neck feels wonderful and is very fast. What I do not like about it is the electric sound of the Kingpin´s P90 pickup. I had prefered a warmer, jazzier tone, instead it has a thin, dull bluessound, that some people might like. I do not like it. I think you would be far better of with the acoustic version and a floating jazz humbucker mounted to the pickguard or neck. This is why I ordered the acoustic version as well - also hoping that the acoustic sound of it might be even better than that of the Kingpin. The use as an acoustic guitar to accompany my singing is the main purpose why I bought this guitar - I simply was not happy with my old Yamaha APX-4A and wanted something else.

So now I have got two 5th Avenues: one Kingpin, one acoustic. I have to decide which one of the two I will keep and which one I will return. There is not a big difference in the construction of the two guitars as I had falsely suspected before. What I had mistaken for a solid piece of wood underneath the pickup of the Kingpin simply seems to be the inner bracing of the guitar. It is there on both versions.

The differences between the two guitars are:
- For some reasons they have used thinner fretwire for the Kingpin, which I like.
- The acoustic version has a rosewood bridge while that of the Kingpin is plastic. The rosewood might sound better, the plastic one feels better if you rest your hand on it.
- The neck wood looks better on the Kingpin.
- The acoustic sound of the acoustic version is more balanced and a little louder, but this might be because of the phosphor bronze acoustic guitar strings that are on it as opposed to the roundwound nickel electric guitar strings on the Kingpin.

Which one should I keep - I really don´t know yet.

doctorno wrote:... Which one should I keep - I really don´t know yet.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Yes, Richard, glad I gave you something to laugh about

I have decided to keep the acoustic version and send the Kingpin back. I have just tried out the same type of strings on both guitars and the acoustic version sounds even better than the Kingpin. Both are good guitars, but the acoustic one is better suited for the things I want to do with it. I will probably add a floating jazz humbucker one day though. I really love my new guitar. I have hardly put it and the Kingpin out of my hands during the recent days. Never thought that I could love playing a steel string acoustic that much.

Markus,

Thanks for a thorough review.

I say keep them both, take some fingerstyle lessons, and we'll catch you on the Grand Ol' Opry one of these days real soon.

But seriously, if you can only keep one, just keep the one you would miss more if it was gone.