# NGD: Went to buy a Gibson, came back with a Godin



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Had every intention of buying a new 2020 Les Paul Standard Unburst or Bourbon Burst today. Played one of each, they were just "fine" but I wasn't quite feeling it. I hit the "500 days sober" milestone yesterday, so this was my treat to myself. The Les Pauls were very nice guitars, but I have ... some, and I like mine better.

Kind of frustrated that I wasn't wow'd, I picked up a few other guitars but nothing struck me, and by this time I was a little put off by some other things going on. Went to another store, and there it was - a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin II with humbuckers. I've been looking at these things for about 5 years now and never pulled the trigger. But this one played great, sounded good unplugged, and it was used but in like new condition other than some wear on the pickup covers, so the price was right.

I guess it was a sort of destiny to get a 5th Avenue to celebrate 500 days. Anyway, it's being set up and am picking it up tomorrow, can't wait.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Congratulations on many levels. Keep up the good work!


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## 1979 930 (Oct 13, 2019)

Congrats! You deserved a guitar!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Congrats on your accomplishment and ngd!


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

CONGRATS on the milestone and the new guitar!

Please post some pics of your new Godin.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Yeah, congratsos on many levels.

I’ve been looking at those for a few years as well.


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## bigboki (Apr 16, 2015)

Big big congratulations on a great 500 milestone and on a great guitar!


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Congrats twice!


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Congrats! Well deserved for sure. Enjoy the Godin!


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## NashvilleDeluxe (Feb 7, 2018)

I sold all my Gibsons and have 5 Godins. You done good.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Congratulations man


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

That’s a great story and congrats!


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## John123 (Jul 22, 2020)

Congrats. One day at a time; life is great...


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Good stuff! Congrats on the achievement and the guitar. Godin make great stuff.


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## Ronniedblues (Jan 29, 2021)

Congrats on your milestone and your new to you acquisition!!


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Two great choices that we share. Happy for you on both counts.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm not surprised... my Summit Classic CT P90 Goldtop ran circles around my Gibson P90 Les Paul that I subsequently sold. Not for all folks with master tone and volume, but I prefer it that way.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

Congrats on your 500th and your 5th!
Looking forward to seeing the 5th and hearing your impressions about it.


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## gproud (Mar 2, 2006)

A great story and happy for you for both things...

Congrats!


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

player99 said:


> Congratulations on many levels. Keep up the good work!


This!


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

First, thanks for all the encouragement it is much appreciated.

Picked the guitar up today. Setup was very good, but oddly the intonation is bang on for five strings, and a little sharp on the G string at the 12th fret. It has a compensated bridge, so the only thing I can think is Godin sets them up for a wound third perhaps? I went with the coated D'Addario 11s.

My experience with hollow guitars has not been good until now. I keep wanting to like them, but its difficult. This one is nice and light, not too bulky, and the neck feels familiar (I've owned a few Godins and currently have a Summit Classic). It sounds very impressive clean, and could be a decent rocker with a bit of crunch. I plugged it into a Vox AC10 when I tried it at L&M and really liked the tone. It has a reasonable tone unplugged and would be good for just picking up and playing at night without irritating everyone in the house. Much more volume unplugged than say a 335 or other thinline type semi-hollow. For this guitar I don't think the single volume and tone controls are a limitation. Most importantly, my wife loves the sound and likes to hear it played.

Looks-wise I totally dig it. I've loved the look of these since they came out, just never found one at the right time and the right price until now. Guitar came with a "Crossrock" gig bag which is pretty substantial and appears to provide good protection.

I finally decided to try to move beyond professional noodler, and found a guitar teacher locally who specializes in blues and jazz - the latter being my interest just because. I'll be starting next week so this guitar should fill the role for all those jazzy bits.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Nice! 
Yeah, the bridge is made for a wound 3rd and is pretty much impossible to make work for plain. When you intonate for a plain 3rd, it's set furthest back. With a wound 3rd, it's the furthest forward- big divide between the two. You can get a different bridge to work with a plain 3rd. Either a TOM bridge or one carved for plain 3rd.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

What zztomato said. If D'Addario, just get a single wound .021 string for now to resolve things. If you keep the OEM bridge (and I wouldn't change it immediately), in the future get a set of EXL115W.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

.20 will have to do


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

BlueRocker said:


> I finally decided to try to move beyond professional noodler, and found a guitar teacher locally who specializes in blues and jazz - the latter being my interest just because. I'll be starting next week so this guitar should fill the role for all those jazzy bits.


Hope you enjoy learning jazz. I am a professional jazz noodler.

CONGRATS on your beautiful new jazz box. ENJOY!

This is a video of a Godin Montreal Premier being played at out local music store. 
I hope you enjoy the clean, traditional style jazz he is playing.





Not wishing to derail your NGD thread, but which jazz guitarists do you enjoy listening to?


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Django Reinhardt - I figure if he could do all that with a few less digits, there's hope for me! Joe Pass, Barney Kessel! I'm trying to develop my ear for it right now.


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## Larrivee (Nov 16, 2014)

player99 said:


> Congratulations on many levels. Keep up the good work!


Couldn't have said it better - well done!


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

Awesome stuff, Blue - congratulations on the milestone. The guitar is icing on the cake.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

every now and then i get tired of my 5th ave 
then i switch strings out rounds to flats or half round and it's back on the happy train 
j


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Some times, it's like love at first sight .... A guitar's playability and sound will win you over .
Plus Godin guitars , are likeva beautiful woman that will be the end all ...be all ....perfection !!!💓


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## Roots-Picker (Dec 29, 2017)

Congrats on your sobriety milestone, and enjoy your Kingpin!


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Congrats
Cool guitars too.

Enjoy


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Congrats! Excellent guitar!


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Congrats on both counts! I have a K II HB as well. I had been searching for the P90 version for quite a while and the HB came up at the right price. I didn't even know that humbuckers were an option, so I took it home with L&M's 30-day policy in mind. They won. I'd still like to bring home a P90 version someday, but I'm pretty happy.


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