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Well, it's done at last. I pulled the trigger on one I've had my eye on at eBay for weeks. Every morning I'd look at the listing and think, "is this the day it slips away, and how much regret will I have to live with if I let it?" Couldn't take the strain any more (pardon the drama), and am so happy I went for it. $500 US from Quebec City including expedited shipping (that came to $635 in Canuck currency) because it was a brand-new factory second with one ding on the bottom near the endpin and a few tiny finish bubbles, all duly recorded in photos at the listing.
Folks, that ding is so shallow I don't really dare call it a ding, more a mark in the finish, and the finish blems? You need to look for 'em with a magnifying glass. It is for all intents and purposes mint. I am over the moon, because I've known for a few years this was the guitar I really wanted thanks to plenty of excellent reviews and videos by Forum members, in particular mr. beaumont (thanks again jeff).
I love the neck, and it has acoustic tone and volume that just plain make me happy. I sang a few songs with it a little while ago and understood immediately that I don't need an archtop note cannon - not for what I want to do. So enough of this; herewith a few pics.
One thing, I don't like the knobs, call me a picky bugger, and have already ordered a pair of repro Bakelite ES250 jobs from Charlie Christian Pickups - CC Pickups.
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12-09-2017 03:48 PM
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Gorgeous!
i'm knob picky too.
nice choice!
congrats!
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Looks like a fine guitar there! Congrats and HNGD!
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I got one recently and am very happy with it. Plays great, sounds great both plugged in and unplugged. I'm sure you'll enjoy yours.
Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
Well, it's done at last. I pulled the trigger on one I've had my eye on at eBay for weeks. Every morning I'd look at the listing and think, "is this the day it slips away, and how much regret will I have to live with if I let it?" Couldn't take the strain any more (pardon the drama), and am so happy I went for it. $500 US from Quebec City including expedited shipping (that came to $635 in Canuck currency) because it was a brand-new factory second with one ding on the bottom near the endpin and a few tiny finish bubbles, all duly recorded in photos at the listing.
Folks, that ding is so shallow I don't really dare call it a ding, more a mark in the finish, and the finish blems? You need to look for 'em with a magnifying glass. It is for all intents and purposes mint. I am over the moon, because I've known for a few years this was the guitar I really wanted thanks to plenty of excellent reviews and videos by Forum members, in particular mr. beaumont (thanks again jeff).
I love the neck, and it has acoustic tone and volume that just plain make me happy. I sang a few songs with it a little while ago and understood immediately that I don't need an archtop note cannon - not for what I want to do. So enough of this; herewith a few pics.
One thing, I don't like the knobs, call me a picky bugger, and have already ordered a pair of repro Bakelite ES250 jobs from Charlie Christian Pickups - CC Pickups.
John
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
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Lovely guitar! we Canadians do know some stuff about making guitars it seems
) I had the 5th Ave and thought the tone was vastly improved with a full contact ebony saddle/bridge that was fitted to the top versus the stock two footed Tusq one. There are also some great pickguard replacements available that are much stiffer than the stock Godin one if like me you use the pick guard as an anchor/rest while picking and find the stock one a bit too soft.
Will
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Hi Will, heck yes we know a thing or two! We have Jean Larivée (although I think he moved shop to the States) and so many others, too many to name, Mackenzie & Marr, Carparelli, Prestige, Riversong; and as a teenager I met Frank Gay. The man could play too, let me tell you. Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
Lovely guitar! we Canadians do know some stuff about making guitars it seems) I had the 5th Ave and thought the tone was vastly improved with a full contact ebony saddle/bridge that was fitted to the top versus the stock two footed Tusq one. There are also some great pickguard replacements available that are much stiffer than the stock Godin one if like me you use the pick guard as an anchor/rest while picking and find the stock one a bit too soft.
Will
The bridge swap is a distinct possibility, but I like the flex-y pickguard so will hang onto that for now. Thanks all for your thoughts, can't tell you how relieved I am this one didn't get away.
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That looks fantastic! I've only ever played solid body Godins, and I never much cared for the little graphic eq thingy they put on those, but playability-wise they've all been terrific. Would love to try one of these out, even though I'm not a huge archop fan.
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Wonderful! Happy NGD!
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Beautiful axe! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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He did. A buddy of mine worked in his Oxnard, CA shop, and bought a couple with his employee discount -- and brought home others for testing etc. After having played several of Jean's designs, built by the team Jean trained, I'm convinced Jean's one of the most underrated luthiers of the last few decades, especially when it comes to acoustic guitars. My favorties were a little parlor flattop that had a wonderfully balanced voice, and a Tele with an SD minihumbucker in the neck that Just.Fucking.Killed. Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
Jean knows what the hell he's doing ... and then some.
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Thanks again to all for your thoughts. Yeah, Larivée was good enough for Bruce Cockburn in the '70s, and he could play too.
@Boston Joe, cool to hear you admire this guitar even though you're not an archtop guy. I'm going to be bonding with it very heavily this winter (which really arrived in this neck of the woods the same day as the guitar, good timing) and see what we see. But really it was love at first sight, and the honeymoon began when I played it. I'm a happy man.
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Congrats man! Such great little guitars...
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The decision was made a lot easier thanks to your input Jeff. I've always had a bad habit of taking way too long to decide on instrument purchases, so thank you. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Congratulations!
Shame on me, but so far I have never played a 5th Avenue. For some reason nobody here 'in the scene' uses one (from what I read, that can't be because of lack of quality, because all I hear is praise for those instruments!) and I never see them in the shops. So maybe the dealership with the Netherlands is not organized all too well?
Enjoy her and post some clips if you have the chance ;-) Those knobs are great, I didn't know they could be ordered otherwise I might had for my el cheapo Ibanez project.
One thing I am still curious about: I read the Godin P90s do not require routing the top, can you confirm that? (Or dismiss.) I am interested because I have a Furch archtop with a floating pickup and would like to install a P90 without cutting through the top.
Enjoy your new guitar!
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I've always been good at helping people spend their money Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
And yes, as far as I understand, there's a hole cut for the wire, and then two holes for the screws, obviously, but there's no big "rout" for the P-90. I need to get one of those dentist mirror thingys and look under the hood...mine is currently pickup ring buzz/rattle free and I have no desire to remove the pickup and find out I've changed that upon replacing
Oh, and good call on the knobs. I changed mine too, the originals were wobbly and ugly. I went with Amber Gibson LP style knobs...
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Yep, I can confirm that, having removed one of the pickups on my KP2 to lower the pickup ring. Just the screwholes and a small hole for the wire. Originally Posted by Little Jay
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That's interesting! Is the pickup of a different design? Or are the pole screws that short that they don't stick out underneath the pickup? I noticed the 5th Avenue has quite a bit of room between the top and the strings and the P90 sits on a riser, so there is some room indeed. Originally Posted by Jehu
Does anyone have a picture of the underside of the pickup by any chance? (Now don't go and take your guitar apart just for me.... ;-)
(Sorry to derail the thread a little bit....)
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Yeah, I'm guessing it's because the pickup is on a spacer because the neck is elevated.
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That's fine, I'm not squeamish. Originally Posted by Little Jay
Does this help?
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Jehu, you the man, thanks!
So yes, a slightly different P90 design, with shorter pole-piece screws indeed and a base plate with the extensions for the screws in straight configuration (not angled), that explains a lot! But the 5th Avenue also has more space between the strings and the top than most guitars:
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Very interesting ... So I guess this goes a fair way toward explaining why the Kinpin is unusually loud for a set-pup archtop -- the top is relatively intact. These Canucks are fiendishly clever. Originally Posted by Jehu
That's fine, I'm not squeamish.
Does this help?
John
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@Little Jay, no worries about derailment, this is all on-topic AFAIC and great to see interest being drummed up as a result of my post. There are at least 3 sources for these knobs online, all in the UK (also ES150 knobs):
CC Pickups - Pickups
Bakelite ES250 Gibson Knobs x 2 | Guitar Parts Worldwide
Parts For Gibson
@Jehu, very cool, thanks for showing us the pup attachment scheme.
I can tell you that for my purposes anyway, volume is not compromised. Could it be used to cut through a band acoustically? Doubt it, but that was never the intention of the builders I'm sure. I'll reiterate my agreement here with Jonathan Stout that the one readily-available non-vintage carved archtop made with that in mind must surely be The Loar. But as a guy who is primarily a singer, I am more than happy with this guitar, and my next major purchase will be an amp, because I hope to get a small group together after some serious woodshedding. No clips until then.
I like that the pickup is so meaty, even seen some guys take off their pickguard which amps that meatiness to a whole new level: godin 5th ave. kingpin. oh canada! | My Les Paul Forum.
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