Godin Kingpin P90

[alpop]

I picked this up earlier in the week in a private sale. Clean as a whistle, unplayed new condition for $600 CAD. (about $460 US)

I put some new Martin Retro Monels on it, adjusted the neck relief, action, bridge position, and pole pieces on the pickup and wow what a great guitar! It is very satisfying to play both acoustically and plugged in.

Lots of times beginners post here asking for a good starter jazz box, and I don't think this model can be beat for the money. You don't have to spend thousands and thousands to get a useable instrument.
(not to disparage custom builds which are functional works of art and worth every penny)



Two weird things:

1) The guitar only has side position dots on 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. I don't mind not having one on the 3rd fret, but not having one on the 9th fret has thrown me off a few times.

2) I don't think you can find the manufacturing date from the serial number and that bugs me.

I am getting older (duh aren't we all) and I have sold off all my nice jazz boxes hoping to get by with a Tele, but missed having a hollowbody. This is a real nice low cost option. Highly recommend!

Just an aside: I have never named a guitar in my life, but when I emailed the photo from my phone, Godin auto-corrected as Gordon, so Gordon it is!

[tbeltrans]

Well, Gordon, play nice for the people! Congrats alpop on a fine archtop.

Tony

[blille]

Grats!

I used to have one and I may get one again

[alpop]

Well, Gordon, play nice for the people! Congrats alpop on a fine archtop.

Tony

Ha ha Thanks! If the music isn't great it won't be Gordon's fault!

[Jonathan0996]

Nice find. Enjoy the guitar.

People keep posting questions about affordable guitars, but I keep seeing nice used guitars under $500 on Craigslist and elsewhere. No, they're not Buscarinos, but if you keep your eyes open and be patient, deals are out there on some very playable instruments. Have fun with yours.

[citizenk74]

Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[Max405]

Alpop,
That’s a very nice guitar you got there. Congratulations.
I must admit, it’s so nice to see a newer member posting a NGD here. Seeing your enthusiasm is very refreshing.
Now play the heck out your new guitar and inspire others to do the same.
Thanks for sharing!
Joe D

[alpop]

Alpop,
That’s a very nice guitar you got there. Congratulations.
I must admit, it’s so nice to see a newer member posting a NGD here. Seeing your enthusiasm is very refreshing.
Now play the heck out your new guitar and inspire others to do the same.
Thanks for sharing!
Joe D

Thanks for the kind and encouraging words!

[Jx30510]

I'm searching for a very simple yet usable one pickup laminate archtop. The Gibson Es125 comes immediately in mind, but way too expensive for what you get (my opinion), and the Godin keeps making surface as a really good alternative..
How is the neck on this model?
Does it sound good acoustic (for a laminate of course)?

[alpop]

I'm searching for a very simple yet usable one pickup laminate archtop. The Gibson Es125 comes immediately in mind, but way too expensive for what you get (my opinion), and the Godin keeps making surface as a really good alternative..
How is the neck on this model?
Does it sound good acoustic (for a laminate of course)?

Hi there. I am not fussy about neck width, thickness, etc. so my opinion may not match with people who have strict preferences. I find the neck on mine to be very comfortable, kind of "medium" in all respects. Not too narrow or too thick.

Funny that you should mention the Gibson ES125 because I have owned an early 50's one. It cost 4x what the Godin cost. The Godin is actually louder acoustically than the Gibson was, but the electric sound from the Gibson was a bit more pleasing. (not 4x's more pleasing) However there WAS a vibe from the Gibson that is hard to measure in dollars.

Here's a neat video comparing the two that you may find interesting:

Good luck in your search!

[Alter]

Just checked the price at Thomann and it is 1049€! That's quite an increase, I remember them to be much cheaper not too long ago ..

[Jx30510]

Thanks very much for your insight.
Yes I've already watched this video.
I've noticed prices have increased for that model, but it seems everything has increased (Moogs synthesizers have jumped 20% in Europe for instance).
I might try to find a used one.
But 1045€ stays pretty competitive.
Congrats on your purchase, may this instrument inspire your playing for years to come!

[alpop]

Just checked the price at Thomann and it is 1049€! That's quite an increase, I remember them to be much cheaper not too long ago ..

Here in Canada they are selling for $950 Canadian dollars new with no case. (plus taxes)

[ccroft]

Here in Canada they are selling for $950 Canadian dollars new with no case. (plus taxes)

BTW: I bought a black one 4 years ago for $700 Canadian. New from a shop in Victoria, before taxes, and case extra. Still a great buy at $950 if you ask me. I wanted a low cost 16" archtop for travel. It's perfect for that and totally gigable to boot.

If I remember correctly, I think it might be in line with the cost increase of a Dungeness crab.

[ModesSchmodes]

That looks like a wonderful guitar, congratulations!

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, having skated by with only ("only") a telly for now, but I will check out a used 5th Avenue Kingpin II this week hopefully. With all the good one hears about those guitars I have to say, my expectations are not low!

[alpop]

That looks like a wonderful guitar, congratulations!

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, having skated by with only ("only") a telly for now, but I will check out a used 5th Avenue Kingpin II this week hopefully. With all the good one hears about those guitars I have to say, my expectations are not low!

Thanks! I was lucky in that there were two of these used for sale at the same time in my area.

I think there are quite a few on the used market because people think, "cool I'll buy a jazz guitar and play some jazz" and then reality hits and they put them up for sale.

Good luck in your search, hope you find a good one!

[RomanS]

I'm searching for a very simple yet usable one pickup laminate archtop. The Gibson Es125 comes immediately in mind, but way too expensive for what you get (my opinion), and the Godin keeps making surface as a really good alternative..
How is the neck on this model?
Does it sound good acoustic (for a laminate of course)?

I can answer the neck question - I've got the twin-P90 model with cutaway, but I think, the neck is the same across the whole Kingpin line:

Godin says the nut width is 1.72" (like a standard Gibson acoustic neck), that would be 43.6 mm - on mine it's almost exactly 43 mm, so slightly less than what Godin says; e to E string spacing is 35.5 mm.
The neck has a thickness of about 20 mm at the first fret (so, quite thin not even close to a 22 mm "medium" neck size), and the profile is a typical D shape, rather flat on the back, but with pronounced shoulders - it's straight, at a 90° angle to the fretboard, for about 8 mm, then quickly curves to the flat back; since it has a flat fretboard (16" radius), too, it's almost like a 2x4 with rounded corners...
IMHO it's quite an unusual shape for an electric guitar (or an acoustic archtop), it's more like a miniature version of the neck profile of a nylon string classical acoustic guitar.

I love my Kingpin for its great tones (I use GHS White Bronze strings - very "acoustic" sounding event through the pickups, but better string to string balance than Martin Retros (which I have also tried)), but I really wished it had a different neck, with more "meat" (I like 1" thick baseball bat necks, like on my Teles, or thick V necks, like on my Loar archtop...)

Oh, and as for the second part of your question, whether it sounds good as an acoustic:
Well, it sounds better unplugged than other "electric" archtops (various Epiphone Ibanez & Gretsch models in that price range), and it may be OK for quiet home practice - but it's definitely an "electric" guitar (with lots of "acoustic" qualities shining through, even plugged in); it doesn't even come close (both in tone and volume) to a "real" acoustic archtop with a carved spruce top (like my Loar LH300).

[RomanS]

Here's the thickness, compared to the 1" Warmoth "Boatneck" on my favorite Tele:


Here you can see the rather sudden transition from the straight side to the flat back:


And here you can see the rather flat back:


I believe that neck shape would be beneficial for somebody who plays with "classical" left hand position (thumb on the back of the neck), but it's no the most comfortable for "thumb over" style, and it's definitely not a "palm filling" profile.

[alpop]

I can answer the neck question - I've got the twin-P90 model with cutaway, but I think, the neck is the same across the whole Kingpin line:

Godin says the nut width is 1.72" (like a standard Gibson acoustic neck), that would be 43.6 mm - on mine it's almost exactly 43 mm, so slightly less than what Godin says; e to E string spacing is 35.5 mm.
The neck has a thickness of about 20 mm at the first fret (so, quite thin not even close to a 22 mm "medium" neck size), and the profile is a typical D shape, rather flat on the back, but with pronounced shoulders - it's straight, at a 90° angle to the fretboard, for about 8 mm, then quickly curves to the flat back; since it has a flat fretboard (16" radius), too, it's almost like a 2x4 with rounded corners...
IMHO it's quite an unusual shape for an electric guitar (or an acoustic archtop), it's more like a miniature version of the neck profile of a nylon string classical acoustic guitar.

I love my Kingpin for its great tones (I use GHS White Bronze strings - very "acoustic" sounding event through the pickups, but better string to string balance than Martin Retros (which I have also tried)), but I really wished it had a different neck, with more "meat" (I like 1" thick baseball bat necks, like on my Teles, or thick V necks, like on my Loar archtop...)

Oh, and as for the second part of your question, whether it sounds good as an acoustic:
Well, it sounds better unplugged than other "electric" archtops (various Epiphone Ibanez & Gretsch models in that price range), and it may be OK for quiet home practice - but it's definitely an "electric" guitar (with lots of "acoustic" qualities shining through, even plugged in); it doesn't even come close (both in tone and volume) to a "real" acoustic archtop with a carved spruce top (like my Loar LH300).

Great detailed explanation of the neck! Much more helpful than my, "me pick up guitar, me play guitar, me like guitar, guitar good!"

Regarding the unplugged sound, I agree that it does not compare to a solid carved top but my guitar has an acoustic sound that is quite pleasing and much more than "OK for quiet home practice." I can hang with a vocalist in a purely acoustic setting. Maybe it is because your guitar is a 2 pickup with a cutaway and mine is 1 pickup with no cutaway?

[Jx30510]

Thank very much for this great reply!
It couldn't have been better!
Well I feel the neck should suit me quite well. I don't really like baseball necks so this should be fine.

[RomanS]

Yeah, the twin pickup cutaway model is probably more quiet. But I also regularly play the single pickup - no cutaway version (belongs to the singer in my band, I use it when we play at his place), and have a really hard time getting heard unplugged in a band made up of upright bass, mandolin, and another guy playing a Martin dreadnought (playing Americana & old-timey country stuff).

[alpop]

Yeah, the twin pickup cutaway model is probably more quiet. But I also regularly play the single pickup - no cutaway version (belongs to the singer in my band, I use it when we play at his place), and have a really hard time getting heard unplugged in a band made up of upright bass, mandolin, and another guy playing a Martin dreadnought (playing Americana & old-timey country stuff).

Oh yeah, you would be buried in that setting. Sounds like my band which has upright bass, mandolin, dobro, and me on guitar. I use a J45 and can be heard, but an unamplified Kingpin wouldn't cut it.

[2bornot2bop]

I think it might be in line with the cost increase of a Dungeness crab.

You must be on the West coast North of Monterey. They aren’t as large as they once were either. I haven’t had a good one in years. Haggens wants $22 lb.

Congrats to the OP on the Godin. These guitars have a very large following!

[mr. beaumont]

I still think they're the best budget minded jazz boxes out there.

[Fred Archtop]

Nice guitar. Gordon, couldn't be wrong. Dexter is one of my favorite jazz musicians.

Congrats !