Art & Lutherie Folk Cedar

2004 or 2005, made in La Patrie, Quebec, Canada.
14 frets to the body
Solid cedar top
No electronics
Maple neck, rosewood fretboard
Antique Burst finish
24 3/4 Scale

Very simple features, thats how I like them.

I play lots of finger picking but also use a pick and it's really versatile. It doesnt have that dreadnought bass power, but its pretty loud for that small body size. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this guitar's sound, for it's price, it's just unbelievable.

Very well set up. 12 gauge strings, and the action pretty low. Very slight buzz when strumming hard. No flaws on the finish at all. Satin finish in antique burst is just gorgeous, people compliment me about it all the time.

This baby will need special care since it's got a solid top. Should be humidified properly and kept away from drastic temperature changes. Came with a booklet that says all you need to know to keep good care of it. If you take care of it like you should with every solid top guitar, then this guitar should last forever. It's a very well made instrument, solid.

I havent dealt with godin yet but i know their customer support is really good. Many people i know own godin guitars and are very pleased with the support they are given.

I've been playing for almost 2 years, owned 2 other guitars, a yamaha classical which i cant remember the model, and a jay turser strat copy, which was total crap. If it were stolen, id beat the hell out of the guy who did it. I'll never sell this guitar. I love everything about it, but id have to say my favorite feature is the almost classical-like body, small but still pretty loud, its really comfortable and easy to pick up and play.

Compared it to a couple other godins but i found this body style was the best suited for me, it reacts very well to my finger picking.

Could of had a cutaway, but that would compromise the sound a little.

Godin guitars are rock solid, i cant find a better value here, its just amazing.

I bought this guitar about 6 months ago. Cedar top, laminated cherry sides and back, kind of a dark cherry sunburst, satin finish. Ran me about $235 American, fully acoustic, no pickups. It's their 'folk' size guitar, so think about the same size as a Martin 000, mabey a bit deeper. 24 1/4 scale neck. The neck is maple and is nicley flammed - I don't think this is a feature, I just lucked out and got the good wood.

OK, for $230 this thing flat out sings. The sound is warm and full, the high strings are bright without being tinny and the low strings have plenty of presence, considering that it's a smaller size guitar. I play a lot of blues and acoustic jazz and the A&L works great for both styles. Alright, it's not going to beat your $5000 Santa Cruz, but it really does sound better than anything else in it's price range, not to mention I've played a lot of guitars in the $1000 dollar range that didn't have as good a sound.

Again, to be quite honest, after half a year, I haven't found any problems with the fit or finish of the guitar. The sunburst paint job is a tad basic, although it looks well applied, no paint where it shouldn't be. The tuners are fine, I have no idea what brand they are, but I haven't had any problems. The cedar top has a good tight grain, the binding (top only) is well applied. The neck is great, smooth, easy to play - but it's very fat and deep - if you have small hands the neck might be a problem. Nut is properly slotted, intonation is fine. Really, other than the fact that they do cut corners cosmetically, I have nothing to gripe about.

Again after 6 months, no problems. Nothing buzzes, the neck has been stable (guitar is ALWAYS in tune - more so than my old Martin did) The only thing that I can think of is the fact that cedar is a pretty soft wood, so it doesn't take much to scratch it up. No issues with the finish yet, time will tell on that.

I've never contacted Godin, so I have no idea.

I've been playing for about six or seven years. Right now my little A&L is the only guitar I own, and I'm perfectly happy with it. Like I said, great sound, far beyond what I'd expect for this price range, well made, good materials. I certainly get another one if something happened to this one. The only things it's missing are a pickup and a cutaway, and they offer this model with both, I believe.

Black satin laquer finish, solid top, laminated sides, basic but surprisingly eye-catching for this price range.

Believe it or not, this thing honks! I'm not sure if this is a "special" one, but it definitely sounds much better than a friends older A&L acoustic. Right off the rack this thing was flat-out the loudest of the budget guitars at the shop I went to. That includes a $600 Seagull and a $500 made-in-China Garrison with "active bracing." It sound better than my $1200 Seagull with solid top and back, and a few years of use to break it in. To think that my new guitar, that is essentially unplayed, cost just over $200, the sound is remarkable. It seems to lean towards flat-picking and finger-picking, but is quite versatile, and single note runs sound decent. My particular example sounds like a fantastic recording guitar, though I have a feeling not all Art & Lutherie's are alike.

Everything seems fine, though the action is a little low for my taste (slight buzz) and Godin seems to always ship guitars with light-gauge (I prefer mediums), but the neck is fit better than my Seagull or Simon & Patrick and the satin finish (something I never liked on other guitars) looks great in flat black.

It's new. I'm not sure how durable it will be with satin finish, and that part worries me. The great thing is, it was $200 dollars, so if it breaks in five years, big deal?

No idea, it's about two days old.

I've been playing for about 20 years. I have owned a Seagull acoustic cutaway, a cheapie nylon classical, a Simon & Patrick dreadnaught, and a 1998 Martin D-28.