Art & Lutherie GT Antique Burst

This 21-fret, Canadian made, 2008, dreadnaught style guitar has a beautiful semi-gloss varnish finish over a warm tobacco stained solid Cedar top. The back and sides are Wild Cherry. The neck is Silver leaf maple. The fingerboard and bridge feature Indian Rosewood. Apart from the Indian Rosewood, the rest of the wood comes from naturally fallen Canadian trees with acoustic properties that to my mind rival the clear-cut rain forest Mahogany and other woods used for many other guitars. The nut and saddle are made of Tusq by Graphtech.

It comes with Godin electronics that feature Volume. Bass, and Treble controls as well as a handy on-board tuner! It also comes with Godin strings. I had never tried these before, but these are very quickly becoming my favourite strings!

I play a mix of music, from Rush and the Beatles to classical melodies and etudies, as well as children's songs with my daughter. The sound is rich and full without being bright and without being boomy. My test piece when guitar shopping was "The Sphere" by Rush. This was the only guitar in my price-range that gave me the complexity of character that this delicate piece demands. The sound of the wood seems to dominate the strings rather than the other way around.

The factory set up and action were perfect. No adjustments were required--a real treat compared to other guitars that I have owned. I had no string buzzing. Barre chords are easy, even up to the 12th fret. The action is ideal.

I have no experience with live playing. I either play alone or jam with friends and family.

So far I have not had to get it repaired. Other players that I know who own Godin guitars have had great responce from the company when issues arose.

This year, 2009, I switched from bass, which I started in 1986, to acoustic guitar, so I am somewhat new to acoustics. My daughter owns two acoustics (cheap made-in-China) plus a Squire Strat. All of which I also play.

I thoroughly researched and tested as many guitars in my price range as possible before choosing this beauty. I favoured Canadian made guitars such as Seagull, Simon & Patrick, and Norman, but also played many others, including Epiphones, Yamahas, and Takamines.

I chose this one for the quality and complexity of the sound, the feel of the neck and body, and the gorgeous finish. If it were lost or stolen, I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

What can i say, love it sooo much i baught it.

dreadnought style body, hand made in Quebec Canada 2006. It has a solid Cedar gloss top, lamanent wild cherry satin back and sides, 21 fret indian rose wood fret board and a silver maple neck. The neck is well contured, similar to a C shape but thicker then a fender strat neck obviously.
Tuners are A and L 14 to 1. They work great and seem to stay in tune so far, I've only had it a day now.
Onboard active pickup system (godin quantum) which uses a transducer under the saddle. Controls include volume, bass and treble. EQ controls are mounted on a small round puter plate which insures that tone and resonance aren't lost by cutting a huge hole in the guitar. Output jack lives in the strap lock. 9V battery holder is located just above the strap lock on the end of the guitar and is easily accessible. Just the single strap lock, I guess they assume the player will tie the other end of the strap around the head stock. I find this anoying since the guitar is not always well balanced this way. Nothing was included with the guitar. I gave a 9 because the guitar is not feature rich, but that isn't why I bought as you'll read below.

I tried about 7 Art and Lutherie acoustics before buying this one. I tried models with and without pickups. This one had the absolute best over all sound and tone that I was looking for out of all of the models i played. I play old and new country, classic rock, ballads, classical and bluegrass, as well as most everything inbetween. This guitar does all of those very well. The sound is rich and full bodied, but not too bassy or too bright. It has a great balance of mids and highs, and for my style is just perfect. I plan on using it for recording, using a mike and the internal transducer together. I played some upper end guitars just to compare and this one either compared very well or was even better. I had someone play it while i walked around nearby and this is most of the reason i bought this particular guitar. It has absolutely wonderful projection in front and maintains full dynamic range at fairly signifigant acoustic volume. I would say that while much of the reason for buying a guitar is how it plays and sounds to the player, allot of it is also how it sounds to an audience if that is what you are into. I think this one will definitely fit the bill for live applications both plugged, and unplugged. The onboard pickup system works quite well, though not as good as others i have used. The controls are simple and allow fairly signifigant adjustment of bass and treble frequencies. I think the website said something about the EQ controls being conture controls which means you are changing large portions of frequency spectrum at once instead of small bands of it as with a multi-band equalizer. I don't really like the quantum system, it sounds a bit brittle even with adjustments of the onboard EQ and amp/mixer adjustments. I haven't played around with it quite enough yet, so that part is unexplored yet. I would have much rather had a pizo pickup instead...but i can always get one installed later.

I know nothing is perfect, but the reason i tried 7 Art and Lutherie guitars before finding this one was because they were all set up differently, some good, but not to my liking, and some just plain awful with fret buzz and high action. This one was the best of the lot and that is why i chose it. So, fit and finish are great. As the strings get older though, and when i put new strings on, the neck may need some truss rod adjustment, I don't know. Free life time setup at the store, so i'm not worried. The nut seems a little sticky, but that can be solved with some graphite or other solid lubricator. Also, i found that behind the nut, the strings do not move, that is, I can not achieve up bends from behind the nut as with most guitars...again, could be a sticky nut problem or just the type of strings that are on there not willing to move much. Certainly not a defect in the construction of design of the nut. Bridge seems solid and reliable with ability to adjust intonation without reconstruction as with some older guitars. The gloss finish on the cedar top is thin, and will likely mar up pretty easily once i begin to play live and knock the poor thing about a little bit, but it won't effect tone and playability. I don't buy a guitar bassed on how it'll look in 5 years, or weather its going to get pick marks in it or chips.

This guitar will withstand live playing easily. I would certainly recommend a hardshell case for transporting though, unless you are going to be the only one moving or carrying it. The hardware is good. The EQ control plate is metal and well made, as is the output jack. The door on the 9V battery compartment could potentially snap off if one is not careful, or the tab for opening/securing it could snap off...this is a problem with nearly every well used onboard EQ or battery cover i Have seen. The finish is thin, or seemingly so, and will probably ware with use as does all finish. Its purposely thin to preserve resonance, sustain and tonality. Again, I don't buy a guitar based on how it looks now, or how its going to look in 5 years. Resale value doesn't come into play with guitars of this price range either. The single strap button seems solid enough, and i certainly wouldn't want it to break since it acts as the output jack portal as well. This said, its probably a bit more reliable then the typical screw on type since its reenforced from the back side with a nut for the output jack.
The guitar seems like it will be very dependable. I would use it without a backup, but not willingly. If a person only has one acoustic guitar with a pickup to use, and gigs are a way of life, but don't pay terribly well yet, then perhaps there is no choice but to play without a backup. I have another acoustic that i would use possibly miked if i had to.

I don't know about the length of the warranty, didn't find out. Never dealt with the company, hopefully never will.

I have been playing for 15 years. I have a samic 6string acoustic dreadnought style, a G and L classic tribute telly, yamaha pacifica (strat style), a fender hotrod deville 212 and a few small practice amps. If it was stolen I'd buy another one if I could find one that sounded as good.
I love the playability, tone and over all flexibility this guitar can offer for various genres of music and varying playing styles. It works with finger style, flat picking, slide, capoed and strumming as well as blues/rock lead work. I dislike the onboard pickup system, but it does function well and probably will sound great once i learn how to adjust it properly and know how to set it for various environments and systems. I love the way it sounds and its presence. It fills a room and vibrates the floor and is absolutely awesome for singing with. Or is it the other way around, the guitar is a great accompaniment to singing....with my singing, the louder the guitar the better things sound :) From what i have read, it will only get better with time as the cedar ages as well which is a big plus. My old samic sounds dead and toneless even with new strings on beside the A and L. As i mentioned, I wish it had a pizo type pickup instead of the transducer which sounds and acts just like a mike. When hooked up to an amp, one must watch the volume and gain because it will feedback easily. The pizo's are great because they'll crank as loud as they need to be cranked in a live or practice situation and not give feedback problems. Some claim they sound tinny or plasticy, and the transducer or mike pickup sound more natural, but i disagree...I don't like string noise in a pickup, especially on an acoustic.
This said though, overall i am extremely satisfied with the guitar, and due to my careful choosing I believe i have an instrument that fits me and my many styles, and will keep me satisfied for a long time. The price was decent to for an instrument of this quality and workmanship.

This is a new model for Art And Lutherie. The top is solid cedar and the sides are laminated cherry. The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. It is an acoustic W/O electrics.There is a genuine lacquer finish on the top with a raised rosette around the sound hole. The top has a very subtle burst ( named Antique Burst) which is understated and attractive on this new GT model. The sides and back are finished in a satin non gloss.The tuners are A & L's own 14:1 chrome plated, which work fine.

Sound is where this baby shines. When I picked it up I had been trying many other guitars(some very expensive)but it blew the others AWAY. The sound is bright and full.

The set up was not very good, I had to have the truss rod adjusted for a bow in the neck from the first thru fifth fret. However after adjusting, the neck was just right. The action is still just a tad high, but I can live with it. The rest of fit and finish were just fine.

I haven't had it long enough to judge longevity yet. A minor beef: I had to add a strap button to the neck.

No experience here yet

I have been playing about 5 years, I'm a chord player(rhythm), not a lead player. I chose this jewel for it's sound and tone alone. It was heads and shoulders over most of the axes I tried out.