Art & Lutherie Spruce

Clean, quality, no-frills construction from quality solid woods. Satin finish. Spruce top, maple neck, cherry back/ sides, rosewood fretboard. Standard steelstring dreadnaught style, dark tortoiseshell look pickguard. Tuners are good quality, no issues. Man-made binding, nut, saddle. Older model.

This guitar sounds better than many costing three times the price. The tone & sustain are amazing, and have improved over the years. Not too bright, not too dark, just right! Sound-wise, the only other brand I have been attracted to is Santa Cruz (but they are just a wee out of my budget :)). I am consistently impressed by Godin's acoustic guitars. They typically sound very, very good and have quality construction. Stays in tune like a champ!

I give this category an 8 instead of a 9 due to the insanely high action. Nice matte, satin finish, clean construction and pretty woods.

Very solid construction. As a side note, a friend has this same model that he accidentally mangled. The top was damaged extensively, and not fully repaired. Incredibly, it still sounds good.

No need.

I give this guitar a 10 overall because of the sound/construction and price/value. I would not hesitate to recommend Godin. I would definitely buy from them again. I am not a pro player, but my partner is an engineer/producer, so I have had lots of exposure to tons of instruments & gear, from junkyard to bankbusting. Many friends are musicians, & have had the opportunity to play and hear various brands over the years.

I've had this dreadnaught guitar for about a year. It was made in Canada in December 2003. It has a satin(Almost flat)finish. Burgundy coloured top, made of solid spruce. Rosette made of many small pieces of wood, as opposed to the soft plastic that is being used in newer A&Ls. Binding along the top of body only, none along the bottom. No neck binding, the fret ends are visible. The headstock is a simple rectangle, with "Art & Lutherie" screened on it. It has the typical high quality tuners that the Godin company uses in all their guitars.

Note: I have seen reviews where the tuners of Godin and other guitars were dissed. Take these negatives with a grain of salt. Many people install strings incorrectly, and don't stretch the strings when they are first installed. Then they blame the tuners for not holding tune!
Of all the guitars I have owned and played, I have seen one bad tuner, it was on an ancient Yamaha and it obviously had been damaged during a fall.
No electronics. The neck has a mild "V" profile, something I have not seen on other A&Ls. Glossy neck finish.
One chrome strap pin at the bottom of the guitar.
I bought this guitar in spite of the burgundy colour. I'm just about used to it now.

The sound is the reason that I bought this guitar- It has a very full, resonant sound, good bass and great sustain , even in the high notes.
I play fingerstyle with it, but it is a better strummer for vocal accompanyment, or for blues kind of stuff. I've tried several A&Ls, they do seem to vary a bit in sound quality. They are all good , but this one is great.

The action, as I bought it, was much too high except for perhaps playing slide. Very common issue, even in new guitars.
I tightened the truss rod to straighten the neck, and sanded down the saddle about 1/16". All good now. Inside, only the tiniest amount of glue is visible along the kerfed lining. Outside, the body binding is not perfectly flush with the sides. You can feel the difference in height by running your fingernail from the binding into the side. Maybe 1/64" off. The two sides join at the bottom of the guitar, and here again, there is a joint line which you can feel by running your fingernail across it. (Both of these small issues are common in the Art and Luthier line. A & L is the budget lineup of the Godin company products.) The wooden rosette has small gaps/depressions in the surface, as if some of the pieces were gouged out or shrunk . The top stain is fairly opaque,so you really can't tell if the top is properly book matched. However the back is book matched nicely.
So cosmeticaly , it's so so, but mechanically, soundwise , it's very good. Considering the price point and the fact that it comes with a solid wood top, it's pretty darn good.

The tuners and other hardware are holding up, with heavy use. There is a glossy wear area (with a very slight flaking of the top at the edge), where my right arm hangs over the body while playing. I play right handed.
Below the pick guard, towards the bridge, is another wear area where the pick has grazed the body. It's not through the colour yet , but close. There is also wear on the neck stain at the first fret along each side. All cosmetic, and I think it adds character. It's a pretty solid guitar, and though it has acquired a patina, I think it would hold up to live playing.

Never dealt with Godin.

Been playing (seriously) for about 3 years, and I have gone through about a dozen acoustics, just curious about different models and materials, etc. I probably won't sell the A&L. I presently also own an excellent Larrivee acoustic, a Hagstrom electric and a New York Pro 335 style electric. (Don't laugh, it is surprisingly good.) I bought this A&L used. If lost or stolen, I would try to find a similar one at the same price. This is one the better sounding A&Ls that I have played. This guitar does not quite have the clarity of the Larrivee for fingerpicking, but it strums very nicely, and sounds differently from the Larrivee. And it cost me about 1/5 of the price of my Larrivee.
Compared to many other guitars, it has simple ornamentation.
Soundwise, it is a big bang for the buck. If you don't mind (or like me, enjoy ) the wear on the finish, it's a terrific guitar!