Godin Acousticaster 6

Telecaster-shape body with maple neck/rosewood fretboard, strat-ish headstock and LR Baggs EQ system.
Don't know what year, serial is 250XX which I guess is pretty darn early in the production run.
22 frets, solid spruce top & chambered body [probably maple]. Body top has great flamed sunburst finish, maple neck looks like nitro-celulose but I'm no expert. This also has some sort of 'harp' inside it to simulate resonance, bridge looks like your common or garden rosewood & bone acoustic type. Everything works as it should, only gripe is the location of the TWO[!!] 9v batteries needed to run the EQ, they're housed under the top-mounted unit and the whole EQ system has to be unscrewed to change them......total madness. Apart from that, I can't fault a thing on it.

The band plays rock/blues/country/pop, for this I need good quality acoustic sounds for both live and studio.
This guitar generally goes through a Line6 PODpro and then into an Alesis mixer, from there it's either the PA [live] or the studio desk. Been also running this into 'Live' on the PC and sequencing in Cubase.
This guitar produces no hum at all. I can get a full array of acoustic tones that stand-up to close scrutiny in the studio. Live it's great as I can crank it up and never get any feedback problems.

The action is just superb, almost as good as my Les Paul. I can find no flaws anywhere, the quality of construction/finish is about as good as it gets.

Well I use this live, but maybe I'm a bit anxious about it. I guess that because it's light & resonant I'm half expecting it to fall apart! This has never let me down and I gig without a back-up.

N/A

I've been playing guitar over 20 years, I've had a lot of gear in that time and this axe is definately a keeper. Love the looks, hate the battery access!

Most features already explained. Thin body Acoustic guitar with an 18-tine tuned harp for resonation. LR Baggs 18V Active p/u's. Made in Canada. Solid Spruce top. etc

I wanted an acoustic guitar sound without the big body. (Man was I young) When using through my Trace Elliot Acoustic amp it sounds awesome. Lots of range. But not like a full-body acoustic! Nothing like my Larrivee C-05
I also found when I replaced the wound G-string with a plain it played really nice for acoustic lead, and still maintained that LR Baggs acoustic tone. Tried electric strings once on it, sounded like crap!!!
No way you could get a decent electric tone out of this axe. Tried through a Fender Twin Tube amp and sounded like it was coming through a tin can.
Then again, if you want an electric guitar, go buy one! If you want an acoustic/electric dual action guitar, should've bought the Flat Five X, LGX, XTsa or the new Montreal for a proper dual action guitar.

Action from the factory was average... had it setup again at the Art's Music Store in NewMarket, Ontario, and it played like a dream. Nothing needed changing on the p/u's or anything. No complaints.

This is where I had a problem. After a couple years the guitar could keep it's tune. No matter how many neck adjustments or intination jobs...
Other than that... good.

never did check out the tuning problem... couldn't be bothered for a $500 guitar, so i just sold the guitar and bought a Larrivee

If you want the sound of a great acoustic, get a great acoustic. If you want the feel of an electric buy an electric. If you want both together, you're going to sacrifice something somewhere. I'm an acoustic buff, and if you're picky about your acoustic sound, this is not going to cut it.
Good guitar for young learners who can't fit around a full body, but no reason to try and match the tone I've got with the Larrivee and the LR Baggs Dual Source pickup

Made in 1991. Canada. Solid Spruce top. Controls on the plate located on the upper bout of the top are Gain, Bass, Mid and Treble. LR Baggs active pickup system with a single 9V battery contained under the control plate that you'll need to remove (4 screws) to change. The neck is detachable maple (4 screw plate) with a nice dark Rosewood fingerboard and medium frets.
Finish is not too heavy (good!), but provides decent protection from what can be seen as the guitar is now over 10 years old and looks like it's seen some use by the wear on the gold sealed-type Schalller tuners. The bridge is a trad. style acoustic, the pins are fine as long as you play just a little with them on string install to make sure the pins are really in there solidly.
The neck is close to a 60's Tele profile, a failrly slim "C" shape that would accomodate most hands-not too slim but defintely not a big "U" shape like a early 50's Tele.
Purchased used-dealer included a non-original HSC.

I bought this to be able to use just one guitar (with a backup Tele in the event of a string break, etc.) for both acoustic and electric sounds when gigging as a sideman for a local singer/guitarist that uses mini-disc backing tracks as well.
Types of music are Irish and Scottish vocal tunes like "Star of the County Down" and 60s/70s rock, mostly played at larger pubs and private functions.

With a help of a Tech 21 NYC Sans Amp DI I can get the quality I need, but keep in mind that I am not soloing, just adding acoustic rhythm and finger-style backing. Interestingly the Godin sounds closer to a full-body acoustic when fingerpicking or single notes (with a light attack) than strumming. When strummed it takes on something resembling a heavily EQ'd Strat or Tele with Compression type of sound, but that works for my situation. If I must have a deep, rich acoustic sound then I use the Takamine that the guy I work with brings to gigs.
No problem with noise, it's on the same level as the Takamine or any other acoustic-electric I've tried.
Griping about not getting a sound just like a standard depth acoustic/electric out of a thin-bodied guitar as this is would be like complaining that your lager doesn't taste like Guinness!
I also use a Sans Amp Classic and Ibanez Tube Screamer, this gives a nice crunchy rhythm sound (can't comment much on more distored sounds, but I did try the Godin with a Tech 21 Trademark 60 on the 2nd "Marshall" channel for grins once and thought it sounded pretty good-sliding up the mid control on the Godin gave a very nice controllable feedback from an A power chord.

As I bought it used I can't comment on factory setup, but the guitar came to me ready to play with the factory spec. guages and type (regular nickel-electric.010 set) Maybe a extra-light phosphor bronze set would make the strumming sound less Fender like (?) If I really lay into it there is some acoustic string buzz from the wound strings, but this could be remedied by loosening the truss rod a bit, right now the neck is dead straight and I know that none of my Teles (MIA, MIJ or MIM) will play without some buzz if the neck has no relief. Inany even the sound through the PA has none of the bzz along so that's what counts to me.

I have seen others remark on the control panel. I would agree that this could be a problem with this guitar in gig situations where you cannot treat the guitar as you would like to, but I just keep it away from drinks, which is a good idea for any guitar you care about, right?
The hardware looks 100% original and as a 1991 model it looks like it's (certainly were by my example) made to last. Unless you really take extra care on gold hardware it will in most all cases wear down over time.
Strap buttons were fine, I have replaced them with Strap locks.
Depend on it? yes. I replace the battery regularly so I don't worry about it.
No backup? Not with ANY guitar, though in this case I don;;t have 2 of the same model. I would need to use the Takamine I mentioned above, or a backup MIM Tele.

When I enquired on the mfg. date based on the serial number they replied within 24 hours.

I've been playing since the age of 5, though I switched to drums during school days. I own a variety of Fender Telecasters, a Takamine acoustic, and a Rickenbacker 12 String.
I would like it is the Godin had a built-in tuner like the Takamine with a battery indicator light. As I said I just change the battery regularly anyway, but an indicator would be nice. Built in tuners with muting of the signal like the Takamine's are brilliant , especially for small gigs where I don't have my pedal board and a Godsend for those into non-standard tunings (and don't have the cash for 3 or 4 guitars)
Overall the Godin is (IMHO) somewhere in the middle of an electric and a full or medium size acoustic/electric, which if you just look at it should be no surprise. I guess I had the need for that and the Godin filled the bill.

What year was it made? hard to say, no visible serial or date stamp.
Where was is made? Assembled in Berlin, New Hampshire, parts are milled in Quebec, Canada.
How many frets? 22
Solid-Top? Laminated top? Mahogany body Deluxe model Solid Spruce Top
Which controls are given: preamp Volume, Mid, Treble and Bass controls
Make and model of pickups? 3 dimensional LR Baggs bridge transducer and custom preamp
Body and neck woods? Rock Maple neck Maple Fingerboard Mahogany and Spruce body.
Finish: High Gloss
Body Style: Telecaster
Bridge: Acoustic pin-type.
Tuners: Gold-tone sealed Schallers
Neck / Scale: 12" fingerboard radius, 25 1/2" Scale, 1 11/16" nut width
Accessories: Got a non-Godin gig bag.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)? It makes a wonderful addition to my current collection, which includes several vintage pieces. I play a wide variety of music and choose instruments based on their ability to provide the sound models I wish to achieve.
What amps and effects are you using it with? Behringer GX112, Behringer FCB1010 and the Behringer Virtualizer 2024.
Is it noisy? On what settings? Slight bit of noise on the 1/4, but a quick dab with some contact cleaner on a swab had it sorted out.
Rich/Full sound? Bright sound? varies depending on the settings of the internal controls and the current effects being used.
What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety? Guitar is very versatile, and even with distortion applied it can cut a clean swath of sound. It's a guitar that gets attention, no matter what type of music is being played.
Likes and dislikes? As a previous poster stated, it is not really a road instrument, but is very well-suited to my studio environment. I do occassionally take it out, it just looks too good not have on stage.

How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? (How was the action?)Action was good, but I got it used. The first thing it needed was strings.
How well were the pickups adjusted? Quite well when I tested it, both where I purchased it, and again in my studio.
Properly bookmatched top? Properly routed bridge? Yes.
Did the guitar contain any flaws? As it was used, it did have a couple of cosmetic flaws, two dings and one scratch. There is also some wear on the fretboard, which doesn't affect my playing style, but I will have the fretboard redressed.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Probably won't subject it to live venues that often. It was purchased more for studio use.
Does the hardware seem like it will last? Yes, the average age for any of my instruments is something like 20 years or older, and even my old Silvertones have the original hardware.
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? The finish is definitely not a deep urethane that comes on most guitars, but it should be serviceable for many years.
Are the strap buttons solid? yes.
Can you depend on it?Would you use it on a gig without a backup? Yes, I would use it live without a backup, but it is more for studio use.

NA

How long have you been playing? off and on for thirty years.
What other gear do you own? 1960 Harmony Single cutaway electric, 2000 Danelectro Innuendo 6 & 12 string electrics, 1998 Danelectro U2, 1963 Harmony Bass, 2001 Custom built P-bass, Gretsch Electromatic Bass, Vantage 5-String Bass, AXL Acoustic bass, Upright Bass, vintage Silvertone Banjo, vintage Kramer Duke Bass, several acoustic guitars, a lap steel, dulcimer, saxophone, clarinet, keyboards, drum synth, bongos, various shakers and tambos, accordian, and a violin. As far as amps and sound gear, there is the Behringer GX112, a Fender Frontman Reverb, Peavey Minx 110, Peavey KB100, Fender 1208, Unity 1000 12 channel mixer, Behringer 602A, MPA 250 amp, Behringer 2024 Virtualizer Pro, Roland VP-70, Boss Amp Modeler, all connected to a Fostex VF160.
Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar? Nope
If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? I doubt it will be lost or stolen, but it is insured for replacement value, not cost.
What do you love about it? It's a Godin. What do you hate? That I didn't get one sooner, but how about that price! What is your favorite feature? It's nothing flashy for features, but it is a solid playing instrument.
Did you compare it to other guitars? Yes.
Which ones? The Telecoustic by Fender
Why did you choose this one? Price and prestige. Anybody can play Fender.
Anything you wish it had? nope, I like the less is more approach, despite the short list of gear I posted.
Anything else you'd like to share? even with crappy, pitted strings, and the slight damage to the neck, it plays great and sounds wonderful.

Fairly standard model, but when purchased, I was told it was an early model though there is nothing to suggest this on the guitar. It is sunburst with a rosewood fingerboard.

Acoustically this guitar is very acceptable. It is quiet as you would expect from a body only 2" deep but it is much louder than playing an electric unplugged. Plugged in it takes on a new identity. It is very responsive with that great 'twang' sound you expect from the low notes. the active pickup works fine though the middle tone control is too harsh for my liking and is always turned off. You do not have to set the sliders to maximum to get the desired sound. There is always some headroom left on the sliders. Electrics are silent and it has the benefit of not suffering from interference from a PC monitor.

The finish is beautiful. No blemishes - a real good looker. Action was too high when purchased so I put on some .009 ernie ball. Action is now fine - sounds acoustic - plays like an electric. One problem, the sound balance on the stirings is irregular - the 2 e's are too loud but the G dissapears in the mix - there is no way to adjust this that I can see - I may try different strings but this could take some time. Intonation is excellent. The guitar is neck heavy so is arkward to play standing up as the neck will fall if you let it go.

This is a quality guitar and I am sure will last as long as you want it to.

No experience

I have been playing for >30 years, this guitar he rekindled my enthusiasm for playing. It feels gods, is a joy to play, look great

My Acousticaster was purchased as the third Godin in my collection from a small vintage shop in Hoboken, NJ. Cost was $550. It is natural spruce with rosewood board. The acoustic style bridge is odd with the strat-like neck but works/sounds great. I love when people ask, "What kind of guitar is that?!"

Putting together an acoustic cafe' act with a piano player friend of mine, I decided big, dreadnaught style guit's were not for me. I am most comfortable with solid body electrics like a Strat or SG. The sound is EXCELLENT through an ADA MIDI tube preamp directly to a stereo mix on my PA board. The LR Baggs pickup sounds much better than a Fishman ribbon setup I had in a regular acoustic. Between the onboard EQ, the ADA and my boord boost/cut all variations of acoustic tone are achievable and the guitar produces a nice unamplified tone, which I feel is an indicator for ANY guitar. The pre is quiet and reliable. The only effect used is stereo chorus on the ADA.

The action took some tinkering, but I think this was a result of the previous owner. After some neck tweaking and bridge shaving, the action is perfect solid-body style with Elixer .010 acoustic strings. My experience with Godin is that their guitars are nicely setup from the factory. My LGT for example is my best playing guitar, untouched from the factory setup. The wood is nice with a single layer binding on the body.

I haven't gigged with it yet, but the general construction seems light but durable. I keep banging it on the sloped cieling of my music room, and the cieling seems to be getting all the damage. I would use it as my lone guitar on a gig, but mostly because I don't have another acoustic. Solos are cool with the acoustic tone.

Godin is a nice group who have answered several e-mails promptly. They are unwilling to tak an axe back for aftermarket mods, however. (They did give a good explaination, however.)

I sought this guitar out specifically. Godin's are not exactly easy to find in Jersey, I would have bought a new one if I could have found one. I am a Godin player and I love to promote their stuff. They are moderately priced with incredable quality. I have been playing electrics for twenty five years and I own Gibson's and Fenders as well. I wish Godins were easier to obtain locally, but maybe they wouldn't seem as special to me then.

Not sure what year this one is, but I suspect its one of the first Acousticasters. I bought it from the original owner about 18 months ago. Its white with a cream binding, and has a maple(?) neck and fretboard. I guess all the features are standard, like the L.R. Baggs bridge transducer, eq, and the in-built body harp.
It had no case. The guitar is VERY lightweight, which is a great attraction and a pleasant change from a Les Paul!

I wanted to play amplified acoustic (yes, I know that's a contradiction, but you know what I mean) blues with occasional lead excursions beyond those allowed by most normal acoustics. It lets me do that OK, but I find the sound rather unconvincing, both through the P.A. and through an acoustic amp. It works best with fresh strings, but as soon as they start loose their 'zing' it starts to get worse. Also, despite the fact that its a solid body (almost) there's still a tendancy for it to feedback when the volume is up, although its certainly no worse than a traditional acoustic with a feedback buster in the soundhole.

I bought the guitar because I was afraid to even attempt certain things I wanted to play on an acoustic (after years of playing only electric guitars). The impressively low action and upper fret access cetainly let me do that. Its playability is the only thing that makes me hang on to it now. Gripes? The string anchor pegs have worked loose and tend to slip out when tensioning new strings - maybe a new set would easily rectify that. Also, some of them are difficult to press home because they are impeded by the bars of the in-built harp that passes beneath the bridge. The rest of the guitar is mechanically sound, although the edges of the fretboard have worn, particularly the low edge, and it looks a little grubby where sweat and dirt have been absorbed.

No problems using the guitar live (other than getting a good sound). The eg and volume is a touch fiddly to adjust mid-song, but that's rarely necessary. I'd hate to have the battery fail on me because of the screw panel compartment. It's not happened yet though!

N/A

Been playing about 30 years (but only recently got into acoustic playing), own tons of kit. Wish I'd played the guitar through a decent setip when I went to buy it, but I travelled a long way and had to make my mind up pretty quickly. In hindsight, I should have waited for the newer models which I believe have a better (more convincing acoustic immitation) sound. I'd not buy this model again. I now have a 'real' acoustic with a choice of mic and bridge transducer, and I'm much happier with the sound, but not the playability.

I bought this guitar in 93. According to legend, it is hand made in Quebec Canada. This guitar is cut almost exactly like a telecaster, but maybe a half and inch thinner.It is the black high gloss regular model with gold plated Shaller tuning pegs,22 fret rosewood fingerboard, two-Chamber Silver Leaf Maple body, Solid Spruce Top,3 dimensional LR Baggs bridge transducer and custom preamp and 4 way Volume, Mid, Treble and Bass controls that sit on the face of the guitar above the last 4 frets. See photo at http://www.godinguitars.com/godinacousticasterspecsp.htm
I would like to add that it fits perfectly into a Les Paul case which the salesman hooked me up with at the close of the sale. This makes this already lightweight guitar even easier to carry in and out of gigs not to mention easing up valuable cargo space to and from the gig.
Not a lot of feature came with this guitar and shame on Godin for putting some chincy ass strings on a guitar they seemed to spend so much time crafting!!!

I played in a one man band type situation and my dream was to own a guitar that I could switch from acoustic to electric distortion sounds on the fly. At the time I was going through a Digitech GSP-7 processor direct to soundboard without a "real" amp. The problem I encountered was that I really needed to boost the mids up all the way to get a somewhat realistic electric guitar sound and had to pull the mid back down when having to switch back to an acoustic guitar sound.
I ended up doing this now and then but since I was playing alot of smaller clubs, I began to incorporate the acoustic/electic sound into my playing and didn't bother to try to shape any special sounds for my lead solos. I need to explain that I played a lot of middle of the road stuff anyway and quite frankly as a listener, I think the acoustic lead sounds produced by his guitar were quite tasteful and pleasing to the ear-especially if someone was trying to carry on a conversation at the bar. Maybe I was being lazy and didn't want to continue to go through the hassle of making all the necessary changes that had to be done between passages. I am sure if I invested more money in EQs, switch boxes, preamps etc, I could have made this work. The next factor was feedback which was envitable after reaching a DB wall.
Obviously I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole so I blame myself, not the manufactorer for no being able to successfully make my deam come true.
For recording, this axe delivers well when patched into heavy distortion/compression and holds a great tone not to mention sustain for leads. For acoustic parts, it sounds too midrangy and doesn't satisfy my ears as far as an acoustic sound reproduction is concerned. Of course it is not supposed to be an acoustic so if you like this type of sound, then this is what you will get.
When tweaked right it can delivery punch at some very high(concert level volumes) without much feedback. I have a feeling this is basically what this guitar was designed for. I would not think of cranking my Guild -JF30 Jumbo Acoustic this loud -knowing damn well the thing would hum out. Its a tradeoff-sound for performance pure and simple.

I found that although this guitar is great for people who are used to using light gauge strings (it came from the factory with extra ligh elctric strings starting at .9) I found that using light acoustic stings (starting at .12) really work great for reproducing acoustic sounds. This gauge also sounds better when strumming without amplification.
The crafmanship that went into this box was first rate and you could tell the folks at Godin care abou making a quality product. I think the black with gold tuning pegs looks killer and it really looks impressive on stage. The action that was setup with the light gauge strings worked just as well with the heavier strings I subsequently started using after a few years.

Not all is well with this design though. I have to say that the volume tone interface was a poor engineering choice. Let me tell you why. I sweat a lot on stage. Things get spilled on stage as well. The interface has components inside that you can easily see through the sliders. They are open game to all the bad elements that can efect a guitar in a live situation. Needless to say, after several years the sliders began to corrode and now the mid controller is non functional and the volume conrol emits a cracking sound when moved down across the last 20% of the control before shutting off the sound. The guitar jack input also gave me problems and was prone to emitting some embarrasing high volume crackles on stage as a result of the internal connectors being dirty. Folks I have a 1959 Gibson 355 that I have played for 27 year that has never done this and no it has not been internally cleaned as far as the input jack is concerned so don't tell me this is normal wear and tear!!!!

Never dealt with them. If I ever pull it out again, I may hav to contact them to see about getting parts to make the volume/tone interface work 100% again. I may have to brush up on my french first.

I think this is generally a good studio guitar, but it is lacking in the design to recommend this for extensive live use. The controller is too exposed to environmental elements and the active pu can be a bit touchy at times leading to annoying feedback if not set just right. The slide controls are delicate as well and inefficient for "on the fly" stage adjusting. The input jack is also faulty and can lead to embarrasing crackles if the internal connections to your 1/4 inch plug are not kept flawlessly clean.
Although heavier strings improve acoustic guitar reproduction, the sound at best is just what it is advertised to be. A synthesis of both electric and acoustic sounds. Not a replacement for either, especially if you want to try to attempt to do what I wanted with this axe. It was an impulsive buy. With I put the money towards a good acoutic wih a built in pu.