Godin A-4

Four string fretless bass features : Twin chambered silver maple body with 2 tone chambers, single cutaway, solid cedar top with fan bracing, binding on body, L.R Baggs ribbon transducer under bridge, 3 band active EQ, Slim rock maple neck, ebony fingerboard, Gotoh tuners. Battery compartment has 4 screws.

Great sounds for acoustic applications - very upright sounding. I use it for folk & jazz though a Fender PA135 and Ampeg 4x10. Sounds great with a chorus pedal. Can get a nice electric fretless sound with EQ and playing close to bridge - great for acid jazz/fusion. Not loud enough to play acoutic gigs unamplified - use a small practice amp instead.

The action from the factory was awful - the A string rattled against the fretboard because the nut had been cut too deep = 5/10
Had if professionally setup and bone nut fitted by my usual guy = 10

I have played this bass live - no problems. Because there is no thumb- rest some of the finish is wearing above the E string (character). Strap buttons are fine if not a little small. I would and have depended on it without backup for acoustic gigs. For bigger/louder gigs my main bass is a Precision anyway.

N/A

I've been playing 16 years, my other bass is a '86 Precision. I bought this bass purely on impulse. I wanted a fretless and I had a bass to trade. It took a while to get used to (fretless), but now I love the range of tones the Godin has. It's quite easy to get a Stanley Clarke or even Jaco(esque) sound out of this bass. I don't like the fact it has no thumb-rest. If it were stolen I would pity the poor bastard who stole it for his heroin fix. Would I buy another? Na! This baby is one of a kind - can't be replaced. I'd happily buy another Godin bass though.

1999 made in Canada and U.S., fretless, 4 string, semi-hollow body, solid cedar top, maple back and sides, LR Baggs electronics with treble, mid, bass, and gain slider controls, ebony bridge with LR Baggs ribbon transducer, bolt on maple neck with ebony inserts, black high gloss finish with white binding, single cutaway, otoh
tuners, 34" scale, ebony fretoard, includes hardshell case.

This is to me a perfect bass for any style of music or applications in which you'd use an upright bass. The electronics give it a pretty wide range of tones, but care should be exercised in using the bass and treble controls, as you can quickly get too boomy or too nasally. The electronics are quiet and you shouldn't get any feedback. I have used it wih a Carvin Pro Bass 200 combo, primarily in a small jazz group setting with great results. Like most acoustic electric basses, it's not loud enough unplugged to jam with other acoustic instruments, but amplified, it produces a very, round, warm tone. I would rate it a 10 for its acoustic tone -- but will give it an 8 simply because it's not versatile enough to be used for other applications, like funk, metal or hard rock.

I would give it a 10. The action is not adjustable and most electric players may find it a litle high -- but again, this is meant to emulate an upright not play blazing rock solos. Quality of workmanship and material is excellent.

I would treat this bass gingerly, as with any acoustic instrument. Hardware is fine, but the strap buttons are small and I wouldn't encourage wild acrobatics with it.
I've had it well over a year and only had to tweak the truss rod once. I would use it on an acoustic gig without a backup.

I haven't dealt with Godin directly, but their dealers are very helpful -- I've owned a couple of their basses and have always found them competent and friendly. Most have adjusted the neck without charge. I did break a wire to the pre-amp once (my fault) on an Acousticaster, which they fixed promptly with minimal cost.

Been playing bass about 13 years now. I also currently own a Washburn XB-900 fretted bass. Having owned a couple of Acousticasters previously, I was excited about this newer design and must say that it is every bit as good and in some ways superior. Like the original, it is still a little neck heavy, though less so, and the newer 9 volt preamp doesn't pack quite as much headroom as th 18 v system in the Acousticaster (and hey, it doesn't have the nifty thumbrest) but with it's thicker body and cello type fan bracing, the sound does not have to rely on the old internal harp mechanism to get upright like resonance. I love to pratice with it unplugged. The only complaint I would have is that it is not too easy to change the strings on the pinless bridge -- it would be nice if they used through body string ferrules. Also, although you don't have to take out the preamp from the front as in the old Acoustibass, you still have to access it from a plastic panel in back attached by woodscrews -- be nice if they had brass inserts. But overall, no serious complaints -- a fine choice for acoustic bass sounds.