Godin ACS

Nylon strings complete with synth pick up, midi interface and active electronics. The finish is a standard satin finish as per all of the ACS's on the Godin web page. Build quality is excellent. The big feature is that it's a solid body nylon stringed guitar and I don't think any other company produces one of these. The second big feature are the active electronics.

The sound is awesome but you have to set the guitar volume to close to zero and then set the amp to the volume you require. This being done the guitar will sound rich and clean. If you set the volume on teh guitar to maximum the guitar will always sound over-driven. If (like me) you come from a background of steel stringed solid bodies / acoustics then you will have to grow the nails on the fingers of your strumming hand to really take advantage of this. Once you have the finger nails you should be blown away by the range of stuff possible. Clearly this guitar is made for clean sounds and will suck if played heavy. If you would like the full bodied sound of a plugged in acoustic then my advice would be to buy a Nylon stringed Taylor. That said the advantage of the solid body is zero feedback. You should also be able to play lead to really appreciate the tonal range. I'm giving the sound a 9/10 only because it is not hollow bodied which would probably make it perfect. I had never played "active electronics" before and the verdict is this: they are better and some day all electrics will be made with similar electronics. Oh and one last thing - if your amp does not have reverb you will not like the Godins sound: it's a solid body and sounds like an acoustic but in order to get that "acoustic resonance" you will need reverb.

Mine was factory set up. I don't think you can adjust the action but it plays great and the factory action was low. Tuners, electronics etc are all quality stuff.

Great build quality

Never had to use it.

I've been playing 20 years. I also play an ibanez jem, a '54 re-issue LP Custom and a Taylor 714CE. The godin is a nice accomompaniment to these. If it were lost / stolen I would replace it with a new one.

Multiac ACS Slim = Sweet!
I just wrote this review to tell everybody that this guitar got a new life the day I moved to "Savarez Alliance HT CLASSIC 540 J" strings.
The Godin ACS + Savarez + Eventide H8000A (for rev) sounds awesome.

Beautiful

so far no problem

I never talked to them

I love this guitar, the Price/Quality ratio is far better than a average

I bought the slim neck model of the Godin Multiac ACS Nylon Solid Body. I had been looking for a solid body nylon guitar after seeing Sting and Lee Ritenour play similar guitars in videos. I fell in love with the sound even though I had never played a nylon string guitar before. I'm not sure what Sting plays but I finally found out Lee Ritenour plays a Sadowsky which are hand built in NYC and start at just over $3000 which is well out of my price range. I have always played electric solid body guitars. A Les Paul in the past and more recently a Strat. I've been playing for over 40 years but never really felt comfortable with acoustic guitars.

I read about the Godin Nylon string solid body guitars at Harmony Central. As others have said these are often hard to find at your local music store. I located several music stores that would ship the guitars and took a chance buying mine sight unseen but with a 30 day return policy. I bought mine mainly on the basis of the reviews I had read from other players. I paid $740 total with shipping and gig bag in November of 2004. That seemed like a pretty good price through my comparisons.

The features have all been pretty well described in the previous reviews. I love the satin finish and the feel of this guitar. I love the way it looks (except for maybe the flat end of the body where the jacks are located). At first I did not like the appearance of the headstock but after owning it for awhile I couldn't imagine any other type. Also important is that my wife thinks it is a beautiful guitar.

I thought I would buy a hardshell case soon after buying the guitar but I was pleasantly suprised by the quality of the gig bag and for my purposes it should do fine. I don't plan on putting it in the back of a truck or van.

One of the first things I did when I received my guitar was to take it down to a local music store that had a good guitar technician to have him look it over. Like I said I'm not very familiar with nylon string guitars. Unfortunately the technician was not very familiar with them either.
He did assure me however that the neck appeared to be straight, the intonation was good, and he did not see any flaws in the guitar. The nylon strings sounded very dead to me but what do I know about nylon strings?

We plugged the guitar into an amp made for acoustic guitars. To tell the truth it sounded terrible. The guitar technician just looked at me and said "now why did you buy this guitar?" I was beginning to wonder myself.

I took the guitar home and played it through my Roland GP100 guitar processor into my Mackie 16 channel board. No matter how I tweaked the Roland I couldn't get the sound I was looking for. Finally I just plugged the Godin directly into the board, set the EQ on the board to flat, backed off the mids on the guitar a little, added some reverb and there it was. That beautiful sound I had been looking for. Incredible. I love that sound.

I still thought the 3 nylon strings sounded a little dull. I called Godin and spoke to one of the techs. They recommended changing the strings first and if I still had a problem I could send it to them to check it out. I finally decided that the dull sound was the nature of nylon strings. I had been playing the guitar with my fingers to that point. The tech mentioned that this guitar is also designed to be played with a pick. When I played it with a pick however the strings felt too floppy and mushy. Finally my next great discovery. Hard tension strings. Not knowing anything about nylon string guitars I knew even less about the nylon strings themselves. In doing some reading I found out the strings come in different tensions so I decided to try some hard tension strings. What a difference in the playability and sound. Much brighter and crisper. Much more responsive to a pick. I'm sure this is all personal preference but my main purpose in writing all of this is to help other musicians like myself who are new to nylon string guitars not waste as much time in the learning process. I continue to play some songs with a finger pick style and others with a nylon pick. I like both sounds.

As mentioned I run my Godin straight into the board and add a little reverb. It sounds very quiet and clean and has plenty of volume due to the active electronics. I have never had any feedback.

I have never tried the synth access. I also play keyboards and have access to plenty of synth sounds so thats not what I was looking for in this guitar although it would no doubt be fun to try it out sometime. I'm into more natural and vintage sounds. As others have mentioned it is also nice to just sit and practice without an amp.

As I mentioned I bought the slim neck. I have a fairly small hand and I'm used to playing a strat so I believe it was the best choice although I have to admit I was not able to try out the full size neck. Ocassionally my fingers seem to get a little crowded.

For me the action could be a little lower. I like real low action. I have not had this adjusted and have not tried to adjust myself but I think I would get some buzz if the strings were lower. It is hard to bend nylon strings as they tend to roll out from under your fingers and have much less play than steel strings but I am getting better at this.

There is something very infectious about the neck however that makes me want to play it all the time. My strat feels neglected.

The fit and finish seem excellent although I have noticed tiny areas about the size of a pinhead on the body that almost appear to be flaws. They are visible only when the light reflects a certain way. I can't tell if they are in the wood or the satin finish but you cannot feel them if you rub your fingers over the area.

Overall I love the look and feel of this guitar.

I think I will own this guitar the rest of my life. And I think it will be around long after I'm gone. It feels very solid and well made. I don't think you need to baby it but I like to take good care of my instruements. I would use it without a backup.

I called them just after I bought the guitar. They were very friendly and seemed more than willing to answer my questions and give advice. I have not tried to get the guitar repaired but they seemed willing to have me send it in if it needed repair. I had a little trouble finding the number. Here it is 514-457-7977

As I mentioned I've been playing at least 40 years. I own a Gibson Les Paul from the 70's. A Fender Strat Plus. A fender Precision Bass from the 60's, and an old Yamaha acoustic that pretty much hangs on the wall.

If my Godin nylon solid body was stolen I would definately buy another.

By the way it stays in tune great but the nylon strings are a real pain to change.

For me the best thing about this guitar is that it opens up a whole new sound and style for my guitar plying. It's hard for me to justify buying more electric guitars(although I would if I had the money) This is like a whole other instruement to master and enjoy. I am so glad I spent the money.

Everyone else has got the other Specifications correctly so no need for overkill. I would however, highlight the deluxe EBONY fingerboard - designed for improved tracking performance for the Synth Access function. ALso that some mention that they ALSO have a Multiac. THIS IS A MULTIAC! And it is also 2-Voice as well.

Easy "mistake" to make because the Web site looks better than some of the model numbers are explained!

I have their standard 1 7/8" width nut (Normally a Classical Guitar
has a 2" width at the nut) but it has the identical thin Neck profile as the Slim.

EVERYTHING has been designed perfectly, even down to the Battery compartment, and the way it's accessed..very-neat and classy and easy to use. It isn't just a synth pick-up tagged on. It carries other useful and user-friendly features like a Volume and Patch/Event Edit/Program change etc

WOW. I like the fact that you can practice with this guitar without annoying anyone in the room, BUT you can enjoy it yourself.

I put mine through an AER amp. WOW-WEEEEE. I compared with a "normal" Electro-Classical, and though you can get a great sound, With the ACS, you can match that great sound, and have MORE ACCESS to other sounds on the Godin as well. I could say that ALL types of music are catered for, but that's going TOO far. As it is though, it's not JUST an Nylon Electro-Acoustic with a Synth pick-up. Although if it was, it's STILL great value. THERE ARE many different sound available to you with the Sliding EQ. I don't know if I would go up to the top-of-the-range one. The fingerboard is Rosewood. Isn't that a step backwards? Ok, there are some better woods for the rest of the guitar, but I did actually prefer the one I got over one TWICE the price!

The only Synth issue I have is the sustain from an un-wound Nylon string will just die/cut very quickly. But that's nothing to do with Godin or any product that is manufactured on their behalf and then installed by them. It's just the nature of the beast.

I tried the Slim as I am mainly an electric player, but got on better with the standard. Also, for Synth work, it's best to concentrate and somehow, over-play the notes sometimes. It is BETTER not using the slim. Somehow the string spacing doesn't work for me. OK, so I can't quite reach with my thumb, but that is only a small inconvenience compared toa better "balanced" design.

Action was great. I have now tweaked the Truss-rod and bingo, it's even better. I did have it lower and a couple of notes on just one fret buzzed slighly, though not noticeable through amplifiction. I decided that I could get a better sound back as it was, and though a cople of "solos" may be tougher, the action, which is still much lower tan you could "take" a Yamaha APX. I owned one once and the sound from that was good-ish and the feel was good, but not "Godin Delicious"

I too found it difficult to find one of these guitars. EVEN the whole of Denmark Street etc had none! When I eventually found a dealer with stock, the grain and therefore the overall finish and look of the 2 guitars I saw did differ dramatically. One looks a million dollars, the other was okay, but just not shiny or sexy enough for me! Very disappointing really, cos I had to wait and just drool over the Web-site and try and understand the different models and their prices.

Having worked in music shops, and shopped in many more I have seen many, many guitars. I can, without predujice that this guitar is probably the best made that I have seen in my 25 years of playing. The shop owner when demonstrating this guitar hit the roof with the headstock, and although the false ceiling came down, there wasn't a mark on the Godin.

Only thing that brings this down from 10 rating is that there COULD be a problem with the design of the dual output plate. If the complete unit doesn't fit nice and snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug inside the cut-out the whole thing moves with or without plugs, (whether the screws are tight or not)! Could work loose. Mine was VERY loose in the shop. OOOPS, But it is being looked at though by my superb dealer one day.

I emailed them and within 2 days I had a reply, with EVERY query answered. That's GOOD 'OL customer service.

My dealer too is going to adjust the slightly sticking nut on the wound strings, and have a look the Output Socket plate.

He will even sort any Truss-rod issues later on if I change the strings, and has even offered a FRET polish at some stage.

Been playing 25 years. Have a Ibanez 540S Electric (Frank Gamble Custom), a Takamine EN10 Electro-Acoustic, and Old Washburn Force 2 Electric with a GK-3 Installed. (The ACS Synth pickups are FAR better).

Main thing is that you just WANT to play this guitar. I LOOKS FANTASTIC! I plays great, and sounds Fab! What else can you want?

I wouldn't mind a Godin Mandolin next! Do they do one???

Brand new 2004 ACS SA. Made in USA from Canadian parts. 22 frets, nylon string with a unique pickup under the bridge that functions both as a standard Acoustic Guitar pickup (complete with 3-band EQ) and as a Guitar Synth Controller, with Roland 13-pin output. Satin Finish. Maple top with a slight flame to it, Basswood back, Mahogany Neck. Includes Gig Bag.

Sounds great. Very good Nylon String tone, and with the 13-pin output for my GR33, means I can make all kinds of wonderful sounds. EQ is very usable, and it's quiet and clean. I run this through a Yamaha AG Stomp, and it sounds pretty much like a mic-ed nylon string guitar.

Guitar is set up perfectly, adjusted perfectly, and it is put together very solidly. It has a plastic plate holding the output jacks on it. In my opinion this should be part of the wood or a more rugged metal. It was missing two screws from that plate when I got it, too. But it plays VERY well. NO adjustments were necessary.

Can't tell yet, but it seems built to last. I've had other La Si Do instruments (they make Godin, Simon & Patrick, and Seagull) and they've been good. My old Seagull was ROCK SOLID and lasted forever. I finally gave it away to someone who is still using it all the time.

Support is ok. They answered my email about the missing screws and promised to send them. I think it has a one-year warranty. Don't expect to need to use it.

I've been playing for 25 years. I have one other Godin, a Flat Five X, which I like even more. This guitar plays and sounds great, there is NOTHING quite like it - a great playing nylon string solid-body guitar that drives synths and is set up so an Electric player can play it without too much trouble. I would get another one of these in a heartbeat.

basswood body, with a maple top. ebony fingerboard. 3 band EQ for acoustic out. also a roland 13 pin output. classical style tuners. only disappointment would be no switch that goes from guitar to synth to both like on the other roland ready systems.

I bought it new in 2001 at a somewhat blow out price.

i havent used the acoustic output since i got it so I have no idea. I owned and used the LGX-SA (les paul style) for doing synth in portland funk band Dr Theopolis. (www.drtheopolis.com) and got this one beacuse its lighter, less expensive, really really durable and the tracking is better. Like 40% better tracking. never ever makes the weird gleek sounds my other synth makes. thing stays in tune like you would not believe. I'll case it for a week or two, play a gig and its still in tune.

great for finger picking. nice nut width in the classical style. neck has a nice radius to is. only restrung it once since ive owned it as I only use the synth access.

totally bullet proof. I got this so that i could play lots and lots of late night drunken club gigs. the thing could easily handle a bottle being thrown at it. output jack did die on me. see below...

The output jack went bad on mine and i was able to get a new one from them for like $24 which is probably pretty cheap. and only took a week. whats cool is it just snapped right in to the ribbon connector.

I love this guitar and my LGX-SA. Im on the look out for a Multiac jazz with Synth Access. godin is making some of the finest guitars right now. PRS is out.

This is a brand new ACS-SA Slim - supposedly assembled in the US from Canadian made parts. Natural satin finish (which I prefer), solid maple top, basswood body (I believe), mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard. The neck is one of the strong points of this axe...the 1 3/4" width at the nut is perfect for a Strat player like me who has spent lots of time and money trying to find the right nylon string guitar. I just got rid of a Limited Edition Taylor nylon, because I just couldn't get used to it. This one felt comfortable from the get go. Everything about it felt right.

The synth tracking seems fine with the GR-33, but I haven't spent much time with this feature yet - I'll update later.

In a word - awesome! That said, I was not really that blown away in the store. Then, when I got home, I plugged in into my '64 Deluxe Reverb just for grins - and was somewhat disappointed. Then, I plugged into my Lexicon Signature 284 recording amp which has a Lexicon MPX-1 in the F/X loop - again, I was underwhelmed. Then, I plugged directly into the second input of the MPX1 - and wow!! I couldn't tell the difference between Lee Ritenour's nylon sound and the ACS - the playing is a whole nuther story, though! Lesson to be learned is that this is not the type of instrument that does well with a tube amp, but really shines with a quality unit like the MPX-1. The EQ works well, and lets you get a nice palette of tones for the contemporary jazz genre. For me, its perfect!

Everything seemd fine. The guitar played easily, the action was very comfortable for a nylon string; perhaps a tad higher than my Strat, but then, I like such incredibly low action on my Strat, that its an unfair comparison. I couldn't find any obvious flaws, and it seems extremely well made for an instrument in this price range.

This is one solid looking and feeling axe. I don't play out much, if at all, but I used to, and I'd take this guitar on the road without hesitation.

Too early to tell!

I've been playing nearly 35 years, and owned many, many guitars. I can remember very few of them that felt this right from the beginning - an old Yamaha SA-2000, my two custom Warmoth Strats, and this one.

Same features as everyone else has mentioned so far! Built 2003, Canadian, chambered body electric nylon string with synth access. Blue Burst finish (looks much better in person than it does on the Godin website) on lightly figured nylon top. Hex piezo pickups w/3 band active eq.

Sounds great for an electric nylon string, esp compared to similar guitars I have owned (Epiphone Chet Atkins, Yamaha APX). Obviously never going to be quite as full sounding as a 'proper' full bodied nylon string but with a little eq and reverb it sounds great. I use the guitar for a lot of latin and light jazz style music, and some modern dance stuff (where the songs call for nylon string).
Currently running the guitar straight into the desk, so I'm getting a full range sound which helps (you'll never get this out of a conventional guitar amp). Only downside is a slight amount of piezo 'quack', so may try to run this through my Fishman Platinum preamp and we'll see how that goes. Haven't used with the synth access (except in the shop) so can't comment on this side of things at this stage. Was kewl in the shop though.

Very nicely setup. Action is nice and the neck very comfortable to play on - possibly the best playing nylon string I've owned. Some minor flaws in the paintwork around the control cavities on the back, but nothing too noticable. All access neck joint is a very nice touch and really great for upper-register playing. Fretwork is immaculate. Tuners are a bit tough on the E/A/D strings (tough gear ratio???) with some minor binding in the nut but that will be fixed at first service. The headstock signature is a nice touch, as is the design of the tuners.

Have taken this guitar on live gigs since the very day I purchased it, and hasn't missed a beat. Definately built to last and built very well. Have to agree with other reviewers that the output jack is a bit of worry. Straplocks seem to be Schallers which I use on my other guitars :). Definately dependable and would use on gig without backup although I always have an electric with me anyway.

Probably the best nylon string I have owned and a great addition to my arsenal. I don't collect guitars - I have 3 (or 4 now!) guitars which I use regularly and keep because I like them and use them, and this guitar falls into that same category. Would probably buy the same guitar again if I needed to, although would possibly check out the slim version next time for something different in the neck. Would like to see a parametric eq on the mids and possibly a higher end model with a fancier timbers than the current maple top.

Solid body nylon string electric with cutaway 3 band eq
and synth driver. There are buttons for the synth and
a volume slider but no toggle (guitar, synth/guitar, synth)
so you have to work the sliders to cut synth or guitar in
and out(which I do in a song or two). A toggle, like on my
Roland ready Strat would have been cool.
That said, the tracking on the Godin is amazing. Quicker than
the Fender. Synth and guitar sounds are tighter together and
the round nylon acoustic guitar sound doesn'tover power the synth
stuff. A great synth guitar.

The guitar sound is different. It isn't exactly an acoustic sound
but it isn't an electric either. I'm running it through my SansAmp
acoustic direct box to take the brittle edge off the piezo. What
you get is a warm round sound that is punchy on the bottome end
and muted mids from the nylon strings. It adds a cool new layer
to an electric band because it's on it's own level. And finger
picked solo it really cool with vocals. Everybody in my band gave
the ACS a big thumbs up.

It looks beautiful. Mighty classy. The action is great,
it plays like butter. I could play this puppy for days.
The pickups and the synth tracking are wonderful.

Looks solid as a rock. There is some plastic(EQ sliders, and
input jacks) where metal would have been better but it remains
to be seen if that is a problem. I like the Schaller locking
strap knobs. I switched them to Dunlap(personal pref) but it
is a nice feature.

I dunno. I bought this on consignment. Nothing wrong.

I've been playing since the mid sixties, you do the math.
I got the ACS on consignment and so for a great price. It
looked as though it had been lightly used. No scratches, etc
I may be on a honeymoon with this axe but it really adds a
fourth level to my sound. I play mostly rhythm guitar (singer/
songwriter)and I have single coil, humbucker, regular acoustic
and now this. This is somewhere between acoustic and electric,
a sound a lot like Wille Nelson, yeah that's it. Put that sound
in a grungy to rick-a-billy rock band and that's what I heard
the other night. I like it.

www.godinguitars.com

Since I put a set of D'Addario Extra Hard Tension (composite),the sound and the balance is just great !!!
My ACS Slim has a sweet nylon sound but at the same time if I push on the bass strings (let's say hard rock style) it gives back a great dynamic response that could ealily burn the woofer of my amp, I really have to be careful when I play at high volume...

I had some buzzes at middle neck, strings 2 & 3, with a minimal truss adjustment and X-hard tension strings the buzzes went away.
I have setup the action a bit higher than it was when I bought the guitar.
I believe that to get a big sound from nylon strings you just can't pretend to keep the action low as you pretend from an electric guitar.

I think that if you take care of it this guitar will last for a loooong time !!!

A cool instrument for the ones who need a classical sound but at the same time a pushy sound.
I forgot to mention that my ACS Slim tracks my old GR50 like crazy and as no guitar has done so far.
This is just the best midi interface I have ever played