Godin Freeway Classic

2007 Canada-USA made. I don't know why they just don't say " made in North America"...It would take less words on the head stock. 22 frets, mine has a maple fret board, and it is in a wonderful leaftop sunburst. H-S-H godin pick ups. 5 way switch and one volume one tone knob. all what it need. Maple middle body with poplar wings body, so the weight is just perfect. Startocaster style body and bridge. Lovely and usefull gigbag is include with the guitar. I would say the neck have a "C" or "D" shape with a 12" radius. It really handles like a strat.

I'm playing in a cover band, and this guitar is so versatile with her pickups combinations, it can suit a lot of style. We are playing mainly classic rock, old rock'n'roll and danse music and it fit right there in all those styles. I play it true a Fender Blues jr. ( micked ) and it makes the job without any doubt. It's noiseless as long you don't play too near the amp in a room full of neon. But even there it's not that bad. This guitar was bought to be the backup of my Epi Les Paul Ultra, but it now taking her place for half of the songs we are doing. You can approach a lot the Start sound as well as you can be near the Les Paul sound. It's not exactly the same sound, but near. I should say it have the full Godin sound, that is very good by instance. I took a little bit of time to get use to it but now that we are pals, I love her. I would say this guitar is one of the most unknown jewel in the industry.

Since I bought it used, I can't say about her original setup, but it was perfect for my taste when I had it. It comes with 9-46 gauge strings and I left it this way. All of the electronics woks fine, it stayed in tune for days ( as long you don't use the tremolo arm ) the finish is very nice, and I don't really care about what kind of laminated this and that it's made, as long it looks good, and in this case...it looks very good. The frets level is straight, no buzz, action is low and the frets are soft at the edge, what I find a lot more important than the wood it's made of. It really look and feel like a lot more expensive guitar. I've seen some American made Fender with a lot more rough frets edge. I hate to give 10 all the time for a review, but I have to, if I want to be fare for it finish in that price range.

Since the guitar is already 2 years, I presume it will stay as straight as it is now. You can certainly gig with that Freeway, I'm doing it, and it's really a professional instrument. No way you should play without a backup, eveen if it's only for a string break, you always need a backup. This Godin was bought to backup my Les Paul Ultra, but it's now an headache to choose between the two to start the gigs. I think I have now two number one. I will be able to finally give a 9 instead of a 10... The strap buttons are weak...you will need to fix that, but it's so easy to do...

Never dealt with them, and hope I won't have to do it...

Playing guitar for over 40 years, I had so many guitars, it would make no sense to enumerate it overhere. I still gig 25 times a year, and don't want more. I was to buy a Mexican made Stratocaster for backup, but I finally opted for that Godin Freeway. It's the best move I've ever made. It blows away any MIM Strat and I would even say it's par to American ones. If it got stolen, I would run to buy another one. If you are looking for a profesionnal instrument for the price of a beginner's one, get one of those. It's a superb sounding guitar, well built and really nice.

Hecha a mano en Canada y Armada en USA
22 Espacios
Cuerpo de Tres piezas centro de maple y alas de alamo
1 Volumen, 1 Tono, Selector de 5 posiciones
configuracion H S H
Pickups Godin Neck GHN 1, Mid GS 1, Bridge GHB 1
Capsulas Pasivas
Mango solido de Maple, diapason de Maple
Puente flotante de 6 puntas
Tuners 6 en linea Godin por lo que me han dicho son marca Jin Ho, sin bloqueo
Jumbo Frets
Color Sumburts Flameada probablemente lacada
Venia con Gig Bag Godin

eh tocado varios estilos rock, jazz, funk, metal, progresivo, blues, pop, etc, y la guitarra anda super bien en todos, a mi pareser se destaca especialmente para blues y rock. pero muy versatil la guitarra

estoy tocando con un Fender Roc Pro 1000 y la Pod xt Live y los tres se complementan muy bien

la guitarra es muy comoda eso si que me gusta de la guitarra.

La guitarra se comparta muy bien, desafina rara ves, las terminaciones son de primera

La guitarra la tengo hace 4 a??os y nunca me a dado un problema.

Es una exelente guitarra creo que supera ampliamente a varias guitarras que estan en el precio incluso a otras de gama alta, total y absolutamente recomendable.

22 medium frets, maple fingerboard, 2 piece neck (i.e. no skunk stripe), H/S/H Godin pickup configuration, classic Strat-style - 6-screw tremolo system. Flame maple top with silver-leaf maple core and poplar wings. 25.25" string length. An excellent gigbag is included and a couple of hex keys for adjustment. Schaller straplocks are installed by default.

The neck has rolled fingerboard edges, so it's comfortable to play e.g. thumb-over styles. A very familiar-feeling neck with a satin finish.

The neck/body joint is beveled, and cut away slightly so moving to the higher frets is really comfortable. Not as much bevel for the strumming arm.

A comfortable, classic, very flexible guitar.

With all the maple in this guitar, it's very tight and bright sounding. I have the trem hard against the body (not floating) and the sustain is amazing.

I play blues and rock and it's perfect for those tones. I use a PODxt with all of the addons so I have tried it with ultra clean, light tube breakup all the way to super high gain, and you can get a huge variety out of the stock setup. Super high gain seekers might want to replace the bridge pickup. The neck pickup is pretty much perfect, warm, clear and breaks up nicely with the right amp.

I found positions 2 & 4 to be a bit noisy with gain and fluorescent lights around. I discovered that the pickups are 4-wire pickups so coil tapping IS possible (even though the customer service guy said no). I replaced the stock 5-way switch with a superswitch, and split the humbuckers in position 2 & 4 and WOW what a great clear Strat sound that is not noisy at all. I also made position 3 using all 5 coils and it sounds wonderful, a real twangy/thick rhythm tone. If you have this guitar, try it, you won't believe how good it can sound.

I also added a treble-bleed capacitor to the volume pot so it wouldn't get dull when you turned the volume down. This should have been added from the factory.

Rating 10 after my changes but I'll knock one off for the fact that I had to make them.

Setup was tight as I've ever seen. I did have to lower the action a little, but it came with hybrid .09s and I much prefer .10s, so that probably explains that. Slight bit of buzzing on the low E after a year or so after I lowered the action, not too surprising.

This guitar is rock solid. I'd trust it without a backup, no question.

The straplocks are a nice feature but the top one keeps coming unscrewed.

The finish on the neck was satin when I got it, but has worn down somewhat now to a light gloss. I don't mind, as it doesn't feel any slicker or grippier. The fingerboard finish is still solid and feels great.

Very quick response when I mailed them, even though he said you couldn't split the coils in the humbuckers (you can). To give him the benefit of the doubt, either he could have been reading standard specs and mine was an exception, or he was reading the official company line, to try and upsell the customer.

I've been playing 20 years off and on, and got good sounds out of junk equipment. My expectations aren't sky high but this one keeps delivering, I've had it for a year and a half now and I'm still loving it.

If it were stolen or lost, I would probably get the same one, or possibly go for the SA model that adds piezos. It does so much in a single guitar. It's comfortable and after playing other guitars for a bit this one is like coming home.

I seriously compared against MIM Strats, G&Ls, PRS SE, and Variax. This one had more to offer and felt so much better in my hands. The unplugged tone was remarkably better than anything else.

I may consider a pickup replacement, but I need to look at that closely. The stock ones work fine.

Double cutaway H/S/H "Super Strat" style solid body with one volume, one tone, and 5-way selector, assembled in New Hampshire from parts made in Canada (though I believe the hardware and electronics might come from the ROK). The body consists of a solid silverleaf maple center block with poplar wings and a "lightburst" bookmatched flamed maple top. Gorgeous glossy polyurethane finish. The neck was the real selling point for me: hard rock maple with satin finish, 12" radius and very comfortable; very similar to the Ibanez Prestige necks, though they might be too thin for some. Nice Rosewood fretboard; also available in maple. The neck joint is rock solid, with no metal plate to impede access to upper frets. Some reviews had led me to believe this was a lighter guitar, but it has some heft to it, and it's well-balanced. Pickups are Godin's own. Since they use Duncans in their better premium models, one can conclude that these are not going to be the best. Pickups are not very sensitive to the guitar controls alone. To get any variation in sound you have to play with the amp settings. One drawback with the single coil in the middle is that you cannot get both humbuckers on at the same time. The selections are H, H-S, S, S-H, and H. No coil tapping. Nice gig bag included.

With the maple body and the maple neck, it's pretty bright, yet not terribly articulate. With the guitar's tone all the way down you get a flat acoustic sound, as opposed to a clean electric blues tone, which is what I was looking for. I'm playing it through a Roland Cube 30. I'm either going to have to get better as a player, switch out the pickups, get a tube amp, or all of the above. Crank up the gain and it will play metal, though

As I said, the finish is a beautiful, very nicely bookmatched flamed maple top. Maybe the best thing about the guitar. The fret edges were a little sharp. Action was low, intonation was good, but there is a little fret buzz in the low E. I don't know if it's the pickups or the pots, but there could be a little more sensitivity in the tone and volume controls. No noise or popping in the pots or selector, though.

This is a very solidly-built guitar. The finish seems very durable, though there is no pickguard. There could be better documentation. They give you a generic overview of the hardware and electronics, but nothing specific to the Freeway model with this pickup configuration and bridge. One example of more helpful documentation would have been an explanation of the straplocks, which do not include the male buttons. Be sure to get Schaller male ends; any other brand probably will not fit, as I found out the hard way.

Got this from Music 123, which is one of the few online stores that carries a wide selection of Godins. I had to wait a few weeks to get it from the Godin factory, which I didn't mind, as it gave me the sense that it was being built just for me. Music 123 was very responsive and forthright about everything, and you can't beat free shipping and no sales tax; plus they throw in a tuner and a stand.

I've been playing guitar for over 50 years, I've played everything from vintage L-5s to Mosrites to Danelectros to Duesenbergs to Alembics to Daisy Rocks, and I've jammed with everybody from Les Paul to Wes Montgomery to Paul Westerberg, and I can honestly say without hesitation that the Godin Freeway Classic is a very good choice for a first electric guitar. As with many products at this price point, you can switch out the pickups, change hardware, and give it a professional set-up to make it just as good as guitars costing twice as much or more. The high quality of the body and neck make for a very solid foundation from which to build an even better guitar when you're ready.

Good features for the money. An excellent gig bag. The tremolo arm is not threaded, so it just slides in and out... no need to screw it in. The strap buttons are buttons for schaller straplocks. The rest is mentioned on the website. Don't forget it's entirely made in N. America.

I wish they put the piezo bridge on this guitar.

I'm impressed with the sound. I'm very happy with the lead tone, the rhythm sound holds up pretty well. Everything you play comes through pretty well. I think this guitar has a pretty hot sound... it seems like the sound is broad and powerful across the frequency range. Good sustain, decent intonation. I have doubts that it'd even be worthwhile to switch out the pickups. So far I think they suit the guitar well, and they haven't had any problems. I have played lots of metal on this guitar, and some clean stuff as well. Not the best sounding guitar out there in clean, heavy, or lead, but it doesn't lack in any one area, and all in all I think it sounds pretty good.

No equal at this price level. The neck feels great. Body is nice and solid, and the guitar feels like one cohesive piece. The lacquer is well applied. The guitar's finish is beautiful. Wiring is good.

My only complaint is that the strap buttons seem to be poorly made. I bought the schaller straplock system, since you pretty much have to (not expensive, and good to have, anyway), and the clips wouldn't fit over the buttons! I had to replace the buttons. Now one of the screws comes a little loose now and then, leading to sort of a wobbly button. I think I know how to fix that, but still, it's a pain. Other than that small detail, I think the build of the guitar is excellent. I think the guitar will last and is quite dependable. Not a broken string to date either! I think other brands @ this price would have many many more problems.

I think everyone could use one of these. Excellent purchase for a beginner, but even an intermediate or advanced player would be satisfied with the quality of this guitar. I bought this so that I wouldn't have to bring my more expensive guitar to band practice and risk it getting dinged up, but I've been playing it a lot at home, and have even recorded with it. I have not played a guitar of this quality @ the price they're selling it for.

This guitar is a Strat shape/style guitar finished in Trans Blue Flamed Maple with a 12" radius maple neck. 22 frets and a h/s/h/ passive Godin pick-up configuration, which are fully adjustable, along with a Fender style 6 screw vibrato bridge, fully adjustable saddles and pop-in vibrato arm. One tone and one volume control for all pick-ups with a 5 way pick-up selector switch. The scale is Fender like as well (25.5) as is the 50s/60s headstock with 2 string trees. Godin tuners. The guitar comes with a high quality padded gig bag, bridge, pick-up and neck adjustment tools.

The guitar has a variety of sounds thanks to the pick-up set up. The bridge humbucker pick-up is very bright and the neck is a little warmer as to be expected. The output of both are not overly hot nor are they faint either. In other words, standard humbucker output. The single coil in the middle however is surprisingly strong as there is very little loss in signal when switching from one of the humbuckers to the single, or vice versa, during mid song. This is nice little advantage when playing various cover songs. The overall sound does however tend to be more on the bright side. This is likely due to the solid maple body and the 25.5 scale. Great for pop and rock sounds and certain styles of electric blues. Metal-heads will love it too but since I do not play that particular genre, no comment.

The factory set-up was O.K. but then I am a little fussy about such things and I generally do my own set-up. Godin does give you the basic tools to do the job and the guitar is very adjustable to begin with so as far as I am concerned it is not an issue. The fit and finish of the guitar are first class all the way. The Flamed Maple finish is very attractive and the frets and neck are solid and top notch. There were absolutely no flaws in the guitar what so ever. The weight and balance of the guitar are also very good. It does not feel like a boat anchor on your shoulder. Very comfortable to play.

I use this guitar in live situations all the time and it has never failed to produce. I have had this guitar for 15 months now and it is as reliable as it is beautiful. I get many positive comments on the appearance of my Freeway Classic. It is built to last. The finish is as fresh now as it was when I bought the guitar. Nothing has broken, fallen off or any other calamities.

There was only one slight problem out of the gate and that was a noisy volume pot. It made a crackling sound. The dealer changed it immediately at Godin's cost. Since then nothing but happy motoring.

I have been playing off and on for 30 years, but seriously only in the past 3 years. I bought the guitar because I liked the looks and then when I tried it, I really enjoyed the feel and the playability. It is a little harsher sounding than my Strat and ES335, but it does give me a fast action rock guitar when that type of song is played. Through a Vox AC30CC2 and Boss pedals (CS-3, BD-2, DS-1) and a Marshall Regenerator, very good pedal by the way, the Godin Freeway Classic gives me good tone and great playability. I would give the guitar a 9.5 overall but since .5 is not available, 9 is the overall rating. I highly recommend this guitar for serious players on a budget because the price point for what you get with this guitar is outstanding !!

Mine is a blue leaftop with the h-s-h and the traditional bridge, rosewood fretboard. I have owned it for 2 years, and due to Canadian weather, I have to make adjustments to the set up fall and spring. I have been playing 20 years and I'm 33 so you know the kind of R & R types around then. I like them all.

I use this guitar with both a Roland Jazz Chorus 120W, and a Line 6 SpiderII for dirt. The pickups are ok, I recommend raising them to obtain better tones. I just set it up, and it sounds pretty good, but the strings always seem to feel like they're not tight enough...strange I know, and I'm using a quality tuner, with quality strings. Sounds are good, but I don't find it punchy enough clean, or dirty enough dirty...so I may swap out the pick ups someday.

This guitar requires set up during season changes if you're in Canada or areas that have significant seasonal weather changes.
The guitar does play well, but I find it buzzes when action set low. I have a Peavey Patriot that has action so low without buzzing, it will make you blow your load. Bridge and neck feel are nice, and I think it is a good balanced weight. The electronics are kinda cheap, and the tone control is very extreme, tone or no tone. Because of the poor electronics, I only give it a 4 this category. I expect more from a Canadian/American guitar company...dont give me shitty electronics when there are so many quality parts available.

Body and neck are well crafted, although the neck joint is not perfect, I have felt movement during a hard session. I would not use this exclusively, unless the electronics, and pick ups were changed to high quality parts. The neck is very nice, and I enjoy playing it due to its feel.

Overall it is a good guitar for the money. The bridge is nice, and it stays in tune, but don't let the humidity or extreme dryness get to it, you may have to set it up again.

This is a Godin Freeway classic, with duncan designed pups (H-S-H) With a trem bridge. Maple Neck, maple core with poplar wings. 22 frets. parts form canada, and assembled in the US. 5 way pup selector, and one volume and tone with steel dome knobs, and Schaller lockign strap buttons.

This is a nice guitar, suitable for virtually all styles of music. I typically paly anythign from blues to all out melodic heavy metal, this guitar suits it all. But then again, I switched out the humbuckers for a jb/jazz combo.

I'll just go through the pickups and tell you how they sound.

Bridge (jb): This position is very bright and it may be too bright for some people. The cleans arent amazing, but tehy were better with the stock pups. They can grab almost any 80s metal tone, and gives a great lead tone.

Middle (stock single coil): this is a good pickup, it is a very standard single coil sound, and reflects the sound of a Fender almost. This is a good position for most light crunch surf rock or blues.

Neck (jazz): This is probably the best position to me. The jazz really makes a great smooth creamy tone. It distorts well, and is a great jazz position, but can also handle blues and rhythm rock guitar.

I'm giving this section a 9, becuase no matter how great a guitar is (trust me this is an amazing guitar), there is no perfect.

When I first got this guitar, the action was a bit high for my prefrences, but it was about the same height on all the otehr guitars. The pickups were all set flat, and gave a nice equal sound. And the fret job was nice and clean, no uneven frets, and the frets were crowned very well. The only problem I had was a small dent near the output jack, but it's barely noticable. But everything was great, no electronics problems, no sharp saddles, not even a loose tuning peg. Great guitar, top notch set ups comparing to gibson and prs setups.

This is a very solid guitar, hard finish, it has some mass on the body that make you feel like your actually holding something. I woudl definatly gig without a backup. One thing though is that when I got this guitar, it came with strap lock buttons instead of regular buttons, so I had to go out and buy a strap lock for this guitar.

Never dealed with them. I figure they should be alright, for building such a nice guitar.

Overall this is a great guitar, the best one I've ever played. If it were stolen, I may look our for osme other guitars, but eventually I think I'd come back to another Godin freeway classic.

I've been playing guitar for 3 years, doing a couple gigs, and such nothign major. I own a custom guitar (lp body with a fender neck, s-s-h) And a couple of different distortion pedals. I run these through a genz Benz el diablo 60c. I also have a dean acoustic with a piezo isntalled in it. But the Godin is my favorite of all of them.

One thing I do wish sometimes is for a floyd rose, but then I know godin has that freeway floyd, so I might look at oen of those one day too.

maple neck and maple fingerboard , black body finish
6 screw tremolo,with a micro whammy bar screw that fix the whammy bar
body is sliver leaf maple block with poplar wing
neck is a flater than fender's. very good for shred,
25.5 scale with 22 frets
godin stocked pickups

my music style:from folk to metal,
i am using Laney 15W practice amp,Zoom GFX1,
not noisy, not deadly noiseless,

neck pickup sounds warm, sweet, deep (nice presence), balance which reminds me my old Dimarzio Norton's Sound but godin is more balance.

middle single sounds a bit brighter and crisper but not as crisp as fender's single coils.

bridge pickup sounds relatively duller in clean and nice for distortion.

i think the sound combination is designed for versatile players,or for section players.

only complain is it doesn't sound vintage feel.

i love the neck sound the most, in clean mode, it's very balance, good for jazz,roll back the tone it's bassy and smooth.
and sensitive.
all position i can get good sustain sound.

I can say this guitar has most versatile soild electric guitar sound, and one of the best sounding guitar in this price range.

factory setup is good and playable,but i still setup myself,
the neck relief is right now, and i set the tremolo a bit floated so i can use tremolo to higher half note.
action is reasonable, i won't set it too low as i will strum it hard when playing folks,the strings are above the fret about 2mm at 12th fret.

the factory set the neck pickup a bit lower than standard. but neck pickup still sound rich and full, so i keep the setting.

no any flaws, build very solid

it's good for studio as well as performing,
the hardwares seems solid
thick finishing
strap button is too small,but i will upgrade a dunlop strap lock


if i have a gig,i will backup with a non tremolo guitar

it comes with a very pretty guitar bag,the guitar bag include a pillow that can be removed as a guitar fixing platform.
i don't know about the warranty.
but the salesman is very nice and highly appreciate godin

i have been playing for about 6 years
i owned and played ibanez,squier,epiphone,kramer,aria pro II,spirit,yamaha.
most of gear i owned is mid-low price guitars.

Kramer and Godin has the best quality in my experience.

only about US$350 u can get a usa made guitar,i can see every fret is hand grinded by the one who loves guitar

Bought this new last year (05) from a trader on Ebay. Very cheap for what it is, and the bargain of last year for me.

Very well made at any price, but especially at this price. Good quality woods and hardware. Have read the complaints about Godin pickups but they work fine unles you're a metal nut looking to thrash the hell out of your amp. Not what I needed, and this Freeway is just great as it is.

Poplar body with thin (but real) flame maple top. Rock maple neck with rosewood board. Vintage type trem and Godin pickups (H-s-H in the Ibanez style). One volume, one tone pot. Comes with a very high quality Godin gigbag as well.

I play all sorts of stuff in a pub band. I have three elecs and two acoustics, and I play keys half the time. This Godin gets plenty of use live and for recording. I have a Godin acoustic as well so you could say I'm a happy customer.

Surprisingly, this guitar isn't your typical full-on superstrat. It's got more of a classic strat sound to me, which suits my style. If you're looking for a metal tool then this might not put out enough juice for you. You'd think those two humbuckers would kick out, but they're fairly restrained. I like that but you may not.

I use a Roland Blues Cube, and/or a POD 2, and/or a Magicstomp. I'm not an amp freak and will happily go direct in to a PA with either the POD or the Magicstomp. Try it, you'd be surprised how good these toys are. This guitar sounds great whatever I plug it into.

One or two minor dents in the underside of the body, hardly noticable and the reason why I got it cheap I think. No other faults. The neck is superb. Unbelievably well made at the price. I had a US standard strat until last year - I sold it because it was badly put together and no fun to play. And I don't mean the set-up. I mean that US Fenders are bloody expensive for the average quality they ship out. This Godin was a third of the cost and is twice the quality. No bull.

How many guitars break at gigs these days. It's well made and of course you can depend on it. Comes with Schaller strap buttons so you can lock on your strap, just like a US Fender.

I have no idea. Never needed Godin for anything other than the original build.

Been playing guitar for 20 years or so. I have several guitars and a few keyboards as well. This is one of my best buys ever. Would get another if stolen. Can't think of any reason not to keep this one a long time.

about the "silk screen" flame top that someone less informed mentioned, i will say this..
hello! it is a thin veneer of flamed maple, not a printed flame.
if you have ever seen a printed fake flame top you would notice that the grain does not change when you tilt the guitar in light. real wood shows depth in the grain.
Godin uses real wood, though it is a thin veneer, hence the name "leaf top"..thin like a leaf..ok. they state this in print. so they are not trying to pull the wool over anyones eyes
don't blame your ignorance on Godin.
since flamed maple is mainly a decorative touch, a veneer does the job nicely.
here is the specs for those who want the truth
body: silver leaf maple center with poplar wings to save weight, with a thin veneer of flamed maple on the leaf top models
pickups: h/s/h
godin designed pickups ( wound at the same factory as a big wellknown pickup maker)
neck: eastern maple with choice of maple or rosewood fretboard
bridge: vintage style trem with solid saddles as opposed to bent metal vintage style saddles, push in bar with tension adjuster
thin finish for tone, as opposed to bullet proof (and tone proof) thick finish.
25.5 inch scale neck with rounded edges, 22 medium jumbo frets and 12 inch radius.
schaller strap locks
one of the best designed neck pockets and accessable neck heels in the business.
one hell of a great gig bag included, more like a case in fact.
how do i know this?
research, and the fact that i have played, own, and owned several models of Godin guitars.
check out the website and get the scoop.
5 way switch, even though the 2nd and 4th positions don't tap the buckers they still smoke in the strat sense.

oh yes, many sounds available.
no noise
rich and full tone.
nothing to dislike here

you can't expect Godin to nail the perfect setup for every one.
and most stores tweak guitars as they get them so this rating is redundant.
but as far as construction, there are a few north american makers that can learn a trick or two from Godin.

solid guitar that i would trust.
the only flaw is the occasional volume pot, but if you buy one and it goes bad, use the warranty and get it replaced, duh.

great response every time i have contacted Godin.
they have even gone beyond my expectations.

i wish the floyd rose model came with a maple fretboard.
i have been playing over 20 years and do most of my own setups and work on my guitars. i like to keep up to speed on info on guitar makers and i try not to speak unless i have researched enough to know what i am saying.
this review is for my friends Freeway which i have spent a good deal of quality time.
if you want a good review, check out the Jan 2005 issue of guitar player. they review the Freeway and Montreal from Godin.
don't take my word or the word of anyone without trying one out for yourself. and do yourself a favour and visit the website and check out the specs.
there are too many people writing reviews who haven't done thier homework.

Mine is a HSH Freeway classic in Black Pearl (metallic paint) with a plain maple fingerboard. Bought it from a local music shop as it was marked down dramatically, and I needed a HB guitar to put the set of Dimarzio Steve Morse humbuckers that I had sitting around at home.

Of special note is the gigbag they give you with this thing - it's awesome. It's the first guitar I haven't felt the need to buy a hardcase for, it's so sturdy.

The stock pickups were muddy and low-output, which was a shame. After a couple of weeks, I put in the Steve Morse humbuckers, as well as a Seymour Duncan Custom staggered single coil in the middle. After the mods, the guitar really came alive. The pickups are pretty high output, but the Duncan does a pretty good job for the low-gain stuff. That said, I mainly use this guitar for jamming with my metalhead buddies, and it's fantastic for that. I'll give it a 10 for the current sound, but pre-mods it would have been a 5.

The guitar came pretty well set up, with a medium low action and no buzzes anywhere. The bridge is pretty poor, is a bit rough in use, and doesn't hold the tuning too well. As I don't use the trem much it's not a big issue, but if you do, make sure you get the thing set up well.

The only niggle I've had with this guitar was a malfunctioning volume pot - though admittedly this only became apparent after the pickup mod and could well have been caused by that. The hardware all seems pretty good quality, though the bridge could do with some work, and I'll probably fit some smoother tuners later on. Came with Straplock buttons, which is handy, too.

My volume pot issue was fixed by the store pretty quickly at no charge, even though it was probably my fault anyways. Can't complain here.

Nice guitar, does it's job well. I've got other guitars for country, blues, rock etc etc, and this thing could do all those in a pinch, but really excels in the metal arena. Buy one if that's what you're after, budget for some new pickups and this thing is a killer.

2005 model, Canadian Parts assembled in Berlin, NH
HSH pickup configuration, pickups suck, replace asap.
I replaced with duncan 59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge, left the single coil alone. I installed a ciol tap switch for the JB and came to the realization that the "flamed maple top" is nothing more than a silk screen print on top of a piece of alder. CHEEZY!
How do I know you ask? well, when I drilled the hole for the coil tap, it distorted the paint around the hole and revealed the true grain that was underneath. I also am experiencing a lot of wear on the fret board and I have only had it since Dec 05'. I gave it a 5 for the deception of the top and the poor fretboard.

I bought it as a giging guitar only to acheive some strat type sounds, as I primarily use Les Pauls. I use a Fender 59 Bassman with a Boss GT6. After the pickup changes, it is a ctually quite useful. I like the coil tap function that I installed which by the way I was told by a customer service rep that the stock godin pups were not four conductor wire and could not be coil tapped. What a moron, the stock pups are in fact four conductor and I would reccomend a coil tap to increase the guitars sound capabilities.

Neck buzzed above the 12 fret, had to do a neck adjustment right out of the box, pick up poles did not match up with the strings at all, I have seen Korean model guitars for half this price with a better fit in this area. Tuners are adequate but I replaced them with grover locking tuners. Again, the finish is wearing off the fretboard, looks like shit now.

They are misinforming the public about these guitars, they say it has a flamed maple top, it is SILK SCREENED ON!!! If you want a nice guitar in this price range, buy a Stratocaster. The pick up info really made me mad, they should know if it is a four conductor wire or not.

There you go, straight from Godin ;)
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinfreewayclassicp.htm
Built in USA by Canadian parts. Great Quality for the price!

The neck of this guitar is ABSOLUTLY INCREDIBLE. The shape of it is perfect and cannot complain. I like it more than my friend Fender Strat or my other friend Gibson SG.

The pickup are great for a guitar of that price. I've replaced the bridge pickup for a Seymour Duncan JB. There wasn't much difference in terms of sound but the quality of the SD is much better: more output, more clarity, less fuzz.

Oh by the way, the gig bag is very nice.

I mostly play classic rock (Led Zep, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Hendrix), Alternative rock (Radiohead, RHCP, RATM), metal (Metallica, Juda's Priest, Iron Maiden) and blues (Clapton).

It excels in all of this, you only need the right amp. I've got a Peavey Ultra, and it's great for all of those style. Except that the bridge PU gets muddy with too much distortion. That's why I now have a Seymour Duncan JB.

Sound is rich and full but a little bit too bright. But hey, it's not mahagony, what did I expected !

This guitar sells for around 500$CDN. The finis, the action is equivalent to a 1200$ fender.

It's been one year I have it and I'm pleased.

One problem: the volume knobs is noisy and I can loose sound sometime. A 25$ replacement.

It says it all

10 - F A N T A S T I C VALUE

There is nothing fancy here but if you look in person, it looks expensive and sound just like big ol name guitar brand ... very impressive

- I dont when it was made.
- It is written assembled in USA and parts hand crafted in Canada
- It has 1 volume and 1 tone (just like fender strat) 5 ways selector
- H-S-H pickup configuration
- Passive electronic (great !! coz i dont need to worry about carrying extra battery)
- Neck Maple, Body Silver Leaf Maple center with Poplar wings
- Mine with a flamed burst color (looks very nice with the price!!)
- Fender Strat body style
- Bridge just like strat (i dont know what its called)
- Non-locking tuner (this may be problem if you use tremolo bar often!, so I'd do is tighten the screw on the tuner ... hey at least its a cheap way to fix such problem :p lol)
- It comes with a deluxe gig bag ... This is very nice, coz I wasnt expecting but heyyyyyy this is VERYYY niceee!!! ... I give 9 only for the non-locking tuner

- Well firstly this is my 3rd electriv guitar ... for my last electric guitar I like something that can play jazz, blues, pop, metal and this baby right here can do everything.

- I tried this baby with Traynor YCW80 custom valve at the music store. But I use marshall MG100Head and Boss GT8 fx pedal

- No it is not noisy at all!! suprisingly for this price

- The sound is so full, rich, bright you name it. Coz with the alder body I suppose.

- I only can say that this thing is so versatile. You can play anything. Metal chugging, bluesy playing, pop tune, punk ... you name it. System of a down to chet atkins

- I only wish it has better machine head thats all

Very nice bang for the bucks

This baby rock thats all i can say ...
The strap buttons look weak though, but nevermind its okay ...
i can depend on it ...

never deal with them ...

I've been playing for 11 years

I have 3 great guitar brand, they all not really expensive but Im planning to modified them If I need to. But they are all great ... Ibanez SZ520, Yamaha AES620, and Godin Freeway Classic

Marshall MG100 head n box, planning to buy Laney TT100 combo

With Boss GT8 (great its so simple, i like simplicity)

Before I got this I was looking for Yamaha Pacifica 812, but man when I got to the music shop it has sold out. Darn ... so I looked for another Yamaha of course the I looked Yamaha Pacifica 904 (which is the highest level of pacifica) and then I looked this baby and I was comparing both. Pacifica - nothing really impressive with the sound but the price is really expensive $3000ish in here (Perth, Australia). And then I tried this baby .... BAMMMMMM I was knocked out by the sound, full blown by the sound from neck pickup to bridge. Okay this baby is the winner.

My Freeway Classic was built on 6/16/05. 21 frets. Solid body with light-burst flame maple finish (beautiful!). Volume, tone, 5-way pickup selection. Standard H-S-H pickup config with Godin pickups. Neck is Candadian Rock Maple, fingerboard is rosewood. Gig bag included is very feature-rich, with lots of pockets, handles, shoulder strap, and backpack-style straps built in. I would like to seen Godin put the locking tuners on this model (like on the Solidac).

I grew up on hard rock and some metal, and this guitar does that well. All of my playing is done with church worship teams, so I've tamed my style down a bit. I've always loved the double-cutaway design, so the Freeway is a perfect fit for me. Sound is great. Good bite from the bridge humbucker, and this is the first guitar that I actually liked the sound from the neck pickup (also a humbucker). I never used anything but the bridge humbucker on my last guitar (a Peavey Nitro III Custom, H-S-S). Sustain is much better than my Peavey, and I attribute that to better tone woods, and a fantastic neck/pocket fit. Guitar stays in tune better than any I've ever played (vintage, strat-style tremolo bridge).

Fit an finish is, well, flawless. Deep, dark color to the wood, and the shiniest, clearest, smoothest surface finish I could imagine. It's amazing what Godin can do at this price point. Center picked seemed high, and I was constantly hitting it with my pick, so I adjusted it down, and it didn't seem to diminish volume or tone.

This guitar is built to last. Very solid feeling, but not *heavy*. The finish is so beautiful I hate to think of the day when I put a scratch in it, but I've very careful with my gear, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed that won't be for a while. The clearcoat seems tremendously thick. Strap buttons are chrome Schaller (Strap-Lock) buttons -- very solid, and set with long screws. The guitar, other than a bad volume pot which start rearing its ugly head two days after I bought the guitar, seems very dependable. I gigged with it (played a festival with ~4,000 people) two days after I bought it and didn't have a backup. I notified my dealer of the bad volume pot just over a week ago, and I'm *hoping* the replacement pot arrives before the end of this week. Once the defective volume pot is swapped, the guitar should be perfect. The volume pot which started acting up on day #2 is the reason for my scoring this area a "7". I've read a few other reviews of Godin guitar that mentioned issues with either a noisy or defective volume pot; I was hoping Godin had that all ironed out by now.

My dealer is slow, and they're acting as the middle-man on this volume pot replacement issue. Had I dealt directly with Godin, they might have sent the pot directly to me by now. I've emailed Godin a couple times (pre- and post-sales) and they always responded within a couple days.

I've been playing guitar on and off for the past 22 years. I'm mostly self-taught. I use a Behringer V-Amp2 for most of my sound anymore (much lighter than hauling around the old amps). I'd definitely pick up another Freeway Classic if this was lost or stolen. My previous guitar (19 year-old Peavey Nitro III Custom) had a Kahler (Floyd Rose licensed) floating tremolo. It was cool when I was younger, but I don't play around as much or as aggressively with the tremolo anymore. I love the fact that if I break a string with the Freeway, I can keep playing 'cause the strat-style tremolo doesn't float, so the strings that remain don't all get pulled sharp.

I wish it had Duncan in the bridge position, and locking tuners, but it's great the way it is, so I'm not going to complain. (Just give me my replacement volume pot!) I considered Ibanez when I was preparing to buy a new guitar, but I really wanted to stay away from the big names. I'm sort of a fan of going with the less-known names, and have had great luck doing that in the past.

Purchased a 2003 Model the same year, Black Finish, Rock Maple Neck/Fingerboard, Maple Centre block, Poplar Sides, H/S/H Godin Pickups, 1 Volume, 1 Tone, 5-way Switch, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets. Came with a really good gig bag. However, I would have preferred 2 tone knobs.

Please note that the pots used for volume and tone are smaller than CTS pots used on Fender. You'll need to widen the holes in the guitar and break off the little metal chip on top of a CTS pot to fit them in. Also, the selector switch uses a different knob, which doesn't fit on CTS switches. Finally, I had to route out some wood to fit in the new selector switch I put in with my new pickups. I thought that as a Canadian/American guitar, it would be using the same size electronics as Fender/Gibson. Instead, the parts are slightly smaller like the ones used on Asian copies, like my friend's Dillion LP and Strat.

I play rock, jazz and some funk through a Traynor YCV40 tube amp or a Tech21 Trademark 10 solidstate. I will sometimes use a Vox 847 wah and a modded Boss SD-1 overdrive. Overall, the stock Godin pickups didn't really do it for me. They didn't sound as full as the Seymour Duncan pickups I have on my Strat. They are pretty good for stock pups, but I felt they were thin-sounding when compared to Seymour Duncans.

That said, I changed out the pups for a Seymour Duncan Jazz Neck, SSL-1 Vintage for the Middle, and a Jeff Beck Trembucker for the bridge. Now this guitar sounds really good. This guitar sounds very rich, smooth and full in the neck position, bridge is thick and crunchy, and the tapped plus middle pickup positions sound very Stratish.

Can't comment on the factory set-up as the guys at Long and Mcquade do their own thing to every guitar. But straight from the store it was set up well. Pickup sound output was as matched as possible. Action was set quite low, but there was some buzz on the first few frets of the lower strings. Tuners hold tune well. Frets were nice and smooth and didn't stick out of the neck anywhere along the neck. The maple neck is pretty smooth and easy to play, not sticky at all. I don't use the tremolo, but it can only be pushed downward, it doesn't pull upwards. So I tightened the screws to get it flush as possible.
Black finish on the body was pretty good, although I can easily see one of the three sections of wood used. It's just a straight line where the wing connects to the centre which can be seen, not the bare wood. The control cavities have a type of goldish shielding paint inside.
I'm not sure if it came from the factory with a misaligned bridge or not, because I only noticed it after my pickup change. The strings are slightly off centred with the neck from the 12fret onwards, and the high e string is pretty much beside the neck at the 22nd fret. It doesn't really affect the playability, which is probably why I didn't notice sooner. But I think this is something that shouldn't be overlooked by QC.

I've played live a few times with it before and after the pickup change. I've also let my friends who play death metal shred for hours on this guitar. It stays in tune every time. I can depend on this guitar and play without a backup. I do have a strat, but it's used for a different tuning. There are a few scatches in the paint already, but that doesn't really matter to me as long as the paint doesn't just fall off on its own.
The strap button on the top horn kind of worries me though. The horn itself is pretty thin where the strap button is screwed in, so I'll have to see how that holds up. I assume the screw will not break through the wood and my guitar won't drop down onto the floor or any similar fate.

I've emailed CS a few times in the past and always had a reply within a business week, so response is pretty quick. I had some issues with my Godin LG-SP90 which the rep help resolve. I also emailed them about color options on the Freeway before I bought it and they responded within a few days.

I've played for about 10 years now, played live with bands and jammed with friends at home. I traded in my Godin LG-SP90 for the Freeway and I don't feel like I made a mistake. I've been pretty satisfied with this guitar for the past two years and now, after the pickup change, I expect to be satisfied for many more years to come. I do plan on purchasing more Godin instruemnts, namely the Freeway Bass and eventually an LG Signature when money is available.

2005 model, made in the US with Canadian parts. Solid black finish, HSH Godin pickup config with a 5-way switch. Rock maple neck, silver leaf maple body with poplar wings. Rosewood fingerboard.

I've heard it said before, but I'll say it again. This guitar is very versatile in the sounds you can get out of it. The pickups that come with it aren't bad at all; they're not AMAZING but they sound nice and only the single coil gives any buzz (which is understandable). I've used it with a variety of amps: 1958 Fender Deluxe tweed amp, Peavey Bandit 112, a Peavey Backstage and a Peavey Classic. You can get some nice sounds on this guitar, especially if you have the right effects.

The guitar was spotless when I received it. The action is a little higher than what I'm used to, but it's by no means very high. I lowered it slightly and now I've adjusted nicely. I was playing on a '73 Tele before and this plays almost as good, honestly. The guitar is well-made.

I find this guitar to be very reliable and durable. But keep in mind that like any guitar you should always take care of it and treat it well.

I've been playing guitar for about 11 years. I own a '73 Tele, some amps previously mentioned, some effects pedals. I played this guitar in-store (like everyone should) before buying it and I liked it. I would definitely replace my Godin Freeway Classic, I want to keep it as part of my permanent collection. I would like if it came with some Seymour Duncan pickups like some other Godins, and a Floyd Rose bridge (there is a Freeway Floyd model out as well that has this). This guitar is the best guitar you can get for the money. I would say it performs like a guitar that costs twice as much. Give it a spin and maybe you'll take one home too.

Made in 2004. Flame maple leaftop in light burst. Very nice.Gigbag is awesome!
Beautiful neck feel!

Stock pickups sound very nice and balanced.Give them a chance before replacing the pups. I've made some mods:
I've replaced bridge pup with SD Pearly Gates+, middle single coil with Fender Lace Sensor-Silver, neck pup with DiMarzio Bluesbucker.
Whow!! I like the versatility of that configuration. In clean situations Lace works like a dream alone, or in the combination with Gates in pos. 2 ( full humbucker+ Lace) or with Bluesbucker in pos. 4. ( full humbucker + Lace ). Result: beautiful fender-ish sounds.
Dirty: Pearly Gates alone ( pos. 1): ZZ TOP ( many nice harmonics )!
Pearly Gates + Lace ( pos. 2 ): lead works
Lace ( middle pos. ): nice SingleCoil sound ( NO HUM )!
Bluesbucker ( awsome pup that sounds like PAF and P-90 )+ Lace (pos. 4 ): ACDC ( so many harmonics for neck pickup ! )!
Bluesbucker alone ( pos. 5 )- Dark sounding P-90. Mapple fingerboard helps for highs.

Now I have a very versatile guitar with full range of sounds, powerfull Fat strat tones + humbucking and P-90, WITH NO HUM!!!

I've made some little adjustments to my playing style.

Yes, I can depend on it. Very solid made.

I've been playing about 25 years. I've owned PRS Standard 24, Fender Strat Paisley and Schecter ( 1976 ). My second guitar is Ibanez SZ 520 QM with DiMarzioPAF PRO ( bridge ) and Ibanez Super58 ( neck ), very beautiful sound !

Mine is a black finish, very nice nothing fancy. As far as pick ups and switching goes it has been well described in previous reviews. Very comfortable neck & body. I have played for along time and find the features on this guitar well balanced. The tremelo works well and stays in tune. (most of the time) The gig bag alone is worth buying the guitar.

I play all types of music form country to acdc depending on the gig. I generally play through a vintage Crate tube amp, when I use an amp. When I am playing on stage I use line6 stuff with in ear plugs with little stage noise. I find the Godin has all the versatility I need from heavy to mellow. I play with a G&L most of the time and bought this for more of a practice guitar. Having said that, I really enjoy playing live with the Godin and the guy that does sound for us seems to like it to. I like the single coil center pick up for it's sharp tone and when using other effects on live feed it has the most edge.

Bang for the buck it is tough to beat the finish and fit on this guitar. The neck is straight and very easy to set up for personal adjustment. It is a good guitar for the price. If you want to spend $3000 for a PRS you can complain about imperfections but for $400 the pick ups and finish are great

I had to get the volume pot changed by Long & Mcquade. It was cutting out and very scratchy. Other than that no problems. I also put strap locks on the guitar as I found the Godins abit thin. I usually put strap locks on all my guitars, cheaper that fixing dents.

I like that fact that this guitar is Canadian parts assembled in USA. The company is small and proud of there producted making it easy to deal with and very informative.

If a person is just starting out or a player that needs a reliable practice axe with great versatility this would be a good investment. I have owned many guitars,(just ask my wife) and would not to hesitate to recommend the Godin to anyone. You generally get what you pay for and with this guitar you will get your monies worth

The main features have already been stated. My version is a 2004 model, approx. 3 months old, amber flame with rosewood kneck. The only feature that I feel is lacking is the fact that they use only a single tone control. Overall it is only a minor inconvenience. The shape of this guitar make it a very comfortable instrument to play either standing on stage or just loafing on the couch. The trem is very good, nice to not have to worry about a little spring falling out when you remove the whammy bar. The gig bag is great, I would have never even considered using anything other than a robust hardshell case until I started using this bag.

This is a very versitile instrument, I play mostly guitar driven rock and roll from the 60's, 70's and 90's, as well as some originals. The span ranges from Hendrix, Allman Bros., Floyd, to 54-40 and the Headstones. For live gigs and band practice I usually play through an 80 watt Traynor tube amp (2x12), or a 100 watt MesaBoogie. Occasionally I use a Boss GT-3 digital effects unit, but more often than not I just plug straigtht in and go. At home I usually use a Fender 25 Watt Frontman, or I just play through a Zoom PS04 with headphones. The stock pick-ups work well enough, but don't think for a minute that it will sustain like a Les Paul, or rip like a Strat, but it does many things well enough to be a compromise between the Les Paul/Strat camps. I wounder if the sustain quality could be improved if a larger piece of silver maple and smaller poplar wings were used in the body, as the overall weight is relatively light. The pick-up configuration is what gives this instrument the versatility, as a variety of sounds from smooth (kneck pickup) to bright (middle)and edgy (middle - bridge) can be achieved.
One major complaint (see below) is that this guitar, as currently set up, buzzes for any chords strummed below the 7th fret. Hopefully this will be resolved after a trip to the Luthier.

This is one area that I would like to see Godin address. This is actually the second model of this guitar that I have used. When I went to the store I really liked the guitar, but there was a chip in the finish right below the middle pick-up that went down into the wood. The salesman told me to take the guitar with me, and that they would order me a replacement. After playing this guitar for a few days I almost called the store to say that I was happy enough with the guitar that I had, and not to bother with the replacement. The action on the kneck was absolutely perfect for my style, and I loved the way it played. I am really glad that I didn't because, up until that time I hadn't used the bridge pick-up very much. When I finally started using it I noticed that the sound balance seemed off, very boomy at the low end and weak and hollow up top. When I looked closer I noticed that the pickup poles were not even close to being aligned with the strings. I am not sure if this is what caused the problem, but lets just say that the bridge pickup sat at least 5 mm higher in the body than the other two pickups (lowest pole sat under the B string - Could it be that the guy who machined the cut-outs in the body had too many Labatt 50's at lunch that day???). In addition, the guitar had a few rough patches in the finish on the back of the kneck (o.k. I'm being a bit picky).
When the replacement arrived the first thing that I checked was the location of the pick-ups, which was fine. The action and everything else seemed good. However, what I didn't check, and wish that I had was the kneck. The new guitar kneck appears to have a slightly convex shape at the top, and a slight concave shape at the bottom (twisted?). Also, one of the fret wires has not been fully seated (it can easily be seen sticking out when you look down the kneck), which is causing a significant amount of buzzing when the instrument is played below the 7th fret. I will be taking this instrument to my Luthier to hopefully address at least the fret issue, but I am dissapointed that I have to with a new guitar. On the plus side, the finish on the back of the kneck is nice and smooth. The guitar will stay in tune reasonably well, unless you really start honking on the whammy bar - but that is true for all trem guitars that I have ever tried. This model is a great looking guitar - this is not just my opinion, but comments from everyone who has seen it! The bookmatching on the original and replacement isn't perfect, but it is good. Overall, the first one was the better looking of the two.

The finish on this guitar is not very durable. The instrument is only a few month old, and has only been used for one gig, yet it already has some scratches and gouges in the finish. Small, but numerous pick scratches are also starting to appear. I should state that I tend to baby my guitars - a friend of mine, who also happens to be one of the best players that I know, has suggested that I must never play my guitars because they are in such pristine shape. My main guitar is an Strat (American Std), and after several years of playing does not have a single scratch or ding in it.
Otherwise, everything else seems to be good. The quality of the components is really amazing when you consider the price. The bridge in particular looks as good, or even better than that found on guitars three times the price.

Have not yet dealt with Godin, I tried to e-mail them, but it bounce back. This may be an issue from my end, as I have the same problem with other e-mail addresses as well.

I have been playing for a while, but I have only been serious for the past 9 years. As stated, I own a Strat (Am Std), some acoustics (Fender DG 20 and Yamaha FG-411). Over the years I have played several Les Pauls (recorded my first original using a custom), and a few others types (Ibanez, Jacksons etc.)
Just wish that I had checked the kneck before taking the replacement home.
Would I buy it again - definite maybe, but only after spending some serious time checking over every detail, and not rushing out of the store like I did when I picked up the replacement.
The initial objective that I had when I went into the store was to get myself a cheap 'practice mule' that I could beat on, leave in the office etc.. and not worry too much about. One criteria that I had was that it had to be similar to my Strat, but also different for some variety. After looking over a few Squire models, I talked to one of the salesmen that I have dealth with in the past. His comment was that I 'could' go with a squire, but, for just a little bit more money, I could get into a Godin - which he strongly recommended. He set me up with an SD model plugged into a Traynor 40 watt amp. I was really impressed and almost bought the guitar, as it seemed to meet my criteria, but I decided to think about it (and get the blessing from the wife...). One of the things which I wasn't particularly comfortable with on the SD was the kneck. It felt a bit 'flat' for my liking, and I do not care for the short string scale. After some web surfing I noticed the SDx model, which is similar to the SD in shape, but had a 'more different' D-S-D pickup as opposed to the S-S-D on the SD, and it had the string scale that I preferred. A week later I was back in the store (blessing in hand), as I spotted the SDx I noticed the Freeway beauty hanging right beside it. To my surprise, the price was just slightly higher, so I picked it up instead. After only two minutes my decision was made without even touching the SDx (which might be a good guitar as well).
The real strength of this guitar is in how well it feels and plays - I absolutely love the shape of the kneck. I played this guitar at practice just before our last gig and pulled off what was easily the best solo that I have ever done. For the price, I think the only other guitars that could come close are probobly the other Godins (SD if you prefer the short scale, or SDx). If Godin could only address the quality issues I would easily give this guitar a higher rating.

If I had one wish for this guitar, it would be to have the kneck of the first guitar and the body of the second.

My Godin is the Blue Flame top with maple fretboard, it has a brushed steel non-locking godin tuners which are very accurate when tuning, a nice well made trem which I use only for subtle stuff.The pickups are a HSH config which is my favourite combination as all the guitars I have owned have this config. The centre of the body is Silver leaf canadian maple with a thin silver leaf maple top which looks lovely and gives it a great tone, the guitar also has poplar wings which makes it fairly light. The neck on my guitar is a maple fretboard and is very flat but not too thin, certainly better to play than the wizard neck on my Ibanez which I have now selling.

The sound of the Godin really took me by surprise. I did'nt think it would have such a clear powerful sound, the neck pickup is very clear and creamy with overdrive, the middle single coil is very crip and the best for clean sounds and the bridge is clear and very powerful, great sustain for leads. I compared the sound of these to my dimarzio's in my ibanez and the Godin sounds very similar to the Airzone,Air classic and Cruiser that I have but has a better presence which is probably down to the body of the godin.I love these stock pickups and will keep them.This axe is great for just about any style of music, I tend to play a lot of rock,metal,blues stuff and try to play jazz and funk. Its a very versatile guitar.

My Freeway was setup by the shop I bought it from and they did a wonderful job, the action is lower than I have ever played before with no buzzing and is a joy to play, I can put the thing down once I start.The whole guitar is built very well, its quality is more like a 2 grand guitar rather than a sub #500 pound guitar.It reminds me of a tom anderson or a suhr guitar.

As mentioned, very well built and surprisingly for the money, it is not an Asian import, built in the USA from hand crafted parts from Canada so it says on the headstock and it looks and plays like a guitar that's worth a great deal more.I'd say it would be a great guitar for gigging and for the money, a working musician could probably get two of'em. I don't play live, just in my bedroom but still its rock solid.

not needed to use them so have no comments on the support side of things. I'd like to think that Godin will have a good support team if ever I need them.

To sum things up, this is a fantasic axe and the best guitar for the money I have ever owned, even without the price factor, it plays and sounds the best of the guitars I have owned and I have had carvin's, Ibanez,Parker's and steinberger guitars. I paid a measly #389 for my Godin, for some reason I got a 25% discount off the $450 RRP price so it was even better value for me and that includes the wonderful robust gigbag that comes with the Freeway. I cannot recommend this guitar enough, go try one out at a shop and see if I am wrong !.

Ok, this guitar is the Godin Freeway Classic. It was made in The USA with Canadian parts. It has 22 frets. The top is a beautiful flame top. I got mine in blue but you can also get it in amber flame, red, and black. The controls on this guitar are basic, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 5-way switch. The pickups are in a HSH configuration with passive electronics. It's kind of a Jackson meets PRS looking guitar. It has a good Strat-Style trem. It comes with a great gig-bag. It has the right amount of features.

WOW. THe sound is amazing. You could get a deep sound in the neck (think Sweet Child O' Mine intro) to Hendrix in the middle, to SG in the neck. I use this in a classic rock cover band and the sound is perfect. If you're looking at the fat strat (like i was) then check this guitar out because it is sooo much better sounding.

The guitar was excellent out of the box. There was another in the store that wasn't as good, but the playability of it was FANTASTIC. I ordered another on it and the finish is perfect. It's the kind of finish you'd expect to find on $2000 Les Pauls.

This is the best guitar in the price range. I have a strat copy, an my dad has a Squier Tele and this is so much better. I was looking at the Fat Strat or an Epi Les Paul and this was better than them both, sound and playability wise. The only other guitars I like better than mine are Gibson Les Paul Standards. But you could buy 2 of my Godins for that. It's not a Les Paul, but it's not nearly as expensive. If it were lost or Stolen, I would buy it again.

I bought this guitar last week so I believe it is a 2004 model. It is the model with the translucent brown flame finish with silver leaf maple/alder body. The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and is really comfortable. It also has Godin pickups HSH configuration. It has a five-way selector switch and I think the 2nd and 4th position splits the neck and bridge humbucker and adds it to the single coil middle pickup. Also came with a nice dark brown deluxe gig bag.

This guitar sounds great. I play through a Peavey Classic 30 (which I love) and it will deliver many really good tones while playing clean or dirty. It is a rock/blues machine. The 2nd and 4th pickup position will deliver nice Strat type tones while the neck humbucker has a nice warm tone and the bridge humbucker is meaty with good sustain. The guitar stays in tune reasonably well when using the whammy bar, but without a locking nut you do have to be careful while dive-bombing. I have read in other reviews that the pickups should be changed but I think the sound of these pickups is really good. Obviously there are very good aftermarket pickup like Dimarzios and Seymours that would sound different but give the stocks a good workout before making a decision on replacing them. Personally, I don't believe in buying a new instrument and then ripping it apart to only have to spend more money on an already new instrument. If you don't like the sound, then simply buy another guitar. It just doesn't make sense to me.

This guitar is beautiful looking. The brown flame finish is flawless and the rosewood neck has a nice wood grain and is very comfortable with good low action. The body is contoured and is comfortable to play. The first thing I noticed about this guitar while trying it out at the store was how loud it was unplugged. This guitar plays and looks like a guitar that would cost at least 2 to 3 times what I paid for it. Amazing.

I have only had this guitar for about a week but it is built solid. I own a Godin LG Hmb, which is all mahogany, and it is built to last and sound very good as well. I never had a problem with it yet and I have used it alot so I would assume that the Freeway will be a sound guitar as well.

Never had to use them. Their guitars are built well and do not seeing have to need them.

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years and have owned several brand name guitars like Fender, Ernie Ball Music Man, Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. This guitar is an absolute steal for the price paid. It looks very sexy, has good sound, is versatile and is comfortable to play. I would compare this guitar to other brand names, even American made, at three times the cost and it will hold it own. If it were to be lost or stolen I would quickly go out and buy another before Godin comes to their senses and charge what this guitar is really worth. Good job Godin!

2004, parts created in Quebec Canada, then shipped across the border
to New Berlin, New Hampshire for assembly. Interesting story here,
New Berlin was a shoe manufacturing town that had the rug pulled out\
from under it's feet when the shoe companies moved overseas.
Godin offered to take existing factories and American workers and
train them to assemble guitars. That's why it says assembled in USA.
Godin guitars are good quality and priced below the competition
because there are price caps on their products because of subsidies
from the Province of Quebec to keep their citizens employed.
Hundreds of people work for Godin around the La Patrie area now.
Mine is the Burgundy Metallic finish, maple fretboard (their maple
boards feel great, but for some reason they don't seem to make a
rosewood board that feels nice)
This is a modern guitar, it is extremely comfortable to play and
an unbelievable deal for the 420.00 Canadian that I paid for it,
including a high quality/well designed gig bag.

Acoustically, this instrument is second to none. I never would have
thought that silver leaf maple and poplar would sound this
articulate and solid. The rock maple neck contributes some of the
sound as well, just like the neck on my '52 Tele reissue.
I got a smokin deal on a pair of Ibanez V7/V8 humbuckers and
installed them in this guitar. These are the type of high output
pickups that the guitar should have from the factory.
The Ibanez pickups totally bring out the beautiful sustain and
punch of this guitar. Godin apparently have their Freeway Classic
pickups made especially for them in Korea, so I can't figure out
why they didn't overwind them a bit as most people who buy this type
of instrument are going to want a punchier high output pickup.
This guitar sustains and plays like a much more expensive instrument.
Top secret! The neck is actually a Valley Arts profile, from what
used to be very high end instruments. Godin is not pushing this
information, so there may be some copywright issues involved.

Great fit and finish, just needs to be played in.
The maple fretboard played great right off the wall. I've been
treating it with fretboard lem-oil, and it's feeling very nice now.
It was really dry, it just soaked up piles of oil at first.
This is an important aspect of guitar maintenance that is often
overlooked, as the fretboard is the only untreated piece of wood
on the guitar and will gain and lose moisture repeatedly unless
it's sealed up with lem oil. The frets are left high from the
factory which is a good thing as you will get lots of dressings
out of them before they need to be replaced.

I'm gigging with this guitar now and feel completely confident
not to take a backup guitar along.

Godin is great for customer service, I sent them an email and they
got back to me within a day, answering my questions politely.

Been playing pro since '73, I need a comfortable reliable guitar
because I gig so much. I would definitely replace it if anything
happened to it.
Make sure you change the pickups if you buy one of these instruments,
the stock ones just don't cut it. Too bad, cuz everything else
about this guitar is really good.

2004 Freeway Classic; mine is the real pretty amber burst color with a maple neck. Basic info/features: floating trem/strings-thru design; H-S-H set up (stock Godin pickups; model # is designated on each pickup); 25-1/2" scale (I think); very flat radius (can get the action REAL low!); fat frets; six-on-a-side brushed metal tuners; body is comprised of a maple centerpiece, with poplar "wings" on either side; mine is supposedly a "flame top" of leaf maple--I question that. It appears to be a very thin veneer (looking at the guitar from the side, there's no apparent maple 'cap'); still, nice looking! Comes stock with schaller locking endpins; vol and tone; 5-way switch similar to Strat set up. Best gig bag out there! Very nice.

Very good and very versatile. Having buckers, single-coils, and a Strat-like quack available makes for one versatile axe. The humbuckers are good but not what I'd call "great." I may eventually upgrade the bridge to a Duncan or a Gibson.

Literally perfect. Right off the showroom floor, I was able to get the action nice and low with nearly no buzzing. Playing is a breeze. Everything is tight--it feels like quality. The flame "veneer" or whatever it is, you can see at the edge where there's an uneven spot. No biggie. The trem is VERY smooth and always seems to land back in tune, even if doing some fairly serious wanking (I normally just use it for a touch of effect at the end of a song or something, but when I've tried to be a metal-head, it's actually stayed in tune quite well). This guitar feels like a guitar that would list for $1200-$1500, seriously.

Who really knows? Why do they ask this question??

LaSiDo has always been quick to respond to emails, answer questions. According to my friend who works at the shop where I bought this, they are well-known for standing behind their stuff, going over-and-beyond what the warranty calls for. Speaking of which, I wonder how long the warranty is?

Great guitar, great value. Nuff said! I play in an 80s/90s/00s dance-rock cover band (Prince, Cure, Strokes, Hives, Weezer, U2, Violent Femmes, Me First & Gimme Gimmes, etc). I need a versatile guitar, and this one fits the bill well.

This guitar was made in 2004 and I have been playing with it for about month now. Godin is all about N. American made guitars, it even says on it's headstock that it was assembled in the United States with handcrafted parts from Canada.

It is a 22 Fret guitar with a H-S-H pickup configuration and the pickups were all stock Godin pickups. A nice 5 way pickup selector, 1 tonal knob and one volume knob.
There are no electronics but come in a variety of styles including flamed maple top, but I chose to go with Black Pearl, as it was cheaper and I just prefer the style.

It's in a standard Strat style body, although it feels a bit nicer and probably a bit closer to an Ibanez. The bridge has a socket for a tremolo. The neck has small inlays on the top, which took some getting used to, but overall has made me a more precise player.

The Freeway Classic came with a free gig bag, and what a monster it is! It's very nice in a light beige colour.

I play mostly rock, punk and metal music, and this guitar does well on all fronts. The bridge humbucker gives the best sound when palm muting and the distortion sounds very respectable through a larger amplifier. It doesn't have much hiss unless you're standing close to an amp, and it has a nice bassy sound.

Playing clean is salivating. This baby has a very nice, warm bassy sound when playing clean through the humbucker but the single coil seems to suit playing clean a bit better. The sound is very rich, especially for the amount paid for this guitar.

The guitar can easily crank out the old style rock and roll such as Led Zeppelin, 80's rock like Van Halen, Metallica, and can handle almost any style of punk or metal. This guitar definately isn't suited for more hardcore metal enthusiasts though. Blues player's will definately welcome the sound of this guitar.

The tonal knob will give you a variety of tones, but it just doesnt seem so varied. Either it has a nice sound, or it sounds underwater...there is very little in between, and the stock pickups could have been a little hotter to suit more tastes, but again, this is a VERY good sound for the price.

Everything on this guitar was setup nearly perfectly from the factory, but I DO have a few gripes with the guitar in this category. The frets stick out of the guitar a bit, so if you're playing constant bar chords, your finger will get caught a bit on the fret. It'll prick your finger a little bit, but it's a very minor problem. Another problem I found was that the single coil pickup seemed a bit loose when I moved it. It can get depressed into the guitar and wiggled relatively easily. I was also disappointed that the tuning pegs on the headstock weren't made out of strong metal, they seem plasticy.

The guitar overall is built very nicely. It's extremely comfortable when playing sitting down or standing up. The body is very sexy looking, a perfect black pearl colour with the bridge and knobs being very secure. The action is low to the frets, making it an easy to play guitar. The knobs are of a nice metal, and the pickup selector felt solid.

This guitar will easily withstand live playing, and the hardware seems to be fit for the job. I would take out the stock pickups and replace them if you're in for some pro gigging but if you're playing in small venues and private clubs, the stock pickups will do the job nicely.
Everything about the guitar seems quite solid, aside from a somehwat loose single coil pickup. The body is quite strong and will survive if you dropped it. It WILL cause knicks in the finish though if dropped.
The finish on the body is superb, it's very nice and shiny and reflective, just a thing of beauty, I doubt it will wear off from mere usage. Over time perhaps the fretboard will look worn, but I haven't seen that yet.
This guitar is very dependable and I would use it without a backup on small to medium sized venues. If you are playing professionally, and I mean an extreme professional, then this would be an awesome backup guitar for a $1500 Gibson or Ibanez.

I have never had to deal with the company, overall they sound very dedicated to their customers though.

I have been playing for just over a year now, and I've done my research with this one. I needed an upgrade from my craptacular Squier Strat I had to learn the basics and fundamentals on. Now that I feel I can warrant a purchase of a new guitar, I was very happy to find out that this Godin was everything I was looking for.

It is relatively inexpensive and very good quality. I checked Ibanez's, Epiphone's and B.C. Rich guitars within, or just above the price range of the Godin, yet the Godin beat them all in terms of playability, sound and overall quality.

If lost or stolen, I'd probably save up for something more expensive, but if push came to shove, I'd definately buy it again.

I'm extremely happy with my Freeway Classic!