Godin Freeway SA

Made this year 2009. All black pearl. By now you know about the guitars features. The synth connection is fantastic.

Sounds really good with the humbucker, single coil, humbucker setup.
Great guitar for Rock. Would of liked the bridge to be hotter but I can mod that myself. Played with Distortion/Overdrive gives really nice sounding tones. Sustains very well. Clean is good and versatile. Would of liked to split the humbuckers for additional single coil sounds for additional Strat like sounds. But I am not complaining. It sounds really good with any amp I play it through. Ex: Fender Blues Jr., Mesa Boogie Express, and a Rivera Quiana Studio. Overall an excellent performer for the money. This is one of my best guitars. Oh I forgot about the Synth. Flawless controls for swithing from patch to patch on my Roland Gr-20.
Tracks amazingly well compared to the GK pickup from Roland. Much better tracking in my opinion than Fenders synth guitar. Never compared the Brian Moore Guitars. I am very please with this one and so is the other Guitar player in our band. "2the1"

The Freeway SA stays in tune extremely well. Bone Nut, graphite saddles. Just tremendous. I was shocked it had these features. I did not see any imperfections. Tuning keys are very smooth like a $2000.00 guitar. Hardware is very good, not junky feeling. Tremelo bar felt good but I do not use it often. Finish is flawless. I really mean this. I examined the whole guitar side to side, top to bottom. Very well finished. This guitar could easily be worth $1500.00.

I strongly believe this guitar can with stand alot of gigs. It's a performer.

I don't know what else I can write about this guitar. So I'll write that it's worth every penny and then some. I would like to look into the Godin Radiator. If it is made like the Freeway SA than it's worth it.

This guitar is a "Strat" style guitar, with "HSH" pickup configuration. "Leaftop" finish (thin maple veneer), Graphtech "Ghost" piezos in the saddles, 2 point tremolo, very playable thin neck with satin finish. Included a quality gig bag.
I gave this guitar a 7 in features simply because with little effort, I was able to add a switch to split the humbuckers, and also add a switch and volume pot to add "acoustic" voice to the guitar (see below).

This guitar is well built and uses quality components. It stays in tune, and with the mods I made to it, can sound "Fendery" or fat or very mello (almost jazzy). I had never heard of Godin till I searched the internet for "synth guitar". My brother had recommended a "Roland Ready Stratocaster" to adequately drive my old Roland GR-1. Prior to the Stratocaster, I had tried the GK-2 pickup on different guitars but was not satisfied with the tracking. The Stratocaster did a better job than my attempts with the GK-2, but still there were tracking glitches. I tried the Freeway SA and I could not believe the difference. G/C was very understanding and allowed me to return the Strat for a full refund. I then purchased the Freeway and have been very happy with it.

The guitar arrived with no flaws and in pretty good tune. Mind you, the factory is in Canada, and I live in warm southern California. After a couple of months, however, the action had raised to over 1/4 inch. The guitar was trying to acclimate to San Diego. A truss rod adjustment was made (very easy to perform) and I was back on track. It has since needed 2 more adjustments, but it has settled in and is very easy to play. The "leaftop" finish is beautiful (worth the $80 difference) as I don't care for painted guitars.

I am not a performer and consequently am not demanding on the instrument. So this guitar will probably outlast me (I'm 55)! My brother (who recommended the Roland Ready) has a number of guitars but he really likes this uncommon instrument.

I have contacted Godin via email mostly for information about the guitar. The replies haven't been instant (like a question I had sent to Fender...they were prompt), but they did reply and answer my questions. There is a local Godin dealer here in San Diego, but I haven't needed their services. This guitar just plays and plays.

I have been playing over 40 years and also have a Squire Jagmaster (a very good guitar for the money), a 40 year old Yamaha acoustic which has beautiful tone (it continues to improve), a 20 year old Takamine acoustic with a piezo strip under the saddle, a '92 Fender M80 chorus amp (rarely played but a great amp), a Fender Frontman 15 watt amp (perfect for the living room; my 10 year old son with his Squier "Mini" and I both plug into this amp and it sounds great), and my Roland Gr-1 which I'm using more, now that the Godin drives it so much better.

A few comments on the modifications. Graphtech.com, the company who makes the "Tusq" nut and "Ghost" saddles on the Freeway has information on their "faq" page about a modification you can make to bring out the acoustic sound of this guitar making it a 3 voice guitar. They provided very detailed information to me how to do this, and it works great. Godinforum.com (like fenderforum) provides users a platform to share their thoughts on their instruments. I found detailed information from someone with an XTSA on how to split the humbuckers adding single coil sound to the guitar. Again, this was an easy modification I was able to make as this guitar and the Freeway SA have identical pickups.

Black pearl finish (shows lots of fingerprints), Strat style body with a better setup and neck-joint, non-locking godin tuners, rosewood fretboard, rock maple neck, chrome volume and tone knobs, 5-way switch, 2 toggles, 13pin input and standard guitar jack. H-S-H godin pickups, Silver leaf maple center with poplar wings body. Best of all the 13pin system doesn't require a battery. Canadian materials assembled in the U.S.A.

The Freeway SA has a hum-single-hum pickup pattern. The godin pickups are excellent for factory installed. They sound as good as the Bill Lawrence pickups I had in my Fender Strat. Note that Fender went to BL pickups on their American models. With a 5-way switch you can get more standard sounds than most guitars I've played. The kicker is the 13pin system. With the proper gear you can get any sound imaginable! I have a Roland VGA-7 and a Boss PW10V-wah. The built in electronics are far better and more attractive than the GK-2A pickup. The only thing missing is acoustic controls. I believe this can be added with the ghost system. 1 point off due to the lacking acoustic. However, with the 13pin system this can be modeled.

Can be played straight from the box. No adjustments were needed on the strings or neck. I did adjust the pickups. I like mine close to the strings and these pickups allow for this. No buzzing on the neck and the rosewood is some of the best I've seen. The hard-rock maple neck is solid and carries tons of tone. The tusq nut is an excellent choice. This guitar stays in tune as well as my ovation elite standard. The Freeway SA has better equipment and setup than an American Fender Strat. I would recommend The regular Godin Freeway over the Strat any day of the week and the options on the SA make it leaps and bounds ahead of the AM Strat. If you want to fill in minute gaps on your fretboard(normal for rosewood) and don't mind a darker appearance, I recommend using gun oil.

I play at home so I can't give a real assessment for live playing. However, the Freeway seems very sturdy and should be dependable. I have the black pearl finish and it seems very hardy. I sometimes wonder if I should have gone with the flame top for appearances. Strap buttons hold well. I had this for about a year now and it seems to be holding up real well and rarely goes out of tune.

I emailed godin because the guitar came without the trem bar. They shipped it to me promptly with no questions asked. Communication could be better, but timely response with no hassle is a big plus. I don't think the warranty will become an issue, but I believe Godin would gladly assist in any way, within reason, to keep the customer happy.

I've been playing for 5 years. I've owned a Fender Strat(gave to my niece). I currently own an Ovation Elite Standard, Godin Freeway SA, Roland VGA-7, and Boss PW10V-wah. My family has a 1930 Gibson Jumbo and a 1968 Gibson B-25. I bought this guitar because of the 13pin options and North American build. I'm glad I purchased it. I'm hoping to be able to afford a LGX-SA or LGXT AAA blue flametop in the near future. I highly recommend looking into Godin guitars if you have the chance. For the price, quality, and options they are hard to beat.

included a gig bag, a really nice one. The inside was ripped after a couple of weeks, by the strings, and by the pickup selector WHICH HAD NO KNOB (I already explained it).

My Style is Country (top 40 country, Rockabilly, Western Swing), Classic Rock, Jazz/Rock Fusion, R & B/Soul, and New Age. So I need a versatile guitar. Previously, I played a Strat, and a Yamaha Pacifica Strat styled guitar.

When I first got my Freeway SA, I wasnt totally happy with the sound. Sounded good in the store, but when I got home, it sounded kind of dull, mostly the bridge pickup, didnt have any bite to it. I replaced the PU with a RioGrande TallBoy Humbucker, and it sounds amazing now. It really has a lot o bite to it, but also is easily overdriven (read - not weak, like most stock PUs) Especially in the Quack position (bridge/middle single coil position) Really Stratty now in that position. Neck PU is really Jazzy, and the middle single coil is.... adequate, on its own.

Very little buzz/hum/noise in the guitar. I am playing into a Roland GR-20 for synth access, and for guitar, I am running into a Zoom G7.1ut multi-effects with a built-in 12AX7 (sweet), then into a Fender Hot-Rod Blues Deluxe, with a Jensen C12N speaker instead of the stock speaker.

The Ghost hex pickup tracks better than the GK3. Definitely. I still have my GK3 mounted on my Yamaha Pacifica, and it is a lot less glitch-prone. I play phrases on the Godin that I would never attempt to play on the Yamaha/GK3. I love the MIDI volume mounted on the guitar, it is really handy, as is the program change switch. That way, I can use the GR20 floor switches for HOLD/GLIDE, OCTAVE/UP/DOWN. There is nothing like holding a chord on the synth and soloing over top of it with your guitar.

Whammy-bar is pretty good. Nice feel to it, although I cant be aggressive with it, it goes out of tune. I have tried almost everything to lubricate the nut, Big Bends Nut Sauce, Graphite, doesnt seem to help, it still goes out of tune, if you use it any more than a little.

The guitar had a Godin 9-42 set on it, and so I got Steves in Toronto where I bought it, to set it up. They put 10-46 Elixers on it, at my request, and ended up filing down the nut too much. The buzz on the high E was rediculious. It was causing the synth to mis-track and read it as an F!! They had to replace the nut, and this time, the tech left the nut really high. I am going to take it in again, but for now, I can play it like it is.

The veneer top is beautiful. Flame Maple.

Lost the pickup selector knob, the first two weeks. Steves would not replace it, and a Fender one does not fit. Too big. See service for what happened.

It looks delicate, but this is a sturdy guitar. Replaced the Strap buttons with Schaller Locking Strap-Locks. Synth PU has never given me any problems. I have a spare GK cord, just in case. I always use the GK cord, and go from the GR20 into the Zoom G7.1ut with a standard patch cable.

I emailed Godin and told them that Steves Music Toronto wouldnt ask them for a pickup selector knob. They said that they would mail me one ASAP, free of charge. Still havent got it yet, it has been about 6 weeks.

I have been playing over 30 years, mostly full-time, now part time. I have a Yamaha Pacifica, and a Fender 50th Anniversary Re-Issue Japanese Strat. Multi-effects Zoom G7.1ut, and Korg A4, Digitech RP50, Boss Compressor, Boss Amp Factory.

If you want to get into Synth Guitar, This is a great way to go. I have owned the IVL PitchRider, Casio PG380, Casio DG20, Roland GR50, and none of them tracked like this with this combination. Some of the credit should go to the GR20, the best guitar synth box yet.

The guitar sound... you might have to change a few pickups to get the sound that you want, but the playability is really good on it. I really was sold on the neck, not too thin, not too thick (The Godin XTSA has a neck like a baseball bat!!!) I played other Godins, but this was the first one that I really liked the neck.

Not too heavy either, on your neck for an hour or so. I think it is 7 lbs or something like that.

BL and RichardL both have already done a splendid job of describing the Freeway SA's specs, so I have nothing to add. I would like to offer my unabashed, "That and $2.50 will get you a Peet's large, iced Americano" opinion about some of the hardware. First of all, let me go on record as stating that I've developed a pronounced hatred for floating tremoloed, Strat-style guitars -- which the Freeway SA is. This is heavily ironic since some of my all-time favorite guitar players have practiced their art using wigglestick-equipped Strats or Strat-style guitars. Although I've owned a few over the last 30+ years (one of the first "Indistinguishable from Fender" late-70s Ibanez Strats, a genuine but heavily Schecterized [from the days when Schecter only made aftermarket guitar parts] Fender Stratocaster, a late-80s Yamaha "Strat" [can't remember the model, but with Floyd-licensed trem, coil-tapped humbucks, etc.], an Ibanez S-series S520WNF, a Squire "Crafted in China" Strat, and a Fender MIM Standard Strat), my eternal electric guitar love affair is with the Les Paul and all the guitars that are influenced by it. BTW, the only one of the "Strats" still in my possession is the MIM Standard (and now, the Freeway SA, of course).

I bought the Freeway SA on Ebay and before it even arrived, I was all over the internet researching the Tremol-No, because I was CERTAIN the floating trem was going to be nothing but trouble, especially since the Freeway has no locking nut or locking machine heads. We all know how legendary the tuning problems can be with this kind of arrangement, and where pitch-to-midi is concerned, stable tuning is absolutely critical to accurate tracking. So I was braced for the worst. Man, I couldn't have been more mistaken. I don't know if I got lucky or what, but the floating trem on my Freeway SA is totally rock solid. I was pleasantly surprised to find that pitch remained stable even when doing double-stop bends, which is fairly unusual with floating trems. Having said that, I don't think this is a tailpiece that the real Twangbar Kings out there would be overly pleased with (but I could be mistaken[again]). For one thing, the trem is very tightly sprung. Certainly, it could be loosened up by changing the spring configuration, but that could potentially lead to tuning instability. Another thing is, the bar has no bushings and there is a LOT of play when situated in the tailpiece (and it always points straight down -- some like that, some don't). It's sloppy to the point that if you turn the guitar face down, the bar falls out.

None of this is a criticism from me. Like I said, the whammy thing is not my bag, baby. If I use the bar, it's to do fairly gentle vibrato stuff rather than serious dive-bombing, so the Freeway's trem works just fine for me.

I appreciate the obvious question, "So, Rick. If you hate Strats so much, why did you buy a Freeway SA?" Well, I'm glad you asked because there are a few reasons. Awhile back, I bought the Roland GR-20 guitar synth and was using the MIM Strat/GK-3 divided pickup to trigger it. The GK-3 did a pretty good job of it, but it was definitely lacking in some ways. After reading about how "great" the Graph Tech GHOST system was compared to the Roland GK-3 hex, I decided it was worth looking into. You can buy all the component parts for around $650 which wouldn't be too bad, but I have no idea how much it would cost to have it professionally installed and I'll bet it's more than a few bucks. That and the fact that there was no way I was gonna gut one of my Les Pauls to route out enough wood to make room for all the parts made this a non-option. A little more internet research and there it was -- the Freeway SA. I bought mine used for $500, but even new they can be purchased for under $700. Mr. Franz, my 6th grade math teacher would be proud to know that even I can figure out that, no matter how you look at it, the GHOST system-equipped Freeway SA is a steal. And the GHOST system is great. Although I'll probably keep the GK-3 mounted on the Strat (as a back up), there's no comparison in my opinion.

Since this is the "features" category, I have to say that the Freeway SA with its H/S/H pickup configuration, floating trem, TUSQ nut, and Graph Tech GHOST system (with mini toggles for synth only/synth+guitar/guitar only and up/down patch & parameter changes) is about as feature-packed as it gets. You could bolt on a few more parts, but why mess with perfection?

I don't think I can fairly comment on the "sound" of the Freeway SA, since I bought it to use almost exclusively for guitar synthesis. As mentioned, I love Les Pauls, so if I just want "guitar", I'm probably not going to reach for the Freeway. Having said that, I think there are probably some great sounds in this guitar. I have to say I'm pretty surprised by how much sustain this guitar is capable of. With the right gain settings, the Freeway will ring for days. Even with the humbuckers, it's a little on the bright side. Not as brittle as a single coil-loaded Strat, but still pretty bright.

I have not found it to be overly noisy, even using the middle position single coil or in using high gain settings. It may be worth mentioning that ground problems could be accentuated with this guitar due to the synthetic saddle pieces. Contact with the strings will provide some grounding, but not as much as resting one's hand across the metal saddles on most Strat-style guitars. It may or may not be something to be aware of.

As far as the SA functions, the GHOST system is a vast improvement over the Roland GK-3, in my opinion. There's a quite noticeable reduction in latency with the GHOST system, especially apparent when picking fast passages. I'm not knocking the GK-3, because I think it does a very good job. It's just that the GHOST system does a very, very good job. The only "problem" I've experienced with the GHOST system is that I've had to raise the sensitivity settings on the GR-20 to levels higher than when using the GK-3 p/u. This results in the GHOST being slightly "glitchy" with some patches. This may be peculiar to my Freeway SA, though, and your results may vary.

Although this style guitar is not my cup of tea, the Freeway SA gets high marks for its superior SA capabilities.

For this style of guitar in this price range, I just don't see how it gets much better than this. Everything is as high-quality as you could reasonably expect for the money. The Freeway SA has a wonderfully playable neck, very nice rosewood fretboard, even and well-dressed frets, a comfortable body, clean paint job, attractive and well-functioning hardware, solid electronics, and a great pitch-to-midi system. Aside from the sloppy fit of the bushingless wiggle stick, everything is top notch. Can it compete with the action, fit & finish of a custom shop Strat? I think probably not, but it shouldn't logically be expected to. Overall, this is a much better guitar than the price would indicate. And for those who care about such things, this is pretty close to an American-Made guitar since they're assembled here from parts manufactured in Canada.

In a lot of ways, this type of guitar is much sturdier than LP-style guitars. Years ago, I read an interview with Jeff Beck where he was talking about how you could mercilessly pound the stage and everything around it with a Stratocaster, "destroy" it, then just bolt a new neck onto it and you're back in business. I don't think this is the recommended use for this guitar, but I'm sure it could stand up to whatever the road could throw at it as well as anything else out there.

I've never gigged without a backup and never will, but aside from the floating trem and what happens when you pop a string, I wouldn't give a second thought to its roadworthiness.

I've just sent an email to Godin inquiring about the sensitivity issue I mentioned, so I haven't heard back yet. That they let you know up front that it could take a while to respond due to the fact that the guys who actually build the guitars are the only one's qualified to answer the questions is encouraging. There's nothing worse than contacting a company's tech support and finding out you know more than the knucklehead you're trying to get answers from.

I have traded emails with Lea Rawlings, the GHOST R&D guy at Graph Tech and he definitely knows his stuff. Very quick and comprehensible responses to my questions. He seems like a peach of a guy.

Because I haven't dealt with the Godin people, I have to go with "No Opinion".

I started playing guitar over 30 years ago (and for that I should be WAY better than I am), although there were quite a few "dark years" along the way when I didn't so much as look at one. Besides the Freeway SA and the MIM Strat, I currently own a Gibson Les Paul Standard and Custom, a USA Hamer Studio (Custom)Custom, and a Korean-made Hamer Sunburst Flattop (the kind they don't make anymore, which is a crying shame because it's one of my all-time favorite guitars and I'd buy ten more if they were still around). Amps are a Marshall JCM2000 TSL100/1960AV slant cab and a Peavey Bandit (yeah, go ahead and laugh, but it does a pretty gnarly old-school metal thing and it's freaking LOUD). I've also been experimenting with a modest stereo rig consisting of a QSC Audio RMX850 stereo power amp/BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer/Behringer Eurorack MX1604A mixer driven by a BOSS GT6, Digitech GNX3, or Vox ToneLab SE floor-based multi-effects processor. For this rig I'm using the Behringer BG412S stereo 4X12 cab with Jensen speakers (which is actually not too bad for applications not requiring huge volume).

With my preference in guitars, one of Godin's LP-inspired models would have been more appropriate for me, but I'm not sufficiently dedicated to guitar synthesis at this point to drop a couple of pickles on their high-end, fixed tailpiece, SA models, although I'm sure they're worth every penny. For what it is and how much it cost, I couldn't be more satisfied with the Freeway SA. If it was stolen today, I would definitely go out and find another. In the future, if I hang with this whole guitar synth thing, I probably will move up to one of Godin's premium offerings and while I'm at it, will probably upgrade to an Axon system as well.

You could buy a plastic guitar (Switch) for less (which might be totally serviceable), a Roland-ready Fender Strat for about the same, or a Brian Moore for more (no pun intended), but in my opinion, with all things considered, I don't think you can go wrong with the Freeway SA.

2005 laminate/2006 black pearl USA.. USA.. USA!!!
"Neck: Rock Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood w/ Radius 12?
Body: Silverleaf Maple center w/ Poplar wings
Nut: Tusq
Scale: 25 ??
Bridge: floating trem equipped with Ghost saddle pickups and the Hexpander Modular Pre-amp
Frets: 22 medium jumbo
Pickups: Neck: Godin GHN1
Middle: Godin GS1
Bridge: Godin GHB1
Controls: 5-way pickup switch, volume and tone
Controls for the Ghost system: Momentary mini toggle serves multiple functions on a
GR-Series guitar synth
3-Way mini toggle selects between synth, guitar or both
Volume for synt

jazz, funk, r&b -Christian music!
amps- Roland JC's 2-55, 1-77, 1-120, Peavey Standard & 4x12 cab, 2 GK ML250, Line 6 flextone 2's / combo of any 2 at a time. Roland GR 30 synth,
Very quite on most settings electronics are solid.
diff between RMC and Ghost piezo...?? both track pretty fast. maybe a slight edge to the RMC's
Sounds, (mag pickups) Hums's - bright,more on the high end thin side, almost line a fat strat. except a little more bottom end. definately not a les paul style tone. bridge hum, vol full on with full gain on amp, dead on fat strat/ sustain not quite as intonated as the xtsa. overall sounds.. very versatile, quick action, with synth and quick tracking any digital/analog sounds you can think of. guitar only, well balanced tone, gotta say closest to a Strat hybrid.

both of them came from different vendors. I actually like the 2005 better, it just has a tighter feel. even the Godin bag is sturdier for the 2005 vs 2006 bag... both still very solid, lucked out and got a fantastic bargain on both, top quality material and workmanship. electronics flawless for both mag's and synth. all screws solid. no fretwire overhang or sharpies. low action, no fret buzz. pet peeve, whats up with knobs without visable markers?!

got the 1st one on a Thurs afternoon, played live with it that night.. hardware solid, no plastic except for the back covers. finish is deep and thick. neck is very smooth, not to thick or too thin, little thinner than the XTSA, thicker than the Brian Moore 88.13. body is very solid, if you tap on it there is no hollow or weak feeling. standard chrome schaller strap buttons, depend, except for strings, sure.. backup? would be best, with the floating trem, one string pop and your totally out of tune. I did the ole shim thing, tightend the spring claw a tad bit more and slipped in a piece of wood under the back lip of the trem, it makes the sound a teenie bit more biting, keeps the bridge relationship in its original position, yet anchors the trem against the body so a string pop doesnt put you out of business.

na - 1 year

player since 74' first paying gig 77'. dances, parties, expo's, concerts, studio work, 5 nite a week club gigs. now only play Christian modern to oldies at church, events, or recording.
Equip: Godin XTSA, Les Paul 77 standard, Kramer Tneck dmz2000, Fender Strat MIJ 84, Fender MIM Roland Ready, Fender USA custom strat, (2) Brian Moore 88.13, Brian Moore 81.13, 2 Godin Freeway SA flame maple leaftop, & Black Pearl, 2-Godin SD, 2 gk2a's currently on custom strat, soon to be on one of the Godin SD's. (amps) Roland Jazz Chorus amps, 2 jc55, 1 jc77, 1 jc 120, 2 GK ML250II, 1 Line 6 Flextone 2, 1 Line Flextone 2 XL, 1 Peavey standard head, 1 Peavey Musician, 1 Peavey Bass, GK 2x10 cab, Custom 2x12 cab, EV s15-3 cab, Roland GR30 synth, Roland GR 33 synth, Roland rack reverse gate reverb,Alesis rack effects, & oodles of foot pedals I dont use at all.
the synth pickups "very good tracking" night and day over the gk 2a, or the roland ready, makes synth playing feel like a regular guitar rather than having to drastically change playing action with the synth hex setups. Brian Moore is so light, you almost forget you have it on.
Solid - great action and sound - bargain anyway you look at it!

2005 model Freeway SA. Assembled in Maine, USA from parts manufactured in Quebec, Canada.

25-1/2" scale, 22 medium frets.

Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 12" radius, maple body with poplar wings.

Mine is pearl black which looks great with the black pickups, and bridge. It's also available in a lightburst flame maple top. The control hardware is chrome.

It has a HSH configuration using Godin OEMed pickups. (I've read these are made by SD, but I don't know.) Tuners are non-locking. Tusk nut.

This is a Synth Access version of the Godin Freeway. Unlike the other Godin Synth Access guitars the Freeway SA uses the Graph Tech Ghost bridge. Also unlike the otehr Godin SA guitars it doesn't have an electo-acoustic pre-amp and output. Thus it's two voice: electromagnetic and GK/MIDI which can operate simultaneously or individually.

Controls are: 5-position pickup selector; electromagnetic tone and volume and synth volume knurled knobs; three-way output selector toggle switch: synth only, synth and electro, electro-only; and up-down synth select momentary switch (this is typically used to select patches).

Comes with decent gig bag.

First off, the Freeway SA is great all-around workhorse guitar. It's got a solid feel, great playability and a wonderful sound. It's not too bright because of the rosewood neck and the solid construction. I use it with either a Roland Microcube or Vox AD15VT amp.

In addition to being a great electric the Freeway SA adds synth access for MIDI and synth use. I use a Roland GR-20 Guitar Synth box. They make a great combo. The GR-20 is a snap to setup and use with this guitar and my results have been superb. I also sometimes hook it up to the computer for MIDI soft-synths and sequencer recording using either MIDI out from GR-20 or an older Roland GI-10. The GR-20 tracks a bit better than the GI-10. The newer GI-20 should work a little better, but I've not tried that model. I thought I would use the guitar with computer more, but GR-20 is so quick to setup I tend to use it much more that way.

This guitar was built perfectly. It came from the factory setup well.

The feel of the neck is the best.

Pretty damn solid. You can feel the solid hardwoods Godin uses in the handling and playing of their instruments.

I put some extra glue on the screws holding Schaller-style strap buttons to keep them from loosening with the Schaller strap locks I use.

I have not dealt with the company directly.

This guitar is probably the best value in synth access guitars. Sure you can put a Roland GK pickup on most guitars, but it looks clunky, it requires additional setup and maintenance, and I'm sure you don't get quite as good tracking results as you do with the hexaphonic pickup built into the bridge.

Brian Moore makes some synth ready guitars close to this price, but I didn't like the sound nor the finish of their models as much as the Godin. The Brian Moore uses an RMC bridge pickup and the Freeway SA uses a Graph Tech Ghost. Aesthetically, the black Freeway SA exudes a confidence and understatement that is in complete contrast to what Brian Moore is going for with their disco colors, gold hardware, gimicky headstock and cute "iGuitar" name.