Godin LGX

It's a 22 fret, mahogany neck and body with a rosewood fingerboard and a carved maple top. I got the model with the Tetrads for the electric portion of the guitar. I personally like the Tetrads, but I wouldn't buy a used guitar without playing it, then complain about it. You can get a lot of sound out of the Tetrads...from a Tele to a Les Paul. If you don't like the Tetrads, get the Duncans - Yet another advantage of not buying a used guitar without playing it. The 'acoustic' portion of the guitar uses a Schaller Tune-O-Matic bridge with LR Baggs micro transducer saddles (Piezo style). The shape is a mix between a Les Paul and a Tele. The finish..YOW! I have the blue quilted maple finish. Look out PRS, Godin's finish is just as nice.
The Tetrads have a 5 way switch, volume and tone. There are 3 inputs. One for the Tetrads, one which is mixed, and on for the the micro transducers only. To control the input there is a 3 way switch and a mixing control knob. When the mix input is selected as well as the mix switch, you can control the mix of sounds coming out with the mix knob. If you have an extra amp, or dual ins on your amp you could do some pretty creative stuff...such as lead and rhythm sounds out of one guitar at the same time.
The only minus I have in this category is the tuners. They feel a bit cheap. Kind of a cheezy graphic in the headstock also.

To be honest, I don't think I've played it in a few weeks. I've owned this guitar for 6 months, and played it heavily at first, but I've been playing a lot of acoustic lately. I use a Crate GFX212 at home which is a sumulated tube amp. They do a great job of simulating the tubes. I think they finally got it right! I also usually run through a Digitech RP-7. The acoustic sounds from it are great, I just feel more comfortable on stage playing an acoustic. So maybe I'm weird. The only dislike is that I wish the Tetrads wer just a touch louder.

Perfect match on the top, no flaws - anywhere. It was all great. I wouldn't have bought it if it weren't. All I've had done is had the top nut lowered just a touch out of personal preference, and it still doesn't buzz one bit. You get a much better sound out of this guitar with 10's or even 11's. 9's just don't work right on this. Whenever I need to crank out somthing from a Beatles tune like Day Tripper to something like Lenny Kravitz Are You Gonna Go My Way, I have the Tetrads. If Dave Matthews comes calling I mix the micro-transducers with just a touch of the Tetrads, and let's say something like Blackbird by the Beatles can be pulled of with the micro-transducers.

Even though the tuners seem like a cheap plastic this thing appears that it will take a beating and keep going. I have played live with this - without a backup, and I can and have depend on it.

Haven't dealt with them

I've been playing for 12 years or so, and I've owned a buttload of guitars. Whatever I haven't owned I've played since a friend owns a guitar shop. I looked at this guitar, and played it in the shop for the better part of a month before buying it. I knew I wanted it, but I wanted to see if I could find anything better, and when compairing everything - price, versatility, etc. - I just couldn't, so I broke down and bought it. I was also looking at - A Heritage Les Paul, A Rickenbacher (still want that one!) and a Gibson Chet Atkins SST (what a piece of junk! At least the I played was.)

Paid $800 used
Well, I waited a long time,read the reviews, was real careful, and finally bought a godin.The features on the guitar are pretty good as you have probably read. I rather have a couple extra knobs for the acoustic section in stead of the slide controls but that no big deal. Its a pretty easy guitar to use overall. I really don`t see the need for three output jack either.How many cords can one have fro his guitar.

Well, heres thae main reason I am writing this review. I will start buy saying the acoustic section of this guitar sounds pretty nice. Gives a good acoustic sounds that in fairly convincing. I have a Parker and it does have a better acoustic sound that that guitar . The godin I have came with the triad pickups. I bought the guitar from someone where I could not play it first ( I have done this many times as I am sure most of you have using the net) I bought it in person and the guitar was vurtially like new so I for saw no problems. That said I got it home pluged it in and was exited to see what it sounded like. Well lets put it this was now I know why not many stores carry Godins. The electric pickups have to be the worst ,thin , weak and blah sounding pickups I have ever heard. I play through a Marshall JCM 50 and I also have a Soldano amp so I was no playing with a junky amp. I fooled around for a long time trying to get a decent sound but I really could not. After a few days I came to the conclusion there MUST be something wrong with the pickups. This guitar has absolutly no tone. The treble pickup is thin and just blah and in the neck position is just as thin and to be honest sounds like nothing you would expect from any guitar not only a $ 800.00 guitar. I have had a lot of guitars and still do. I currently have 11 whick include a Parker,4 Andersons, SG custom, and various others and this guitar electrically compared to them is terrible in my opinion.To make a long story short I sent it back to Godin (tell about there service later)to have them check it out. Two weeks later my baby came back and sounded,THE SAME . I would like to change the pickups on the thing but because of all the electronoics and the way the are mounted it looks like no easy task. In closing I hate the way this guitar sounds electrically . Acoustically it better than average so I will give it a 3 because let be honest the main reason to buy a electric is for the electric sound.

All in all I would say the guitar is well made, Nice finish good hardware,nice stuff. The 5 way switch is a peice of juck and noisey. I also am not crazy about the neck.I have had it worked on and still buzzes here and there but I would live with it if THE GUITAR SOUNDED BETTER.But all in all its a fairly well made guitar . The top is nice and I am sure Gibson would charge a few grand for it. But in opion the guitar does not have the feel of a true high end guitar such as a Anderson,PRS or Gibson so yes it is a guitar that could give you a lot of sounds for the money but as I have seen in other reviews it is not to be compared to higher end model guitars as far as value goes. Its worth what I paid (except sound wise) but thats it in not a great value. If you want a true high end guitar this is not it even if it sounded good. If you own quality guitar you will understand.

If the guitar sounded better I would use it live in the band.I would not use it with out a backup live not because of the guitar because strings breaks and so on. But other wise if it sounded good yes I would.

Well as metioned before I did send my guitar back to Godin. The first time I called the guy I talked to was not really a expert on their guitars but told me that guitar is supposed to sound that way and basically tried to make me feel like a oaf for suggesting a Godin did not sound good.That said a wrote a e-mail to the company (not nice to say the least) and yes I did get a quick response. The said there must be some thibg wrong send it in. Well I did, It came back as they say in a new godin box,( the same one you will get if you want to buy it from me) and was sure the guitar was ready to go and sound great,But no it was not meant to be ,it sounded the same. But in Godins defense the looked at it and it came back promptly . So I will say they have excellent service. Oh yes I would have had them replace they pickups with the duncans in factory but they said they don`t do that. Lets be honest ,you make a guitar with pickups that can only be swapped with a special pickup that will fit in the guitar,there are no dealers who sell the pickups anywhere in my area,I send the guitar back to you factory where you have the pickups and the knoledge to change them ( I would have paid) and you say that you don`t do that.Well all I can say to the Godin guys is how am I supposed to change the pickups in this guitar. I asked a few stores and nobody will touch the guitar. Dump the triads and install duncans in all your guitars and then you will have a ecent guitar.Maybe ,I say that because I never played a Godin with the duncans in it.

I have been playing 30 years, I have had over a 100 guitars, I have told you about the guitars I have. I wished I was able to play one in a store or some place before I bought one. This guitar sound wise cannot hold a candle to most other guitars in its class and sad to say cheaper models also(sound wise only but well built). I have guitars that I paid and are worth $200 that sound better than this guitar.I pray it gets stolen so I can claim it on my insurance. The reason I am so bitter on this guitar is I read every review,reseached alot on this guitar and was really excited to get one. I am very unhappy with it and would only say in closing, They are a nicely made guitar,sound good acoustically,look nice have a good case but if you do buy one get try it out first. I my very well be a guitar oaf but stating the fact that I do own and play through very high quality equipment I can`t be to far off the mark. Sorry if I offended any Godin fans but lets put it this way in my area there are lots of guitar stores why does no one carry them and the one dealer I found does not keep more than one in stock and the one I saw was used. Mr Godin change the pickups or make the easier to replace and you have a better guitar.

Why the LGX?

I decided on the LGX after careful consideration of just about every major electric acoustic on the market. The ones considered were the Parker Fly, Parker Nitefly, Carvin AE185, and the Hamer Duo-Tone. I won't go into the details of my comparisons here, as you can find them on my webpage or one the newsgroups via DejaNews. I will say, that after comparing what each of these guitars had to offer, the decision to me was a no-brainer. In short, the LGX offers the most features and best quality for the money.
Who Makes the LGX?

The LGX is built in Berlin, NH, USA with parts made in Canada. The company that builds the LGX is LaSiDo which is the same company that makes Godin, Seagull, Norman, LaPatrie, Simon & Patrick, Art & Lutherie, etc... LaSiDo also builds guitar parts (necks, bodies, etc.. for other major guitar manufacturers. You can visit their website at www.LaSiDo.com. I have owned guitars from this company for several years and can easily say that they don't skimp on quality. They use the best parts possible for their guitars given the guitars price range. When comparing any of these guitars to other guitars on the market, I think you'll find that you get a lot more for your money. That's enough hype.. let's get to business.
What is the LGX?

The LGX is an electric guitar with the ability to play an acoustic-sound. This is done through the miracle of modern technology. Most other guitars in the class of the LGX use a Piezo pickup combined with an onboard pre-amp to achieve this sound. The results of the Piezo pickup are often disappointing, though and will vary widely depending on the type/gauge of string that you use. The Godin LGX separates itself from the pack by using a custom-designed system by L.R. Baggs (Maker of PREMIUM acoustic guitar pickups installed in some of the finest hollow-body acoustics). L.R. Baggs has specialized in making acoustic pickups for years, so they're probably the best company that Godin could have used. From what I know about L.R. Baggs, they ONLY make pickups that sound "great". No low-end models, here.
For the LGX, L.R. Baggs takes a Schaller tune-o-matic bridge and replaces each string saddle with their own saddle-transducer. Yes, there are six wires exiting the bottom of the bridge, thus there are six separate channels on the L.R. Baggs on-board pre-amp. You can use your imagination, here. With six channels on the pre-amp, L.R. Baggs has precision control over every aspect of the acoustic sound. With a Piezo pickups, you have one signal to work with. This, again, may vary the sound depending on the gauge/type of string. Also, the Piezo pickup is susceptible to quite a bit of string/finger noise which is very annoying when trying to tailor the best acoustic sound. In my opinion, the Piezo pickup is useless for recording. The L.R. Baggs system is a transducer-system, which acts much like a tuned-pickup for each string. This greatly lessens the amount of unwanted acoustic noise from the acoustic pickup. (This is probably why the L.R. Baggs system is a favorite recording/live pickup for guitar greats like Michael Hedges.)
The LGX is much more, though, than a great-sounding, solid body acoustic guitar. The LGX is first an foremost a premium electric guitar with Godin's own Tetrad electric pickups. These pickups are unlike any other pickups as they were completely designed from scratch and carefully tuned for excellent sound. I'll talk more about this later. The LGX stands out as one of the best guitars for recording live, as it has the ability to mix/separate any of the sounds available on the guitar. Total, I count 21 different pickup combinations. The LGX has two Tetrad combo pickups and a five-way toggle switch along with a push-pull tone knob that activates an MFB Midrange EQ system. This gives the guitar much more tonal flexibility. You also have the ability to "mix" the electric and acoustic sounds, or play the acoustic sound alone. (5 pickup combinations + 5 combination

How does it sound?

The Tetrad combo pickups are rather unique, and I would have to say that I prefer them somewhat to traditional humbucking pickups for the most part. The thing I like most about the Tetrads is that the sound is more refined and "even" when compared to traditional humbuckers with their bell-like tone. When run through a good tube amp, these things SCREAM. They are really high output, but not harsh, tubby, or treble-happy like most traditional humbuckers. The LGX pickup selector allows you to use any or all of the eight coils on the Tetrad - each Tetrad has four coils. With all eight coils activated, the guitar pumps out some amazing sound through just about any FX setup you run it through. Of course, the lower pickup is adjusted for better highs and the higher pickup is set-up for warmer rhythm like a traditional twin-humbucker guitar. However, the LGX has a unique MFB EQ that acts as a midrange EQ. Godin says that it gives you strat-like tones. I wouldn't go that far... It does give change the sound up, and give you a warmer/jazzy sound, though.
The acoustic sound of the LGX is easily the best in it's class. However, you can't fully appreciate it without running it through a good acoustic amp or directly to a soundboard and through monitors. At home, I run the acoustic side of the LGX through my soundboard and ART FXR Elite (for reverb) to my power amp and Alesis Monitor One speakers. This creates a beautiful full-bodied acoustic sound that surrounds your head. I run the electric side down to either my Fender Blues Jr. or Fender Hot Rod deluxe.
By using the mix output for my acoustic sound with the "blend" knob turned all the way to acoustic I can quickly shut off the acoustic sound if I want to switch to the drive channels on the tube amp with a simple click of the three-way toggle switch (or I could just put a footswitch in the loop). The mixed sound of the acoustic and electric part of the guitar creates a seemingly infinite palette of sounds and will keep you busy writing music for a long time. Guaranteed.

How does it play?

The LGX plays just like it looks - Great! The scale is a standard 25.5" scale and the guitar takes almost no time getting used to. The neck is super precision and the radius 16". This makes for incredibly easy fingering of notes. Right out of the box, my LGX was set-up with a very nice set of strings and presented no buzzing or action problems. Their QC is obviously first rate on the LGX. This is the first guitar that I've even bought that I've actually used the factory stings. It's these little touches that make you happier with your purchase of over $1000 hard-earned dollars.

Overall

I am an owner of a LOT of nice guitars. This one is the nicest and most versatile, period. I can't say enough about this guitar without being accused of being on the Godin payroll. (Hey! I should be! I did get a nifty T-shirt awhile back, though.) My thoughts on this guitar are echoed by Godin LGX owners across the net. This guitar is truly a relatively "undiscovered" guitar. The number of LGX owners is pale in comparison to the number of expensive Gibson, Parker, and PRS owners. The LGX is kind of in a class of it's own. To me, this guitar is worth it's weight in gold. After owning this guitar for awhile, I don't think that the LGX's list price is bad price to pay for a guitar of this quality when compared to other similar guitars. It's worth more if you consider the high-quality top to be the "deciding factor" on the price of a guitar. This is my "desert island" guitar.

From what I understand, the parts for the guitar are manufactured in Canada and then they are assembled in New Hampshire (USA). The body is shaped like a Les Paul/Tele mutant. It is mahogany with a carved maple cap. The cap on mine is a very nice AAA grade of flamed maple and is is a transparent mahogany gloss finish. The neck is one piece of mahogany, with an ebony fingerboard. (The fingerboard on the newer models has been switched to rosewood.) The scale is 25.5" and the radius is 16". It has 22 frets with what look like small metal fret markers. The fret markers are _very_ small, about the size of a pencil lead, and are located with one on the side of the fingerboard facing the guitarist and another on the front of the fingerboard, but shifted all the way to the edge. The headstock has a birdseye maple veneer on the front face. The nut is bone and comes slotted for 9's, but I switched over the 10's with no noticeable problems. The tuners are Schaller's with ebony knobs; the bridge is a Schaller, as well. The bridge is a tune-o-matic, with LR Baggs micro transducer saddles for the acoustic sound. The strings go through the body, for more sustain.
The controls are quite extensive, probably because this guitar has so many options. There are two Godin Tetrad pickups, both similar to humbuckers, with one coil having a blade and the other flat polepieces. The pickups are mounted directly into the body, and although I believe other humbuckers might fit, the single coil pickups would leave a gaping hole! The holes where the pickups are located are painted black on the inside. The controls for the magnetic pickups include a master volume, master tone, and a five way switch. The tone knob is a push-pull switch, which acts as a mids filter, giving a convincing pseudo single coil sound. The five way switch allows for: a bunch of combinations with either humbucker, both, one coil of each, or one coil of one and the other as a humbucker. The knobs and switches are very study feeling, although after 1 1/2 years there is a bit of scratching in the volume pot. As for the acoustic controls, there is a three band eq and volume setup in the top bout of the guitar. All are sliders and there are detents in the middle of each eq range. The holes the sliders are set into are also painted black inside, like the pickup holes. There are also controls for combining the pickup systems, with a balance and a three way switch for controlling the output of the mix jack (magnetic, both, acoustic). There are three jacks on this guitar, one for magnetic pickups only, one that mixes both, and a acoustic only jack. The micro transducers are powered by a 9 volt battery located under the electronics plate in the back.
I am giving this category a 10, both for the shear quantity of features, but also because of the quality in presentation. The guitar does not look cluttered, and the controls are arranged in such a fashion as to be ablee to easily discern them from each other.

I play a little bit of everything, but mostly rock from the '60s to '90s. It goes through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, with no effects at this time. The LGX is very versitle in producing different sounds, but owing to that I don't think it nails any one guitar's sound down; except for maybe its own ;>). It does a great job as a humbucker guitar, with a lot of credible single coil sounds. The guitar is quite warm, owing to the large amount of mahogany, but the tone control does a nice job allowing all warmth to a lot of bite on top. I personally like the warmness, I really like the thick bell like sound you can get with the tone about halfway down. Then you add on the acoustic sound, and you have a virtual tonebox... The guitar is mostly very quiet, although at times there can be a slight buzz in single coil mode.
In this category I am giving an 8, because although I love the sound, someone else might not. It does a great job of variety, but if you are really looking for a strat, for example, this won't quite be there.

In this area the LGX was GREAT! There is no other way the say it, when I got this guitar it looked like the luthier was building for himself. It has a perfectly glossed finish, and the top looks like a single piece unless you are really looking for the bookmatching. The action is about as low as you can go, barre chords are a breeze; and the frets were very nicely crowned with no overhang of the fretboard.
My only complaint would be the slightly noisy volume knob, but that just occurs with use...

I am pretty much a bedroom rocker, but this guitar seems about as stable as can be. The hardware looks to be tough and durable, and I haven't had any problems. But since it has never experienced a gig, I will abstain.

I've never had any problems with this guitar, so I can't really rate customer support.
The warranty is for one year.

I have been playing for almost three years. In addition to the LGX I own a Hot Rod Deluxe, Princeton 112+, an old seventies Applause acoustic, another seventies nylon Yamaha, a Washburn B-400 bass, and a Crate BX-25 bass amp.
If this guitar were stolen (It would never get lost), I would first mourn the loss, and then buy another one exactly like it. I love this guitar, with its versitility and great looks, but my favorite feature would be its playability. My fingers just slide around.
When I bought this guitar I looked at many, many others before getting it. I was looking for a cheaper guitar say $600, but after playing it I had to have it! Since then I have played other high end guitars, and the LGX beats out pretty much everything in its price range, and compares favorably even to those $3K top end stuff.
The one thing I dislike about this guitar, is that is precludes GAS. Every time I see a great guitar I have to think to myself whether it will ever get played. The only reason I would have to get another electric would be strictly for variety.