Godin LGX3

This is an update on an earlier submission on my Godin LGX 3, turned in 2003. Plus this time I will watch the spelling a little closer. The tone pot quit working on night while playing outside. I got a wild idea, and ordered the Clapton 25 db mid-boost package that comes on EC's strats. Upon looking inside the cavity, I saw that there was no way in hell I was going to tackle this so it was off to the Fret Mill again. This is one modification that was PERFECT!!! We play at lower volumes, and I use a dc-2 Boogie, and this could not have worked any better. The tone circuit, the boost, and sound have to heard. This is one mod that I would recommend, and it has made all the difference in the world. The kit was $75., and for that amount of money, no fuzz, boost, or effect would have done as good of a job. Roger Dickenson 11/01/05

Price Paid: US $1.800
Features: N/A
LGX 3 made in Canada,solid top,AND s/s/h pickup configuration.
black colour.tuner's (locking).

Sound: 10
I play rock/alteranative music, but also funky-jazz with the other band.The sound is perfect...amazing.I use digithech RP200 and Regent amplifier.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
Here I will talk more about LGX 3 problem.


The problem is that always in the first concert my first string
(E1) and second string broke off.
I tryed with different strings and I always put new strings but it
happen's again in the first concert.
It's also not the way of my style playing, cause it doesn't happen's with other guitar's We don't have a dealer here,in ex yugoslavia and no master to repair them.
We all buy the godin guitars through some subdealers from Europe.
Maybe is the problem with the neck cause it may be sharp, but it's a new guitar I boot it since 2 years, and it's happenig just from the
begining.
So if anyone how can help me about this I would appreciate it.


Set up is done very well.Pickups adjusted perfectly,Everythign else works perfectly.


Reliability/Durability: 9
I think I will keep it for for all my life, but only if I menage to repair the problem with my strings,mentioned above.


I would use it even on a gig without a backup

Customer Support: 1
I wrotte to the company for the problem that I have,but they didn't responde to me.I have a warranty for 1 year, but now it's already 2 years that I am playing with it.
Anyway I hope one day they will contact , and advice me what to do , so I could solve my problem with the strings

Overall Rating: N/A
I am playing since 18 years.I have also a Ibanez artist, Fender strat, and 3 electro-acoustics(crafter,yamaha,ovation).
If it were stolen I would buy it again, for shure.
I love the sound, and the model(2 chanel), but I realy hate that strings broke off(cut).

canadian made parts but assembled in the us, 22 frets and has a solid top. there are 2 tone knobs. one for the bridge and middle, one for the neck and the middle pickup. there are 3 seymour duncan miniature humbuckers and an LR baggs acoustic system. the electric guitar system is passive but has a very hot output and the acoustic system has an active eq system powered by a single 9v battery. it has a very silky red wine finish and has locking tuners. it's a dream machine for someone who takes his guitar seriously.

it's a 2 voice guitar so basically it has a very authentic acoustic sound and a very fat electric sound.

the guitar setup was pretty good out of the box but i thought that i could do better. guitars are usually set that way so it can be played right out of the box but it can give the guitarist the option to enhance it even further.

i use my godin at least 4 hours a day and i replace the strngs every 2 weeks. i have not lost a string yet and i have had no problems with it. if i tune it once before the gig, it stays tuned.

the customer support is pretty ok here but we don't have too many quialified technicians to handle warranty work and stuff.

i own lots of gear in clusive of a range of effects, 7 guitars and a few amps but this godin is definately my favourite among the guitars i have.

LGX 3 made in Canada,solid top,AND s/s/h pickup configuration.
black colour.tuner's (locking).

I play rock/alteranative music, but also funky-jazz with the other band.The sound is perfect...amazing.I use digithech RP200 and Regent amplifier.

Here I will talk more about LGX 3 problem.

The problem is that always in the first concert my first string
(E1) and second string broke off.
I tryed with different strings and I always put new strings but it
happen's again in the first concert.
It's also not the way of my style playing, cause it doesn't happen's with other guitar's We don't have a dealer here,in ex yugoslavia and no master to repair them.
We all buy the godin guitars through some subdealers from Europe.
Maybe is the problem with the neck cause it may be sharp, but it's a new guitar I boot it since 2 years, and it's happenig just from the
begining.
So if anyone how can help me about this I would appreciate it.

Set up is done very well.Pickups adjusted perfectly,Everythign else works perfectly.

I think I will keep it for for all my life, but only if I menage to repair the problem with my strings,mentioned above.

I would use it even on a gig without a backup

I wrotte to the company for the problem that I have,but they didn't responde to me.I have a warranty for 1 year, but now it's already 2 years that I am playing with it.
Anyway I hope one day they will contact , and advice me what to do , so I could solve my problem with the strings

I am playing since 18 years.I have also a Ibanez artist, Fender strat, and 3 electro-acoustics(crafter,yamaha,ovation).
If it were stolen I would buy it again, for shure.
I love the sound, and the model(2 chanel), but I realy hate that strings broke off(cut).

Godin LGX III solid body electric. Made in Canada, assembled in US. Has three single coil duncan duckbuckers pickups and a l.r. baggs bridge piezo pickup with active preamp. Wilkinson-style non-locking trem. One volume two tone. Piezo has volume and three band eq. White paint job, unfinished neck, semi-carved top. Mahogany body and neck. Rosewood fretboard. Dual-1/4" output jacks allow separate routing of piezo and magnetic pickup sounds. Or can be blended in mono through one output jack. Bolt on neck. Locking tuners. Came with strap locks and hsc.

I used this guitar for recording quite a bit over the last few years, using mostly modeled amp sounds. I got it because I wanted a guitar that had stereo output, a variety of tones and would be extremely quiet for recording. This guitar definetly delivers for those purposes. The piezo rig does a decent job creating a fake acoustic sound, but really, it's no substitute. However it is a very useful sound anyway. Great stratty distorded sounds and superclear clean sounds. Best thing about this guitar are the seymore duncan duckbucker pickups. They have all the quack, character and clarity of single coils, but with no noise. Esp the neck p/u. Used for everything from clean funk, to hard rock and metal. On the whole, this guitar is definetly on the bright, snappy side. Somewhere between a strat and a parker. Only negative in the sound department is there is absolutely no sustain. Bent notes die quickly. Still, it is a very toneful guitar.

Factory action was high. Construction is solid, though the paint is kinda shlocky for a $900 guitar... you can see bare wood with drips and paint spill in the pickup and truss rod cavities. Also it doesn't stay in tune for sh*t, which is one reason I might get rid of it. Also the carved top is a little half-hearted. It's more like an undersanded raised bump, than a smooth carve, like an LP for example. The components, however are top notch (pickups, bridge, tuners, strap buttons, preamp controls) And the neck and frets feel great.

This is a solid guitar, and though I've never used it on a gig, it looks like it would hold up fine. Knobs are starting to become loose, but that's natural, I guess. Dual jackplate is plastic, and I might worry about it cracking if I used it live. Overall though, it's pretty well built.

I sent an email to the company about the tuning issues I was having. They responded, and were polite, but basically told me that a setup would solve everything. It didn't.

I've been playing guitar and bass for twenty years and have been doing serious studio work for the last ten. I own a Ken Smith 6-string bass, a few ibanez 6-string basses, an Epiphone Les Paul Classic 7, an american special strat, two yamaha acoustics and have owned a variety of ibanez an BC rich guitars. In my opinion, for a $900 guitar, it has a kind of "slapped together" unfinished feel to it, though it has a great sound and some fine components. Major positives are the versatility, the awesome noiseless single coils and the superb tone. Negative are the tuning issues, lack of sustain and half-hearted cosmetic detailing.

Bought this guitar new in March 2003, but the guitar is a couple of years old. The transparent red on the quilted maple top is beautiful-and flawless. The duckbuckers sound as good as any single coil I've heard, and they are QUIET. The tuners are top of the line, and the hard case serves well. I kinda wish there was some kind of instruction sheet, but I took care of that. I wasnt happy with the way the controls worked, so I enlisted the help of the repairman at the store where the guitar was purchased-The Fret Mill-Roanoke, VA.-and Mike came through for me. The bridge pickup is completly separate from the Duncans. The 3 control knobs now function like a Strat, and the "blend" control is gone. The Braggs system has it's own controls, so to me, this is ideal-maybe not for everyone, but I love it.

This is as versatile of a guitar as you could ask for. The acoustic sound is superb, and I enjoy the duckbuckers, even though this is the first time I've owned anything with them in it. We play a wide variety of music, from swing to oldies, to rock. This guitar will do it all. I use a Peavey Classic 30 with the Blue Marvel unhooked, and 4 Vox Bulldogs(10 inch)hokked up. GREAT sound, and I run the acoustic side through the PA, mainly for the top end. The only complaint is the the LR Braggs is so much stronger thean the Duncans, so running both sets of pickups through the same amp is hard to do

The guitar was new when I got it, but the set up was in bad need if repair. I purched a LG about 2 years ago, and it was great, but this one need work. The G slot was not filed correctly, and the overall action, need help, but Mike took care of everything. After all the adjustments were made, everything is fine. The two piece quilted top is center seamed, and looks great.

This guitar has been the only one Ive used for the last couple of months. I holds tune well-I blocked the tremolo off because I never use it. It is contoured in the right places, and feels as solid as anything Ive played. Straplocks, knobs, tuners, bridge-all seem (and are) first class. I never carry more than one guitar-and now I wont borrow the bass players Taylor.

I dealt with Godin one time before with a problem, and I could'nt believe how quick they were to respond, and how quick the problem was rectified. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give them a 10+

I have been playing for a long time, and this is the first guitar Ive owned with an acoustic bridge. After using this guitar, I wish I had owned one a long time ago. If this guitar was stolen, I would look for one, or the model with humbuckers and the LR Braggs, the same day. The way I have the guitar wired, the acoustic pickup can be used with the Duncans, with sepatate volume controls, so the possibilities are endless. I like the radius on the fingerboard (16), and the feel of the neck. I have 3 Godins, and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. I didnt compare this to the expensive Parker's, but I feel that this is the one I would have chosen, from the few Ive seen. Yopu couldnt ask for a more versitle instrument.

Year of construction 2000.My LGX3 is trans-purple colored. It came with a noble looking case.
All in all the finish seems perfect to me: mirrorlike surface, wonderful perfectly made wood binding, wonderful neck finish (satin finished mahogany with rosewood scaleboard). A real beauty.
There is one thing I have to mention: The magnet and piezo pickups can be combined which allows a couple of very nice colors. But due to the lack of a select switch it takes two or three seconds to change from acoustic to electric sound during playing, because you have to blend off the one and open the other by using the potentiometers. Sometimes that really can cause a kind of hurry when you have played an acoustic line and have to change to solo.
Very good tuners.
Over all this guitar is an allround instrument which offers a lot of fine possibilities.

The duckbuckers are completely silent. Although the strings are missing the pole pieces at a considerable rate (see below) the sound is balanced well from low to high strings.
The duckbuckers are humbuckers with a relatively low output. They sound very much like a vintage strat. Even the middle pickup which on strats sometimes is only helpful as a mixing component with the others offers a very characteristic single coil sound, full and sweet.
The low output of the bridge pickup does not allow a real high gain sound for solos. Maybe the LGX3 is rather designed for clean sounds (compared to other LGXs), but when you want to have everything (very beautiful single coil sound plus singing solo sound) you should change the bridge pickup. I chose a Seymour Duncan Lil 59, a kind of PAF. It can be splitted for example by a P/P Poti. So I can have a singlecoil sound also with the bridge PU which especially in combination with the middle pickup gives me this fine Knopfler sound.
The piezo is great. Even using a guitar amp I get a very convincing acoustic sound. It is controlled exactly by an effective three band EQ. Really very convincing.
When you mix piezo with magnet sounds you have some great combinations by blending higher frequencies into the magnet sounds. Very useful. The spectrum which is covered by this guitar is very large, especially after changing the bridge pickup, everything from clean vintage, kindly crunched blues sounds even to hot high gain sounds. But the domain of this guitar are not the heavy or metal sounds but ringing rhythm to moderate overdrive. Very large range of possible colors. The instrument can not be described as a country, blues, jazz, fusion, heavy or progressive axe but can be used for all of them. This in my opinion is its real destination.

The optical finish is perfectly done. It came with 0.9 strings which seemed too light to me especially considering the vibrato function. I shredded two e1-strings and then changed to 0.10. Now everything works fine.
The action was fine.
One further thing did not please me:
The strings don't meet the pole pieces, especially those of the neck and middle pickups; they are missing them by 2-3 millimeters.This cannot be corrected because the duckbuckers are wider than the distance between the both e strings.
The vibrato system approximately holds the tuning. Only the g string is detuned a bit after using the vibrato; it helps to pull up the string a bit the next time you play a tone on it. Not a real big problem. Not as stable as a Floyd Rose but at least without that damned lock nut which wants 10 minutes for tuning with a tool.

My favorite guitars are my two Les Pauls. Compared to them every guitar with a bolt on neck seems not as sturdy to me as a set neck. But there is nothing to complain about the supposed stability of this guitar. My subjective feeling and maybe not representative. But subjective feelings are dominant when you are using a musical instrument. Maybe it is just because it is so light compared to my Les Pauls.

No contacts up to now because the instrument is working fine.

First question of the catalogue: I am playing about 25 years now. Think I know what I am talking about.
Second: Now that I know the instrument I am surprised positively about some features, for example its low weight. I could not imagine that before buying. It was curiosity, not the result of exact testing and considering. Something very new and very beautiful.
Third and fourth: When I would consider buying a magnet/piezo guitar again this one surely would be first choice because of its many possibilities. But as told above there must be done a couple of modifications.
Fifth: I wanted to have an instrument different to my other guitars. I chose this one because of the piezo system and the very beautiful design.
Sixth: I wished it had a pickup system switch. I don't want to drill a hole into this beauty in order to mount a three way toggle switch . Still thinking about a solution.
Considering everything I would recommend the LGX3 even to my best friend in spite of the little complaints I have.
When I have played my other guitars for some time I am really longing for this beautiful piece. You may fall in love with it the first time you see it. In spite of its variability it has not become my first guitar but the second or third one, good when I want carry many features in one instrument. De gustibus non est disputandum!

This is the 'one-stop guitar'! If you're playing a wide variety of stuff live, and don't want to be switching guitars, the combo of the 3 strat-style pickups, the bridge acoustic sensors, and the whammy bar make the Godin the most versatile guitar I've owned. The strat and the Les Paul only come out as backups now. I've customized slightly - I replaced the bridge Duckbucker single-coil with a humbucking Seymour Duncan "JB Junior" for a hotter sound, and I had Steve's in Toronto install a small switch so that I can 'hot-switch' from electric to acoustic for live performances. For some reason, Godin put a volume pot in for this function - nice for blending sounds, but cumbersome on songs that switch quickly from acoustic intro to electric.

Play through a Boss GT-3 multi-effects unit and a Fender 100 watt head with Marshall 4x10 and Fender 4x12 cabs. For a nice acoustic sound, I avoid the acoustic simulator on the Boss and just go clean through the amp, with the eq leaning to the bright side, you get as good an acoustic sound through a solid body as you're going to get. This was one of the main attractions for me.
With the hotter bridge pickup, we can play from mellow up to the raunchiest Van Halen.

Guitar came well set up, whammy assembly is very solid, and with the lock-down tuners it stays surprisingly well in tune when I abuse it. Finish is outstanding - a blue wood grain that's worthy of hanging on the wall. Often get guitarists in the audience asking what kind of guitar it is, impressed by the versatility.
Action is great, I now prefer the feel of it to my Strat or Les Paul.

It's all I've been live for the last year and a half - no problems. I never play without a backup, but if I could only take one guitar out, this is the one.

Have seen the Godin road show with Buster B - outstanding stuff. Agree with the other comment about being light on the documentation, nothing critical, but little hints about stuff like the acoustic battery care & feeding would be nice.
My wife contacted Godin just before Christmas, trying to track down a shirt. Even though they don't really have promotional wear, they were really helpful and sent a denim shirt and turtleneck that apparently only go out to the sales reps - pretty cool!

Been playing for 20 years, guitar and bass. Would absolutely buy it again if I lost it, the only difference being that I might upgrade to the Synth access, since Godin is one of the few guitar companies that Roland endorses for this.
I've also read up on the company, they're North American, and are actually trying to do something unique with their guitars, and I think they've succeeded.

This is Godin's latest addition to the LGX series of guitars. Hand crafted parts from Canada and assembled in the USA, my LGX3 boasts a beautiful translucent blue finish, allowing the silver maple grain to show through.

The LGX3 is a two-voice guitar - it has two outputs: i) magnetic only ii) mix (acoustic and/or magnetic) which allows for a wonderful array of sounds. The magnetic output is generated by three meticulously selected Seymour Duncan Duckbuckers?... these sound warmer than my 50s re-issue Strat pickups - not everybodys cup of tea granted ! However - it's a sound I like and I'm even thinking about customising my strat and sticking some Duckbuckers on it too!

The acoustic output is fed by L. R. Baggs X-Bridge technology - a new Strat-style bridge with floating tremolo which gives a solid body guitar the warm and deep overtones of a jumbo-sized acoustic hollow body. Plus you gain the versatility of a cutaway and the playability of an electric - wonderful combination.

The body of the LGX3 is a bit like a cross between a Strat and a Les Paul - more shaped like an LP but with the characteristics of a Strat - it's a hybrid concept guitar anyway - and it has the Godin look.

The tuners are Schaller's top of the line locking variety. They look & work a treat (so far)... I've only had the guitar for a few weeks but no flaws yet.

The Godin LGX3 is the most versatile guitar I've come across (excluding the LGX-SA, the same guitar with synth access... not a fan of this myself because it's limited to Roland technology but the option is there if you want it).

The guitar came supplied with hard Godin case - not sure if this is standard in the US or Canada but it's standard with all Godins purchased here in Ireland (Europe).

I write my own music over a broad range of styles - blues, rock, pop, jazz - you name it. I also play in a cover band at weekends. So I guess you could say I need a guitar that can produce pretty much any sound I need - the LGX3 can produce pretty much any sound I need (or at least come very close). It does NOT produce nylon string acoustic sounds - well you can't win 'em all - but if that's important to anyone then I recommend you look into Godin's range of Acousticaster and Multiac guitars.

The magnetic pickups are virtually silent when plugged into a Fender Ultimate Chorus twin channel amp. The acoustic setting sounds acceptable in this electric amp too - but really comes to life when plugged directly into my Mackie 24*4 mixer with Ultra-grade preamps. I added a little of Yamaha's digital reverb and I'm sure the sound could fool many engineers into thinking that they were listening to a high quality hollow body acoustic coming through a top of the range condenser...

The guitar is capable of producing warm fuzzy bluesy B. B. King like tones, right through to twangy gritty dirt-floor Nashville - even Seattle grunge and then (as if by magic) you can simple slide the fader and you're into mellow, rich, deep & warm acoustic land - the sort of stuff that reminds you of the first time you played a Joni Mitchell album.

I haven't found anything I dislike about the LGX3 sound. Perhaps it's not as clear cut as the Strat when it comes to switching pickups from bridge to neck - it's a little less well defined - but this is not a flaw - just something you adjust to - at the end of the day it's NOT a strat.

The guitar set-up was A1. No problems discovered yet. Action was quite high on some models I demoed in the shop - but when I got my hands on the stockroom model - direct from the factory - the action was perfect.

Pickups likewise - no problems.

The only flaw I discovered was the middle pickup blend/volume knob came loose when I got home - I put this down to the shipping from Canada to Ireland - this was very easily rectified - a simple tightening operation of the screw in the knob itself fixed the problem.

Other than that the finish is immaculate - and the electronics are impeccible - considering there is so much on there !!

The guitar is very solid and I'm sure is very roadworthy. How well it will stand up is something that only time will tell.

The hardware seems extremely solid - well except for the hiccup mentioned above but that was easily rectified - the guitar doesn't feel flimsy - in fact it seems to hold together better than my strat. I've never had any difficulties with my strat (which I bought second hand I might add) and I hope that the LGX3 will serve me just as well.

As of now.. I would use it on a gig without a backup - confidently - although I may have to review this in time....

No idea about this - I will deal with the shop if anything goes wrong. They told me it comes with a one year warranty - but since they're the main distributors in the country - to bring it back even after the one year is up if anything goes wrong! Can't argue with that!

I've been playing the guitar for over 15 years. I own a fairly decent array of guitars (Fenders, Takamine, Rodriguez, ...) I play a LOT and I like a guitar that's versatile. The LGX3 is the most versatile guitar that I've come across to date. I would certainly buy another Godin guitar and I'm already looking into a Multiac nylon string model.

I love everything about this guitar - particularly the attention to detail - Schaller tuners, custom built Seymour Duncan electric pick-ups, specially designed customised L.R. Baggs acoustic pick up - beautiful materials - nice hardware - well finished.

It looks every bit as good as it sounds. I find it hard to put it down.

Great job Mr. Godin!

The LGX3 is new from Godin, similar to the LGX but with three Seymour Duncan "Duckbucker" single coil pickups and an L.R. Baggs "X-Bridge" with tremelo. Another difference is in the choice of body wood which is silver-leaf maple for the LGX3 instead of mahogany. The third knob which on the LGX is used to blend the acoustic and mag pickups functions as a tone control for the bridge mag pickup. There is no blend control, which in my opinion is about the only flaw I've found as yet. Otherwise the guitar has just about everything I would want in a acoustic/electric package.
Otherwise the instrument is the same (ie. neck is mahogany w/rosewood fretboard).
As with the LGX the finish is beautiful, mine is a transparent blue that allows the hard maple top grain to show through nicely.

The band I play with is called upon to play everything from country to blues to rock to swing. Up til this point I have been using a Strat Lonestart and a Yamaki (old - no longer in business) acoustic with a Fishman package for performing (about twice a month). I have tried the guitar with several amplification options but the one that seems the best is to put the electric through my Boss ME30 which goes stereo out to a Roland Jazzmaster 55 and a Fender Stage 112. The acoustic side works best through an old Dod pedal (just so I can easily turn off the acoustic without fumbling with the volume, or add a bit of chorus)and then straight into the P.A.
The electric sound is very good. It lacks the twang and brightness of the strat but has more warmth and sustain which is better than the strat in rock, jazz and other such applications. The tone is rich and very pleasant.
Where the guitar shines is on the acoustic side. I still can't beleive that a solid body electric can be made to produce a sound that equals or may even beat my natural acoustic rig. Add to this the fact that you have the ability to really bend those strings, have a tremelo available, work all the way up the neck, AND, blend the mag/transducers for previously unheard of tones. You don't have to change guitars either!

Factory setup was perfect - nothing needed to be changed. The guitar is extremely playable. Everything is meticulously finished - no rough frets, well-machined and finished hardware, excellent tremelo. The body finish is perfect and very attractive.

The guitar is very solid. All controls have a quality-feel to them. Although it's quite new, I believe that it will stand up very well. I would always take a backup to a gig but in this case only to cope with broken strings and for those country/blues sounds that only seem to come with a Fender.

Warranty is a year. The dealer is close by and familiar. One last compaint is that the guitar comes with zero documentation - no factory settings, specs, marketing nonsense, etc. The dealer said that nothing is provided (I find this hard to believe).I have visited their website (nicely done) and e-mailed Godin about this and am awaiting a reply. They build a class guitar so I am assumming that they will support it well. we'll see.

This is a fine guitar that I just had to have. It is extremely well designed and built. Well balanced with a beautiful range of sounds. I would recommend a Godin to anyone looking. For what you get, the components and construction, it's got to be about the best value out there. Made in Canada and the USA too!