Godin Multiac Jazz SA

This is a follow up from my previous review.

I've had the Godin jazz for about a year now. I hate to admit it, but my other guitars - a fine godin multiac nylon, a fine Yairi classical, and an incredibly heavy hand built PRS-like solid body - sit mostly unused in the closet. It's just such a pleasure to play this instrument.

People having problems with the sound of the amplified mix output (humbucker plus piezo) should try plugging it into a high impedance input. I found the resulting mix to be better balanced and more pleasing to the ear. Any differences in the humbucker sound, as compared with the passive output, all but disappear.

The synth abilities of the multiac jazz are as good as it gets for normal guitars, and even more reliable with the heavy gauge strings. However, my fine synthesizer components - Roland GR33, Axon AX100 plus Yamaha module - go by largely unused lately. It's simply too much fun to play this guitar just by itself, straight into a clean amp. It's a joy to explore different playing techniques, like using your fleshy thumb to stroke chords, because this guitar responds so nicely.

There have been many complaints about workmanship and finish of godin guitars here in harmony central. I've had some issues (with the multiac nylon in particular) as well. My guitar tech however, an accomplished guitar builder and musician, who has has a keen eye for shortcomings in the workmanship of just about any guitar, is still a big fan of godin guitars in general. According to him, building an excellently sounding guitar needs a touch of genius in choosing a blend of construction, materials and components, that is quite independent of conventional construction theory and workmanship perfection issues. This would even hold true for acoustic guitars. He firmly asserts that the designers at godin have this eerie quality. He regularly advises people to look for godin, when they need something special.

Rounding it up: the godin jazz may or may not be your cup of tea, but my infatuation with this guitar has only grown bigger. I can imagine finding a very nice *different* jazz guitar someday. If I would want to have a *better* jazz box, I would have to either pay very very big bucks :-/ , or get very lucky :)

This is the spruce top variety with the usual attributes. The top looks absolutely gorgeous. In general, this is one good looking guitar. Except for the tiny, printed Godin logo's, there's no ornamentation on this guitar at all. The nice woods and complete lack of cheap and cheesy plastic dongles gives this guitar an expensive, somewhat subdued vibe.

Though it looks shiny, I do not think there's too much lacquer on the top. You can still see some slight unevenness from the grain, which is a good thing.

The back side of this guitar, with the plastic covers for the electronics and the through body string stopper, is, well, rather ugly. But then again, you get all that advanced electronics stuff. And you don't look to much at the back anyway, do you?

I really like the fat, sturdy neck on this guitar. I have big hands, so a broad neck is an advantage. The ebony fingerboard is just

First, this is a great all round jazz guitar. It sounds best with .012 or fatter gauge strings. I like flat wounds best, since the give good balance between strings. Some qualifications in summary:

- Very much in tune up to the highest positions.
- Flabbergasting amount of sustain.
- Very even response in all positions.
- Pickup sounds gorgeous, fat but with good definition.

Of course, the Godin preamp system and the separate outputs give a lot of extras. The sound of the pickup is somewhat altered when played through the amplified output. This is only logical, since the frequency response of passive pickups depends highly on impedance. On the whole, the preamp system works excellently.

The piezo sound takes some getting used to. In this case, the output of the bass strings is somewhat lacking. However, the piezo is quite usable in the mix, and can produce some stunning, glassy sounds when properly processed.

Don't be misled by the looks of this instrument. This is a semi-hollow guitar, with a big block of wood right under the top. However, it sounds bigger than any semi hollow I ever laid my hands on. It delivers a very nice and usable best-of-both-worlds kind of sound.

This guitar also gave me a unique experience. When I played for a gathering of friends, a woman said the guitar sounded SO BEAUTIFUL. It could be me, but this is the first time any laywoman made this kind of remark about any guitar :)

The guitar was properly set up by the folks at Traxon, Brussels. Of course, I've been readjusting some things, but I'm really picky in these matters. Fretwork, tuning mechanism and knobs are all okay.

There was some residue (sanding or wax, I'm not sure) on some spots, but I could wipe it all clean. From outside, there's only a very tiny irregularity inside the slotted head, unnoticeable for all practical purposes. The inside of the f-holes appears to be finished in a hurry.

There is some slight rattling inside the guitar, but it doesn't show up in the output signal. The pickup was rattling sometimes when it touched the metal ring. I fixed this by putting some transparent tape around the pickup.

However, when I unscrewed the pickup to fix this, I noticed some REALLY SLOPPY woodwork inside the guitar. There where some loose bits of wood dangling around, apparently cut loose by a hasty and careless woodworker. I've never seen anything like this, even in the cheapest Chinese guitars. According to my guitar tech guru, this kind of sloppiness is typical of American assemblers. Still, I think Robert Godin should give them a booty and make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore.

This guitar is pretty solid by design. The body is cut from solid wood and should outlast me. The preamp stuff may give some trouble, but that goes with the territory. So far, no complaints at all.

I bought this guitar from the kind people at Traxon Music, Brussels. Their small shop turned out to be right next door to the hotel where I stayed during a short trip abroad. Contrary to most music supermarkets, they have a good selection of Godin guitars on display.

My wife just happened to have found a bookstore full of books on architecture, so I spent one whole afternoon trying out guitars :)

I have to admit, I fell in love with the multiac jazz straightaway. It has a sturdy, professional feel to it. Compared to the other guitars I tried that afternoon (Gibson ES137, Godin LGXT and some others) it was setup better and sounded more reliable and, for lack of a better word, "classy". In contrast to the other instruments involved, it didn't exhibit any obvious weaknesses, like the bad string rattling around the 12th position on the Gibson.

The gents at Traxon where quite helpful in arranging the purchase. I had not been planning to spend a lot of money on my short trip and didn't have enough cash to pay, but they allowed me to pay part upfront.

Except for the clumsy woodwork inside, this would have been a 10.

This was made in New Hampshire of parts made in Quebec. It has a flamed maple laminated top, and god knows what the back is. (I don't!) there is a single small humbucker with a tone and volume control, & a piezo with sliders. The neck is maple and has a slotted headstock. The finish is glossier than people magazine. It is a bolt on neck with strings through the body. the neck is wide, but has the ergo cut so it is comfortable. It is a cutaway with 2 f holes.

I'm a jazz player, both big band and small group. For the big band, I mix the piezo and the humbucker. It gives me some bite with the piezo. I use DR Zebra Strings to keep the sound from getting too dark. Others have complained about this, but the guitar comes new with bronze strings, so that is what is best. The humbucker is full, medium output like a jazz humbucker should be. There is a nice variety of sounds between the pickups. I love the sustain, and didn't get this thinking it would sound like as ES-335 or an archtop. Players beware...this has it's own sound. It sustains like there is no tomorrow and is very, very even from note to note. Only my handmade archtop is this even from one note to another.The carved out body gives it a smooth resonance.I've not yet used the synthesizer part, no money for the modules yet.

The top is beautiful, the bridge is properly set up. This was bought used sothe action needed to be reset and I had a new nut cut. THe other owner used very heavy flatwound strings.Everything else was good except the usual. The inside edge of the f-holes was poorly finished and the inside of the headstock slots was not finished well. Everyone else seems to have the same problem, but Godin should correct it. This is my third Godin. From a distance, the flaws are not noticeable.

This is built like a tank, is heavy to play, but should last forever. All my Godins have tremendous build quality. The finish is thick and shiny. I will gig on it without a backup, no problem.

The company has always been good to me. THat's why i have three of their instruments.

I've been playing for over 35 years. I got this to drive a synthesizer and for small band use, to get a different sound. It will do that beautifully. Don't buy this thinking you are getting an instrument that sounds like something else. This is it's own animal. I would definitely buy another, even though I've only had it for 3 weeks now.I like the fact that it has a jazz sound but it's not like any other instrument because of the pickup combination.It's very smooth, and needs to be played with a light touch. Think...avante garde smooth jazz sounds? You can't categorize it , so don't try! I have ten other guitars, no 2 alike, from a Godin Artisan ST to a Guild X170 Manhattan.