Godin Multiac Jazz

As described before, the Multiac Jazz SA has one Godin minihumbucker combined with a RMC bridge system along with a 13 pin option to use a guitar synth. The top is a beautiful piece of solid flamed maple with a nice finish, but I'd say the finish around the string entries (just below the bridge) and the F holes are fair at best for the guitar. The back of the body is made from poplar with a maple center. Single tone and volume pots for the humbucker along with the typical Godin synth set up in the upper bout with controls for blending the humbucker with the bridge system (depending on the connection option you choose to use). The head stock is slotted with nice tuners and the neck is pretty good but nothing to rave about.

The sound can vary by the options you choose to use on the guitar. It can be split three ways if you desire to do so (synth, bridge, humbucker). The humbucker is pretty hot and potent as described by others, we're not talking screaming, but just a lot more than I originally expected. I think it has a nice mellow sound but you do need to take care with how you pair it with an amp. The bridge system perplexed me for a while. Some might have said it sounded crystalline, but I found the system to have a metallic 'zing' when used. I couldn't figure this out for quite a while. Listening more carefully I realized this sound was generated from the strings vibrating just below the bridge (body entry point to the bridge); so, right or not I decided to solve the problem by placing some cheap felt material below the strings right where they enter the top. This dampened the vibration and produced a more pleasing tone. I'm happier with this set up, but I'm disappointed I needed to place the felt on the top. Like I said before, you can choose any sound combination you want for this guitar from acoustic to a thick jazz tone. One last thing, the sustain on this guitar is unbelievably long which is a real treat, and this combined with the half-round jazz light strings produces a rich bass tone with great sustain.

I discussed the fit an finish to some degree above so I won't repeat the comments here.

The guitar should hold up well, and I don't want to drop this rating lower due to my disappointments with some of the finish items. It will be interesting to see how this guitar with hold up over time. The only other concern would be the electronics over time as this is a complex electronic set up when compared to most other guitars.

N/A for me

Like many others here I'm an older now and can somewhat afford to buy nicer guitars. I've been trading in an out of guitars over the last 10 years or so. I plan on keeping this guitar for a couple of reasons: I like the feel and sustain of the guitar and the flexibility of the sound. I don't think I would run out to buy another if I it were stolen, but I still think it is a nice guitar for someone looking for synth access combined with jazz tone.

Beautifully grained heavy wood--great sustain. The guitar would be much better with a bridge humbucker for a variety styles and sounds.
Neck action is not as smooth and fast as I like but is usable. The unit definately needs a tremolo option.

Used with roland equip vg and gk series equipment is unlimited. The jazz pickup is good as well as the acoustic sound. It is best to use the three separate outputs rather than mixing it all through the 13 pin cable for sound. However, for convenience,it is simple for a fast setup to just use the 13 pin.

Finish is very good except in f-hole cut and in the neck slots. Seems that these areas need more sanding and attention.

So far, great.....

I have no problems communicating via email. However, I tried to buy a new pickup cover to replace the tarnished one on mine and none were available....Jury is still out...I do not know if good service is there or not...

I am 56 yrs old. I have been playing since 1963 and love music. I have about 20 guitars: Gibson Les Paul, Prestige Canadian made guitar jazz style, custom built 7 string, fenders, gretschs, Alverez and Takemine.

Very very nice spruce top, not so nice back.
I wish to understand the reason for Godin to use a classical-like headstock.
Also, a pickguard would be welcome.
But in general terms, this guitar is a beautiful peace of gear.

Splendid jazzy sound with the minihumbucker when used alone.
Getting a balanced sound is a little more difficult when piezo is used alone or in combination, because of somewhat too bright hi-end, but I could obtain what I was looking for after some trials.
Regarding the 13 pins conector and midi tracking, nothing to say but this is certainly the best "normal" midi guitar system available.

I bought this instrument in a major retailer in Germany and they sent it to me in Spain. When the guitar arrived, I had to set the action from beginning, since it was completely out of set-up.
Nevertheless, I just cannot suscribe what other custommers said above: my Godin Multiac Jazz must have been made in Mars or any other strange plannet: It is very well finished and I cannot find glue gobs nor other failures. Frets are OK, and after setting properly the neck with its truss rod, and with flat round D??Addario 13-56, which is a fat enough gauge, action is easy with acceptable (very low) buzz.

I am 50 now, and I think this guitar will live much more than me :-)

I wrote to Godin about the possibility of a different scale length (24-3/4 vs 25-1/2) and they gave me an answer, even though negative, but this is a good detail, for such a big brand name.

As I said above, I am 50, and I play guitar from the 10, so...fourty years playing is enough to recognize a good instrument when you get one in your hands, and without any kind of doubts, this is one.
I get a very jazzy sound through a Polytone MiniBrute II, but I get more modern sounds too with a Tech21 Ltd Ed double drive pedal, and/or in conjunction with midi, which makes sound possibilities endless. As I like to play eclectic music from classic jazz standards to free improvised music, I am always able to get what I want, with no need of changing the instrument.

Solid top, arched, flame cut, a dark natural (tobacco?) finish.
You know the features...

10.

I play jazz standards and have had several archtops during the past 15 years. The tone of the humbucker on this guitar with just a little bit of the bridge pickup mixed in, is really beautiful.

I have not even played with the stereo output of the GR-33 yet, I'm so enjoying this guitar that I don't want to be distracted.

9.
The neck is almost perfect. The high frets are more accessible than even teh PRS Custom that I just sold. I think this is characteristic of the shape of the neck itself and the cutaway. It makes it a pleasure to work out lines way up there at the high end, something I have avoided for a while.

N/A.
I've only had this instrument fopr about a month.
It seems to be built as well as any of the good guitars with which I have experience (PRS Heritage Gibson).

N/A.

I have no issues for customer support. I wish they would sponsor and/or maintain a web site for 'users' (players).

I've been playing since the Vietnam war.
I thought about buying this guitar for a year and needed to save a little more money before ordering it new, when I found this one at a dealer's web site.
If anything happened to it, I'd have to start saving money again...
I love the sound, the playablity and the finish is gorgeous.
I compared it to some other Godins and some non-SA guitars.

I just bought a Godin MultiAc Jazz and I am really happy with the sound. Not as big as a Gibson ES175, but bigger than an ES335, definitely a hollowbody sound.

I was trying to get a jazz sound out of a Brian Moore solid body and a VS-88, what a joke! Compared to the real thing.

I run it through a PodXT and have some really nice patches for it. Without the Pod the piezo does sound a little brittle and boingy (that's running straight into the PA) but with the Pod they sound warm and full, with a touch of compression and reverb and a tube emulation.

The amazing thing about this guitar is the intonation. Chords are perfectly in tune all the way up the neck- perfectly! I've never owned a guitar where you could play chords above the 12th fret and they just "ring" because they are in such perfect tune.

I don't know enough about construction to comment, but the action is nice and low with zero buzz on any fret. It plays great.

The strap I had would fall off when sitting down, so I got a locking strap.

The volume pot sticks pretty bad in the last 20% of travel, gotta get that fixed sometime.

I am a fairly accomplished jazz player, I've owned a Gibson ES175 and many other guitars, never owned a guitar as in tune as this one.

Going back and forth from DAddario Chrome flatwounds and half rounds- half rounds give some finger noise which is good but the Chromes are so smooth and big sounding... can't decide yet!

It's got lots of features. Read the other reviews to find out more. But think about whether you really need them before you buy this thing. I'm giving it a low rating here because it does lots of stuff, but except for synth tracking, it doesn't do any of it well.

I have owned this guitar for about 5 years and have been trying to like it but I just can't. The electric sound is dull and lifeless, and the piezo sounds quacky. Blend them together and you get dull and quacky. This guitar has a voice that just doesn't work for me. Other reviewers have said it nails that big fat jazz sound. I don't think so. It's not even close. The output of the humbucker is so hot it distorts every amp I've tried...even with the guitar volume turned down. There is something loose in the body that rattles and vibrates with every note. This kills the sustain and tone of the instrument. I've had a professional guitar tech look at it and he can't figure out what it is. On the positive side, the synth tracks very well, but that's more a function of the RMC system and has little to do with the rest of the guitar.

The finish sure looks good from a distance, but look closely and you'll see just how cheaply this thing is put together. The inside of the f-holes and the headstock slots are not even sanded. The inside of the body looks like an 8th grade girl chiseled it out in shop class. The fretwork was the worst I've seen on any guitar! Within a week, I could not play a note below the fifth fret because the fifth fret worked its way out of it's slot! The fret ends were not seated properly and were sharp. Geeez. The electronics package in the upper bout was not screwed in properly and buzzed with every note. The bridge and the pickup springs even rattle.

The thing weighs a ton and seems to be structurally sound. It you put it in the fireplace it would probably burn for days. Not sure how all the electronic stuff will hold up since it all rattles and vibrates.

Never dealt with them. The guitar didn't come with an owners manual but I was able to get it from their website.

I've been playing for over 30 years, have lots of high end gear, and run a small recording studio on the side. I'm sorry to say that this is the only guitar I've ever hated. I kick myself for having spent so much money on it. I've learned that no guitar can do it all and this instrument is a great example of that.

Gorgeous maple top (spruce is also available) just one magnetic pickup in the neck position, but has an under-the-bridge piezo that also drives a 13-pin output for Roland GR-33 or 20 or VG88. INCREDIBLY versatile because of this. It has a pretty fat neck, and a slotted headstock. Finish is great. Bolt-on neck may be BETTER than set neck, because Godin allows NO finish on the wood-to-wood contact point, which means the tonal transfer should be better than even set-neck. (So they say...)

I play as a worship leader, and this kind of box REALLY gives you a lot of bang for the buck here. I run the electric through a tonelab SE (sounds GREAT through it, but only on 1 or 2 amp models that are available... but I've found that to be true with all modeling pedals), then I run the synth through a GK33, and the acoustic through a Yamaha AG Stomp, I freely mix between the three, and when I DO need to use all three.... I sound HUGE!

Built well, needed no setup when I got it. I have made NO adjustments or changes to this guitar.

The volume pot is a little funky. This seems to be true of a lot of Godins. They've agreed to send me new ones. We'll see.

There is not pickguard, but the finish still holds up to a lot of playing. Seems very solid. But I would never use it without some kind of backup. A guitar? without a backup? are you kidding me?

They're okay on this. I think they could be better. Only one-year warranty... come on... stand behind your products!

I'd get another one of these in a heartbeat! I love that I have three-voice access. I can go from funky electric noise to ethereal acoustic/synth mix IMMEDIATELY! It's my favorite axe. I have two other Godins, and I'd buy more if I needed them.

2005, usable acoustic guitar sound, usable jazz guitar sound, EXTREMELY usable synth tracking. I use this with a Yamaha AG Stomp, a Vox ToneLab, and a Roland GR33... AT THE SAME TIME! I SOUND HUGE! you can check the features at www.godinguitars.com, so I won't describe them.

The sound of the electric pickup is not super-versatile... of cours... give me a break, there's just the one pickup, but add in the acoustic sound and the synth sound (or you can use it with a VG88, and I can make pretty much any sound I need at any time. I lead worship in church, and I can use JUST ONE guitar, even if my keyboard player doesn't show up. I can go from a good loud fun fast song to a slow meditative one, switch all my sounds around, and I'm good to go!

guitar was set up fine, pickups just the way they needed to be, I didn't need to make any changes. My volume pot is a little cranky, I'll probably replace that (I've had two godins with this problem, so watch that) Plays great! the top (flame maple) is extraordinary

See above what i said about the volume pot. It's pretty sold, though.

They take a while to get back to you, but they do...

I've played for about 30 years, this is my current favorite guitar. I'd get it again in a heartbeat. I love having the three voice option, which, btw, you can use with just two cables. Send the synth and acoustic out the synth cable and send the electric out the other, wind the cables together, twist tie them together, it's almost like just one cable.

Semi Hollow, Maple top, 22 Frets, humbucker in the neck position, Piezo in the bridge along with a synth pick-up. A ton of versatility in a classic looking package. 3 outputs (13 pin, humbucker alone, piezo/humbucker blend). The synth and piezo pickups are controlled by faders in the upper bout.
IT WOULD BE GREAT IF IT HAD BEED PROPERLY BUILD!! SEE BELOW>

The humbucker sounds ok. in a jazzy way. But doesn't have the feel and punch of a vintage kind of humbucker, instead it's artificially dark soundingand so far I think it is not wax potted so it feedbacks like a microphone on a high gain setting. It is not meant to be driven. But a semihollow jazz guitar sould be able to be driven to get scofield or ES kinda tones but this is not the one! If you want a straight jazz box tne you have tons of cheaper and better sounding options out there.
The Piezo Bridge sounds like crap. I've played lots of "piezo equiped electric guitars" and I own a RMC equiped nylon string Godin sounding great but the I belive the problem of multiac jazz is the guitar itself. wood and ect. RMC pickups really reflects the sound of the guitar and they are transparent in their way but this guitar sounds disapointing.
Midi features are fine.

The worst thing about the electronics is there is two outputs one for magnetic and one for piezo Ok. when you plug only on the higher piezo output, you can blend the magnetic and the piezo with a fader BUT...
when you decide to use the two outputs to send magnetic to your guitar amp and the piezo to an acoustic amp or a PA these two sounds should be seperated .... IT DOES NOT!! Instead it keeps on sending the magnetic signal through the piezo output to the PA which kills the idea of having two outputs at first place. IT IS STUPID.

Finally when you get the magnetic sound from the piezo output with your blend fader, the humbucker tone goes through the active preamp
sounding more crap than the other passive humbucker output below.

Where do I begin..
first why bolt-on?!! for such a price you shold have a set-neck. it would sound better. Flame maple top is great but POPLAR back! Its like the worst possible wood for guitars. they make fruit baskets out of it. It has the worst finish on a guitar I have ever seen. they didn't bother to make a fine finish to the headstock and slots or the string through slots. for this price you can have amazing guitars.
So.. yess.. I was stupid enough to buy this one :)

If you ever un-screw something, you wont be able to put it back because Poplar is such a soft wood yt cant even hold a tiny screw.
The tone-o-matic bridge is wobbling already. Eq and blend faders produce sound.

The time I bought the guitar they didn't have an E-mail adress on their site. You couldnt even reach them. Now they have and the brightest answer I got was:
This was how the guitar should be. It was made to be like that.

Isn't that funny.

I'm a pro and have been playing for 15 years and play lots of main stream jazz, R&B, Soul and Funky stuff..
My main guitar is the Beautiful Hamer Duotone which sound great. Have a Godin Multiac acoustic works, sound and tracks fine.

The time I bought it I was charmed by its look and features. but the more I played, the more I hated it. It was so expensive so I thought there had to be something for it but there is not. Now I cant sell or trade it because of the stupid Price I paid. I'm stuck with it.

Dont let the look or features fool you. It is not worthed.
Brian Moore has far better guitars for this price range. Yamaha or ibanez or gibson offers great guitars for this price. If you want MIDI and piezo on a guitar just put GRAPHTECH bridge and electronics on your favorite guitar on be done with it. Works better, sounds better. Will cost cheaper.

Lots o' features!

- solid spruce top. mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, maple centre and alder "wings"
- humbucker neck pickup and piezo/synth driver bridge pickup
- three band eq on the preamp for the bridge and standard treble cut tone control for the neck humbucker
- two 1/4" outputs, one humbucker only, one mix; the humbucker only doesn't seem to be preamplified (lower output)
- Roland 13 pin output provides really good tracking

Cool sounds!

The neck humbucker on it's own approaches jazz box tones: smooth but still with a little ping to the top end. It cuts through in a live jazz setting nicely. I like it more than the ES-175 and Howard Roberts Fusion guitars that I've had.

The bridge, as others mentioned, won't fool anyone into thinking they're hearing a Martin but it is a nice comping tone for jazz. I really like comping with the bridge and then switching to the neck to solo.

Sounds like crap with overdrive. Who cares?

I'm using a Thomastik Bebop string set 12 - 53. It's a great set as it has a plain third 0.020. This works really nicely with the neckhumbucker and is superior when using the synth capabilities.

Overall, with the spruce top and piezo bridge the guitar has a more present sound than laminated top jazz guitars. It has its own voice.

I have a few quibbles with the fit and finish. The guitar has a slotted headstock like a classical and there is sanding residue under the lacquer in one of the slots. fugly!

Also, there's a high fret in the top octave. I'm going to have to do a dress to see if I can get the action down to where I like it.

As another reviewer notes, the supplied allen key is difficult to insert into the truss rod nut. It's possible to get it right in but it takes a lot of fiddling and then provides less than a quarter turn of adjustment.

Lastly, the bridge is string through body and the ferrules are so deeply embedded in the body that the strings actually cut into the top wood when crossing the bridge. Also, when trying to change the strings it takes forever to get the string through from the back of the body as the strings hit the ferrules from the other side and won't pop through easily.

Godin guitars are competitively priced but I was disappointed with the flaws mentioned above. However, you'd have to pay a LOT more to get better. Anyone priced a solid top Gibson lately? Yikes.

Fit and finish issues aside the guitar is solid and well built.

I've had email exchanges and found they reply promptly and accurately.

I really like this guitar. It's both a good gigging jazz guitar and a really good synth controller for writing with the computer.

I wish that there were half a dozen to choose from when I bought mine - I would have preferred to not have to do a fret dress immediately and would have preferred to have no visible finish flaws. Oh well.

Godin makes some really interesting niche guitars. I'd include this one among them. I looked at the Gibson es-137 at the same price point and really liked it, but the synth access on the Godin really sold it for me.

Check one out if you get the chance.