Godin Multiac Steel Duet

Godin Multiac Steel Duet. This is an electric akoestic guitar. Especcially built for playing live and loud while needing an akoustic sound. It's as thin as an semi akoustic electrical guitar.
It has a two pick-up systeem. A piezo combined with an on board condensor microphone. You can blend the two pickups as you like.
Electronics includes the obvious choises, volume, high, mid, bas.
It has a phase switch and a "notch" to filter out any unwanted feedback

I usually play pop/rockmusic (startocaster over blues de ville amps!) But for a theatershow for children I needed an akoestic sound. I also play an fantastic Takamine akoustic guitar but didn't want it to take it out on the road. The Godin has an very realistic electric acoustic sound. I play it stereo over two AER acoustic amps (the best there is!. I use two stereoeffects (Marshall super vibe and Line 6 Echo Park. The Godin doesn't sound as good as the Takamine on its own, but playing with the band (especially with drums)the Godin sound very good. The acoustic sound seems to blend better with the other instruments. Also the Godin plays much easier. And there's no feedback ! The mice PU is very sensitive so it picks up everything, even the lead singer can be heard if you don't switch it of in between songs !

The second one (I rejected the first one because it was not new!) Looked en sounded great on first site. The action was very high but that's fixable. But thorough inspection revealed quite a few hitches.
Sanding paper had been srewed under the neck to tilt the neck. One of four neck-screws was loose. The bridge is two short/low, that's why they had to tilt the neck. It didn;t fit propperly either. And they put plastic (?)under the piezo PU. My guitartechnician said these things are common practice but to me it's just sloppy ! Especcialy from GODIN I didin't expect that. Anayway my technician fixed the lot and it sound and plays much better now !

I bought it for the road so it better last. But it looks well built and sturdy. Hardware looks good. Straplocks are standard so thats good. I have used it several times now without backup and no problems so far.

Haven't dealt with GODIN directly so far.

I like it. It looks great. It plays fine and it sounds good. If you're playing (electrical) acoustic check this guitar out. It plays like an electrical guitar but sounds akoestic. If it would get lost I would buy one againif it would get lost or stolen.

Chambered Mahogany body, spruce top, 22 frets, cutaway, 25.5" scale, slotted headstock, xlr and quater inch outputs, mahogany neck, Baggs I-beam and under saddle transducer, pre amp with mix, phase, three band e q, and volume, no pickguard. The neck is chunky and full bodied, not real wide but thick and it feels like an acoustic gtr.

I'm playing this gtr in a five piece trad country band that mixes lots of roots styles, from bluegrassy to Bakersfield shuffle stuff. We've got drums in the band and accordion at times and banjo and so the gtr is expected to somehow be heard in the mix. The This is the new 2003 model that has a combo of the I-beam and under saddle pickups. Last years model had a condenser and under saddle pickup combo. The gtr sounds reasonably acoustically when I run it through my SWR California Blonde, not quite as real sounding as one might wish, but, closer than other gtrs that I've tried, including acoustics equipped with the Bluestick and the Sunrise pickup. I'm also running an ART tube preamp between the gtr and amp to use the preamps' phantom power and add a bit of zip to the signal before the amp sees the signal. The eq on the gtr works well enough as does the phase switch. The gtr is phantom powerable through the xlr out and when run straight through the pa it is very quiet and has an airy tonality as the I-beam can be run wide open eliminating the under saddle transducer entirely. My hangup is with the I-beam insofar as the tone of the pickup seems a bit bottom heavy and has an area in the mids that's tough to get out. The gtr is not bright sounding but ,rather, sounds more like a small bodied Gibson, kind of punchy rather than big and open. There is plenty of nice strummy sounds if that's whats required but for single string soloing--that's where the punchyness tends to prevail.

The set up from the factory is a bit high. Open string, first position stuff is fine but single string up the neck can be a bit high compared even to a nicely setup full bodied acoustic. Top and back of the gtr are gorgeous. The nrck finish is a bit weird insofar as there is a satin finish on a slightly textured, slightly rough, natural openness to the grain of the wood on the neck. It's an odd combination of textures in the guitar overall as the body is so prcisely glossy and smooth and the neck is slightly rough in comparison. Tuning pegs anre three on a side, all in one strip and an open, slotted headstock. -looks like a clasical, gut string headstock. Tuners work ok but stringing through the slotted headstock takes a bit of relearning the threading of strings. All the electronics are working as designed, I think, but the match between the under saddle transducer and the I-beam seems to be a bit out of whack. I don't think the gtr is intended to be used with just the under saddle running by itself. There is darn near no output if you blend the output signal of the gtr to just the saddle transducer. This has me scratching my head a bit because I was expecting to have more of an even mix of volumes between the two pickups but that does not seem to be the case. I dunno?

There's some stuff on the gtr that looks flimsy but may be just fine. The output jacks are housed on a plastic panel -- could be fine and durable as can be--but I'm accustomed to solid metal stuff on my electrics. The e q sliders and pushbuttons are safely placed high up on the upper bout of the gtr and are easily adjustable but don't look like they'd take a lot of punishment. I have not taken a back up gtr to any gigs and have not felt as if this gtr would leave me strande but my mates all have extras, and thsi is a second instrument for me anyway. pedal steel is my first instrument on the job.

Customer support, in this day and age, is slow. Godin has no telephone tech support. They require that you email with questions and get back in a few days. There is a definite loss of oppoortunity for elaboration and specification that is a direct benefit to talking in real time to some one at the other end of the phone line. This gtr has enough question marks in my mind that a nice chat with a product tech would have been beneficial. To complicate matters, the wrong product user manual was included with my gtr and when I asked for the appropriate on efrom Godin they sent one from the previous model which has a different pickup configuration and some control differences too.

I've been playing gtr for 30 years, both acoustic and electric. Over the last several years I've been on a quest to get a good acoustic gtr sound on stage, through an amp. I've tried acoustic gtr pickups, the Carvin, the Rick Turner Renaissance, the Bluestick pickup, the Rainsong, the new Taylor expression system, and remarkably had reason to abandon all. The closest thing to satsfaction, that being a foolproof,gonna work well each night, has been the Sunrise pickup in my old Guild D-50 through an amp. ---this tone ends up being more like a Gibson ES 125 rather than a nice fat Dreadnaught sound,but, it worked--loud enough to be heard in the band and a pleasant enough tone nonetheless. The Godin can get loud and has a more acoustic tone than what I've been able to get through an amp up to this point. It works better than anything else that I've tried and therefore at this point I'm happier than I've been but still on the lookout for ways to make it better. If thsi guitar were lost or stolen I'd probaly be happy to have the opportunity to go out shopping for something else (maybe I should give the new Taylor Expression system another try?) or maybe just abandon the quest and just play electric all the time.

THE acoustic for playing out. Two chambered Mahogony body with a solid spruce top and satin natural finish. It comes with the Baggs Duet dual source pickup system which blends an internal condenser mic with an under saddle ribbon transducer. Signal then routes through a nice pre-amp with H M L eq plus a prescence control for shimmer, and a notch filter for booming low eq problems. It has a neck width that matches a typical acoustic, but just a little thinner with medium frets. It is a good setup for fingerpicking or strumming. Neck is set with 4 bolts and a recessed body with a cutaway for very comfortable access to the upper range. Output is stereo if you want to split the mic and the pickup, or you can blend both and use the xlr out to take advantage of phantom power (saves battery life.)

The sound is excellent if you have realistic expectations. It is not as good as my Bourgios played into a neuman microphone, but for playing live at any kind of reasonable volume, this guitar comes closer than any I have heard, and you don't have to fight the feedback. I run into a Zoom 504 which mainly serves as an inline tuner and gives me some foot controllable gain settings and a little chorus. From the Zoom I run into a Peavey Ecoustic amp (which by the way is more useful and versatile than anything SWR, Fender, or Crate has ever made...no charge for that unsolicited comment) and direct out of the amp into the board. The sound is very woody and full. I run it at 60/40 pickup/mic ratio with the mid eq cut 50%, and it sounds very natural. The nice part is I can run at a level where I can be heard distinctly through a full band, and have room to bump out front for a solo and still not feedback.

It also records well. I run the xlr out straight to the board and get very clean acoustic sounds to tape. Again, for the solo acoustic gig, I use something else, but if there are any instruments besides my guitar, I bring the Multiac.

My only complaint....the factory setup was AWEFUL! I ordered this guitar straight from Canada, and it arrived set up like a Harmony with no truss rod. I spent $40 (which was a good price)to have the nut and bridge cut to a reasonable height. I have heard that other A6's and Multiacs have come out the same setup. Hello Mr. Godin...we are not buying these $1,000 plus guitars for slide work!

Other than the setup, the construction was consistently sound, although I still don't understand the use of the classical style tuner setup. Maybe this was just cheaper. It stays in tune fine, just different than most other acoustics.

The guitar is plenty tough. I don't bring a backup any more. I have yet to break a string. Just have to get used to turning the on/off switch off when you put it down. There is an idiot light, and battery consumption is not too bad. My only point of concern is the open string headstock appears fragile, but so far so good.

When my dealer tried to back charge Godin for the setup work I needed, they said no since it was technically a "factory second", labeled as such because of a miniscule finish blem on the back of the headstock. Poor form Robert! Take a little pride in your product man! Godin is on the right track from a design point of view, but needs some improvement on the setup and service end. Time will tell.

I've been playing for about 19 years. I am the worship leader in my church, a songwriter, and music publisher/producer. I play several times a week using the Godin as my primary instrument. My other gear includes a Bourgios acoustic with a Baggs transducer, an American Fat Telecaster, a Peavey Ecoustic amp, and a Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp for electric. Previous instruments I've owned on the quest for the live acoustic tone include: Yamaha APX 10D, Gibson Starburst, Godin Acousticaster, Parker Fly. Others I considered before choosing the Multiac include: Taylor 614, Godin A6. The Multiac is best combination of true acoustic tone, and practical functionality if you are plugging in. The Taylors and Martins are all nice if they are the only instrument, but if you put it in the mix with anything else, what good is all that tone if it can't be heard? The Godin A6 is a good second choice if money is an issue.