Godin Radiator

Ehh, You know the feautures, just look on the godin site. Two Rick-type pickups with a gigantic pickgaurd and a solid body.

well, it sounds like a rick(not like a tele like many people say, i own a tele and it sounds very differant) it can be very jangly, sometimes twangy, yet warm. This guitar is super clean and glistens, no noise with the single coils, perfect for recording. Basically a great alternative for those who want the rick sound without the rick price.

Mine has a perfect action.. it is a great guitar.

eh, i do not know, not as solid as a tele, but very few guitars are. It seems pretty solid though.

I have been playing for over ten years and was finally going to break down and get a rick, this guitar changed my mind, it sounds every bit as good as a rick, and is as comfortable to play. The sound is super clean, and has no noise. basically if you want a guitar to glisten, get this guitar. I would like a pickup switch but realize the chance of noise increases with one. Basically this is the perfect recording guitar, only matched by a rickenbacker. But for under $250 how could i go wrong. If it were stolen i would get another one, hell i might get another one regardless.

Mine is a Canadian made 2000 Radiator in Pace Car Blue with rosewood fingerboard. Usual array of features: 2 single coil p/ups with two volume and one tone control. Fully adjustable fixed bridge. Non-branded tuners, 24 fret fingerboard.

Definitely has a character all of it's own - it's good to see a well built budget guitar with some real individuality. I realise not everyone likes the retro look, but was a major appeal for me!

I really like the sound of this guitar! Quite Telecaster-like twang, but a little warmer. I don't think I'd use it to play Trash Metal or jazz but it has quite a wide range of tones given the simplicity of the pickup and control layout . Pickups seem pretty quiet for single coils. Overall Fenderish sound but quite individual.

Sounds real nice through my Peavey Classic 30 with a bit of "crunch" and works really well clean.

This guitar is a good counterpoint to my '67 Guild Starfire III since the tones they produce are quite different and the Godin had a far extended fingerboard range. An excellent second guitar.

I have no real complaints about the guitar, especially given it's price. The only flaw in the finish is inside the neck bolt holes, where the paint job hasn't gone all the way in. Hardly a huge problem. Obviously built to a price - I know, I have dismantled it (!) but a very good standard none-the-less. Have to agree with another comment about the "sound chambers" - just looks like routing to me!

The neck is excellent, reminds me very much of my (sold a while ago) 85 Jazzmaster Jap re-issue, but with more frets. Acces to upper frets is excellent. Very easy guitar to play for long periods, but you can slide the high/low strings off the neck quite easliy.

My guitar was not setup very well, to be honest. The action was on the high side and the intonation was not good at all. The neck pick-up was almost touching the strings! However, a bit of time with a hex key, a screwdriver and a tuner and it plays very, very nicely indeed, thank you!

WHY DON'T GUITAR SHOPS SET UP THEIR GUITARS PROPERLY BEFORE THEY SELL THEM??? The kind of buyer that this guitar would attract would, I think, mainly be inexperienced and would not know about guitar set-ups. I was playing for a few years before I even knew what one was!!! Or is it that they can then give you a $2000 guitar and say "well, this one plays much better"??? I suspect that my setup was not so good due to the long shipping and storage (built in Nov 1998 and purchased in June 2000), rather than Godins lack of quality control.

Seems pretty well bullet proof, although the paint job seems a little thin - might get that nice "worn in" look in less time than a more expensive instrument, but that doesn't affect playability/sound. Having said that mine is two years old and looks like brand new - not a mark on it!!

I would have no hesitation using this for live situations without a backup - I have played live with far worse guitars than this without one!

Haven't had to deal with Godin at all, but juding by other their customer Support seems pretty good. Also their website is pretty good too so I'll give 'em a good rating!

Would really like to give this an 8.5!

Overall I think this is a great guitar. It makes an ideal second or backup guitar - sounds good, is well put together and inexpensive. Nice Fender-ish feel. A fantastic beginners guitar - if only mine was that good (mine was a Hondo Les Paul "copy" made from plywood about 25mm thick and with no way of adjusting the intonation - bloody shocker!!). I have been told by people in the know that they dump all over Gretsch's Syncromatic series - and I love Gretschs!! Well done Godin - buy with confidence!

My only gripes about the Radiator are design issues:

1. Bad placement of the neck pickup volume control - it needs to be further away from your strumming path. I have hit my fingers numerous times on this (which is great with the knurled finish of the knobs - not!) and it is very easy to turn this pot on full accidently

2. Whilst it is "different" to use the volume controls to set the pickups, give me a three way selector and volume and tone pots for each pickup anyday of the week - I hate having to turn the volume up and down to change pickups! Maybe Godin would rather cut features than quality - and fair enough too!

3. Whilst I really like the look of the guitar, I would prefer to have a slightly bigger and heavier body - if fact I am planning to make a new body for mine and rewire the pickup as above!

Would I buy another - probably not, but that doesn't mean it's not a good guitar. I like to change my gear fairly regularly, and would probably rather go for a cheapie "vintage" guitar

Built in August 1999, bought new in January 2002.
"Aqua" (turquoise) chambered body http://www.marek.co.uk/guitar/rad-innards.jpg front almost entirely covered by white pearloid scratchplate. Maple fretboard, 24.75" scale, 24 frets. 2 single coil p/ups. No selector switch.

Compared to a Strat, more mids but less lows and highs, yet still very bright. A bit Rickenbacker-ish. Best for anything "scratchy" or "twangy" rather than smooth or distorted; fine for any rhythm guitar work. Good variation between the p/ups encourages you to blend them using the two volume controls (no selector, remember). However, this particular guitar lacks the depth/authority for jazz, metal, or slow blues.

The p/ups are supposed to buck hum when both are used, which does not seem to happen -- though that isn't a problem since they are very quiet in terms of unwanted noise anyway.

Slightly uneven output from string to string. The p/ups overall height could not be raised as much as one would like. No polepieces visible to make adjustments.

Originally fitted with 9s. Action somewhat high, but needed to be to eliminate some buzzes. The otherwise high class neck is thin and very playable indeed, though the outermost strings do occasionally slip off the fretboard if you get carried away with aggressive finger vibrato.

I had a question or two for Godin info@godinguitars.com and was emailed back within a few days.

A well-made, original guitar at an inexpensive price. Probably not versatile and classy enough to be many people's main or backup guitar; and a bit too unusual for a beginner's guitar. Slight worry over the balance between the strings, and fret buzz. But, depending on your taste, the looks alone could make you want to own it. I bought the guitar a few months ago now, yet I still look at it and wonder "What the hell kind of noise is gonna come out of THAT?"

My axe was made in '99, in USA from Canadian parts. 24 frets, As Said before the pickguard cowers 95 precent of the front. It has 2 volumecontrols and one tone. It comes with 2 singlecoils, godins own.
Rosevwood fretboard. Its green, with mother of toiletseat pg. The body looks like a mix of LP and Tele, with single cutaway. Telestyle brigde. VERY good tuners. stays in tune for hours! Mine came with a fender gigbag.

It suits every music style! From jazz to Heavy met. I'm currently using a peavy 158, and i get a really good clean sound, and a overdrive with a bite.
You can get alomst any sound out of it because of the mixing capabilities of the PUs. It has all the TWANG you need.

The setup was very good on mine, with good pickup settings. Ewerything was in fit shape... not a scratch.

It will outlive me! You could rape that guitar 6 times in a row, throw it down the stairs, and mash it in the wall, then go out and play your gig... Or not... It looks like a very rough axe... You will have a hard time wearing off the pickguard... Just dont vear a belt that will scrape the back... The buttons look solid... I would use it without a backup...

This is my fav. guitar... If it were stolen i would kill the sad bastard who took it... just wish it had humbuckers... I compared it to some teles... it sounded just as good, and was much cheaper.

Good!

I play indie/alternative rock and retro stuff. This guitar is absolutely ideal for rhythm playing. Set it to a trebley sound, and it sounds very very similar to a fender tele. I use it with a Zoom 8080, George Dennis Wah Wah and Radioshack reverb deck through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I cannot stress enough how great this sounds on tape, my band did a demo recently and it sounds AMAZING.

It's very bright and full sounding. Variety of sounds acheivable with the volume and two tone knobs is ace.

The guitar was set up very well when i purchased, but not quite to my rather fussy specifications so I lowered the action a tiny bit. Intonation was perfect, as were the pick up adjustment.

The finish and look of the guitar is a matter of taste I guess. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, but it seems others don't think it's tasteful. Mine is the black version with the white pearl pickguard. "The Radiator cool sound" badge just gives it a retro feel - the guitar is generally very kitsch and very cool.

My advice - if YOU like the look of it, get it, because you won't be disapointed with anything else on this guitar.

The guitar is light, and built solidly. Have had no problems atall. Have gigged it loads of times without backup and it doesn't worry me atall. It takes a beating

Not used

I have been playing over two years, and own six guitars (Rickenbacker 330, Epiphone SG, Dearmond M75T, Takamine G240 acoustic, Tanglewood Les Paul copy and the mighty Godin)

If it were stolen I would cry every day for days, and then scrimp and save until I could afford another one!

Favourite feature is the tone and volume controls, and I love the pickups. My only criticism is that the machine heads are quite small and fiddly, but it doesn't really bother me, coz I've got ickle fingers!

When i bought it, I played a Fender tele too, as I wanted something good for rhythm. I bought the Godin instead because it was cheaper! But thinking about it, after using it as much as i have, if they were both the same price i'd pick the Godin!

A most EXCELLENT guitar, and GREAT for the money!

24 frets, two single coils, a volume for each pick-up and a tone pot. no switch. Maple body and neck, something eles for finger board..i'd say rosewood but godin likes to use "palisandre" wich I can't find a translation for. fixed top mounted bridge.

good for clean sound. Little overdrive but not much else. these pick-up have a very low outpout. the outpout of the single coil in my yamaha rgx-121dm is higher. But the godins produce a nice sound. you can mix both sounds with the volume to get what you want. The neck alone lacks defenition to my ear. it could use more twang. And the bride juste sound...well... it sounds....that's about it. I use it a top volume to add high frequencies to the neck pick-up. So to me only one usable sound.. neck at 8 o'clock and bridge at 10 for clean it's very very good for the price. On lite to high gains the guitars sounds like it has a high pass sound filter..not pleasant for my taste but doesn't sound bad at all. the grade is considering the price

it is ugly........that's plain and simple... rosewood fretboard and the head is stil natural mable...heewwwwwwwww. black body with a HUGE pickguard that covers 95% of the body and that metalic tag that says Radiator "cool sound". very bad... chrome and black pick-ups..chrome pots with pearloid top... perloid (greyish/metalic) pickguard.....very ugly. But the axction is goosd..allows for fats play and the set-up was right from the start. It looses 4 points on looks alone

it's a laoner had it for what..3 week now while wating for my godin LG with Seymour-Duncan sp-90 hihi... but it looks solid

never called them..dion't know

not bad for the price . If you want a nice souding guitar for clean playing and you don't have the money to buy something like a fender or a semi-hollow body... go get ths one....it sounds nothing like a fender or a seim-hollow but it has a sound of it own....as a friends of mine said....it has personality. I have to agree....... if you don't have the looks you gotta have personality. the grade is given considering the price of the guitare..and at 350$ canadian WITH gigbag...it's a solid entry level contender

A real basic guitar and thats what I love about it! Two singlecoil pickups, 3 knobs....even my six year old daughter can get a good sound out of it! I love the blending ability of the two pups, however some players who are used to flicking a switch to a lead pickup etc may find this a bit limiting. I rely on pedals more now to give me different lead sounds etc. It's simplicity is it's greatest feature....
By the way, this thing looks fantastic...stays in tune for the whole gig, has the best neck I've ever wraped my hands around, a beautiful maple fretboad and a fit a finish not often seen on a guitar in this price range! Fender could learn a thing or two here!

For those who think this thing has limited sounds, you're not using it properly!! You can dial in almost anything from twang to smooth jazz! Interestingly, I never used the tone controls on my strat, always left them full on, but the tone control on this guitar is a integral part of it's voice and if you don't use it your not using the full capacity of the instrument.
The pickups seem to have a fairly low output, which I quite like as I use an old 75watt valve amp made in New Zealand (Rockit) and when it's in the sweet zone, it's too bloody loud!! These pups allow me to run the amp harder without being so loud. In the words of Eric Cartman...."Sweeeeeet!"
I play mostly blues, R and B, Soul, some old 50's and 60's R and R and anything I think is cool! Works for all these styles, is as quiet as a mouse, zero hum (2 pups are wired together to cancell hum)and goes from bright to dark at the twist of a knob! Once I pick it up, I can't put it down for hours!
In case your interested, I use a Morley Pro Wah, Boss Super Overdrive, Boss Tremolo and Super Chorus and a Volume pedal. Amp is wound to ten (both gain and output(Yeeeeehaaa)) and I also use the drive channel on the amp for that extra kick in the butt! The volume pedal is a must for this gat to give you complete control!

Action was good from the factory,a little high, but thats a personal thing. Dump the crappy 9's that it comes with and put some 10 to 46's on it...sounds much better (why do they put those stupid thin stings on it anyway??). The finish is great (pacecar blue) but you can see a clearly visible line on the back, right down the centre! I was under the impression this thing was made out of one piece of wood but this looks like some kind of join line to me. Who cares anyway, it's on the back and I'm the only one who knows it's there! As I said before, it plays beautifully and lloks better than anything else in this price range!

Tuff as nails, don't be decieved by it's light weight, this thing was designed to be played and I give it a real thrashing under hot lights and in smoky bars. I use it for 4 hour gigs all the time and keep a backup on hand in case I break a string (it hasn't happened yet!) My backup guitar is another radiator I bought second hand!
Good strap buttons, who knows who made the tuners, but they do their job well! It just never goes out of tune...very important feature!!

Local Australian suppliers need a kick in the butt, took ten days to deliver!! Still have no idea what the hold up was...just poor service and a poor attitude I guess!
Pretty sure Godin are a good company though and my retailer gave me a free hardcase, strap and quality lead and $80.00 off the price for my patience! KIck ass! Saved by the retailer and my faith in Godin!

If you want a guitar for status only, go spend thousands on a USA built strat or Gibson like everybody else (Too expensive in this country...check the exchange rate!), If you want to stand out from the crowd and make cool sounds on something that is a pleasure to play for hours on end and you don't want to spend a fortune, buy a Radiator (or any Godin for that matter) Keep your eye on this brand, in a few years they will reach the status of those other 2 and with their pricing and the favorable Canadian exchange rate, they are an absolute bargain! While my strat sits gathering dust in the corner, I have fun playing my Radiators and everyone thinks I'm cool ha ha ha.

This has a basic design which I like. Two single coil pickups, volumes controls and a tone control. It has a tele-style bridge setup and adjustable action and harmonics. I think this is simple and practical.

There are really only 4 sounds that this guitar can produce.

1. The first pickup (closest to the fret board) greats big fat sounds that belnd nicely with other instruments. It has more output than the other pickup and is great with disortion and overdrive effects.

2. The first pickup with the tone all the way done creates a bassy sound that is quite soft.

3. The second pickup creates a bright sound that is very tele like. It has less output than the other pickup and is much brighter.

4. The second puckup with tone all the way down creates a great blues sound. It is very soft and sweet and is great for accompaniment and soloing (clean).

It came with factory .09's and this meant that the guitar was sometimes a little too tinny and bright. I decided to put on some .12'w fat wounds and these turned the guitar into a really fantastic instrument.

A mixture of both pickups does not really produces any sounds that are different.

This is the best element of this guitar. It is light and can be played for hours. The pegs never go out of tune and the 24 fret board is really wonderful to play on.

Great reliability especially with the pegs-tuning. However, I am told that it was made in Canada however the box it came in says "made in Indonesia". What does this mean?

Great guitar. If you buy this guitar you are effectively getting a $600 guitar for about $200. This is not a guitar for beginners and it more than that. If mine were stolen I would waste some of the store owner's time by playing some of the really expensive guitars (Rickenbacker, Fender, Gibsons) and then buy another radiator.

What you need - really...short(ish) scale guitar. Good looks to boot. Mine's got nice Gotoh tuners (not on all Radiators, I gather...tho' I was lucky; tried out one w/ pearloid tuners - not as smooth). Lightweight but nicely balanced. The slightly oversized :-) mother-of-Throne pickguard houses two mini-humbucker sized SC pickups. BTW, I've seen pictures of those p/u's sporting a single black stripe...mine's got two, anyone out there with the other kind p/u? Bridge is awkward custom top-loaded Strat Elite-style (3left-handed, 3 right-handed "L"-shaped saddles). See below. smooth)! Very nice semi-satin feel light finish on the maple + maple fingerboard neck! Who needs a heavily laquered sticky neck anyway?! ;-) For pictures of Her, surf to http://www.slope.cjb.net and look around...the "Bild Arkivet" button that is (for the few of you that don't know Swedish...).

Used w/ Fender BJ, Marshall 1986 BASS head...This is one *raw* soundin' sumbitch (dawdrbitch?). Compared to my custom SC/SD HotRail Bridge pu Squier Strat: much more in-your-face and lo-fi sound. Great rock guitar! Sound between good SCs and P90s. Hum is there, but I can live with it ;-)

Ooh my...ne'er played a guitar so *perfect* (IMHO). I have small hands. And you folks *know* what that means... That's right, I need a small Guitar. Said and done. String height can be kept at a minimum thanks to good fret work. One thing though, the string tree had to go, to solve the tuning problems (neck-to headstock angle is still sufficient if you don't *have* to bend a minor third at tre first position...hehe). Can of course be adjusted to suit many, if not everyone.

Took it to a couple Gigs...It's definitlely my BABY...but - there is one *big* problem. I've gigged extensively w/ a GraphTech saddle equipped Squire Strat for several years...broke a string on TWO gigs out of some forty... This Baby has *really* bad plating on the string tree (I ended up removing it; probably the former owner had mondo tuning problems, hence pricing...) and the saddles (bummer...). So, presently I pop strings like there's no tomorrow (hence the low rating in this category - w/ new saddles probably 7-8). WTH*ck, this little Darling encourages you to play like the late A. King (you don't have to ask) but as the kind folks at Godin chose a really "custom" bridge design replacement saddles may prove a b*tch to come by. We'll see. Anyone have the same problem /solution please mail me! Finish overall nice, well above par. Why replace the pickups? In a couple of years, this'un will still be my #1. Ditto in the year 2011. That's Gospel. Lastly, the thin neck is not for everyone (slight "garble" when fretting too heavy-handedly). Handle with care.

n/a

I own, and play - lucky me - this lil' b**ger, Squier Strat, Fender BJ, Marshall Extinct-o-Saurus 1986 non-master volume "F**kin' Deadly Bastard" head (sounds terrific - at *slightly* over-the-top levels; in fact it's the Real Deal. See review at this site), TS-10, Vox Valve-tone, Gollmer CompoSus and 60's Trem. Bang-for-Bucks ('bout US$ 250 that is, in my case) ratio of the Radiator is second to NONE period (IMHO...). It is a custom instrument with...guts and soul. Not for everyone, but certainly for me. Like your Girlfriend. Or Boyfriend. Go figure.

This is probably a 2000 model, made in the U.S. from Canadian parts. Maple body and neck with maple fretboard, 24 frets. Two single coil pickups, with a volume knob for each pickup and one master tone knob. The bridge is a top-loader, not a string-thru-body. This one has a cream-colored finish. It is similar to a Fender Telecaster, except that the body is more rounded, and it has a pearloid pickguard that nearly covers the whole body! I give an 8 for features, because it's a simple guitar, but that's what I like about it.

Obviously, with all the maple in this guitar, the sound is quite bright! It has what Godin calls a "chambered maple" body, meaning there are sound chambers in there, almost like a semi-hollowbody kind of thing. I'm using it with a 30 watt Crate practice amp, usually with some distortion and a touch of chorus and reverb. Both pickups full on gives a nice Lifeson-esque tone. Turning up the just the neck pickup smoothes it out a little, and using only the bridge pickup it gets a little twangy. Not tons of variety here, but I like what it does.

I bought this in an online auction. It was in very new condition, but it wasn't straight from the factory, so I can't speak for the factory setup. Everything was great on it when I got it, though. A few microscopic finish flaws and so forth, but nothing most people would notice.

Everything on this guitar seems pretty solid. I don't take it out of the house much, though. I don't see why you couldn't use it without a backup, the only thing that could go wrong would be breaking a string, but with the non-trem bridge you wouldn't even go out of tune!

I haven't dealt with the company, but they have a nice website!

It's not my first guitar and it won't be my last, but I think for the price I paid it's an incredible bargain. These may be discontinued now, maybe that's how I got it so cheap. It has a unique look about it. I really like the simplicity of it, and the sound it has fits my style well. The only thing negative I can say is the frets are very small, and I prefer large "jumbo" frets, but that is just my personal preference. It's a very good guitar. If it was stolen I'd be mad! I recommend getting one of these if you can find one!