Godin Radiator

Made in the U.S.A. from Canadian parts. Two single coils, fixed bridge and single cutaway bolt on neck. Body and neck are maple this one has a rosewood fingerboard (maple is available).

Sound is great, full on the back pickup is very twangy, the front PU gives nice clean sounds with little/no hum. Best is to crank both up all the way, conrol the volume from the amp; gets you a nice full bluesy sound. With the separate volume pots for each PU you can dial in a lot of sounds.

Action was a bit high but easily adjusted with a allen key. I also adjusted the pickups a bit. Fit and finish are excellent, easily the best I've seen on a guitar in this price range, the neck is tight, fret work spotless, finish beatiful.

I don't gig, but the guitar seems very durable; solid body, bolt on neck, fixed bridge, tuners & hardware are not fancy but seem durable.

I've been playing for two years, this is my first electric. I shopped around a lot; at this price range, the Radiator is a exceptional bargain. I looked at and played the Danelectros and Mexican made Teles; for build quality and sound they don't touch the Radiator.

Assembled in the USA from parts made in Canada. 24 medium jumbo fret short scale (24 3/4") maple neck w/maple fretboard on a body that looks like a cross between a Telecaster and a Les Paul. 2 Godin designed single coil pickups with individual volume knobs for each with a master tone knob. No pickup selector.
Not much for features really. Then again, many features a guitar makes not as Yoda would say. So no rating.

I was looking for something to compliment, yet contrast my current main guitar, which is an Epiphone Explorer. I figured a single coil guitar could cover the tonal bases pretty well, and the look of the Godin caught my eye, so I gave it a spin.
So how does it sound? One word : Amazing. The two single coils are noise free at even the highest volume and gain settings. Dial up full bridge and full tone knob for some funky twang. Backing off the tone knob mellows the sound and adds warmth (and not mud like the great majority of passive tone controls). The neck pickup is very round a full, and is very fat feeding a moderately distorted amp. This amp would fit in perfectly in a country/roots rock setting. Vintage Rolling Stones and Yardbirds also ooze from this guitar.
I think one of the big secrets to the unique tone is the chambered body. I'm not exactly sure if the Radiator is semi hollow or simply has a few acoustic chambers under the monstrous pickguard, but it really adds some wood to the overall sound. The maple fingerboard adds a little zing and articulation to individual notes.
To think that there are guitars that don't sound half as good at twice the price of this one. While not for the "metal" or "alt.rock" crowd, this guitar serves up some of the sweetest clean sounds, and a twang that would make a Telecaster blush. In fact, this guitar was tested against a stock Telecaster (I was giong to buy one or the other). The Godin could dial up each and every sound the Tele had, and then some.
My major dislike is that lack of selector switch. Dialing up tones is very easy, but not easy to do on the fly. However, it doesn't affect the sound, so the rating stands. The only thing that keeps it from a ten is that it can't really get down and dirty, but that's what Les Pauls are for isn't it?

The action was low and fast. The 12" radiused neck made playing an absolute breeze. Intonation was almost perfect, and I suspect that the strings were at fault for any tuning woes, as they looked kind of old. Tuners seemed solid, and the neck pocket is easily the best job I've seen done on a bolt on neck. The neck pocket was about as close as you're going to get to a set neck with a bolt in, that's how good the fit was.
An excellent job by the folks at Godin on this one.

I can see this guitar lasting. With the monster sized pickguard, the guitar's finish will probably never see a ding where anyone will be able to see it while I'm playing. The only thing I can see going wrong would be the bridge saddles and the tuners, which aren't the top of the line, but do a good job.
Would I gig with it? Absolutely, but never without a backup.

Have had the guitar for only a short time, with no problems, so nothing to report on this one.

I've gone through my share of low price, low end guitars in my 5 or so years of playing. This guitar is the highest quality instrument I have owned in this price range bar none. It puts instruments costing more than twice as much to shame without breaking a sweat. I would gladly buy another one should anything happen to it (though I'd try to get a different colour. White with the white pickguard is a little bland. Then again, I bought it for the sound, which is the important thing).
It twanged harder than the Tele I compared it to, is warmer than any other single coil guitar I've ever tried, and is now part of my collection. An excellent value.

I think this guitar was made in U.S., if not then in Canada. The bridge is a normal fixed bridge, no whammy bar. This is actually a pretty bare guitar. A normal input. 2 volume controls, and 1 tone. There is no pickup selector!(you have to use the volume knobs). There are 2 pickups, and they are just a little smaller than the normal humbucker. There is a normal nut, but with sort of a stoppiece(like on Floyd Roses)above it, and it has the com. tuners. The neck is pretty thin, and it has 22 frets. The finish is black, and it has a mother of pearl pickguard covering the whole top, on this alder body guitar. Rosewood fingerboard. Every note plays perfectly. The body is a tele shape, but with comfortable contours.

Excellent sound for metal on Line 6 amp. Nice clean sound too. The neck sounds better than any guitar I have ever played under $600 new! Rich sound. I don't like the pickups as much as full size humbuckers though, but, they are still pretty good(Godin pickups).

No flaws at all. I got the guitar in mint condition. As I said, the neck played perfectly. No problems with tuning either. The action was fine. I had to lower it just a little. I also adjusted the pickups a little lower, which caused no problems.

So far, I've been taking good care of it, and in return, it has never let me down. The strap buttons are solid, and my 3-5 hour daily practice for 5 months has not hurt anything. I feel fine too.

It is under warranty for 5 years. Never had to get anything fixed or repaired so far. I bought the guitar from a store near me, Minstrel Music, which gave excellent support. No problems with the company itself either.

I have been playing for 4 years. I own a Yamaha Pacifica302s(great), use to own a Parker Nitefly4(OK), and this guitar. My favorite. If it was stolen, I definitely would get it again( I hope that doesn't happen. I compared it to the Ibanez Satriani 600 and a Gibson Les Paul($600), and this was my choice. For the cheap price, I give it a 10!!!