Godin Radiator

I don't know when it was made. Mine is blue with a white counter top covering the front of the body. It looks like a counter in a diner circa 1955. As mentioned, it has kinda crummy tuners, but once it stabilizes in a room it stays in tune pretty well. I use a Boss strobe tuner and check it pretty often.

I really like the neck and fretboard. It is a fast player with a comfortable feel to it. The cutaway is deep, but the top of the upper bout is high into the fretboard so the highest notes are a little hard to reach in spite of the cutaway.

No pickup switch... But that is part of the persona of this strange guitar. The pots are noisy, and could use an upgrade.

Intonation control is easy with the individual bridge pieces, and the body resonance is very pronounced and has good tone. The paint is as good as any guitar in the same price range, and the fret finish is superior to most guitars even at five times the price. (It is a shame that you cannot find a Tele with good fret finish until you hit the $1600 price range!)

IT IS LIGHT!!! I picked it up from a guitar stand and it just sorta flew up... I could not believe it. I have shoulder problems and like to play a light instrument. This is great for me.

The pickups sound, hmmmm, very good, but different than you might expect. I was comparing Teles, Strats, G&Ls, and then came upon this little guy. I played it through a few amps: Fuchs, Matchless, THD, and then the little Traynor YCV20. It sounds great, just great. The tone is sort of liquidy (is that a word?)

A few reviewers said they thought the sustain was lacking, but I find it adequate for my style, which is pretty vanilla clean. I did get a compressor pedal though, and it is quite a nice combination. I have had inquiries when playing as to what the heck it is, not only because it looks really different, but because it sounds different. I guess you would just need to hear it.

I bought it used and the action was just fine. Fit and finish are better than you should expect from the $300 price range...

I play it live. It travels in a Gator Soft/hard case. You know, one of those that has a molded inner bed and a canvas outer shell. I am careful not to bang the thing around. The tuners could be fragile as near as I can tell.

I have not had any dealings with Godin.

I have been playing for over 30 years and shopping for my next electric for about 20... My other electric is an old Ovation Viper that I bought new around 1974. This is shorter and lighter and I love the tone of it. I play it through a Traynor YCV20 and have used it with a Fender Princeton and a MusicMan HD110. It sounds really fine on any reasonably good amp.

If it were lost or stolen I might buy another, but I would shop around. I am pretty picky about what I pay for, and when I bought this it was because it surpassed the tone and playability of a great inventory of guitars that cost three to five times as much.

So, it is light, sounds really nice in a unique way, plays better than most other guitars in the price range, has much better fret finish than anything costing much more, and I had the money that day to buy it...

I might put on the set of Grovers that I have in a drawer to upgrade the tuners, and I would like a switch and better pots in the electrics. ...Just don't know when I would get around to it, though.

Still thinking about a Tele and sooner or later I'll run into one that I like that I can afford. Until then, this is my go to guitar.

A fun unusual little girl with unique tone and whys to tweak it via the volume controls. Physical appearance is flashy and an eye catcher. It's size and light weight make it a good choice to be a chick guitar.

Love the unique sounds you get from the pickups and the combo of volume and tone controls. Not everyone's cup of tea but fun as a secondary mess around guitar. Have an American Tele for actual gigs but this great to practice on because it's light and resonate for playing unplugged.

Great neck, setup and physical appearence. Unlike other posters I have had major problems with keeping it in tune. Tune it up, play one song and it's out. I think there are two problems. One, the string tree hangs up the strings and two, the tuning pegs are way to sensitive. Remove the string tree and switching the strings to 10's is a must but still left with the cheap tuning peg problem. Upgrading these should solve that problem.

Guitar seems very sturdy for such a light guitar and should be fine if you don't go Townsend on it.

No Opinion

Over all worthy guitar if tuning problems solved.

This is a strange little guitar with a semi hollow body design (tone chamers) and two single coil pickups. Not the most verstile guitar in the world but not too excentric either.

The pickups have a p90-ish feel to them, thick and glass-like. It??s a very resonant guitar that actually is quite loud unplugged. It shines when it comes to clean jazzy sounds and handles it self quite well with large amounts of distortion as well.

I do miss a pickup switch. It??s great to be able to blend the signal from the two pickups but in a live situation it can be a bit fiddly.

Build quality is ok. Not nearly as bad as some of the korean/indonesian/chineese guitars that are currently flooding the market. No problems adjusting it for low action. Neck??s nice and thin.

The tuners feels a bit iffy. I havent had any problems with them getting out of tune but I??m a bit worried they??ll break. Easy fix though if one was so enclined. Otherwise it feels solid.

If I were to by one guitar for every occation this wouldn??t be it but it??s a cool guitar and great value for money.

I'm not buying into the "parts made in Canada/assembled in the US/hand finished" idea that's abounding here. It's pretty much advertising speak. I'm sure some parts were made in Canada, I'm sure it was probably screwed together by unskilled, low-paid US workers like "classic" 50's Fenders and hand finished just means that a human took some part in the process but over all it screams Far East/Asian guitar. It's so ugly it's beautiful and as such is the best new-retro guitar you will see.

I never took it apart but I think there's a couple of ceramic pickups and the pickup covers takes the brashness off them - a bit. The two volume controls is a good idea if you have the time to set a balance because you can get a load of good sounds, but live - I don't think so. Replace one of the volumes with a large Gibson type switch and an easy rewire if you need to change pickups mid-song. Low-noise? It's all subjective but it doesn't sound any less buzzy than any other cheapish single-coil geetar.

The neck is generic Asian. Semi-matt finish which is always nice but the action is nothing great. Well put together neck joint and it does have those great fugly looks with a bit of a Rickie vibe.

Nothing has broken and the tuners work like all non-cheapo tuners so long as you've learned how to fit strings properly.

Dunno.

It's a 6. Recommended if you were thinking of buying a Tele copy/like shorter scales/want to look different and can find one with a lowish action.

Rock Maple neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
12" fingerboard radius
24 3/4" Scale
1 11/16" nut width
Chambered Silver Leaf Maple body
Low-Noise, Godin-Design single-coil pickups
Volume, Volume, Tone
Color: Black Body, White Onyx (Mother of bowling ball) front plate

This little guitar kicks ***!!

Playing funky, rockin' blues with alot of slide work.

Use it through US made V-Series amps (Crate/Ampeg), the black ones, not the GC 'Palominos'.

Have V8 (5 watt, class A, with Weber replacement 8 inch speaker), V15 (15 watts, class A, with Tone Tubby Ceramic 12 inch speaker), and a V30H + V212T (30 watt, class A head, with closed back 2X12 cabinet loaded with 2 Tone Tubby Ceramics).

No effect pedals.

This guitar has a great P-90 sound to it. No problem with P-90 noise though. Others have mentioned not liking the knob configuration but that's not the case with me. It has many different tonal combination's available and while I may not be able to get back to the exact setting/sound when I switch it around, I find easy enough to 'close'.

I find it has a great 'tele' twang when it's played really clean, backed off guitar volume and clean amp setting or it gets pretty dirty when cranked, very LP Jr sounding.

I love that it's light weight (after years of gigging with a '72 Deluxe LP...back breaker!) No real dislikes.

Got this guitar used and set it up myself. Heavier strings (11's or 12's, depending) and raised the action alittle for slide. Pickups have stayed right where they were when I bought it. I've opened it up when changing strings to see what was under the top plate...pretty simple, but effective, design.

No flaws that I have noticed.

Have used it a few times live now and it hasn't failed me yet. Always have a back up though. Hardware seems solid enough. Finish is OK...not something I worry about. The whole top is a pick guard so it should last. Seems very dependable.

Haven't tried.

Been playing 20+ years. Gigged high and low, dives to concerts.

Have owned alot of high end guitars...Gibson LP's (many), 335's (many), still own a CS NR Firebird (my number 1), Fender 62 RI Tele.

I've taken a real liking to this guitar for the reasons mentioned...light weight, solid tone, inexpensive (so not as worried about losing it/being stolen). I'd get another one if it ever were stolen. Bought this from a friend out of the blue...didn't know much about it but liked the look of it right away.

There's 67 previous reviews so you already know. I am not fond of the "blending volumes" between the bridge and neck pickups, but you can get a variety of sounds out of it with a bit of fiddling. The knobs aren't numbered tbough so it is hard to do on the fly. Impossible, in fact. I'd rather have a toggle switch. The previous owner pulled the occasionally-iffy stock pickups (according to the reviews here) and put some Duncan minibuckers into this guitar, which is helpful to a fan and player of noisy-type music like me. The rest of the guitar you've already read about - maple neck, toilet seat massive pickguard, ugly looks - but ugly in a real cool sort of retro way. This ain't an SG/LP StratoTele and sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. I like it. Chicks dig it. ;-)

I have had this guitar for like three years but with 60 other guitars in the arsenal I hadn't rotated it into frontline use until recently, when I started wanting to use a cheaper throw-it-in-the-car-and-go-to-practice guitar, so I pulled this off the wall. I can't speak to the stock pickups, but with the Duncans in there this thing screams. Tonight I was playing it through a 5150 and it was screaming, very crunchy. Again, I wouldn't expect this out of the stock pickups, and a lot of that is the amp. But whatever it is - sounds good to me.

I got it used so I dunno about the factory setup. Some people bust on the pearloid tuning pegs, this guitar only altered tune slightly through two hours of my solidly beating on it. It holds tune. No complaints, and my tuning pegs have yet to fall apart. The knobs have retained their pearloid inserts. The volume pot does have the annoying roll-on/off over a tiny fraction of the rotation. In other words, starting at "off," roll it on and pretty much nothing happens for a bit, then suddenly it is "full on." This makes it very hard to play with the volume backed off a bit to get a clean sound, or cranking the volume up during a song for lead work. The pickup is basically "on" or "off" with little room in between. The action is very nice. I play with 10-48s or thereabouts and this guitar seems to like the setup.

I haven't broken it yet, and I am rather hard on guitars. Everything seems pretty solid so far. I of course would still take a backup as I break strings with some regularity. Haven't broken one on this guitar yet, though, which is a good sign. In about 10 days we'll be playing in Vegas at a strange bar where I don't know anyone except I know it's a tough place with a lot of drunks. The Les Paul is staying home and likely this Godin is getting the call. Because if it gets stolen or broken I simply will be very angry rather than absolutely flipping out.

I dunno, never talked to them.

I have been playing for damned close to 30 years now and currently own three Les Pauls, a pair of SGs, a Tele, three Strats and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't even list. I wouldn't hesitate to grab this off the wall heading to a show as it will hang with the big boys. Kind of wish it had the pickup switch but when playing The Punk Rock basically I have the bridge pickup full-on and that's it. I don't think I would buy a stock one, but when this one came up with the Duncans installed and at the right price, I had to do it. Kitschy cheesy look but I like it.

(Scroll down to the other reviews (or in Godin's website) for the stock setup.)

I have 2 radiators:

Radiator 1: White pearloid pickguard on a white body. Maple fingerboard, stock setup.

Radiator 2: White pearloid pickguard on a black body. Rosewood fingerboard, modded: Seymour Duncan SH11s on bridge and neck, 3-way toggle, tone knob now with a coil tap switch.

The neck is absolutely amazing. 12" radius with a D(?) shaped neck that is conducive to fast playing, but not too thin to strain your hands (I play thumb-over).

The pickguard top means you can customize it all you want. Stick in all sorts of switches without boring holes in the wood. Then if you want to revert back to the original setup, just buy a blank pearloid pickup which is readily available online.

Lack of a pickup switch means you can't switch settings fast. I'd also prefer a kill switch ala-Dano.

Difficult to reach the upper frets, since this is a single cutaway. So I really don't see much value in making the number of frets 24.

Pearloid tuning knobs are a bitch to find a replacement for, especially in my part of the world.

Electronics are not very accessible (you have a lot of screws to unscrew and you have to take the strings off) which is bad for me since I like to tinker with stuff.

The 2 radiators, despite having different pickups, have that similar warm, dark, semi-hollow sound. SH11s definitely compliment the stock sound by boosting the appropriate frequencies without being too middy. Both the stock and SH11 pickups reveal a muddy tone when distorted. They both also produce amazingly warm clean tones, comparable to Danelectros and similar guitars.

Bright tones a-la Tele are impossible to get.

The stock pickups, being single coil, have low outputs but with low noise. Kinda like P90s, but not quite.

Sustain leaves much to want, which is perfect for 50s-60s rock and some jazz, but a pain for heavy, compressed-guitars music.

I play blues-based heavy rock in a land of RGs, Les Pauls, Strats and Teles, so this produces a tone that's distinctly mine.

Bought both Radiators second-hand, so I have no idea of the factory setups.

The guitar seems to be able to withstand intensive gigging that doesn't include smashing it or bumping it into stuff. Which is probably also true for most other guitars out there.

Maple wood for the neck and body means that it's made of ultra-hard wood. Should have no worries about these breaking in half.

Hardware takes a long time to tarnish. Maintenance is the key I guess, since I apply WD40 on all hardware after every time I play it.

The pearloid tuning knobs easily break, though. Mine broke for no reason. It was just leaning by the wall and I heard a crack.

I've been e-mailing Godin for replacement tuners the past 6 months and no reply so far. You guys suck at this.

Been playing guitar since 1993. I have a Fender Standard Tele, an Epiphone Del Rey, and these 2 Radiators, and they were all chosen because they sound a particular way. I love the Radiator because of its distinct sound and playability. Its wonderful looks only came as a bonus.

My Radiator has a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard.
The unusual thing about the Radiator is its knob scheme,
with a separate volume control for each of the two single-coil
pickups, and a single shared tone control. This scheme allows
a huge number of sounds to be dialed in, but it's not always
easy to get back to a sound you liked. With this guitar it
pays to get really familiar with what the knobs can do, and
to make lots of adjustments on the fly.

I like clean and lower-gain sounds, and the Radiator
does very well here. It's quiet for a single-coil guitar.
The neck pickup can be a little boomy. I wasn't able to
solve this problem by adjusting the bass/treble height on
the pickup. But mixing in a bit of the bridge pickup solves
this problem.

You can definitely get a huge variety of sounds with this
guitar. The tone control is effective, but sometimes I
can't get things quite as bright as I'd like.

Somehow the balance between the strings doesn't seem just
right on my guitar, even after lots of messing with pickup
heights. On the other hand, I've found sounds on this
guitar that don't sound so special on their own that sound
great in the mix. It works for blues and pop -- and it's
warm enough for lots of jazz, but not dark-sounding.

I replace the factory "hybrid" 9-46 string set with a standard
10-46 string set and this improved the sound of the high E-G
strings.

I bought my Radiator used, and it needed some setup work.
The hardware all seems fine -- Godin seems good at producing
guitars with no weak points, although the tuners don't seem
as precise as on my other guitars.

I love the neck on this guitar; it's super comfortable.

Once I replaced the 9-46 string set with a 10-46 set the
truss rod needed to be tightened (even though I like a
bit of neck relief). In its current position it's a little
hard to adjust, which makes me nervous. I don't see how
I could string this particular Radiator with 11's or 12's.

My Radiator seems solid, but I don't gig with it. I may change
the tuners some day.

I've emailed Godin on two or three occasions, and each
time they've answered within about a day.

This is a comfortable, versatile guitar that is fun to
play. With any guitar there's an issue of how it sounds
on its own versus how it sounds in the mix. So far I
like the sound of this guitar on its own but really like
it in the mix. I'm going to try recording with it more.

I've been playing for 30 years and own about a dozen guitars.
At the moment, my favorite single coil in the bunch is a
Peavey Reactor. That guitar seems to always sound in tune,
and can cover nice jazz sounds to classic tele sounds.
In comparison, the Radiator is probably more versatile, but is
more finicky about tuning and, for me, able to not hit
warm jazz sounds as well.

I really enjoy playing my Radiator but am not sure if I'd
replace it if stolen. As I mentioned, I'll see how it works
for recording.

I paid around $200 on eBay for my Radiator and consider them
a very good value.

It's a basic guitar. No more

Pickups have weak output on high strings(they sound bright thou) , but good enough when using a high gain amp, an overdrive or distorsion box. I use boss pedals for this (blues overdrive or ds1). Almost noiseless pickups but they hum madly within sight of monitors or fluorescent lights. The tone pot is almost useless goes from not bright enough to much too bassy. The guitar is made hallow so it will feedback at anything above bedroom levels, I do not consider this guitar to be gigging ready.

Fit and finish is nice, the string tree is improperly aligned by 1/16 of an inch towards the bass side, wich makes the third string it one of the screws, if buying one watch for this.

I do not consider this guitar to be gigging ready. Feed back was a problem on stage and,I broke one tuning peg during a normal string change, I had no backup. Keep earing strange crackling from neck joint everytime I tune up.

I have personaly dealt directly with Godin, they are unhelpful, they support what they sell, only if you pay for the repairs. Their is no warranty, guarantee or any customer protection. I am very disapointed.

I have been playing for 30 years. I had this guitar since it was released (1999). My recommandation to new players and old alike, would be to stick with long time builders (Fender and Gibson, and sub-companies), that have good warranties, helpful personnel, and have easy to obtain and standard parts. This is the opposite with all Godin products. Stear clear of this guitar, or be prepared to get disatisfied in the near futur.

Less than basic stuff, no toggle switch, only one tone control, cheap no-name non locking tuners, bar type string tree, non standard bridge.

Bridge pickup sounds very good but has very low output even for a single coil. Neck sounds also very good but is adjusted very low to have same output has the neck pickup.
Poor score for low output.

Action great set low just like I like it. Fit is very good for a low priced guitar. The imitation pearloid was protected with a vinyle (or Poly-something) scratch guard that did not come off cleanly, I had to remove the pickguard to clean off the raggies. Tuners and string tree look pretty flimsy.

This is where this thing rates poorly, the tuning knobs keep breaking, I will have to find a permanent fix for this problem (metal knobs). The string tree pulled out twice when the tuners let go, and yes I still use the recommended string gage for this guitar. Buzzing from bridge (unknown cause). Yet I take great care of my guitars, and the last time a tuner knob broke, the guitar had been in its case for a year, strings slacked off. The neck the body joint looks weak, no metal pressure plate. Thin neck but seams well trussed.

Forget custumer support it is basicaly non existent. You are left to deal with the store you bought it from, mine guitar is out of warranty, and the hourly charge is too high for my budget. So I'm stuck with this dud.

If stolen I wouldn't be surprised that the thief would bring it back to me, to get it rapaired yet again. Please use a backup with this thing, it is unreliable, I personnly only take it out of it's case to tune it when I can, and practice some riffs in my bed room. I no longer gig with it, I'm afraid this thing will break.

this guitar was made in Canada and purchased from THOMANN in Germany so its travelled a bit.
Pickups are godin s/c and have a nice sweet sound.
The neck is 24.75 and mine has a maple board (I ORDERED ROSEWOOD AND RECEIVED MAPLE. BUT I PREFER THE MAPLE.........MAPLE WAS "OUT OF STOCK HAHAH oh well....... no prob) although there was a neck mixup, I have to compliment THOMANN on speed,,,,,,,, I had the guitar 2.5 days after ordering.....NOW THAT IS FAST. iT WAS WELL PACKED AND CAME WITH A NICE PADDED GIGBAG
Neck is low and flat,, just a minor rod adustment needed but I'll let it settle for a while after its travels.
Frets were nicely finished and no buzzes.
All in all it was a good buy so far and Im more than happy with the Radiator.

This guitar just sounds very musical. Unplugged it has an even ringing quality that surprised me. There was plenty of acoustic sustain, probably the nicest unplugged sound Ive heard.
I ran it through my litttle 60s vox ac4 and it chimed nicely.
Im sure this guitar will be great for country and general light rock.The guitar was not noisey in my livingroom but onstage,,, I cant say as yet.I could hear a bit of strat/tele/gibson all gently sitting there... I was impressed.It had a good variety of sounds via the two blend pick up controls from warm to bright,,,,, but not quite as brittle as a tele or strat.
Great for lighter blues/ country/ light rock.
Ive yet to try overdrive effects on this.

I loved the sound.

Set up was low out of the box and playable.
Everything was adjusted for a comfortable playing position but everyone makes their own adjustments in time anyway.
All joints and fittings were perfect, clean and tight.
The guitar was as perfect as you could expect. No marks or blemishes.Chrome was bright and paintwork prettymuch perfect.
Machineheads work fine and it stayed in tune for a 2 hour session.

All the fittings seem durable but Id always have a backup no atter what guitar I was using.
Everything seemed durable and secure.
Im sure it will be dependable..it feeels solid enough. Maybe a couple of pounds lighter than my strat.

I have emailed godin and have generally had a fast response.
The guitar seems to have been put together with great care which I have to say is rare these days. Ive tried usa strats and teles that dont seem to have the feel or finish of this little guitar.

Ive been playing for 35 years I think.thereabouts anyways.. using fender vox squier ovation peavey.

My one gripe on the Radiator is the positioning of the front control knob.... its in the way of a strum. After a couple of hours with it you get used to playing it either side of the control.It could be very annoying at times but I can live with it.
It lost a point for the control position.

I would buy 2 if I had spare cash. It is the sweetest guitar I have purchased.

I guess the features are already well known by now...it's a light-weight retro-lookin' guitar. Sounds en plays fantastic. I bought this guitar a few months ago; our band had to do some rehearsels because of an theatre-tour and I needed to borrow a guitar ( I travel by train and hate to carry heavy guitars all the way; an' I can always use guitars from the musicstore next to the studio). Djowie, the general manager, recommended the Radiator, but gave me also a few USA strats....played whole day on the Godin....amazing.

Fantastic....sparkling...bright...I think it's a rythmguitar, and that's what I play; never tryed it for leadguitar 'cause I can't....

When I bought it, it was very nicely set; great action and noiseless.The guitar plays like hell and is never out of reach. In my opinion, you can never find a guitar, that sounds and plays like this for that amount of money; In 1992 I played on a "tele"like Godin, and I thought it was terrible and bought a Gretsch 6022, but now I know... Godin makes very good stuff.

I'm not that friendly with my gear, but this guitar will survive; seems durable...

Just send them an e-mail...waiting for it..

In fact I'm a singer, who play's a bit of guitar. Got a realy nice collection of special guitars (www.derukde.nl/gitaren), and I'm gonna use de Radiator for my special gigs.

Radiator cool sounds,probably 99 or so blue with white pick guard which I spray painted blue, 2 volume pots,removed tone pot rewired in a stero out jack instead all else stock

Played thru fender blues j.r. with and without effects r.p.50 etc.
also roland spirit 25A very low noise can get just about any sound I like D.I for recording thru small mixing board still sounds great.

Bought new recieved as gift. Set up my self for personal taste. plays in tune stays in tune

Played live lots... back-up? never occured to me..plastic broke on one tuner. glued it back together w/crazy glue, pearly knob thingies fell of long ago replaced knobs w/ speed knobs replaced female mono jack as original kept shorting use stero jack for recording..

no,really

Playing 45 years, have other guitars this guitar does everything I ask it to which is play in tune and stay in tune. I've been playing long enough to know the rest is up to me

I will not go into much in this review since so much is covered elsewhere. I like having a seperate volume knob for each pickup. Seperate Tone controls would have really added to the Sonci capabilities. I paid a bit more used than many, but I wantes the sweet blue color that is no longer available new. Neck is fantastic. Smooth maple that feels like they made it just for me.

Godins own pickups sounded real nice. Sort of a Pseudo Danelectro/Telecaster tone, but not identical to either. I use it into a Woodcross Blues Buster for the most part and it sounds awesome. A classic tone that will cover many jazz/rock/blues or even country styles. Like any single coil, it can get noisey at high gain, but this in not a guitar for high gain styles. Better suited to the mellower side of things.

Godin may be the sleeper brand of all guitars. Everything they do is incredible in fit, and feel. Mine was used, so I can not comment on action since it may have had a setup, but every other one I have tried feels like it was custom made for me.

Great stuff. Never had a problem with Godin

My dealings with them have been pleasant, though it takes a day or so for them to reply!

Been playing a couple of years now and I am slowly buying all Godins. If it were stolen I would hire someone to find it. GAve it a 9 because ther is no 9.5

I will not go into much in this review since so much is covered elsewhere. I like having a seperate volume knob for each pickup. Seperate Tone controls would have really added to the Sonci capabilities. I paid a bit more used than many, but I wantes the sweet blue color that is no longer available new. Neck is fantastic. Smooth maple that feels like they made it just for me.

Godins own pickups sounded real nice. Sort of a Pseudo Danelectro/Telecaster tone, but not identical to either. I use it into a Woodcross Blues Buster for the most part and it sounds awesome. A classic tone that will cover many jazz/rock/blues or even country styles. Like any single coil, it can get noisey at high gain, but this in not a guitar for high gain styles. Better suited to the mellower side of things.

Godin may be the sleeper brand of all guitars. Everything they do is incredible in fit, and feel. Mine was used, so I can not comment on action since it may have had a setup, but every other one I have tried feels like it was custom made for me.

Great stuff. Never had a problem with Godin

My dealings with them have been pleasant, though it takes a day or so for them to reply!

Been playing a couple of years now and I am slowly buying all Godins. If it were stolen I would hire someone to find it. GAve it a 9 because ther is no 9.5

I have no idea what year it was made, but it has all the original parts except for the nobs. No accessories were included. Rosewood fretboard. Typical features as described in other reviews.

I was traveling and didn't have a guitar with me, so I picked it up as a cheapo to practice with in my hotel room.

It is perfect for my style, I set it up for open E slide. 12 - 56 gauge strings. I usually play a tele, it is more like a danelectro or rickenbacker sound that a tele.

I figured it was a chinese guitar when I bought it. I was surprised to find it was of canadian/usa manufacture/assembly. I would say the quality is similar to the CBS american fender guitars.

Sounds great through an old Hiwatt 50.

The thing is too old to judge the fit and finish. The bridge saddles are a little too moveable, similar to CBS fenders, but the neck is solid and does not shift.

The thing feels solid and stays in tune. Again, I would compare the reliability and durability to the CBS american made fenders. As far as using it on a gig without a backup...I guess I could, but I would never play a gig without a backup...and I would fire anyone who made it a practice to gig without backups. But that's me.

Never tried contacting the company.

I'be been playing for more than 35 years. I usually play tele's, old Dan Armstrongs, 60's model epiphones and play either through old Hiwatts or 60's Ampeg Gemini's. If it were lost or stolen, I would buy whatever I could get a good deal on.

I love the sound and the feel and the price. I hate the fact that I have to tighten up the screws just like I have to do on all my fenders.

When buying it, I was comparing it to chinese and mexican imports, new and used. This was the best thing in the price range of the 5 music stores I visited.

If this is a cheapo guitar from Godin, I suspect their higher end guitars are great.

I got the pearl finish standard model with maple neck. Tele style bridge. Lovely retro shape. Unique blending volumes, which although took a while to master (after playing with an Epi LP), sounds great when used to full effect - a wide range of tones!

Its a versatile guitar if youre into teles and the like. I wouldnt purchase for hi-gain work, but for other sort of light/inde rock, jazz, funk, bluesy stuff, this is the one.

I'd describe it as a cross between a modded tele with a bit of Les Paul injected in. I think the sound is versatile, you can play lead (won say screaming), but it excels in the bluesier, jazzier, funkier sorta dirty tones. Id say its bright, with twangy elements (bright), but also has the bottom edge there. Particularly love the neck setting.

Just lately ive moved onto more heavier tones, which my Epi Les paul does handle better. I wouldnt recommend this guitar for any hi-gain work, which my Epi Les Paul tends to handle tons better. Just the SC pickup is laking the gain really, and of course feedback stars to become an issue there. But saying that, get the amp settings right it can still sing for solos.

Although im not using it live at the moment, i have before, and i will do again. I also use it for recording, as i think the clean and dirty and funky tones are tons better than my Les Paul or Washburn Mercury 2 will ever give me. Very useful, and cheap addition to any guitarists sound arsenal.

My normal setup is a Line6 POD XT thru a JCM 800 power amp and 2x12 cab. But where this baby excels best is straight into (no effects!)into my little 50w Marshall 2554 (the little grey one). Sounds fab thru this, got a real chilli peppers thing going on! The tones alone inspired me to write this riff (http://www.mitch-music.com/music/new/longwayfromhome.mp3)!

Bought off ebay, so setup wasnt brill. But then again paid less that 200 quid for it, so was quite willing to pay the local guitabod a few quid to set it up for me. Once set up, was beautiful to play, action was nice and low, no string buzz. Finish was gorgeous - i feel guilty ive already put a couple of dings in the body (was gigging around London with it). I love the neck on this thing, feels great.

The only real gripe i'll have is the tuning. It does slip out everynow and again. Might invest in some locking heads next time.

Ok i was a dick one time. I threw me guitar across in the stage in a raging temper. (Dont do it kids, its not big and clever). Anyway, this guitar FLEW! And it landed. And the only damage was one machine head snapped off. Ok, i did have to ring around half the world to find a replacement one (now i realise i should just have replaced them with some lockable heads).

Other wise it has been susceptible to dings here and there. Oh and the little pearly covers fall off the knobs easily.

Erm, i must admit Godin werent particularly helpful when looking for replacement machine heads. In fact took a long while to get hold of them. So sorry Godin, i got let down there.

I actually bought a 2nd one off ebay because that too was selling for under 200 quid. For that price! These are quality made guitars with amazing sounds for the money. I bought the 2nd one as insurance after i bust my original one, as i was gigging with it. I must admit im not using it live at the moment (im going thru my LP phase at the moment) mainly because our style of music has come back to being hi-gain again. But when we start playing lighter more 'tonal' sort of rock, then i will not hesitate to throw it back on at a gig. Looks the part too!

I also have to admit im possibly going to mod the back-up one by seeing what happens when i strap a decent HB or stacked single coil pickup at the bridge. If that works to help increase the gain for the heavier stuff then my poor little LP had better look out!

Ps i think Godin are underated. And i might just be out to buy another one!

I gotta blue baby blue one with the standard plastic top,maple on maple (one day i'm gonna glue down a maple veneer top...) this colour is kinda...well i don't really care too much...

the pickups are very low noise, but i changed them for vintage Kay chrome covered wonders(and the age of these things makes for a nice rounded bridge tone).

i had to dig out the chamber a bit to fit my old pickups in...the wood is very soft...i think they glued 4 or 5 layers of thickness to get this...not impressive, but hey, the neck is SOLID!!!!!

the body wood is a weak point, i think, but the resonance is good. Like some cheap rickenbaker or danalectric, it has a cool sound. i recorded direct thru a my butler pedal into mixer, to my Nakamichi tape deck, and was pleasantly surprised at the vintage twang (partly thanks to my 1950's Kay pickups...)

Always want to pick it up when i pass it...great playing satisfaction

the neck is real pro finished

dunno

bought on yahoo auction so N/A

8. great for adolescent or kid just starting out...i would pick up another for the same price to give to a nephew or someone...or keep to customize/experiment...

The serial number says it was made in '01 though I bought it from a store in '04.
Came as it is with no gig bag or anything.
Straight from the box, it was play-ready without having to do much setting up.
Much has been said of the highly comfortable neck and it is what glued me to it in the first place.
Being hollow bodied also made it lighter and hence lesser strain on the shoulders when playing for a long time.
I have one gripe though, the neck volume knob tend to get in the way when playing. There's high possibility of cutting the neck pickup altogether accidentally especially when strumming hard.
Also, the strings tend to slip off the neck while bending. Not a good idea.

I play more jazz and light rock so this baby suits me to a T.
As much as Godin herald it's versatility, I pretty much doubt anyone would need the whole spectrum of sounds it is deemed capable of producing by blending the bridge and neck pickups. I play it through a Korg AX1500 so most time I keep it at full tone while using the effects modelling.
For single coils, it is extremely quiet.
The sustain is a little bit short but I rarely need it to scream so it's ok.
The sounds were clean and for it's price, it offers really good value for uncongested sounds.

The action was a little bit high out of the box but nothing an alan key cannot fix. I particularly like the individual action on the bridge compared to a lp. Then again, the chrome plate on the bridge looks like it's price and maybe cheaper. I've lost a spring already due to loose screws. But then, can't complain much about the aesthetics for such a price.
The thrust rods were not accessible using normal keys though it is not too much of an issue but may be an irritating thing when you're on the road and don't have your tools with you.
The screws attaching the scratch plates tend to rust. Most of mine's has rusted due to the perspiration under the heat and lights from my sweaty arms. Is it too much much to ask for stainless steel screws? Perhaps...

Though it feels lighter than most solid bodies, it is a sturdy axe to grind on.
The neck feels very solidly bolted to the body but if you knock on the back of the neck, you'll hear some rattling of the rods inside. I wouldn't trust it to survive being accidentally banging on something solid.
The strap buttons were solid and never gave any problems.
The finishing is good. Just wondering if Godin sells replacement scratch plates, cos it'll be really cool to be able to swap scratch plates for different gigs and it'll look like a different guitar each time. I saw a black body with a chrome plate and it looks awesome though I dunno about how it'll look with scratches on the chrome face.
I've gigged with it without backups and it was okay. I guess as long as you're not too energetic and violent with it, it will serve you very well.

Never had to deal with the company.

Been playing guitar for 17 years, mainly acoustic stuff. This guitar is a cool piece of gear to have both in terms of look and sound. If it were stolen, I'll replace it. If I had to get another one, I'd probably buy second hand, though it's already so inexpensive, it also costs so much lesser second hand and the QC in Canada is good enough to ensure the second hand will be a good piece as well.
I could play for hours and hours on it because of it's well crafted neck. Excellent piece of work from Godin.
Like I said earlier, having options to purchase additional different scratch plates will make it a really exhibition piece.

pretty good on the features count;
Guitar is assembled in the USA, from parts lovingly crafted in canada.
high quality selected (1 PIECE!) short scale maple neck - nice and clubby.
2 single coils, no noisy toggle switches (i prefer this solution of blending the neck and the bridge using the 2 master volumes).
Tone chambers routed out of the 2 piece quality body, all over pick guard, decent tuners for the price.
My only complaint would be the design of the bridge - not the worst i have seen by any means, but i found it fiddly to get what i wanted in terms of set up.

HOWEVER
for #200 this is by far the most fully featured guitar i can find anywhere before sacrificing general quality for components - bear this in mind

well to be honest i only love the radiators tone for some things - its faultless through clean, especially when yu roll the bridge off just a little. I find that it just doesnt have the fluidity that a great heavy rock guitar should - but i would rather have this guitar doing some things really well than everything just ok. It gets played through a marshall cab and a line6 flextone head - so to be honest i can make any guitar sound ok.
I find that the guitar is a little noisy on high gain settings, and tends to increase more than my other guitars in proximity to the tv.

I'd say its a tremendous guitar for blues/jazz/country/lighter rock. I have heard many say it sounds alot like a rickenbacker, and i would have to say it offers the jangly quality that my les paul can't.

as long as you don't need to go gain crazy i would reccomend it highly.

action was a little higher than i play normally, but i am used to dropping that down and changing to 10's all the time.
The paint to me was a little thin on the back, and its covered up with the full face pickguard so i cant tell on the front.
The frets were all very even and the neck was as well set and was as straight as anyone could get within reason - something godin particularly prides itself on. The fretboard has been beautifully mated to the neck - really amazing - you would expect that kind of finish on a guitar of 3x this price.
No scratches or anything - even after 2 years - so its cosmetically totally durable - best guitar i have in that respect.

my only other complaint is the bridge volume control keeps falling off, but i can take that because of everything else

guitar stays in tune well - no trem anywhere and shorter scale means less string breakages.
All the hardware is untarnished, and tuners have years and years left.
Strap buttons are small but very solid. The full face pick cover will mean that this guitar should look new for so long. Its durable enough for a world tour, so long as it suits you elsewhere

never needed them

i gave it a 10 most places - its not the most versatile guitar in the world but
a)it will do a lot of things very well for most people
b)you can pick them up for half of less than retail because godin don't (can't) trade on their name like gibson - you get a bargain.
c)i think when you get american/canadian crafted electrics for korean bolt on epiphone money - how can you complain?

I seriously mean it when i give this one a ten - its not the fastest - there are no jumbo frets and high output humbuckers - but what it does do it does with alot of class

Price paid #249.00 UK.

Bought This guitar secondhand (in fact purchased about 2 hours ago).
Not too sure how much these guitars cost new. Made in the U.S.

Thinking it could be a 1999-2000 model (the guitar was introduced in 1999).

The body id say at a guess was either basswood or alder the body is les paul shaped . neck is maple with rosewood fretboard. Tuners have pearload knobs. Neck scale feels slim simuler to a fender telecaster. and guitar features a tele style bridge

I havent really had much change to experiment yet as ive only just got this instument. But so far it sounds great. thought is was a bit strange not having a pickup selector, but has excellent tonal possibilities by blending the tone and volume knobs. Picups are godins own toaster style (very ricky).

I bought this guitar second hand and not from a music store, but the guitar is in good condition and is very playable. This was a pleasent surprise. Id say that this guitar had been well looked after by the previous owner

I think this guitar would be very giggable and versatile. I dont think i would need a backup guitar. I would take an extra guitar mainly if my 2 guitars were totally different sounding. for example the godin and my westfield jazzer or for different tunings

N/A

Ive have been playing guitar since 1988. My other guitars are a 50s re issue japanese fender strat 2 x Peavey generation exp telecasters and a westfield (gretsch tennesean copy).I would replace it if it were stolen.
I love the guitar because it is lightweight,versatile,

These features are pretty covered below, my pickups say "Godin" and look like a cloth covered small humbucker (nice touch Godin) well basically two pups each with a volume control and one master tone... very flexible soundwise and GENIUS.
Plastic top, semi-hollow body, maple neck, rosewood fret board yada yada yada.
Very nice pearl tuners, great feel to these babies.
No wammy, but I didn't want one otherwise I would of got the SD for $20 more, the SD had a pickup selector switch, it just looked stupid compared to the little baby Radiator. Although I did want both.

I read below that this thing is noisy? Yeah right, that's bullshit, this thing is noiseless. It has no noise, the guy who said that must have a faulty switch or probably running it through devices that make noise on their own.
It has NO HUM, a rich and fairly dark soud thanks to the rosewood, you can get a fair amount of life from the pickups by playing with the knobs a bit, I gave it a 10 because for $630 Australian, (US $420) oooooh, this thing wails. aaaah. If I had spent twice the price it would be rubbing against Gibsons and then it would only get an 8.

My hardware was oxidised a fair bit... 10 minutes, some brasso, some elbow grease, looks like new. This isnt a prob. The paint is well applied, I don't think they put it on too thick which is good. Nicely done, Assembled in the good ol' U. S. of A, well what price was this baby again? Bargain.
Looks? well this is why I bought is, it looks cool. But why would I buy a guitar I didn't like the look of? some people, I mean honestly.

I dont know, no problems, feels lightish but still solid

I dont think Im ever going to need them.

A cool looking guitar (it actually says Radiator cool sound on the badge)much better than my fender strat copy but with a unique sound. This guitar doesn't look like it is trying to copy anybody, whic I give it thumbs up for.

if it were lost or stolen I would be very sad, but I'd buy another in a heartbeat. After I make an appeal on national T.V, with me sitting behind a desk of mics, crying, pleading for the criminal to look into his heart and return my baby.

The only problem I have with it, which is why I have given it 9 and not ten is It could be a little more comfy.

Made in US from canadian parts and timbers. Passive S/S p'ups. Kind of Les Paul shape (I've seen a black one with a non-stock black scracthplate and it looks EXACTLY like a Les Paul Jr). Full body scracth-plate, hollow underneath for more twang. Canadian silverleaf maple body. Maple/maple neck. Good tuners. Top-loading bridge. Excellent features for the money.

Light indie guitar rock- and it suits perfectly. Crystal tones, almost no noise. Very warm, very Ric. No pick-up selector is weird but then again you can dial in vitually sound with the knobs for eack pick-up, so it probably allows even more variation in tones. It's just perfect, again, especially for the price. I would buy this guitar at twice the price.

Perfectlyt setup. Paint is gorgeous and superbly applied- spotless finish. Only thing I have done is adjust the truss because I use 8s. I honestly don't know how a company can make guitars this well and still make a profit.

Again, almost perfect, the only blemish being pretty ordinary strap buttons (but new ones cost $1.50 so I'll live). I would depend on it with my life. Light because of the semi-hollow body but strong as you like. I never gig without a back-up. It's asking for trouble.

N/A

My setup: Godin->Jen Crybaby Wah->Boss OS2 (for extra gain)->Boss ME-30->Ibanez DML-10 modulating delay->Vox Cambridge 30R. It's almost. I cannot believe the quality of the woods, electronics, paint and workmanship that have gone into this guitar for the money. Best value guitar. I also own Ibanez Roadstar II, Yamaha RGX-621, custom tele etc. These guitars are all great but they all cost a bundle more.

you've read the other reviews so you know these already. it's got what it needs and it don't need nothin' else. mine was the black onyx with the mother-of-toilet seat giant pickguard, but I've seen a few black radiators with a chrome pickguard that looks completely out of the world...if you see one pick it up becuase they're really rare and probably the best looking guitar I've ever seen. new radiators include an AWESOME hard shell case but I've heard the newest ones only include a gig bag.

so I've heard that it's meant to sound like a rickenbacker, and I can sorta hear it but I'd say the sounds you canget are more akin to a telecaster custom. mild clank, a lotta twang, and a nice amount of low end.

this guitar was used so I can't attest to how it comes new but as I understand from a friend of mine who bought one new it was ready to play out of the box.

you could call it a workhorse guitar. don't swing it and smash it up against a wall and you won't have any problems. it's a nice sturdy guitar that I wouldn't mind gigging without a backup with.

haven't had to deal with them yet.

I play 50s rock'n'roll, 70s style punk, garage rock, and beatlesy kinda indie pop stuff and this guitar is really the one for me. it sounds totally unique but still great clean or with a little drive.

I'd recommend this as second or third guitar for someone who's only been playing for a few years. for the price, you simply cannot get a higher quality instrument, except for maybe a gretsch synchromatic, without scamming someone or doing something illegal. don't pay more than $300 unless it comes with a hard shell case.

I'm not sure what year it wasa build but I bought it brand new a year ago or so. I guess it was build not that long before that. Features are standard (2 noise-reducing coils, fixed bridge, tone-knob and one volume-knob per coil), it's the "Black pearl" version, black body with mirroring pickguard, rosewood neck. I think it's a beauty with all it's simplicity, I'm still in love with her. (yes HER, Godin means goddess in Dutch , hehehehe). I value simplicity, so I rate her high for having not to many features... :)

My style is pretty broad, the Radiator suits the clean/funky/yazzy part of it. Yes even de Yazzy part, despite it's cooler sound. I use it on a Crate GX-120-C transistor right now, yes! I'm buying a tube-amp soon enough! :) ...... A boogie mark III / IV or a Hot Rod 4x10", we'll see.... I use a Tubescreamer for overdrive, sounds good to me....especially when I emphasize on the neck-pickup it gives a bit of a classic drive-tone...it lacks a bit of depth, but that is because of the amp I think...overall I love it's sound, allthough she use just a bit more sustain, ah well.......I've got a LG equipped with tetran humbuckers (4x) for that need.......

The guitar was tuned very well, the guy in the shop told me they never have to adjust new Godin guitars, they come in all tuned and perfectly ready for sale. The finish is good.......it's a well designed and build instrument.....no flaws.......

I fully trust this one, allthough I've been playing it for just a year now. I don't expect any troubles.....also due to it's simplicity......the finish won't wear off......and I'm not quite the most gentle man with his guitars......never clean them, no hardcase - just a gigbag.........the hardware is simple and durable......

I haven't had any contact with Godin yet, but the guy in the store was really impressed by their devotion and service (he spoke with the man himself on a fair), the former owner of my LG wrote to them some times and encountered a company willing to inform and help you as kind and accurate as possible.

I've been playing guitar for about 11 / 12 years now. I also have a Godin LG with tetran humbuckers and a Les Paul kinda guitar from Gumika....allthough an unknown brand it's a pretty good, fat and warm sounding, guitar....for effects I use Ibanez pedals of variable series and a Morley Wah. If this guitar was stolen I wouldn't buy a new one, cause it would be over my dead body that someone walks off with it ;)