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 ;)

2 single coil pups, 1 tone pot, comes with 9s but I have changed mine to 10s since. Mine is the aqua colour with maple fretboard and pearl pick guard. Has 24 frets. Great neck with sweet feel and is pretty fast playing action. Tuners are very good, stay in tune heaps well.

I play guit at my church and we play contempory worship stuff, so the style sort of ranges from soft rock, to blues/funk to ballad's. It suits these styles well. It probly is not overly suited to say thrash metal or punk etc but it can hold its own. Its basically very telecaster like, its quite fenderish. It does well over most styles. Its got a mid/bright sweet sound. It gives out great variety in tones by blending the 2 pups together and of course using the tone pot. I use a Johnson JT50 and it sounds sweet. Its basically sounds HOT!

Pretty much very good, especially considering the price!

Yeah its very reliable.
I Would use without back up
strap buttons are fine
finish is pretty good but be careful, watch the belt buckle!!

n/a

Ive been playing for just over 3.5 years I own the Godin, a Epiphone Les Paul and a Maton Acoustic. I would but it again for sure, its a great guit for such a good price.

Godin Radiator, It was made in year 2000 in Canada (hand made) and was crafted in USA.
Alder black body with big white pickguard all over the body, maple neck & fingerboard. 24 medium frets.
2 Volume knobs and 1 tone knob, not enough but it's only a guitar for beginners.

I play mostly metal metal (like metallica) and rock-blues (led zeppelin), the guitar has a terrible sound for each of the styles, the 2 godin singles are very noisy and I can't play anything that sounds good, however, it's clean sounds not really bad but only with a new strings, after a week it's sounds bad again.

The guitar isn't comfortable for playing fast or playing at all.
it's hard to me to play on frets over 18 because of the disguasting action and the weird body of the guitar. the frets are very small too.
However, it's a great guitar for begginers. because of the bad action, the fingers get stronger and when I bought my first good guitar (Ibanez S-450) it was very easy for me to play fast and clean because i was used to play on an ugly guitar.

I've bought the Godin 2 years ago, I always throw it on the bed when I come home and sometimes it falls on the floor, but nothing happens to it. it has a very hard durbility!

The support I got is quite good, I have warranty for 3 years and the 2times I repaired it it was under the warranty

Well, I could buy a better guitar, much better, but I didn't do u know why? because I'm stupid, I'm sorry I've bought it...

This guitar is pretty sweet, put together real nice, and has the look(and feel) of a well crafted instrument. Godin singles, maple fretboard(Hard maple, feels goooood), pearl guard, pearl tuners(nice touch),black body, your basic factory setup, but mine is oh so much better...installed is a handy dandy pickup selector switch. The switch makes all the difference when the show is live, loud and full of energy. The switch was installed to make my life easier on stage, but it was cool without it, the sounds are plenty on this baby using the seperate volume knobs. Overall gets a 9 for quality and care, you can't beat the value.

The sound is killer, not sure why this randy morgan fellow is having such bad luck in life(and why he decided to vote twice), but my radiator is functioning great! I'm a player, who's played a variety of guitars, and I own a few as well {'79 fender strat(o.k.), gibson 335(nice), musicman silhouette(the best!),liberty resonator(love it), gibson sg(fantastic), gibson les paul(nice), and a variety of cheapies) This ranks...well pretty high. The tone is mellow, smooth and twangy all at the same time. It is pretty quiet and layed back, the low e has a nice mellow tone. Overall, the body cavities really add a punch, GREAT to play unplugged, but when plugged in it really screams. I play mostly blues and I love to use this baby when I want to get slow, bendy, emotional, it works well. I use other guitars on stage, but this one fits well when it's supposed to. Sounds fantastic with my tube amp, also use it with a harmonica amp that gives it a real raw sound for some reason. I do like this guitar a lot, was thinking about a telecaster, but then this came along, and I think I'll put off the tele for a little while longer. Can't say enough good things about the sound, still there is some buzzing ocassionally, the highs can get a little too high when plugged, but you just need to find the right feel, pickups are not as beefy as the big boys, but I think I just keep 'em like they are. Killer!

The set up was fine, fit me well. Everything was put together with care and an honest appreciation for what a guitar is. I guess godin can afford to let this "entry level" model go for so cheap because of their other over-priced guitars, but they use the same principles on this model as they do with their big boys. Same neck, which I feel is probably the most important part of a player's guitar. If it doesn't feel right, and you don't crave to hold it and stroke it, then you need to dump it and find another sexy neck. Like butter...well not quite, but it does feel better than my other cheapie guitars, and almost as good as my musicman(best necks in the business no doubt). I wish the tuners were more decent, they stay in tune fine, they look good, but playing live, I tend to notice that they slip sometimes, no skin off my back to give it a tiny twist between every few songs. Plus I can't help but look good with this sexy little devil strapped on.

I think it handles itself fine. I play it a lot, it has its obligatory road scars, the hardware is fine, but the only issue I have is with the vol knobs. Well it seems that my strumming has taken out a soldier, it's still hanging on, and still works but it tends to get in the way sometimes, one of these days I'm just gonna knock it clear off. I guess that's why I carry my arsenal from gig to gig.

I sent an email once to them, they got back to me the next day. Real nice guy too, and helpful, I guess for that they deserve a 10. I could see them being a pleasure to deal with if I really needed them.

Well, to sum it all up, I enjoy playing this guitar. She looks good, sounds good, feels good and makes me happy. My girlfriend is pretty jealous. I own/have played some pretty badass guitars, this is one of them. I can't get over how inexpensive she really is, why the radiator hasn't caught on as one of the best deals out there. Maybe the look is a little too funky for most people, but when it comes down to it, it's all about the feel and sound. She excels when it comes to the feel, the sound is great, I personally love the look(Am I just crazy?), how many other guitar makers out there can give you a truly original guitar with an affordable price tag. I know that I've spent some hard earned cash on my toys, music is a wonderful thing, and when you can find something as sweet and guiltless as this guitar you can't help but smile. Go to your local music store and play everything, find what makes you smile, then study the bargains. I think you'll find that this is the ticket. Take the ride.

2001 model. Made in Canada. 24 fret. Full body pickguard. 1 tone, 1 volume, that's all - no selector switch. 2 - single coil pickups.

This guitar sounds like a freak. You may buy one but you will only want to use it for 1 or 2 songs on your CD. The single coil pickups are the noisiest I have ever heard in my life. There is no selector switch so you can not find a quiet position such as 2 and 4 on a 5 - way selector switch. This is the worst sounding guitar I have ever played. I have played 35 years. I play rock and fusion.

Flat, slim-taper neck - 24 fret (nice). Very nice feel neck excellent action but little e string falls off fretboard when you pull - not good. The finish on this guitar is perfect and quite beautiful - and with the full body pearloid pickguard (which I believe should be on every guitar made so the guitarist always has a new looking guitar) makes it a MUCH MUCH MUCH prettier than any gibson or fender or ibanez or anything on the market - except the hohner peral series.

this is a well made guitar. i would trust it anywhere.

i emailed GODIN 3 times - never a response.

Do not buy this RADIATOR guitar unless you have a lot of money to spend on collection guitars. This guitar sounds so weird that you will only use it on 1 or 2 songs on your CD. GODIN makes a very excellent guitar called the GL (although they have stopped making the 24 fret on many of their guitars - a MISTAKE - and the neck is a fat neck like on many gibsons instead of a flat,slim-taper neck like on the RADIATOR). The RADIATOR sounds horrible and has ZERO sustain to speak of ( first time i have ever experienced ZERO sustain - my chromatic tuner will is unable to tune the little E and B strings - the tuner just shuts off after 2 seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). BUT A GODIN LG - DO NOT BUY A GODIN RADIATOR!!!!!!!!)

slim-taper 24 fret maple neck. maple body. full body pickguard.

Sound is the worst I have ever heard. Sustain is so little that my chromatic tuner and other tuner both will only activate for 2 seconds and then it shuts off. this guitar has no sustain - and i did not think that was possible in any guitar. the sound is so different that it will upset most guitarists. this guitar is made to do a lead on maybe 1 song on the album and that is it. it is so different in sound that it is actually a freak. ALSO - these single coil pickups are the loudest i have ever heard on any guitar in my life. since this guitar has no selector switchm you can not find a quiet setting such as 2 and 4 on a 5 selector switch.

slim-taper neck has good action. 24 frets is nice - and GODIN has stopped making 24 frets lately - BIG MISTAKE. bueatiful factory finish and the full body pickguard should be on every guitar on the world so every guitarist will have a new looking guitar because a full body pickguard is cratch and ding resistant. AND BEAUTIFUL. VERY GORGEOUS. (the little E string does fall off when you pull - this can be very serious with some guitarists - AND - you the tuners are very sensitive - you barely turn a tuner and it wants to tune up a half step! not good - - but i will give this catageory a 10 because of the full body pickguard and slim-taper neck)

i think this guitar is reliable and durable.

i emailed them 3 times - no response

i have played for 35 years. i bought this on the internet without playing it. i read the reviews here. watch out for what you read here - many players are not an 8,9,or 10 and do not have the ear to make a qualified rating. GODIN makes a very nice guitar (fat,round neck) called the LG if you can get it in 24 frets. I did test the LG and it sounds excellent. Do not buy the RADIATOR unles you have extra money to blow and want a freak sounding lead on 1 song on your CD. If still has this guitar and it was stolen, I would find the guy who stole it and I am sure he would just hand it back to me. Thenb I would put it up for auction on EBAY.

This is actually just an update for my review below... I recently installed a Duncan TB-2 and now I have one of the most versatile guitars!

If needed, for clean I can roll off the TB2 and turn the neck pickup to about 4-5 (i own a JCM800 so i have to make-do with the one channel) and I've got the clean fat strat sound, turn the TB2 back to 11 and I'm right back up there with the thick harmonic gain... Beatiful..

Get a high gain pickup in the bridge and you have every base covered...

Bought new in 2002. Assembled in USA from Canadian parts. Maple fretboard and black finish with white pearl pickguard - striking combination. All stock when I got it but I've made one necessary modification: the pickups are each wired to a volume control so there is no selector switch and the tone control is a master to both pickups. This is a great configuration for getting many different sounds but the knobs are knurled chrome so there are no markings or numbers on them. This makes it hard in live situations to adjust your sound at a glance so I use 3 strat knobs so I can glance at the guitar and understand my options for loudness and tome.

Very versastile. I can get sounds from single coil to humbucker. Very quiet. Its a bright sound but you can adjust the tone control down to 3 and it gets nice and warm without being muddy. I play in a cover band and use this guitar for every tune from Elvis to the Stones. It does not drive an OD pedal very well so you will need a pedal that has a lot of balls.

Beautifully made and set up right out of the box. My only adjustment was to raise the treble side of the pups for better e and b string definition.

The quality of the materials seem very durable. I've had no problems using it in a band setting. The body is mostly hollow under the large pickguard so I take care. Gig without a backup - not with this guitar or any other for that matter.

Never dealt with company.

I've been playing off and on for 20 years. My other guitar is a 1960's RI Stratocaster. I love the strat but for now the Radiator is number 1 come gigtime. If stolen I'd immediately buy another one. Cheap, dependable, versatile tones, cool looks, unique, plays and feels great!

1999- I just bought it new which tells you how many people like the look of it... All the specs have been said already. Mine's that hideous aqua colour. MINE DOESN'T HAVE SOUND CHAMBERS LIKE IT'S MEANT TO- JUST NORMAL ROUTING AROUND THE POTS AND PICK-UPS. In fact, it's a really tight squeeze for the pick-ups and pots. But good for what it's meant to do.

It's ok for us- lots of people have said 'scratchy' and that's what I like. Great sustain. For two singles, relatively good variety of sounds. Pick-ups squeal like stuck pigs with the gain over 1/3 the way up- really annoying. Bright sound- sometimes too bright for me. (One note: That's not Godin's fault. Why do people buy a guitar and then mark Godin down for sound because it doesn't suit them? If it doesn't suit you, why did you buy it? LP's and Tele's don't suit my sound, but I'm not going to mark them down for it.)

Needed fret dressing from new- not impressed. What I was impressed at was the built quality and the paint job. The paint didn't go into the edges of the neck screwholes (CLEARLY visible), but the paint was thick and perfectly applied. It is the standout factor with this guitar. But loses many marks for needing fret dressing when bought new.

I have only gigged with it once and I had 1/2 an hour between sets where I just had to sit on my amp and do nothing. So I cleaned out my machine heads. I got up to play and was out of tune. Haha. Nothing to do with Godin, but a true story. I never gig without a backup, but if I did, I would feel more than confident to do so with this one.

1 email sent - 1 email reply in 4 days. Good enough for me. Good website too.

Playing for 13 years. Setup: Godin/Ibanez CT Strat/Yamaha RGX/Yamaha APX-4-->Jen (red fasel) Crybaby-->Boss OS-2 -->Boss ME-30 -->Ibanez DML-10 (modulating delay)--> (between amps but probably a Behringer GX212). I wish I had spent more time playing it in the shop (and I already spent a lot) 'cause I don't really think it's for me. But it's great for what it is.

Mine is a regular Pace car blue Radiator. I have removed the stock pickups and installed a Seymour Duncan Alnico II at the bridge and a DiMarzio DXL Plus at the neck

I change the pickups because I agree that this guitar's only real flaw was the low output of the pickups. I noticed this particularly when using clean auto wah effects and driving other effect units.

The DiMarzio provide a big fat sound that is still nice and tight. It has output

The Alnico II removed that tele-like twang with a more vintage sound.

I bought this guitar new in '99, the same year that it was made. Check other reviews for a full list of features. In reality this is a chambered maple bodied guitar with a plastic top (scratchplate). The two single coil pickups are not particularly beefy...similar to a Fender Duo Sonic that I recently played in a pawn shop. Each has its own volume control. A single universal tone pot is the only other control provided.

The neck is hard rock Canadian Maple, and my version has a maple fretboard. The tuners appear to be Gotoh, (or something comparable). This guitar has 24 medium/jumbo frets on a rather short 24.75" scale. The fretboard radius is very flat (12"), and has a comfortable "C" shape, similar to current US Fender necks.

At the price point for which this guitar is targeted, the features are adequate, but a pickup selector would be a nice addition. Additionally, the pots, pickups, bridge pieces, nut and string retainer are NOT top shelf components. In fact, I have seen comparable quality on more fully featured--but comparably priced-- Korean imports (check out the Hamer Californian or Stellar 3). So, while everything works fine, this guitar feels, looks, and sounds more like an Asian import than a guitar that has its origins in Canada and is assembled in the US.

Summary-- Good Features: Neck, body, tuners, tidy construction. I subtracted some points for the quality of the bridge, pickups, and pots and its lack of a pickup selector.

Others have mentioned the cool indie, jangly sound that this guitar has. It sounds great through my Vox AC-15. Kick on a good overdrive pedal and this little axe breaks into a nice even grind without any harsh high frequencies or overpowering bass. Its chambered body and slightly underpowered single coil pups mounted directly to the plastic scratchplate combine to create a unique strum friendly rhythm guitar. You're gonna need a couple of effects and a well voiced lead amp channel to cut through keyboards and drums if you play lead guitar.

The pickups are really quiet for single coils. You can blend them to get a bit of variety, but if you are looking for the versatility of a good strat or tele, you won't find it here.

As far as the Rickenbacker comparisons go, don't read too much into this. Yes, it has a hint of that jangly, hollow 330/360 sound, but it is definitely not as complex, interesting, or "musical" sounding as a Rick--nor is it as versatile. Still, it's a cool sounding guitar with a unique voice. It sounds just like it looks! Kinda plasticky with a hint of maple syrup. COOL.

Here is where my opinion might depart from the mainstream a bit. Yes, this Godin Radiator is a reasonably well built guitar; but you get what you pay for most of the time, and there are concessions that need to be made since this guitar is a budget Canadian/US built instrument.

First, the neck is terrific...and a good neck means everything in terms of playability and tuning stability of a guitar. Also, the body is beautifully shaped and finished, and the neck bolts snugly to the body with four bolts. The tuners are also very good and easily keep everything in tune.

Here is what I discovered when I dismantled my Radiator a couple of years ago. The screws that secure the scratchplate to the body are really cheap, and it is easy to torque the head right off of the screws if you are not careful. The pots work fine, but they are exactly what one would expect given the price of this guitar. The pickups are marginally adequate by today's standards, but they can sound pretty good through the right effects and amps.

Since this guitar has a plastic top, not much craftsmanship is required in terms of assembly or finish. This helps keep the price of this guitar down. Also, the bridge saddles and thier adjusting screws are just plain crappy. The screws are not installed at a consistent angle, and they slip occasionally throwing the height adjustment out of kilter.

I have two Korean made guitars--a DeArmond Starfire and a Hamer Stellar 3. Both feature better components and better fit and finish than the Godin. I paid less for both than I did for the Godin, but remember that Asian labor is really cheap.

But the real strength of this guitar, besides its quirky sound, is the fabulous neck!

I have had this guitar for three years. I do not gig with it very often, but it is one of my regular travel guitars when I go on vacation or on business trips. It travels well--it's light, compact, and the neck and body are rock solid. There is not much that you can damage on this, but I did break the tone pot--it basically fell apart after a few months of use. Again, these electronic components are the weak links.

Fabulous. They sent me a replacement tone pot...no questions asked! They would have repaired it free of charge, but I did not want to ship it to a repair facility, so the techs sent me a new pot and I replaced it myself. Excellent company.

There are plenty of choices at the $300-$400 level these days, and the products from Asia and Mexico are improving all the time. Godin has done a good job at keeping the price point of this Canadian/US made guitar competitive with the Asian and Mexican imports, but it shows up in terms of the quality of the electronic components.

That said, this is a cool guitar with lots of mojo. People will notice it, whereas your garden variety Asian strat is not likely to draw much attention at your regular gig. Also, it has its own unique voice which says alot about Godin's commitment to be different.

I own lots of guitars and amps, most of them premium grade US made instruments featuring solid tonewoods and professional grade electronics (you can see some of them at http://home.attbi.com/~drjeffreyb). I also own two Asian guitars and a Mexican Fender 50s Classic Series Strat. This Radiator sits firmly on the bottom of the pile in terms of quality and versatility. But it's a select group of instruments, so the bottom is not at all indicative of the quality of this guitar.

The Radiator is simply unique and hard to pigeon hole. I always enjoy playing it, and I have been able to coax some toneful sounds from it over the years. If it were lost or stolen, I think I'd try another quirky guitar like a Danelectro or a Reverend. But I'm happy with it for now, even though it has come perilously close to becoming eBay fodder. Too much fun to sell to some alt.punk.country wannabe from L.A. for $150:-)

1999 USA/Canadian-made semi-hollow with large pickguard. Body has tone chambers hollowed out to give the jangly Ricky tone. Two single coil pickups with volume, volume, tone controls. Black finish with black pearl guard.

The sound is ideal for the market that Godin is aiming for: that Rickenbacker/Telecaster cross that another reviewer alluded to, but with a bit of Jazzmaster Jaguar in there for good measure. Nice bright jangly bridge and a warm neck pickup. Great at the sound it is aiming for, but not a versatile guitar. Not the ideal guitar for a top 40s player or someone that plays many styles of music.

I used this guitar to play lead lines in a rock band and it did a great job of cutting through the mix.

I actually bought this guitar from the store that I used to manage, so I can account for it's great setup from Godin out of the box. Godin seems to be the last manufacturer out there that can put this level of crafstmanship into a guitar in this pricerange. This is how Fender, Gibson and the other brand name guitars used to be!

Perfect action and intonation out of the box, but I did raise the action for my playing style a bit.

The tuners, controls and body are durable and road-worthy. the only surprise for me was the cheap looking and feeling bridge. The tiny string saddles look like something off of a guitar from the Korean Samick factory, and they seem flimsy to me. This isn't a huge issue fot a hardtail guitar, and corners have to be cut somewhere, but the bridge looks and feels cheap. If I had decided to hold onto this guitar, I would have replaced it with something a little more stout.

Again, this is one of the last companies to put quality and service above sharholder profits. These guys will bend over backwards to keep their guitars working out in the real world. If you have trouble with anything, don't get mad, call LaSiDo and they will fix it!

I've been playing for 13 years or so, and since I was able to buy guitars at discount, I have owned 50+ stringed guitars and basses, for whatever that's worth. This is a great value on quality alone (bridge excluded), and a does a great job of getting that retro, jangly, surf-rock, indie sound at a great price. Not a do-it-all guitar, but what guitar really is?

On the back of the head stock the first 2 #s in cerial# says it was made in '99. hand crafted in the USA. 24 frets 2 vol. 1 tone. 2 Godin single-coils hard tail

I mostly play classic rock and punk. i have a peavey 15-watt that i play through. the guitar has a bright sound. i like its clean and lead sounds. Can sound like every guitar from a paul to a tele or strat

black w/ pearloid pickgaurd very well set up when i bought it the strings were wound the wrong way but were fixed by the store

the hardware seems like it will last the life of the guitar yes i would use it at a gig without a backup.

the tone pot broke and Godin sent the store brand new pots and knobs store fixed for free

i've been playing for a year and i think i made the right choice!!!!!! the only thing its missing is a tremelo

2000/2001, Canadian/US made guitar. Canary Yellow with a huge pearloid scratchplate. 24 fret Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, Alder(?) single cutaway body.

Hardware as described in previous reviews: Two Godin single coil pickups, hardtail bridge, two volume controls and a tone control, simple, but that's OK if the guitar sounds good!

I play what I can only describe as jangly/scratchy indie rock; think REM, Pixies, Byrds, Television.... mostly rhythm guitar, using mostly clean or lightly distorted sounds. I use a Peavey Bandit and a selection of ratty old pedals (an Ibanez overdrive, a Boss Compressor, Danelectro Trem/Leslie simulators).

This guitar suits me down to the ground - it's somewhere between a Telecaster and a Rickenbacker, with a bright, even ring and a fairly short sustain. The volume controls give it a good degree of versatility - there's no unusable sounds to be had, even with the tone rolled off completely, and you can get that dark Tele front pickup sound if you want to!

The blending effect is much more pronounced when you're using distortion, and you can get a decent sustain out of the guitar for lead work if you want... but beware if you're into the whole high-gain metal schtick... these pickups will start to squeal and howl at really low volumes if you crank up the gain!

It's not a guitar for every style or occasion.... but I tried a fair few guitars whilst making my mind up, and for the money, this was by far the best sounding and most enjoyable to play.

I don't know whether the dealers or distributors had checked the guitar over before I go it, but it came in pretty good shape; a few minor tweaks of the truss rod, new strings, the usual intonation/action set up and the guitar plays very nicely indeed.

The hardware seems good quality for the price - the tuners (newer style pearloid ones, no brand name) are positive and smooth, and the bridge is very solid. The nut was well cut, the fret ends tidy (no nasty edges), but the frets themselves were a bit rough - nothing a bit of playing in won't cure, though. I was a little worried by the string retainer, but that seems OK... the guitar stays in tune no matter what I do to it!

It's a solid, well made guitar - everything seems good quality. The finish is good and even (if a little bright for some people!), everything works and has kept working. The pickguard seems to be solid, and that covers the whole front of the guitar, so there's not much damage that can be done there. Tuning is always solid, which is always a good sign. No crackle from the volume/tone controls yet, the neck screws and pocket are a good tight fit... there's not much else to go wrong with it.

I don't think it's ever wise to gig without a backup, really: but this guitar is a bit of tank, so I might give it a go!

Dealers (Popmusic in Hammersmith) were really helpful at the time of purchase... but I live on the other side of London, so I've been using a local store for set-ups and the like. One year warranty, but I didn't need to use it.

I've been playing guitar for about 15 years.... Bass is my first love, but I play a lot more six string since I bought this guitar. It is by far my favourite - and I've owned a variety of guitars, including a Tokai strat, Aria 335 semi, Epiphone Les Paul....

It's well built, sounds good, and is thoroughly enjoyable to play. Really Good Thing is, this one was such good value for money...in this price range it blows the competition away.

If someone were to steal it, I would definitely consider buying another one, although I might be tempted go for a Godin SD if the funds were there....

The looks and the sound aren't for everyone, true: but if this is the sound you're after then the Radiator really delivers. I turned down a Gordon Smith GS1 to buy this one, so consider me a fan. Great guitar.

Made in 1998
24 frets
solid body
2 volume, 1 tone(no pickup selector)
2 godin single coil pickups
Very light guitar

this guitar puts out real nice crunch. i have a line 6 flextone head and 4x12 cab with vintage 30's

Belive it or not this guitar can put out some pretty hard tones

a mix bettween P-90's and tele nice warm tone not much hum for single coils

basicly my guitar is perfect

mines a pretty rare color BLACK WITH CHROME MIRROR PICKGUARD
its nice cause it looks like the guitars not just a wad of plastic

the action needed some work when i got it. but the original owner played acustic and thats what the guitar played like but i ajusted the truss rod and now the action is perfect!

this guitars a great live player but the finish get worn off pretty easily. Whatch out for your belt buckle!

this isn't a backup guitar i use it cause its got different tone than my other ones gibson Les Paul Custom, Fender 60's strat

never delt with them

i like this guitar its got cool looks and a great sound Its not quite as versitle as my Gibson Les Paul but it packs a mean punch

i hate that theres no pickup selector i bought one and put it on myself

i love that its so light 19 pounds with hardshell case!

no offense guys but black with a chrome pickguard is the best color

GREAT GUITAR!!!!

EXTRA COMMENT!!

I have just seen the JPEG file of the Radiator innards submitted by Marek Soszynski - and mine looks nothing at all like that dismantled! It just has some routing around the pickups and control pots! I am sure that would make quite a bit of difference to the sound - though for better or worsr who knows!!

What's goin' on Godin???

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!