Godin SD

it's all covered in previous reviews. It's a nice, simple guitar for a very nice price considering its construction and the fact that it's made in North America. Plus. Gig bag cost me 40 bucks more.
Tuners are no-name, non-locking. They hold well.
Came with strap locks installed.

Great sound. Suits me very well. I play a wide range of music from classic rock to alt and indie to punk and ska. Some blues, etc.
i can get a broad variety of noises out of it. I play it straight through a roland GC405 (practice amp). The single coils are a little noisy. No big problem, I can just turn off my computer monitor.
I like the fact that I can get strat sounds and sg/lp sounds out of it.
I Dislike the extra-light strings it ships with.

Came with nice fast action. Intonation is near perfect. Beautiful transparent red finish, no flaws.

Looks and feels solid. Should withstand live playing, though i mostly play bass when jamming, etc. This guitar will probably remain in my basement.
I'd never gig without a backup.

never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for six years. This guitar replaces the El Degas I learned on. I've played my dad's Framus acoustic mostly. Also play an Epiphone Thunderbird bass.
If stolen I would definitely buy another. And kill whoever absconded with it. I love the comfortable neck, the simplicity, the excellent construction. Wish the SD came sans tremolo (i'll never use it).
Played the SDxt, an Epiphone SG and a couple mexi-strats and teles. For the money, i think the Godin was the best choice.

My godin SD is from the year 2000 I think. It has 24 frets with a 5 way switch and two knobs (volume tone). My version of the sd was a bit more expensive because of special hardware and finish (metallic knobs and special ''marble'' sunburst) A ''strat'' style tremolo bridge. Non-locking tuners. The switch makes a scratchy sound when used and the knobs too! what a shit! I really HATE the way the bridges reacts with the tremolo...

I think the sound of the SD gives absolutely no professional sounds. In reality, it's a cheap mix of a strat and a les paul, you can make anything with, but it will sound like anything! The humbucker sounded too weak, so I made it change for a Seymour Duncan Alnico 1 to make it sound more warm and with more sustain. I think the single coils doesn't sound that bad, but in comparison with my strat plus, it's so poor. The only reason why I keep it is to sometimes get the humbucker sound for hard rock and more heavier stuff wich sounds pretty good with the Seymour duncan. I use to have a bluesy style of playing, gilmour, you know. This guitar is just not the REAL THING. IT's only a package deal for people that are not ready to invest for a Strat and a LP. But for the price, not that bad for a advanced beginner.

the action vas pretty high whan it came out of the factory. as I said, the humbucker was pretty weak. I made a big tune-up by a friend and the switch and knobs re-became scratchy after...
and the neck is going like a snake! it makes some notes sound unprecise, wich is pretty bad in solos.

With the time, this guitar may die! something great: it's equipped with strat-lock buttons. I would use It for a 2nd guitar and not depend on it... for a back-up, its not that bad but not professionnal.

didn't have to deal with godin, but I would trust them, a quebecer company!

I think it is a great guitar for someone who wants to get in something more that a Squier and that doesn't want to pay the price of a professionnal instrument. I would definetely say to a person that wants the same style of instrument to buy a american strat with a humbucker (even If i don't really like this option, the humbucker on a strat)

My Godin SD has a maple neck and the quilted top (actually it's a veneer". The quilted top gives the illusion that it is a two piece body when it is actually a 3 piece body. The body is made from hard maple.

The strings this guitar are setup and shipped with are not a standard set of .009's. It is a hybrid or "heavy bottom" set of strings .009-.046 not the typical .009-.042s.

This guitar IS heavy. The ergonomics of this guitar are really quite poor. The bulk of the wood is on the top half of the guitar so the guitar costantly wants to fall forwards or backwards when on your lap. The cutout for your leg when in the sitting position is quite narrow and disproportionally deep. Such a tiny balance point makes it annoying to balance it out horizontally after a long playing session. The bulk of this guitar makes it impractical to play while sitting back casually on a sofa. Too much of the guitar's weight is on the fretting hand, making it difficult to play and will flex the neck out of tune.

This is a short scale guitar made of a hard, dense wood. A stratocaster is a longer scale guitar made of a less dense wood. It cannot sound like or take the place of a stratocaster.

The face of the guitar isn't perfectly flat, but is slightly convex. The guitar's shape almost reminds me of a pendelum. Strat's look cheaply made in comparison with their flat faces. It is really quite a beautiful guitar. But sadly the artistry does interfere with it's functionality, especially when it's an entry level guitar.

The pickups are quite weak. At first I was impressed by the ability of the single coils to reject electrical noise, but then I finally realized they just aren't sensitive enough to pick it up. The magnets in the pole pieces are weaker in comparison to what you'd find in an american strat. Raising or lowering the pickups doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. There just isn't enough gain in them to get the classic single coil sound. The change in tone between the mid and neck pickups is only subtle, not huge in the case of a strat. The only pickup with adequate gain is the humbucker.
Only when you fret the guitar after the 7th fret does the tone start to shine brightly, especially in the in-between switch positions, but it's a bit of a one trick pony. Overall the bottom strings always seem to sound muddy/dead and it takes a raspy set like GHS boomers to get enough tone into the pickups.

I like to play the guitar clean and the weaker string harmonic overtones that a sensitive set of pickups can transfer to the amp is essential for a good sound. Maybe the existing pickups will work well with distortion, but not clean.

The tone and volume controls don't suck the tone to unusable levels if they are anything less than fully open as is the case with a strat. I just hope they aren't responisble for the weak pickups!

BTW an American Standard Strat does blow this guitar out in the tone department, at least for clean rhythem playing. The with it's humbucker and short scale a godin can nail peircingly loud and bright leads better than strat.

I don't know how much better this guitar would sound with a good set of pickups. The guitar does have a very solid foundation for something to upgrades. Maybe I'll try it someday, but the point of doing reviews is to review it in stock condition.

I wish Fender's quality control was this good. The pots, jacks and pickup switch actually feel like they are of HIGHER quality than fender. I'm undecided on the trem. I don't use it. The default setup worked well. After a guitar tech set it up and tweaked it a bit, it became even better. It does stay in tune well.

The finish quality is excellent, but I think there is a bit too much laquer on it.

It does say Godin on it a few too many places. I'm not thrilled they had to write a sentence on the headstock explaining it was made in the USA from imported parts, but it's not too noticable from afar.. The newer godins have a different style logo on the headstock.

With a maple fingerboard be resigned to the fact the finish will eventually wear off in some places and turn the wood grey. I think this is already starting on the sharpest portion of the bottom edge of the fretboard.

Never had to deal with Godin.

It's not exactly the miracle guitar that can emulate both a strat and a les paul. Physically it's closer to a les paul. This is Godin's own design for better or worse. You can't complain at all about the build quality.

I bought this new at a discount due to being in the store for some time.I am not sure of the year.It is see thru red with HSS set up.

The sound in the humbucker position is a little brite and backing off the volume kills the tone.I have played the SD through several of my tube amps.It is not very inspiring to my ears.Maybe I have gone tone death.This guitar is not a pro guitar.It looks good but it is just not in line with how it is promoted.Thats just my opinion.Others seem to love it.

I guess I must be very unlucky.It seems that most others have good things to say about the SD.I have a feeling that the store had this guitar around for a while.It does not stay in tune and the set up was horrible.The 5 way switch makes scratchy sounds.The intonation was way off and even a tech could get it perfect.Now for the really scary part.The bridge pick up set so high that you cannot adjust the string height any way other than high.The tech took the pickguard off and found that the adjustment screws were to short.They had to be replaced.The string trees catch and throw it out of tune.The neck was way out of wack.I would return it but it was scratched during the repair.I now have a $350 piece of junk.I have talked to others who have had this problem.Maybe Godin sent a bunch of junkers to Dallas.Who knows?Could be that McBride Music screwed it up and I was the unlucky bozo that bought it.Yes I played it in the store,but I trusted then to not sell junk.Godin guitars,in my opinion are close to Squier Bullets in quality.I have never had so many issues with a guitar.I have had about 20 different guitars to date.I guess the odds of getting burned finally hit.Check these Canadian junkers very close before you buy one.Sorry,just my opinion.

It just will not stay in tune or hold intonation.Would never use live.But hey,Guitar Center offered me $85 for it.

Do not know.

Looks good and I wish I had one that everyone else seems to love.

Sunburst finish, 24 frets, 2 single coils and a hummer. 5 way selector switch.

This guitar sounds awesome! I like to play Guns n' Roses, Pantera, Zeppelin. Lots of music is well suited to this guitar. When playing sufrfin with the alien by Joe Satriani on the tapping part the hummer makes the guitar scream! It rocks!

The only problem i have had is that the strings were too far apart away from the top end frets so i had them lowered.

This guitar has never had any problems in the year and 1/2 i have owned it. Its a solid performer and is good for beginners and the experienced player.

I brought from Hinckley Music store and the warranty lasted for 1 year on it. When i had the strings done it took only a saturday afternoon.

This is the first electric guitar i have ever owned and within a year and 1/2 i can play songs that i never thought i would be able too. Sweet Child o Mine is a plessure to play and the intro to Back Off Bitch sounds sweet. All i need to do now is get my Vox Cambridge 30 RT!

canadian wood, made in the USA...
has the S/S/H pickup config.. all godin designed.. and a 5way selector..
has two knobs.. one volume and one tone (which makes a HUGE difference)
came with a gigbag
pretty sure its all maple

sounds amazing!
esp because i like to play alot of different styles of music and i can get that with this guitar

came in mint condition.. no flaws at all!
and sounded great as soon as i brought it home

the body itself seems very durable

but i have broken 3 strings in less than 2 months..
so i would suggest getting better strings

no experience with customer support

i've had this guitar for about 2 months now and i am very happy with my choice...
i tried some of the other godins along with some strats and epiphones.. and some others that i didnt like at all...

but the godin seemed to feel the best.. and although its not a big name like fender or gibson... i still think its an amazing guitar..
and for the price you cant beat it

Made in Canada. Nothing really special. S/S/H configuration, all Godin designed pickups. Lightburst quilted top, the body is all maple, so is the neck. No nonsense setup.

Rock music is my style. I plugged this straight into a Marshall Valvestate amplifier. Bridge humbucker produced no noise, and as most single coils do, the neck and mid coils produced noise. It was expected, and it's no big deal. A nice solid sound. It was a bit on the brighter side, kind of reminds me of a Stratocaster sound. The bridge pickup is great for leads (I find it better than most stock pups) and the neck, well, rhythm. The guitar suits me very well, hands down one of the best sounds I've ever heard.

Everything perfect, except for a little string buzz (and this was when I was not hitting the strings hard).

Nice, solid. Doesn't look like anything is prone to fail unless you use it for a yo-yo.

Why is this axe so great? It's built very good, comparable to most American Stratocasters, in my opinion. It gets you a good sound, also comparable to the Strats. But the best part is that it's very affordable. All you need to do it get a proper setup, and this will be one of the best guitars you can possibly get.

Canadian made/USA assembled guitar. Great maple neck/fretboard on mine, Humbucker in Bridge & 2 single coils (all pickups look to be Godin made), 5-way selector,great Strat style trem bridge that stays in tune well once setup, great tuners by Godin. This guitar came with a gig bag and a truss rod tool (never seen that included before :-) These guitars come with plain tops (mine), flame or quilted tops. The latter two tops will cost more.

I love this guitars sound. It'll handle the strat in between sound very well and the humbucker get's close to that Les Paul sound (close enough anyway).

The action/intonation was very good from the factory as was the pickup heights. I didn't care for the factory strings as they were too light for me (felt like 9's). I do have one major beef about the factory trem setup. Of the 5 SD's I tried, they all dive bombed but there was ZERO upward travel on the trem. This was because the trem was jammed against the forward side of the trem cavity. I set the trem up and it's great now, stays in tune as well (or better) than any trem I've used. Now Godin may do this intentionally for shipping...but at least 2 dealers do not correct it! The neck is beautiful right from the factory, great fretwork & feel on all 5 I tried...no flaws found anywhere...although the plastic on the pickguard was a real pain in the a@@ to remove (jammed under all the screws and pots).

This guitar looks solid and looks like it will last forever. The body finsh seems thin, but it looks great. Get strap locks! Comes with very skinny strap buttons.

Pretty decent web site. Not to impressed with email support. I emailed some concerns about factory setup about a week ago and have not heard back from them :-( Guess there busy building great guitars :-)

I've been playing for nearly 30 years. I currently play all my guitars through a Fender Super Champ. I've got a couple of vintage Electra's, an Ibanez, Silvertone (junk), Applause acoustic. This Godin was my first new guitar in 21 years (bought vintage for years) and this guitar blew me away the first time I played one. I really feel that this is the best value in the history of guitars :-) Seriously though, were else are you going to find a guitar this versitaile and that's so much fun to play for under 400 bucks Canadian!

Nice sounding pickups, great range of tone. This is my first elecric and I'm glad I bought it. I play my friend's LGX, and this sounds much better for electric type stuff. The tone knob does so much more then a fender strat, it's like night-and-day. The knobs in general and not 'loaded' at the top end, where the adjustment is in the first 1/8th of the turn, and the rest is filler. Good adjustment all the way through the knob's rotation...perfect. Nice bridge, nice everything. A good deal. I'm thinking of putting in a few new pickups perhaps, but I'll have to see.

So good, I'm buying a second Godin guitar.

Wide range of sounds, similar to a strat. It has the same pickup config as a Fat-strat. I find it has little noise, and sounds great with or without distortion. Can get that strat sound no problem. Very bright and nice.

Action was amazing straight-a-way. Very smooth neck, smooth frets, nice playability. Built very strongly. I own a seagull acoustic, and I understand they are built by the same company as Godin. Both guitars are built very well, and play beautifully. My SD is blue silverleaf maple, and it's gorgeous. Looks like a very expensive guitar, plays like one too, but it's not expensive.

I would say this guitar could handle anything you dish out. The finish is very nice, and scratches seem to "wipe off". The hardware is strong, strap buttons rock solid. I definately can depend on this guitar.

I haven't had any experience with the customer support.

This is one nice guitar. Although it is my first electric, and I didn't know a lot about electrics in general when I was looking to buy, I'm happy with how I made out. I played mexican strats, even american strats, and this guitar played as nice or nicer, and sounds as good. Pick one up! Amazing value, can't be beat.

A quick update of a review I submitted on 10/19/02:

In that review, I rated my SD an overall "10" in value,
but noted that the guitar lacked "snap". I attributed
this to the voicing of the pickups, but I don't think
the pickups were entirely to blame.

I recently changed the stock .009 strings out for .010/.046's,
and the sound of the guitar came right into focus.
I usually play Strats, so I guess the SD's shorter scale
length, combined with the lighter strings, added up to
a slightly "rubbery" response to pick attack.

The slight increase in tension brought about by the .010
set is enough to give the guitar a nice, crisp feel, while
retaining the good characteristics of the shorter scale
length (such as ease of bending, shorter left-hand reaches
on the fretboard, etc.)

I stand by my earlier remark that the humbucker is in
fact stronger in the bass than I would like, and I'll
still probably swap it out for something a little hotter
and more balanced at some point.

The step-up in string gauge, however, seems to have
improved the feel to the point where I'd have to retract
about half of the bitching I did in my full review about
"lack of bite". A little egg on my face, perhaps. But
I did rate the guitar a "10" even with my carping, so
I submit this mainly as a suggestion for prospective
or current SD owners who might want to try the guitar
with heavier-gauge strings than those installed at the
factory. In my opinion, this simple change improves what
is already a very good guitar.

(Covered above)

(Covered 10/19/02)

(Covered 10/19/02)

(Covered 10/19/02)

(Covered above, and on 10/19/02)