Godin SD

I bought my Godin SD, about a year ago now, and it is made in Canada, with 24 frets, Birdseye rock maple, silver leaf body and rosewood fretboard. One volume, one tone, pearloid pickgaurd. One humbucker, two singles. Stays in tune well, beautiful pace car blue finish. Nice thin neck.

My style of music right now, is Punk rawk, and old rock, it suits both pretty good, really good actually, but the only thing i dont like, is when you palm mute, notmuch comes out, theres not the thump you would get from another guitar such as a les paul. Right now i have a Marshall half-stack, and it sounds perfect thro that. The humbucker is pretty good, but i think i will replace it with a tone zone.

It was perfect when i bought it, the finish was perfect on it and everything, i took one nick out of it in the back, its fragile, but nice

Ive played many many gigs with this guitar, in many bands, and it has witheld so far, the only thing is, i break strings every so often, so i have to bring a back up, my epiphone les paul studio. I replaced the strap buttons with locking ones from schaller, and they have stayed in place really well. Ive only gone a couple times without a backup, and that was just small gigs infront of my high school

neve

Cream/white with pearl pick guard and pearl topped knobs. Humbucker in the bridge position, single coil middle and neck pickups. Five position selector switch that selects:
1) Neck pickup
2) Neck and middle
3) middle alone
4) middle and split humbucker( bridge)
5) Humbucker alone (bridge)

OK, I've had this guitar for three months and I can't make it sound bad!! I run it through a Marshall VS65R (using a Korg Pandora PX3 or Zoom GFX707). The neck and middle pickup selection give a nice, meaty strat sound which is perfect for blues, and the bridge humbucker screems when you need it to. I've been playing for 30 years, and this is the best all-around guitar I've ever owned (and I've owned 'em all--Les Pauls, Strats, Telecasters, Firebirds, etc.)

Incredible workmanship! The neck is wonderful--fast, slim, very easy to play. The action is nice right from the factory.

The guitar is well-built and I have no doubt that it will "wear" well.

I've e-mailed Godin with a question and was answered in a matter of a couple hours.

I would buy another SD if mine were stolen or lost. I also play an SG custom, but I would have to have another Godin SD!!

I bought this guitar 2 weeks ago so its a 2000. Handmade and crafted in LaPatrie (Quebec,Canada). I'm aware that Godin have a factory in New-Hampshire (U.S.) too but I know mine wasn't assembled there cause I bought it in Quebec city wich is not far from where it was built.

The neck is made of birdeyes (beautiful!) rock maple, fingerboard is rosewood Scale is 24? Radius - 12" , Body is made of solid Silver Leaf Maple. The body shape is very cool, its a mix between an LP and a strat and with the pearloid pickgard it give my godin a very retro look wich I love. And plus, it is not the same old strat-type body everyone else have.

There is 3 pu's (godin pickups)on this in a s/s/h configuration, 1 tone,1 volume, 5 way switch. (Gotoh ?) Sealed tuners, standard bridge (strat-style), tremolo + bar.

I got it with a Levy em-7 gig bag and a strap.(store deal) Oh and for those who use straplocks you'll be happy to know that the strap buttons are already made to be used with Shaller straplocks.(in fact they are Shaller's)So No need to fiddle with that.

I give it a 10 cause this guitar has everything I needed right away.

I play alt/grunge as well as some blues, punk, old rock and roll tune, even ska. Do I have a style ? Not really , i'm pretty much versatile juste like this guitar. I'm using an old cheap dixxon distortion pedal and a dod fx-69 (an yes I LIKE this pedal :)plugged into a Crate amp.

But where this guitar really shine is when you play it unplugged, in fact ONE single strum and I was hooked (the guy at the store was pushing a mexistrat).And everybody should know that when a guitar sound great unplugged it should sound even better when plugged, plus you got the sustain factor, the body and neck vibrate all at the same time and you can even feel it!VERY good sustain. As soon as I put my hand on this guitar It felt different and I knew i had something of quality.
The single coil pickups are noisy (like a strat) while the humbucker is silent (duh!) I like to fiddle with all the switches and tone and no surprise here, everything sound as it should : good. I got to tell you, I'm not very picky about the sound (even tought i play guitar since i was 15, i'm now 22) I mostly use the humbucker and sometimes the neck single coil.
due to its full maple body the guitar have a bright but full tone.


What I like : the configuration s/s/h (there is NO WAY i was going single coil only) think VERSATILITY

What I disliked?: hey i love this guitar otherwise I would'nt have buy it

Mine is Transparent blue so you can see the beautiful details of the wood. The finish if one of a 1000$ price range (if not more?) guitar, they put five coat of it letting it dry every time. No glue drops, no flaw, (not even a fingerprint lol). The factory set-up was perfect maybe too much: I asked to tech to adjust the action a little bit higher (it was very low for my style) but even before that, no fret buzz AT ALL, never seen that before on a guitar this low-priced.
When you hold a godin you can really feel all the attention to details. I tried 2 of them in the store and every one of them were flawless, the hardest was too choose a color (because they had like 30 combination of color/pickguard.

my rating 10

I would definitly use it on a gig without a backup, but since i'm band-less for the moment I haven't tried it on stage hehe. The finish is good as well as the strap buttons (see my comments on that before)
It is a little more heavy than a std strat.

Never dealt with Godin, but since they are located in the same province as me (that mean i could drive there) i'm almost sure they'd be cooperative! ;) No but seriously i wrote them a letter on their website (http://www.lasido.com) and got an answers 2 days later.

All in all the Godin SD is the best guitar you can have for the bucks, it kicks the butt of the fender mexistrat (and even SOME std strat .... don't flame:)) , ibanez,jackson and all those shitty Korean made/Indonesia made/Asia made guitars. Believe me, I tried them all and I can't believe how much plywood crap they try to sell us .... one of them could hold 3 business card in the gap between the neck and the body!

Why do people pay 1300$+ for a Am. Std strat? Because it is made in America. You want a strat but don't have the budget: you get the mexistrat: and for the others there is the squier.
But hey !!! I paid 450$ (around 300 u.s.) for an America-made guitar and it sound and play like a much expensive one... the main reason for this is that Godin is not known enought, but wait a couple of years, that'll change, as well as the price... My suggestion is to get one now.

I bought mine five years ago from a store in Quebec where it is actually made. It's a 24 frets solid maple top good looking guitar. The wood used is rock maple wich is heavy and deep so it gives a very full sound and great durability. It has a 5 way switch selector wich chooses from two single coil godin or a godin humbucker. I'd say the single coils give a bit of a tele "twang" soud while the humbucker is a bit week when used with heavy distortion. But the sound is clean and the only "hum" is in the hum-coil combination.It also features a tremolo but it very unstable and detune the guitar.

As I said before, this guitar is better used for clean or semi-clean tone, cause the humbucker miss that harsh feeling it needs. But with the two single coils and the tone a bit turned off, it is possible to catch a very mature blueish sound , the tone the strat gives. Talking of the tone button, it is rare to see a so huge effect it has a a sound. Also, if you lift a bit the neck single coil, you'll obtain a more jazz-like, bouncing and cristal sound. But, personaly, i would have kept only two single coil in a more tele way.

Godin is renowned for the durability of its gear and i can say it is a very good manufactured guitar. Considering the price and the work, it is awesome how the varnish, the neck and body specs are valuable. Great work.

It is hard as a rock and i pounce my guitar heavily, but this one resist even better than my thinline. But it has not a wide sound range so you will need sound reinforcement to build an interesting tone. But again it is awesome for its price. For all of you beginner who swear only by fender, look elsewhere and be surprised.

Ive been playing for seven years and i'm studying in music, and one thing I see is that guitar are often bought for their aspect rather than for their real playing value. For all beginners, for all poor musician who cant afford real killers without taking the street.,,

Well, i don't have anything else to add on top of the others who posted a review...
well, it has 24 frets but i'm not quite sure of its exact measuments. it has a quite an unique body. a sort of cross between a gibson top half and a strat lower half but very thin body all the way through. the one i have is a pretty standard one if you surf though the godin site you'll see the one i'm talking about. i believe it has non locking tuners, which is the only thing that is missing, and it has a very thin neck which is perfect for small hands such as mine. all in all it's a piece of eye candy.

it has a perfect sound for my playing style and sound, which ranges from the likes of u2 to limpbizkit. the standard setting for it sounds very bright and crisp. i fucked around with the pickups a bit right after i bought it to make it sound dimmer but it still has that crispy sound. there are 2 settings that has buzzing but overall it is rather quiet. i haven't tried much of strats but my impression is that all the settings are much less buzzing. sounds a bit less powerful than my old ibanez ex series but it's nevertheless a unique sound.

this guitar has one of the absolute best finishes that i have seen on any guitar. made of quality wood, which is something that most other guitars lack, and the finishing is just marvelous.
i can't really comment on the set up of the pickups for i have fooled around with it a bit, but the stock ones i see in the stores has it adjused nicely. the neck is beautiful and easy to use, it has spoiled me so much that i have problems getting used to other guitars.

this guitar is solid inside and out. i have dropped it a couple of times already .... oops. but judging from the way it handled them, i'd say it's definately solid.
as for whether or not i would have one as a backup, i don't think i'll ever have to worry about it breaking down on me while on stage.

i have never dealt with the company for support.
and i'm pretty sure if i take it to get it fixed it will be a piece of cake. the only short coming that i know of is that the godin site did not provide enough information. but that's the last time i checked, over a few months ago now.

besides this one, i also own an ibanex ex series, they are both good and rise to different occasions. i have no regrets in purchasing this guitar, i think it's one of the better buys that i have made in the last few years. i would definately buy it again if it were ever lost or stolen, either this one or the lg series. when i bought it i put it against other guitars in the same price range and this one just blew away all other ones in the store.

This guitar was ordered in 1999, and delivered in Feb. 2000. It was mande in La Patrie< Que., Canada; assembled in New Hampshire. 22 frets, with easy access all the way up. Global volume and tone, 5 way Strat style switch, 2 Godin single coils, an done Godin humbucker in the bridge position. Body is Rock Maple finished in Transparent red. The neck is maple. It truly looks beautiful. It has a Tele style body more so than Strat or Les Paul, but it is definitely NOT a copy. The bridge is a Strat style tremolo with individual saddles. It came with a tremolo bar, but I don't use it. I beleive it has Schaller non-locking tuners. The neck is very playable, with a 24 3/4" scale. I'm basically a Gibson man, so this is what really attracted me to the SD. I ordered a case with it, but it doesn't usually come with one. Godin makes a nice Gibson quality fitted case for this guitar, which is the one I got, it's well worth the extra $$.

I play mostly blues based rock and alternative type music, mostly my own compositions. This guitar fits my arsenal and style just fine. I also own a Gibson ES-335, a Les Paul, assorted acoustics, and a CarvinAE-185 12 string. The SD gives me very stratty sounds with the playability of my Gibsons. I've owned a Strat and this definitely compares. I play through several different amps, including a Fender Blues Junior, Speedster Deluxe, Carvin V50, and Sound City 120R. It sound good with them all. It is not as noisy as a Strat on single coil settings alone, but there is some hum when either the neck or middle pick-ups are selected alone, Greatly reduced when p.u.s are used in combo or when the humbucker is on alone. The sound is quite rich and Fendery, but I think I might try some hotter pick-ups like Seymour Duncans.

Everything was great when I picked it up at the store. I don't know what they may have done to set it up, but I think it came pretty well set from the factory. Action is great, although the pik-ups might be a little low. It was very striking to look at and still is.

I don't gig out too much so I think this guitar will last me a good long time.

I've checked Godins web site which is quite helpful. The original delivery time was set back about two weeks, but it was worth the wait. I,ve not had to deal with Gdin direct about any problems yet.

Overall I'm very pleased with this guitar. The only problem is with the position of the volume control. I play alot near the Bridge and the control, which is a large Tele style knob sometimes cramps my style. But I'll just have to get used to it cause this guitar is a keeper. I would definitely replace it if I had too.

The body of the guitar is constructed of solid rock maple body, and the neck is made of birds-eye maple neck (really cool looking). The instrument comes stock with a vintage tremelo that I had disabled because it made the guitar go out of tune easily. The guitar comes with three pick-ups (two singles and a humbucker in the bridge position). The finish on my guitar is a beautiful cream while the pick guard is white pearloid. Standard features are volume & tone controls, and a five way switch. The headstock is a copy of the Fender bolt-on. This guitar is solid. It weights less than a standard LesPaul, but slightly more than a Fender Strat.

Obsolutely awesome. If you're looking a versatile instrument look no further. Despite its range, the humbucker lacked the warmth that I like on a fat Fender Tele -- for the price though, it was a fair and equitable trade off. Nevertheless, engage the singles and look out -- this guitar will stand toe to toe with any of its higher priced "kuss'n". I tried this baby with chorus, reverb and distortion and I just can't get enough. The day that I got it, I jammed in back room (the only place my wife will let me play) for about 5 hours. I only quit because it was well past midnight, and I had things to do and places to go the next day. Oh, before I forget, the sustain on this instrument is incredible.

The SD factory set up was great. The action was very low with no fret buzz. The birds-eye maple neck was smooth and allowed quick movement. The store that I bought it from didn't have to do squat. It came factory perfect. The only thing that I did was to change the strings to Fender's steel -- just a personal preference, and had the tremelo disabled. The body had no flaws, etc., etc. -- I bought it new and expected it to be defect free, and as far as I can tell, it has been.

Man, this instrument is rock solid. The way this puppy is built it'll be here the next millenium.

I have emailed LaSiDo before I bought the instrument, and they were reasonbly quick and friendly about responding. I haven't had to contact them with a problem, but I don't expect that they would treat me any different. The SD has a standard one year warranty. I really can't rate them in this category since I don't have enought information to give an honest appraisal. If push came to shove, I would give them a 10 at this point.

I own a Norman electric acoustic guitar, Princeton Fender Chorus amp and a Yamaha folk guitar. If this guitar was lost or stolen, I would probably buy it again unless I had enough to buy a Fender California Fat Tele. Before I bought this guitar, I compared it a Fat Tele, a Gibson Blueshawk and a M-65. Though some of these guitar's sounded better, the SD stood its ground in quality and price.

Got it used, but it looks to be fairly new, I would say maybe 2 years old. Pretty good looking sunburst finish, i believe the body is one piece, not sure what type of wood it is. Very light though, whatever it is. 5-way pickup selector, 1 tone, 1 volume. S-S-H pickup configuration on a white pickguard. Birdseye maple neck (don't see many of those, but it looks fabulous). Guard over the bottom of the tailpiece and the springs on the bottom was gone when I got it, I assume the previous owner took it off. Sort of cheap looking fake gold plated hardware, but it gives it character. An extremely impressive, and most importantly finished looking axe.

Holy smokes. This thing can do it all. Humbucker is bright and clear, the single coils have a great deep sound that still retains the classic single coil jangle. I run this thing through a Boss Metal Zone and a Marshall JTM60 212, and it wails, on any pickup. The humbucker especially has a real deep, powerful sound without being muddy at all, even through loads of gain. Neck single coil is awesome for clean stuff, esp. lead, has a really smooth tone. Amazing sustain, especially for a bolt on. Nothing I say will do this guitar justice. Find one, try one. I won't give it a 10 because I've seen guitars in certain catalogs selling for $40,000. That gets a 10. This gets a 9. :P

The guitar was set up by the owner of the shop where I got it. It was originally sold to a rich kid who couldn't play, so he sold it back. The owner set it up himself and kept it for his own, so he really did a nice job setting it up. Unfortunately for him, he came on hard times, I guess it is the holiday season, so I got it for an unbelieveable deal. Anyway, as I said before, it's got a fabulous birdseye maple neck with no finish on it so it's amazingly quick, that coupled with a sweet action that plays as good on the 24th fret as the first, and there's not a lot I can say negatively in this category. There are a few nicks, but I assume these were from the previous owner, and you expect that will happen. I'm going to have to dock it a little bit here though because of the cheesy psuedo-gold hardware. If that weren't there I would give it a 9, but as is I'll give it an 8.

The guitar feels light but solid. there is no neck wobble whatsoever, further evidenced by the amazing sustain. The finish looks great after 2 owners, there are a few dings but no cracks in the finish whatsoever. One of the previous owners put straplocks on it, so I don't know how the original strap buttons would hold up. This guitar right now is my baby but eventually I will use it live a good bit, and I have faith that it would hold up. I have a few other guitars that I use live so there would never really be the ocassion to use it without a backup, but if I had to I would. Alas, I haven't had the time to fully put it through its paces, so I'll be somewhat conservative with my rating here.

Never had to deal with Godin, and I hopefully won't have to.

I don't know how much these retail for, but I think I got an amazing deal on this one. None of the other reviewers mentioned anything about a birdseye maple neck, but I have NEVER seen one of those before, it's almost bizarre. Anyway, this guitar really spoke to me unlike any other. It makes really makes playing guitar more fun to me, just to be using this guitar. I get extremely attached to my instruments, I love them like they were my children. This is my favorite, a real diamond in the rough, and a total steal at this price. If you see one of these, you owe it to yourself to try it out. If it's half as good as mine and it costs twice as much, you won't be disappointed.
As an afterthought, it might be stolen. I'm really not sure how I could get it at such an incredibly low price. Fate, maybe?

This is an American-made guitar. All of the materials are from Canada. It is a solid Maple body with a transparent blue finish (gorgeous). It has two single coils and a humbucker in the bridge position. Two control knobs (Vol and tone). Includes a vintage tremolo that is mediochre at best. I disabled it so that you can't even use it any more. The neck is one-piece maple with a rosewood fingerboard. Four bolts with washers to avoid using a neckplate. The bridge is a standard strat-style string through body design. It came with Gotoh non-locking tuners that work GREAT. This profile neck that is sculpted near the body to allow easier upper fret access. Works, but not as well as in theory. An all around well-made guitar.

I play many styles, from classical to punk to thrash, and this guitar suits them all. Switch the five-way to the single-coils, and you can pull off a classic Kurt Cobain sound, the middle position is perfect for soloing, and the humbucker ROCKS for power chording. Lots of sound sculpting is available with the use of the tone knob. I'm using it through the RAT 2, and this thing can really rock. Excelent sound.

The factroy set-up was nearly perfect. I had to have the intonation set for lighter gauge strings than were on it, but other than that, nothing has been a problem. The action was low without a buzz, and the pickups, although they have strong magnets, were adjusted perfectly.

Very reliable. Has never broken a string, or needed any adjustment. It even stays in tune perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised when I found it still in perfect condition after having it in -15 degree celcius weather overnight. Everything has worked perfectly so far.

I haven't dealt with the company, but it came with a one year warranty covering setup and repairs. This is a pretty standard option that I would expect from most companies.

I've been playing this for almost a year, and it still works great. I highly recommend this guitar to anyone that is looking for a guitar that is versatile and well-made for a low ticket price (who isn't?).

I bought this guitar new about a week ago so that makes it a '98 i guess. It's a 24 fret solid top. It has Strat style electronics and a standard trem. It has 3 Pick-ups 2 single coils and a humbucker on the bridge with a 5-way switch and a vol and tone knob. The body is kinda like a cross between a les Paul, Strat and a Tele (pretty cool shape) The back has four bolts on the neck instead of the usual plate and it's curved in for excelent control on those 15-24 fret solos!. I got a cord and case with it.

All i can say is that it sounds great! In clean i get a soft tone and the vibes through the neck and body gives it cool reverb and sustain. With gain, the distortion wails on it. It's not the best shred axe but considering that it can cover most styles, it does an excelent job. I play everything from classic rock to metal to mainstream rock and this guitar covers it all!

For Action, the guitar is soo easy to blaze over the fret board. Again the body is curved in at the neck bolts to make those high frets easy to control. The pick guard is a cool pearl and the finish is this awesome-never-seen-it-before-in-my-life white-burst on purple back ground..would have gotten a 10 if not for the a slight discoloration in the wood on the neck near the 12 fret-hardly noticable on first glace.

i've never played this guitar much but i think this one will withstand the test of time. It's solid body with four big bolts on the neck, and sealed machine heads to keep the dirt out.

I bought the axe at a near by guitar store so i didn't have anything to do with Godin. They were great and they where a great help in setting up a in-house payment thing for me cause i didn't have the green to dish out yet. They said to come back with any problems i might have with it.

I've been playing for almost 4 years now and i've played almost every guitar in every music store around my city and this one is the beast of all of them.. it's an awesome package for the price offering a medium-end guitar for a low-end price. when i get another guitar, it would be a Godin for sure. If this one had to go missing, i'd buy another one in a heart beat!!