Godin SDxt

2004 Godin SDxt. Made in USA. This was a long and mcquade special order guitar.. it has a slightly different finish from most SDxts. (not that that matters much).

I purchased this guitar because I wanted a cheap practice guitar that I could take around town. Twin humbuckers were a requirement (i'm a jazz guy), and I wanted a maple fretboard and neck so I could string the guitar with ultra high tension strings. Unfortunatley, I hate tremelo bridges, but the price on this guy was pretty irresistable. (Wish they made a hard-tail model for those of us who think tremelo bridges suck).

Given the price, this guitar has decent hardware. Stock godin pickups are passable for most styles (more below). Tuners are tight, although I would prefer them to lock. And of course I detest set or bolt-on necks... but whatcha gonna do at $350 bucks? :)

I'm a jazz guy. I own quite a few high end guitars, including three Jackson USA Selects, a Hofner Verythin JS, a Rainsong JM1000, a Ramirez, and a Godin LGX. I have owned three different godin LGX's in the past. (I used to be enamoured of them, until I encountered jackson)

I'm using this as a practice guitar. It is strung with a custom set of strings (14-60). Normally I use 13's, but I wanted my practice instrument to be a bit heavier.

As you can expect, those strings exert a lot of force. I had to add extra springs to the trem, and rack up the tension inside by adjusting the nut. With the load fully engaged, the guitar is very stable in terms of tuning. The sound is very warm and open. Tons of tone, due to the extra current induced by thick strings.

I'm only fond of one setting on this guitar, which is the intermediate position between teh neck humbucker and middle single coil. The neck humbucker by itself is brash, with pronounced lows. it is too brash for jazz, even with the treble wound back. Switching to position two gives a good tone with a hint of blues. The single coil on its own is not particularly impressive, and has a fair bit of noise. The single coil and bridge pickup split position is nice for a nastier blues sound. the bridge pickup is passable for getting crunch, but it is NOT going to send you to hard rock or metal heaven.

In terms of amps, I have a few. Evans Jazz Preamp, Mesa Formula preamp, digitech twintube, rocktron gainiac, fender M80, VHT 2:50:2 poweramp, Boogie 2:50 poweramp, F100 head, seymour duncan convertible combo. (plus a whack of rack effects) I use ear candy cabs exclusively.

(I notice a lot of guys running this guitar through beginner-level amps... that's all fine and dandy, but I'd hate to see a bad review of a guitar posted by someone who didn't realize that the amp was the real bottleneck in the sound-production pipeline. If you are running this thing through a micro-cube or 15 watt randall, please don't post a review without a lot of humility)

For jazz, I usually run this through the evans, a GMajor, a graphical eq, and the VHT. With some EQ tweaking, I can get a pretty nice solid jazz tone. It doesn't sound like a hollowbody, but more like a twangy version of Ed Bickert's sound. There's a hint of blues to it, no matter how much you aim for a dark jazz tone.

I haven't actually used this thing for blues much, as 14's will kill your enthusiasm for whole note bends pretty quickly.

I have, however, used this thing for metal. My current jazz combo consists of guys who also grew up playing metal, so we run some heavier stuff as easy warmup material. This guitar is NOT a high gain shredding instrument. It has problems with feedback at higher volumes, and the tremelo under my current string weight has a habit of vibrating.. the springs rumble, and that in turn is caught by the pickups, yielding a strange reverb-like effect. Not a high gain guitar. (although guys who use 8's and 9's may have a different experience, since the weight on the bridge is much less)

I'd say this guitar is good for anyone who needs decent clean sounds, a bit of twang, and enough dirt for a bit of rock and roll. it is not a metal guitar, nor a jazz guitar.. it won't thrill people who want to shred or to do super heavy distortion. But for beginners, intermediate players, or generalists who want a solid instrument at a low price point, this thing does a great job. (If I were a girl, I'd rather have this thing in black than some daisy rock beginner guitar... sexier, and far more versatile)

bear in mind that when I rate this instrument's sound, I am comparing against much much better instruments. For a guitar that retails under 400, 7 is a good rating. I'd rather have this thing than a 400 dollar fender anyday. But it is no mcinturff. For a <400 dollar guitar, it's a 9. For a guitar period, it's a 7 at most.

I couldn't care less how it was set up originally, since I prefer high action and thick strings. And I figure that if you can't adjust your own pickup height and string height, you shouldn't be in this game.

The workmanship on this guitar is solid. Just what is needed. the ONLY issue is that the treble pot is a bit scratchy. But I can fix that pretty easily.

It's a solid instrument. To date, there has been no warping of the neck, no buckling or cracking, even under that 14-60 load. The maple neck is fun to play, and has held up really well. I take care of my instruments, and after 14+ rehearsals and long sessions at home, this instrument looks as good as new. No structural flaws, period.

That, of course, is what i am used to with godin. I'm not a huge fan anymore, as I switched my allegiance to jackson on account of their superior designs (neck through body joints in particular). I also find their instruments to be very clunky in terms of weight and mass distribution. But in the 10 years I have been a godin owner, I have never ever had a problem with a godin guitar. And I used to gig frequently.

Haven't had to contact them ever, which is a good sign.

I've been playing a while. Most of my gear is high-end stock stuff. (I don't go for custom instruments.. just high level stock gear).

I like the build quality. It has stood up under heavy playing and a massive string load. I like the neck a lot.. fat, but very playable.

I'm not a huge fan of the neck humbucker. But i'm not willing to swap it out either. (not worth the effort).

I compared to a bunch of other low level guitars from epiphone and fender, schechter and washburn. For a $350 dollar instrument, this thing is a GREAT deal. Great build quality, solid woods, a lot of pickup options. When you consider that korean-made guitars go in the same price point, this usa/canadian guitar is a good deal. Especially compared to fender MIM strats.

If someone stole it, I would buy another. I might look into a yamaha pacifica, but this is a great instrument. And contrary to some opinions voiced below, this is NOT just a beginners guitar. As a former pro jazz guy, I would have no reservations about relying on this thing in a variety of contexts. It just won't cut it for metal and high gain playing. Get an ESP or something for that.

I give it a '9' in value FOR AN INSTRUMENT AT THIS PRICE RANGE. Of course it not a PRS, jackson, parker, mcinturff, warrior or whatnot. It's not even 1/3 as good as any of those. But for the price, it is a great deal.

mine is black, with the regular h - s - h pickup confiuration. no locking tuners so i guess it gets an 8 for that.

my style is screaming rock solos and a bit of jazzy stuff. funk, and i like a strat out of phase sound too.

this guitar can play these styles well at a semi pro level which is how i would describe my playing.

it is not a noisy guitar. it's got a good strong healthy stable and balanced sound. BUT i feel that the sound is a bit plastic. it's a cheap solution for having a strong reliable guitar with a large veriaty of sounds, but lacks the depth that the expensive guitars have.

my guitar was set up well and it has a nice small neck. no flaws in the finish or anything, BUT i do feel that this guitar could benefit from having the top curved more then it is at the area at which the picking hand rests on, above the bridge. i feel that having the top almost completly flat makes it hard to play and screws up the right hand's muting technique.

Good intonation! strong reliable and everything.

been playing for 20 years. i've owend fenders gibsons and what not. in my oppinion this guitar sounds great for the price and has good intonation. i would suggest to see whether it's comfterble for you. otherwise i would strongly recommend buying one like this, especialy if you're a begginner - to moderate level player.

Normal features for a H-S-H Guitar. I think the headstock isn't so pretty, or at least doesn't go with the rest of the guitar, awfully thick too. I bought mine used. Someone had put schaller locking tuners on it which does a good job of keeping everything in tune. If you're having a hard time keeping yours in tune add a set. Plus, it makes changing strings a lot faster. The only thing that bugs me about this guitar is that the saddles are a satin finish, while the base of the bridge is chrome. It just looks a little funny.

It has a good sound. It does get a touch muddy down low and lacks a little warmth, but overall, pretty good.

This thing is a tank, but doesn't feel like it. When I brought it home I was having a pretty ungraceful day. I knocked it into just about everything possible. Luckily, there were no dents. Again, I'm still wierded out by the 2 different finishes on the bridge. I bought it used from Guitar Center. Either these guys didn't set up the intonation or someone did a terrible job at it. It was a solid 25 cents off on every string. The bridge made it a quick fix though.

It seems incredibly tough. I'm not sure I could hurt it if I wanted to.

I would probably buy another depending on how much money I had to spend. I've been playing for 12 years or so, and have gone through quite a few guitars. This thing is quality. I hope it lasts a while.

2005 model with gold leaf finish, made in US of A and assembled in Canada. All the standard features so I don't need to write them all for you.

My style is just that - my style. I borrow heavily from rock-a-billy, alt country, Pink Floyd and surfer music. I don't know, I just play for fun. I run the guitar thru a Fender G-Dec and if I do a show I'll mike that and run it thru the PA. I love the variety of sounds that can be coaxed out of this guitar. Very verstatile and good at it too!

Action, fit and finish were OK. I need to have the action lower than the factory but thats my preferrence. The finish is clean and beautiful, sometimes I just sit and look at the guitar. My only complaint is that the 5 way selector keeps getting in the way if I make a down sweep, I play like Pete Townsend used too, lots of arm motion. I keep knocking it into a different pickup config. and it blows the sound. I love the guitar otherwise.

Very dependable, holds tune reasonable, I dont use the trem arm so that might held it stay in tune for me. In fact I dont have the arm on. I installed $2 plastic strap lock buttons. I move when I play and was losing the guitar constantly. Why don't factories ship these things with locking strap buttons? I have a vintage Silvertone (1960's) for backup, not the same sound but still a good guitar, if the Godin got lost or stolen I might buy another, but I might also shop for one that doesnt interfere with my sweeping style of picking.

Never had to contact Godin cause Long and McQuade (where I bought it) are very good at customer support.

I have been playing since 1972, when I got my first guitar. This is my third electric. I traded in a Samick thin line AE for this plus case and I don't regret it. This is a good instrument and very verstatile. For a cover band this would be a great gig guitar because it is so versatile.
Just wish the 5 way selector switch was positioned somewhere else.

My Godin SDxt is about 5 years old (2000), has the nice satin fretboard, and is overall very versatile. The floating trem. was my only concern. This guitar will NOT stay in tune unless you block the tremelo. I used these thick business cards, now I can dive, but can't go up. Expected for this type of tremelo. The features are perfect for the beginning guitarist. '5' means middle of the road features, not that it's crap.

Again, it's very versatile. It crunches without too much garbage in the sound, very bright. Not for metal, but I play some satch, four pieces by vinnie moore, and the gain setup is squicky clean.

I read in a couple of reviews about dings in the fretboards. I have a lot, but I don't remember if they were there in the beginning. The worst part about this guitar is the damn screw by the middle pickup. Replace it with something flatter - it'll drive you crazy when you want to do an upsweeep.

I've seen fretboards worn at ProSound. My fretboard is not worn after 5 years of playing on this guitar. The pickguard is a good feature for the beginning guitarist, they won't scratch the beautiful finish. The finish, by the way, is solid. I have a few dings (to be expected) but the finish covers it up.

N/A-Heard they are helpful (better than Ibanez, at least).

Don't buy this as anything else than a serious beginning guitar. And by serious, I mean you're going to stick with it for more than half a year, shack it, and lose that part of your life. It's a great middle of the road guitar. Relative rating (comparison to other beginning guitars): 10 - 2 times better than those fenders, or any other cheap piece.

2002 SDxt with lightburst quilt maple veneer over a silverleaf maple body with poplar wings, rock maple neck, maple fingerboard with some beautiful bird's-eye figuring, Tusq nut, cream-coloured 2-ply pickguard, h/s/h, etc.

I love the sound, esp the neck p/up, which is rich and full - killer blues tone - can also dial in a decent jazz tone. I really enjoy the in-between positions too, although I detect the loss of just a touch of volume (and highs?)in postitions 2 and 4. Bridge p/u can be quite bright - really screams. Single coil sounds good alone, but I prefer the other four settings. My amp is a Fender Princeton 65.

This guitar is gorgeous to look at and to hold. The neck is sublime - I love the satin finish. The bookmatching of the quilt top is flawless. The p/u selector is quiet. My only esthetic issues are a miniscule silver flake (metal from fretwire?) trapped beneath the clearcoat (In truth it's all but invisible, but I did find it - a small dimple in the wood (on back) and a very light nick on one of the frets - a very minor filing oversight, I guess. There were traces of polishing compound in the bridge cavity.
The cut out is very deep on all the Godin single cut models, and I sometimes find that the guitar tends to slip off my leg when I play sitting down. I think I might have preferred a slightly shallower cut out and more of the lower bout resting on my leg Great upper register access, though. Sculpted back at neck connection is very comfortable and attractive- not a feature I would have expected on a guitar in this price range.

The sealed "Godin" tuners are excellent - very precise and stable. I like the frosted finish on the tuners and bridge sadles - very classy. I had the floating trem blocked shortly after I bought the guitar, tuning was fairly stable before, but I wanted maximum tuning stability, and had no real use for trem. Tuning is rock solid now. I don't play in a band or anything, although I have played a few informal gigs - no problems.
Black nylon gig bag adequate, but nothing special. For regular gigging a more protective bag/case would be a worthwhile investment.

I have e-mailed Godin on several occasions. They have always responded politely within a couple of days. Have downloaded a little set up manual from Godin web site. The people at Avenue Guitars in Edmonton, Alberta were amazing. First year set ups free (no limit to number of adjustments), friendly, helpful.

I have had a Seagull (same family of companies) 6-string acoustic since 1987. Bought a used Squier Strat in 2001, but sold it, looking to upgrade to a Standard Series Strat or Tele. Mark at Avenue Guitars suggested I looked at a Godin, and I quickly forgot about the Mexican Fenders! As decent as they are, they just didn't capture the look and feel of quality that the Godins had in the same price range, and they don't come with any gig bag. My choice was narrowed to the Godin SDxt, and the Godin LG (24 fret, mohogany body with p-90s). I went with the SDxt for the sound - it could just do everything! For the money, the SDxt (and Godin guitars in general)are excellent value. I would definitely buy another Godin!

blue flame leaftop, rosewood fingerboard, humbucker-single-humbucker pickup configuration, 1 volume pot, 1 tone pot, 5 way pickup selector. rock maple neck, maple core, poplar wings. etc etc

go to godin's website

i wish it had a solid wood body, but besides that it's great

with hum-sing-hum configuration, there's virtually nothing out of it's range. the most versatile guitar ever!

my only beef is that the stock pups sound a wee bit bit muddy, but put some seymour duncans in there and you'll hear the difference. i mainly use it for ultra distorted thrash/hardcore (NOT numetal) type stuff, but it can sound country, jazzy, bluesy, or anything in between.

i run it through a crybaby>>boss tu-2>>boss md-2>>ernie ball 6166>>boss dd-3>>ampeg vt22 100w tube amp (2x12)... sounds brutal with this amp and the md-2

i tightened up the trem springs because i dont use the wammy and it stays in tune better this way.

everything looks very solid, stays in tune surprisingly well.

the action is easily adjustable to whatever you want.

the guitar itself is beautiful. the blue leaftop finish is amazing! everything looks very high quality, from the tuners to the bridge. i love just putting it on the stand and admiring the craftmanship. it looks and feels a lot more expensive than it is.

also, the neck is probably the best i've ever seen, at ANY price. godin is famous for it.

the only thing here is the pickguard... it seems to be slightly warped up in the middle, and when the pick hits it it makes a sortof hollow sound (hard to describe). not really a problem, i guess i'm just anal.

i thrash this thing to no end, and it takes a beating like a champ. everything still looks impeccable, and i have no doubt that the hardware will last. i would definitely use it in a gig without backup. the first thing i'll probably have to replace are the pots and/or selector switch, which i might add are still in perfect shape, and wouldn't be a big deal to replace anyway.

haven't had any problems, so n/a here

this guitar is a great value. one of the best quality to price ratios out there. i would especially recommend it as a starter guitar or an all-purpose guitar that you wouldn't be afraid to bash a little bit. i would rather have this than a les paul and worry about getting a scratch on it at a show. this is a guitar that begs to be played to its full potential.

-Godin Sdxt Blue Flame Leaf Top
-2004, Made In USA, 22 Frets
-Laminated Top
-One Volume, One Tone, 5 way pickup selector
-Two humbuckers and a single Coil
-Godin- Design Pickups, GHB1, GHS1, and GHN1
-The body is Contour Silverleaf Maple Body with a Maple Neck and A
Maple Fretboard
-The Finish is a beautiful Blue Flame Leaf top Finish (AMAZING)
-The Body Style is a mix between a Gibson and a Fender, Its original
tho, and totally amazing feel!
- It has a floating Tremolo system
-Lock Tight Tuners, I mean LOCK TIGHT, i have kept this thing in a
soft case for a week and it comes out in perfect tone. AMAZING!
-It has a pretty Fat neck but it feels GREAT
-It comes with a soft case, but its a very very good one, not one of
those cheap ones, its really great!

-This guitar Has every sound you want. I play Jazz, Funk and Rock and
It handles those no problems, It is soo versatile!
-I am running my guitar through a Rolan Cube 15 amp (and a fender Hot
Rod Deluxe) with a Boss Me - 33 effects box!
-Again this guitar can make any sound you want. becuase it has two
humbuckers and a single coil, u can get your country sound and ur
rock
-The only complain I have about this guitar is when you are running it
striaght through to a amp the clean sound isn't always what i want
somtimes i have to change some settings to get the right sound, but
other then thatm, this guitar is the Holy Grail

-The guitar came quite nicely setup, just the action was a bit high
-Pick up were perfect
-Everything on this guitar was in perfect condition when i bought it

-This Guitar is a brick, except without the weight. It was built to
be played live!!!

-I have been playing guitar for only about 2 years but i played piano
all my life so it was pretty easy to pick up. Compared to my other
gear, (Fender Strat, Takemine 12 string, Takemine Classical, Squire
Bullet)This guitar is my baby, I have played everyshow with it, I
love the sound i get, I love the body and fretboard. I love
everything about this guitar. Espically the price. If u want to buy
an amazing guitar for a cheap price look into godins!!!!! But dont t
Tell them becuase these guitars should be sold for three times the
price............. shhhhhhhhhh!!!!

you know the drill.

nothing to add, my main review is down lower on this page

in response to the guy who had the shop switch necks on two sdxt's, come on! if you checked Godin's site you would know they spend lots of time gettin the neck and body fit just right. if you switch two guitars necks you cannot expect them to fit perfectly. this show a higher than normal hand working in the plant. if someone wants a machine "crafted" instrument go elsewhere. for a company to spend the time getting each instrument assembled as a individual unit shows some class.
Godin should be charging way more for the handwork that is involved.

i have nothing but high praise for the customer service i have recieved in the past.

Pls see the others with detailed description

It suits my musicstyle which is Jazz, Funk and Blues
I use a Line 6 Amp
The Sd is not superquiet but believe me you can still hear the grass growing
The variety of sound is suprising although I mostly use the single coils only

The finish is unbeatable for this price.
I have a G&L Legacy and some Strat Plus and a PRS Custom . But they cannot be compared since we are talking about different priceranges.
All the adjustements from the factory were my taste.

This guitars withstands almost everything. As solid as can get.

No experience

I'm playing bass, drums, trombone and some guitar
I own a Godin half acoustic bass A6 and Godin is just quality all over.
The only thing I would like to share is the assurance that you will get a top guitare for this price beating a lot of others costing 2-3 times more.
By the way I have had 4 Fender Strats in various models. But to be honest I got away from Fender because the only guitars from them worth playing are the custom shop, and htese are just too expensive.
All the other regular US made models are just not worth the money they cost.
Buy a Godin and you will be shocked
By the way: Godin is the main deliverer for Fender regarding necks and bodys. So why not going to the real enteprise in first place in stead of reliaing on a brand called Fender. Just because Jimmy used one? Forget it