Godin SDxt

lightburst quilt top finish and maple neck, see other reviews for the scoop on pickups and whatnot.

i love all music and need a variety of sounds, bingo this fits the bill. i took my time and tried every thing from les pauls to brian moores , in other words every guitar i could find in the store that had real pickups and solid workmanship. i could not justify extra money on the pricier guitars i tried, i ended up deciding between a godin lg sp90 and the sdxt. the sdxt had a few more options with sounds. this guitar sounds great. its not a paul but its not a strat either, its a blend. i use a yamaha dg100 and it chunks like no tommorrow! its very rich and full sounding, my best advice to anyone is to TRY one of these , you won't believe the guitar you get for the money you spend!my only dislike is i prefer locking tuners and graphite nuts on any guitar with a floating trem. and i put some foam in the spring cavity to deaden the springs when i riff with some gain. this guitar is mucho resonant and the pickups will amplify the springs doing thier "reverb" thing . and i don't personnaly like that tendacy in strat like trems.

no flaws! i do setups and whatnot on my guitars and know quite a bit about quality in construction and design. Godin is unsurpassed in this!the neck is awesome! this was made by people who care. every detail is imaculate.

i know i will have no issues with this . it even comes straplock equipped. my other guitar player with an american strat deluxe that cost 3 times as much has already been in the shop to get the strap pins plugged and reinstalled. that shouldn't need to be done on a new guitar. it is a nice strat for sure but i don't wish i had his guitar over mine! i love my godin..really.the price makes me feel like i ripped off the store. i will be getting another Godin or two.

good support , emails are answered in a timely fashion. they are busy making awesome guitars so don't worry if there is a delay in email response. i never checked my warranty card yet but i don't think i will ever need it, the store i bought it is pretty good and i know the resident luthier at the store.i had good response when i had questions on a used Godin i used to own.( traded out of stupidity..mine)

i have 20 plus years in playing, i use several guitars ..yamaha pacifica 311s with a bridge seymour duncan hotrail, and an american kramer with seymour duncans and this goes through my yamaha dg100 amp. my only wish is locking tuners and a deluxe case. but i got such an amazing guitar for the money i would be crazy to expect Godin to unclude these for the same price. i do hope Godin sets up a custom shop in the future..that would be sweet. i cannot express the awesome build and design quality of the sdxt. sorry for the 10's in this review. if this was a strat or a less paul i would rate it slightly different but it is itself, not a clone. and i think its excellent at getting all the sounds i need without switching guitars . bravo Godin!

You all know this by now but anyway , here we go: 22 frets , made in New Hampshire from parts crafted in Quebec, 5-way selector, nice metal knobs, h-s-h, Godin pickups, rock maple neck and body , etc..
just what I was looking for.

I don t like the single coil pickup to much( never really liked any sc anyway...) :) but the two humbuckers are really great , especially for stock pickups. The bridge humbucker is perfect for everything distorted and I love the neck pickup for clean playing ( It has a very full and loud sound ). The single coil pu is a bit noisy but who cares, hehe.

I had to reset the action a bit but besides that eveything was perfect. Excellent finish , It feels like a very high quality instrument and it is. oh yeah, one last thing, I had to lower de single coil pu because it was getting in my way when playing.

looks really really solid and well made. the strap buttons keep the guitar from falling :)wich is good hehehe. It would definitely withstand live playing.

dunno

Excellent value, perfect sound , great action, good looking guitar. If it were stolen I would get another one right away. That s pretty much it :).

This 2002 Godin sdxt is a great jack of all trades guitar.Cost $450, made in Canada, assembled in USA. The only thing it lacks is an acoustic bridge pickup - available in the solidac, but the solidac does not have the same neck, and does not have the maple neck option, which is crutial.The humbucker-single coil-humbucker pickup configuration gives a multitude of tonal combinations, but they should have put coil splitter switches for the humbuckers.

For what it was designed, guitar sounds great.The modifications I already discussed would make it absolute perfection.I have been playing guitar since 1959, touring, recording, teaching what eventually became Classic Rock and Roll.I use Fender and Peavey all tube amps, no effects or pedals.Reverb and natural tube distortion only.

Spent 2 hours adjusting it to .009 gauge strings ( comes with .010 ), which is to be expected. It is now the best playing guitar I have ever played - totally effortless. Plays like butter.Beautiful blue flame finish.

Seems to be a workhorse. Except for my Taylor, it is all I play. Stays in tune, even with a lot of whammy bar and sting bending.

Answer my e-mails quickly. They cannot add acoustic bridge pickup and coil splitters at factory, though.

Best guitar you can get for the money. Wish it had my modifications as an option.Dealer did not have hardshell case, but it fits in my strat case.Plays better than any of my Fenders or Gibsons, even my 1965 Mosrite, which was the undisputed champ.Gets great Strat sound, and Les Paul sound, too.

2001 Godin SDxt. Solid body maple single cut, sort of a cross between a LP and Strat. Made in US from parts supplied from Canada. Mine has the blue flame top which is very nice. H/S/H set-up with five way selector switch. Schaller hardware which seems very durable, non-locking tuners are excellent. Strap-locks are solid. Schaller trem which is very sensitive. 25.5 scale on a maple neck. Comes with a Godin gig bag but I ordered a HSC for safety. Gig with it on a weekly basis and it has held up very well. Bought this guitar just for prcatice sessions but am finding out that I use it more and more in live venues.

I play Jazz with a combo and side with a Big Band. So, I play alot of single note riffs with the Jazz group and back-up chording with the Big Band. I use my Victoria or Evans amps with the Jazz group and am usually mic'ed with the Big Band although I do have a Traynor 80Q that cuts through the mix quite well. I have four axes that I use on a continual basis: Gibson L5, Gibson Birdland, Gibson LP Custom and this Godin. When set right this guitar offers a great mix of sounds. Doesn't have the depth of the L5 or Birdland but keeps up with the overall sound of the LP and then some.

Factory set-up was high. I lowered and readjusted everything and now it's fine. Finish is first rate and the quility is exceptional for a guitar in this price range. With the exception of the action, I could not find one flaw in anything. I do have one problem with the control set-up. I have rather large hands and the placement of the volume and tone knobs sometimes get in the way of my picking action. I wish they have moved them two inches to the rear.

Very solid guitar. Hardware and finish is first-rate. Strap buttons are locking variety and are solid. I have used it on numerous occasions in live settings but usually carry at least one other axe not because of fear of faliure but because of the need for different sounds.

Never had to deal with Godin about a problem although I did call them once with an interest in one of their other guitars. I was able to talk to one of their production people and he was very informative about their production process and materials used.

I have been playing for over twenty years. As I had mentioned earlier, I purchased this guitar for practice sessions leaving the high priced stuff at home. As it turns out, I am using this axe more and more in live settings. It's no L5 or Birdland but I reallly feel that for the money this instrument offers great sound and value.

Here's a little cut and paste from the Godin website that tells of the features, Rock Maple neck
Maple Fingerboard
12" fingerboard radius
25 1/2" Scale
1 11/16" nut width
Contoured Silverleaf Maple body
Godin-Design pickups (GHB1 - bridge, GHS1 - middle, GHN1 - neck)
Floating Trem
5-Way, Volume & Tone
Blue Flame 'Leaf Top' finish

I got mine in April of 2002 brand new. It's made in Canada and the U.S. I think all the guitars are assembled in New Hampshire and the parts are made in various shops in Quebec and the New Hampshire one. So basically it's North American made. It has 22 frets and a humbucker/single/humbucker set-up with a 5 way switch. All the pick-ups are made by Godin. The body is unique in that the middle block is Silverleaf maple and the wings are poplar to keep weight down. Like everyone says it looks like a cross between a Tele and Strat. The finish is the beautiful Blue Flame on mine. It came with the worlds worst gig bag, two allen wrenches, and a whammy bar that hasn't seen much use. Also is straplock compatible.

I used to play exclusively punk but I took guitar lessons this semester at college and am starting to branch out. However, i still play mostly punk. This guitar does punk just fine. The bridge humbucker rocks and that is almost exclusively what I use when I am playing in my punk band. I have a Marshall JCM 900 combo and the tone I get that combination is very similar to most of the punk bands that I listen to (almost the exact same sound as Lagwagon). It sounds great overdriven. I use the neck humbucker for all clean stuff such as jazz or whatnot and it sounds great. You're not just playing a guitar when you're playing this but you're making music. it really just sings beautifully. It has a very bright, saturated sound. The single coil in the middle I'm still uncertain about. Of course it is noisier than the humbuckers but I don't think it is overly noisy. As I said before I usually play punk so I don't use this much and this is my first guitar with a single coil so I'm not sure how to get the best sounds but it tends to produce a more glassy popping type sound when played hard than you're Strat-like twangy snap. When played with more control it is nice but still has that glassy tone that I'm not sure how much I like. Basically I don't use it that much. With the 5 different types of configurations you can get a wide variety of sounds. I like the 2 or 4 positions for bluesier type stuff. The tone knob doesn't do much for me but I've only been playing for a year so haven't developed a good ear for the subtle differences like most of the tone freaks on this website. Overall, great tone and sound for the money. I'll give it a 9 just because it's not a $3000 custom made guitar so there has to be room for improvement (my pet peeve is people on this website who give everything great marks).

This is really where the guitar stands out. here is about a $400-500 guitar where the action, fit and finish where nearly perfect. The finish is like something you'd find on a G&L ASAT or PRS Custom. it's just beautiful. The second I had the neck in my hand I knew the difference between that and my Epi Les Paul. It has a contoured back so it fits nicely against the body, unlike the LP. The guitar just wants to be played for hours. The action was perfect, no buzzing but great playability. I'm not a guitar tech or anything but I've only found one flaw in the set-up and it is extremely minor. One of the screws for the pick guard is too thin (well, the hole is too big) so it sticks out a little bit. But I really don't care and haven't bothered to fix it. This is a good as it gets for the money.

Only had it for two months but it seems rock solid. Has a bolt on neck which is nice. The input jack is metal unlike the LP which had a plastic covering for that which broke when i dropped that. Won't have that problem with this one.

Haven't dealt with them but I like what the company is all about and can't forsee any problems

I've been playing for 1 year and started with an Epi SG, then went to the Les Paul which I like for awhile and now have this along with the Seagull. If it were stolen I would buy it again in a heartbeat because I really don't think that you can get a better guitar for around $400-$500. The differences between the LP and SDxt are quite substantial and they cost about the same. The SDxt is considerabley better built and you can get the LP chuncky overdriven tone with it but also a wider variety of sounds as well. And personally I think that it's neck pickup is way better. I looked at getting a LG or SD (both Godins) but thought that this was the best deal. I was only looking for Godins on advice from my guitar teacher and really fell in love with the company. They make great, versatile guitars. I feel that you're certifiably insane if you get a Mexistrat or a Korean made Epi instead of this guitar. The craftsmanship and are noticeably better to a novice like myself. In the future if I ever upgrade I'll probably for for a Godin LGX-SA, if I want a hollowbody I'll get a Flat Five, and it I want something just for Jazz I'll get a Multiac Jazz. I think Godin makes the best guitars out there. I was going to put a 9 for this but with the 10 it said "fantastic value" and that's exactly what this is.

Solid body made in US from Canadian parts. 5-way selector switch with volumne and tone controls. PU's are of Godin design. Floating trem. Maple and poplar body with rock maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Well designed non-locking tuners. Design is somewhere between a strat and Les Paul but is unique. Came with a nice gigbag and allen tools. Case is not included.

I had read a few reviews on this guitar and deceided to give it a try. I was able to find a new one on ebay. I play rock and blues through a Peavey 5150 with a Peavey 5150 half stack(Greenbacks). I'll tell you!!, this guitar sound great! I was really surprised at the sustain. The stock PU's are really good. Again, I was surprised. My main axe is a PRS Custom costing hundreds more that this one and it's hard to tell the difference. There is really nothing I don't like about it and in fact am now looking into one of Godin's higher priced models

I needed to work on the action and in turn the intonation. Pickups were at the right height. I had heard that Godin's workmanship was very good. I went over this guitar with a fine tooth comb and could not find one flaw. No glue, now paint smears, frets dressed nicely, and the finish was flawless. Neck feels very good and is straight and the nut is just right. I couldn't ask for more from any guitar but getting this type of quality for this price, it's unbelievable!

Very sturdy. Good strap buttons. Very good finish and hardware. Would easily stand up to live playing. My PRS comes first and then this one but I would use without backup.

Have not had to use it but they answered my email and this is something!!. I believe the warranty is one year.

I am very happy with this axe. I own a PRS Custom and an American Strat. If it were stolen or lost I would replace it right away. Well. I guess for once the hype is correct, this is one great guitar for the price. It really compares, and some cases exceedes, other guitars I have tried that cost hundreds more. Great Value!!

Godin SDxt made in 2001. Canadian manufactured parts put assembled in New England. Solid body lightburst quilt (Very Nice!). Body style all of it's own but you could say its a cross between a Les Paul and Stratocaster. Pickups are Godin designed H/S/H. One volumne and one tone control. 5-way selector switch. Maple and poplar body with rock maple neck and a rosewood fretboard. Sacle is 25.5. Godin non-locking tuners and floating tremelo. The guitar comes with a Godin gig bag and tools.

I play light rock, blues and jazz. I play through a Fender blackface super reverb and use use a Digitech RP-300 for additional effects. With my setup, this guitar can make just about any sound I want. Can be bright but still holds low end. It has great sustain. The wood combination that Godin used is interesting, placing a maple block to hold the neck and pickups while joining poplar wings to the maple. Has a good full sound but not as good as my Heritage 575 for jazz. Two different creatures!

Factory setup was good although I reset the action and intonation. It was just off a bit on both counts. The bookmatching was very good. I was really impressed with the overall quality of this guitar. I own a variety of guitars and the workmanship of this guitar is right up there with instruments costing hundreds more. I looked very closely and could not find one flaw with the hardware or assembly. Woods are top notch. Pickups are Godin designed are just a step behind a Duncan or Rio Grande. Just for fun I might try a Benedetto A6 or Duncan Jazz on the neck.

I seems very reliable. It should be able to withstand years of live playing. Finish is very good and the strap buttons are solid. I never gig without a backup because of string breakage but with that exception, I would easily feel good going out alone with this guitar.

Have not had to deal with Godin. If something major occured I would call them (like the body splitting in half!) otherwise I repair, adjust or replace parts myself. I have had occasion to call them and they were very helpful. They have an excellent reputation for quality workmanship and customer service. My guitar tech had to have a part shipped to him(Godin LXT) and they were more than helpfull and in fact called him back to make sure everything worked OK.

I have been playing for over twenty years. Currently working as a studio musician and also do corporates with my trio. My primary guitars are a Heritage 575, Heritage 150 and a Gibson 135. I have an assortment of amps including Fenders, Evans and Poyltones. I wanted to obtain a great sounding solid body that I could haul to the studio and offsite gigs and not be worried about it getting beat-up or stolen. Well, guess what, now I'm worried about this one too!! I did look at variety of other guitars in this price range: Dean EVO's, Fender Standards, Hamer's and others and none, in my opinion, had the overall quailty and sound of this guitar. Beautiful finish and great sound for very little money. I would highly recommend this guitar.

This review is for a new Godin SDxt. Beautiful blue flame with rosewood fingerboard. Styling is a cross between a Les Paul and Strat. Single cutaway. Canadian parts assembled in the US. The solid body has a contoured maple block (silverleaf) for the electronics with poplar wings. This difers from the regular SD. The SD is all silverleaf maple which makes the SD heavier. Pickups are H/S/H with a 5-way selector switch. One volume and one tone control. Floating trem. Pickups are of Godin design. Has a 25.5" scale and a 12" fingerboard radius with a 1 11/16 nut width. Neck is rock maple. Tuners are non-locking Godin design which look alot like Schaller's. The scale is another difference from the SD. The SD has a 24.75" scale. Note: Typical Gibson is 24.75" and Fender is 25.5". Come with a Godin gig bag and allen wrenches. One difference from Godin's website is that the blue flame now comes with a black pickguard not the off-white one that they display. I guess they haven't changed the image on the site.

Just as advertised, this guitar has a variety of sounds with the H/S/H configuration. I play it through a Travnor CV40 (Tube) and have two Matchless units in my studio both running Celestion Blue's. I have also tried it through Polytone and Evans tube amps. The one thing that really stands out is the sustain and resonance. I hit an A chord straight through the Traynor and was so impressed that we almost timed it! Just like the Enigerizer Bunny it kept going...going...going. Fantastic! I don't know how Godin put the woods (Maple+Poplar) together but it really works. Two visiting guitarists who played it were not totally impressed with the stock pickups and suggested a variety of options with Duncan's but I will take a wait and see attitude. I personally play Jazz/Standards and use both a Gibson 135 and 175 and it takes a little geting used to the Godin's sound but am very impressed so far. For the money, I don't think you can beat it.

I purchased the guitar from one of Canada's premier dealers, Murch Music and the owner Glenn Murch shipped it in perfert condition. I really have to tell you, this guitar looks and feels like it should have cost hundreds more. The blue flame top looks AAAA and the joinery work on both the neck and body are exceptional. Pickup height was good and action was low. I was told that Godin took real pride in their work and now I beleive it. How they sell this guitar at such a low price is beyond me. I looked at a variety of solid bodies in the $1,500 to $2,800 price range and with the exception of the pickups and trem, the Godin more than held its own.

My only problem with this guitar is that it is so beautiful I don't want to take it anywhere! I'll take the Gibson's out but not this one!(LOL). Strap buttons and hardware look sturdy and I am sure, If I were going to take it out, it would hold up just fine in a live playing enviroment.

Have not had to deal with Godin on this guitar but did email them recently wanting some information on the new Jazz Multitrac and they responded very quickly. I would highly recommend Murch Music in Canada for his customer service and product line. He sells and services some of the world's best names in Jazz boxes. I understand he also very involved in Jazz festivals in Canada and the US.

I have been playing for over thirty years and have owned too many guitars to remember all of them. I currently have a Gibson 135,175, and 335. I needed a good solid body for myself and visiting artists so I started my research with the major brands. To make a long story short, it came down to a vintage Les Paul, a Anderson and this Godin. After hearing and playing the Paul and Anderson I just couldn't justify the extra money for them. Both were wonderful guitars but for a quarter of the price the Godin really held her own. I will probably replace the pickups at some point and maybe add real Schallers and a Wilkinson Trem but overall I highly recommend this guitar. If it were lost or stolen I would replace it ASAP. I fact I am now looking at some of the other models in the Godin line. The Godin SDxt is a real value with wonderful workmanship and a vast array of sounds.

I'm sure you know it by now, if you are reading this...
This particular one was CongacBurst with a rosewood fretboard. The pickup configuration on the SDxt is H/S/H, 5-way. The pickups are Godin made.

This is the part why I decided to write this review. I was very suprised how rich this guitar sounded, even through a digital multieffect processor I tried it on which I know to muddy the original sound a hair (name deliberately omitted). It has the Strat's twang, the Gibson's growl and even the resonance of an acoustic, I didn't expect, just dial in the right filters on your rig to cut out things you don't need. I was able to produce believable sounds out of the SDxt from the 50's to the 90's, distorted as well as clean. This guitar is quite versatile (H-S-H) and was obviously meant to be a Jack-Of-All-Trades, as the manufacturer puts it. It has a resonance that I have not heard in other guitars (not even on recordings yet). So why not 10/10? I noticed when I tried to get some zeng out of it, that the deep tones sometimes overpower the resonance slightly.

The guitar in the shop was setup pretty well. I changed the strings to a complementary set of Elixirs when I got home (man, are those great, thanks guys!) and I raised the bridge humbucker slightly when I got home, but the intonation was correct. When I examined closely at home I was amazed how precise the fitting was compared to other guitars I had (see below). The finishing was flawless and the rosewood fingerboard seems higher quality than that of my other guitars (somehow darker and smoother). It is a piece of art.

One thing though. When they were hanging from the wall, I did not pay too much attention to these guitars, because from a distance they appear to have a cheap, plasticy finish. Boy, do I need glasses. Do yourself a favour and go up close.

I use the guitar for studio work, so I take good care of it. It looks just too damn good to take it on the road. The bridge and knobs appear high quality and the pickguard was covered with extra protective plastic (which I wrestled off when I got home - get ready to take off the knobs *and* their nuts for this excersise). I had it for only about a month, so can't really comment more on the durability, but the strap buttons and tuners also look sturdy.

Didn't have to deal with them yet.

I've been playing/buying guitars on and off for 15+ years. The best guitars I had/have are a Fender Strat and an Ibanez RG570IP. If this guitar was stolen, the first guitar I would buy would most definitely another Godin, but perhaps I would be more brave on spending more on the same, but Synth/equipped version (for experimentation), or try the LGX3 with its Duckbuckers. I might even try a Radiator. I love how easily this guitar plays (the action is great with .42-.9 strings) and the rich the sound it produces. Originally I was after another Strat with noiseless pickups - I tried an American Deluxe but this one was a steal for this price (about 1/3rd)!
What do I wish it had? A twin (in my studio)! Ok, maybe a humbucker splitter switch for the bridge pickup, for even more twang and versatility...? 24 frets? ...now that would have been a 10/10. (Although, I wish there was a 9.5/10 on this selector because 9/10 seems a bit too harsh!)