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Godin A4/A5.

#21
bmc said:
This is the model before the A4, called the Acoustibass. It features a great thumb rest, which is missing from the A4/A5.

This one is at Bass Northwest. I have bought from them and they have shipped to me here in Switzerland.

http://www.bassnw.com/Used Basses/godin_acoustibass_4_st.htm
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I imagine the Acoustibass balanced better than the A-4/A-5 due to the double cutaway, but I never liked the looks of that big-ass thumbrest or the control plate for the EQ and volume sliders. I'm glad they left those features off of the newer basses. The Acoustibass had those metal tines under the bridge as opposed to the A-4/A-5's cello bracing. I've never compared the two side-by-side.

- Steve
 
#22
I agree on the looks of the control plate, which is why I think the black version of the Acoustibass looks best. You can't see the panel or the thumb rest. Having played both basses and at one point coming very close to buying either one, the thumb rest is the piece I loved best. It made it so comfortable to play anywhere.

If I'm not mistaken, the Acoustibass came in two neck widths: P at 1 5/8" and a J width at 1 1/2". Very nice basses. Overall, I think they all look best in black with the cream binding, but that colour is no longer option.
 
#23
I have a fretless Acoustibass which I've owned for about 12 years. I bought it slightly used for $495 Canadian. The previous owner returned it after a day. I guess he couldn't play it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I've also tried the A4s-quite a few of them. I actually prefer the Acoustibass. It's lighter and the thumb rest is a bonus to me.

It's a well made bass and I've never had a problem with it. I've played fretless basses since 1963, before they were made commercially so have no problem playing it in tune. The Godin has a unique sound being semi-hollow with a piezo pickup. It isn't well suited for sitting solidly in the mix the way a good P bass does and, as such, isn't well suited for my usual gigs. It works nicely with acoustic guitar ensembles and for an unusual solo sound where you want the fretless sound featured.

Strings make a big difference in the sound you get. I've tried roundwounds which I didn't like, nylon tapewounds which I also disliked (strange honky midrange and way too much tension), and settled on Thomastic JF 344s as my favourite.

I've tried the very expensive Rob Allen and it does sound better to me and is a better made bass, but it should be for the price.

So, all in all, I don't regret buying the Godin. I hardly use it these days, but it can be fun to fool around with from time to time. I don't know what your gigging requirements are, but it might work for you. Just don't expect it to take the place of a good solid body electric as a bass to use to support the rhythm section. It'll just get lost in the mix and nobody will be very pleased with you for bringing it. I don't think it does a very credible job of emulating an upright. It's similar in the higher register at times but lacks the punch and depth of a well played acoustic upright.

I'm happy with mine but there's no way I'd pay over $1000 for one unless I could justify its rather limited uses in a paying project where its sound would be appreciated. But that's me and I'm a bit practical when it comes to my instrument and amplification purchases. If someone were to drop over and offer me $300 for it I'd sell it without regrets, as long as I didn't have to go to the bother of shipping it.

I've thought a couple of times of mounting a good magnetic pickup into the neck position and finding a way to blend it with the piezo. It's probably not worth the expense and work though. I have an idea how that would sound as I've added a piezo to a solid body electric before. It would make the bass more versatile. But there are already commercially made basses available so the expense is probably not justifded.

Quality wise, Godin makes some very nice basses.
 
#24
I have played an A4 and all in all I really liked the bass. The only issue I didn't like was the volume control. Godin used a slide pot on the A4 that I played and I found it hard to get to quickly if needed. An external volume pedal would eliminate the problem.
Very nice basses.
 
#25
62bass said:
I've played fretless basses since 1963, before they were made commercially.
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I'd like to hear the story behind that.

Interesting post 62bass. Your observations about the Godin bass are very astute. I'm lucky in that many of my current gigs are appropriate for the fretless A-4 but I wouldn't bring it to a mainstream rock/blues gig. When the acoustic pop/world music band I play in covers a 60's rock tune I sometimes wish I was playing my fretted Jazz Bass instead.

- Steve
 
#26
...I use a fretted A5 as my main giggin bass. I'm also going to suggest that you buy brand-new because they've replaced the ribbon transducer under the bridge with piezos for this year, which would have solved the problem I had with mine, which is that the damned transducer de-laminated. I have it re-laminated at a luthier here in Montréal, but it was still irritating.

The thing is, it's got a really nice sound and the neck is A-1. It fits in perfectly with my celtic rock trio, but you can really use it for almost anything that's not heavy on the thrash or the electronica.

I paid $1000 Canadian, tax in.
 
#27
Might be to late to help by now, but I have an A5, altohugh I ordered an A4. The low B seems pretty floppy to me, so I think I"m going to go with a high c next time I restring it. Someone else on here seemed to agree with me, so check it out if you're back to try another. Otherwise I love the thing. it's great and really comfortable.
 
#29
klocwerk said:
if they're that expensive over there, why not scare up a used Rob Allen for about the same price? far nicer basses imho. Not that the Godin's aren't sweet, just that RA's are that much nicer.
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Can you get a Rob Allen in England for that price? When I was looking into those basses (ended up getting an A4, then later selling it to help finance my Sadowsky), the Rob Allens were selling for more than three times what the Godins sell for.

I'd look for a used Godin on ebay. They turn up pretty frequently. With the exchange rate being what it is these days, even after taxes and shipping, you would still get an incredible deal. The Godin is a FANTASTIC bass for the money, especially used.

Of course, if you could swing a Rob Allen, so much the better . . .
 
#30
Shuker makes a very sweet piezo bass (similar in appearance to a Rob Allen MB2). i've not gotten one due to the poor exchange rate.

According to his site you can get one for 900 pounds. Beautiful, custom-made...Godin's are great but IMHO the Shuker would be a superior instrument (and its made locally)
 
#31
Yeah, I like my A4 fretless. It's got a great sound and plays well. I hadn't heard that they recently upgraded to piezos over the under saddle ribbon transducer though.

I used to live in the town where the head office is, so when I had a problem with mine, I actually brought it directy there and they promptly fixed it. I also happen to know someone who knows Robert Godin, so I don't know if I got preferential treatment but my service was excellent.

The A4's generally sell for about $1000 new around here. The A5's are probably a bit more. All of their instruments are great value for the money.
 
#32
Smallmouth_Bass said:
Yeah, I like my A4 fretless. It's got a great sound and plays well. I hadn't heard that they recently upgraded to piezos over the under saddle ribbon transucer though.
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Okay, I *was* going to say that it's because their website sucks, but I just checked it out and it's a new model they're selling in tandem with the old ones. It's got an added MIDI output and saddle transducers.

Took them a month to update the site, though. :rolleyes:
 
#33
roadkill2309 said:
Okay, I *was* going to say that it's because their website sucks, but I just checked it out and it's a new model they're selling in tandem with the old ones. It's got an added MIDI output and saddle transducers.

Took them a month to update the site, though. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Actually, one month for a website update is pretty good. There are a lot of others that take way longer than that to make updates.
 
#34
richnota said:
Shuker makes a very sweet piezo bass (similar in appearance to a Rob Allen MB2). i've not gotten one due to the poor exchange rate.

According to his site you can get one for 900 pounds. Beautiful, custom-made...Godin's are great but IMHO the Shuker would be a superior instrument (and its made locally)
Click to expand...


I wouldn't purchase a Godin without exploring this option first.
 
#35
...what I saw at the Shuker website and the extortionate price you pay for a Godin in the UK, I'd probably go for the Shuker.

Oh, and Smallmouth_Bass, I think you're absolutely right. It seems like instrument makers don't really emphasise their sites. I mean, how much of the Lakland site doesn't work? how godawful is the F-bass site? How long does it take the Godin guys to keep their site updated? Word of mouth and Artist endorsements are great and all, but when I'm looking for a cool bass, I always surf about for a bit first, after listening to the forum babble and re-reading whatever article it was that twigged my interest in the first place, then I do some surfing. That way, I've either narrowed down my selection or decided whether or not I'm still interested before going off in search of a model to play around on. Especially if I have to travel a bit to see about a bass that interests me.

I almost feel like calling these guys and telling them about 21st century marketing. Though, I have to say that while I was still doing that stuff as a career, I'd have liked a guitar company or two for clients. Being able to put a month between a product release and the marketing campaign would have saved me some stress ;)
 
#36
roadkill2309 said:
Oh, and Smallmouth_Bass, I think you're absolutely right. It seems like instrument makers don't really emphasise their sites. I mean, how much of the Lakland site doesn't work? how godawful is the F-bass site? How long does it take the Godin guys to keep their site updated? Word of mouth and Artist endorsements are great and all, but when I'm looking for a cool bass, I always surf about for a bit first, after listening to the forum babble and re-reading whatever article it was that twigged my interest in the first place, then I do some surfing. That way, I've either narrowed down my selection or decided whether or not I'm still interested before going off in search of a model to play around on. Especially if I have to travel a bit to see about a bass that interests me.

I almost feel like calling these guys and telling them about 21st century marketing. Though, I have to say that while I was still doing that stuff as a career, I'd have liked a guitar company or two for clients. Being able to put a month between a product release and the marketing campaign would have saved me some stress ;)
Click to expand...

Not to derail the thread, but...
I think a lot of companies underestimate the power of a good website. All they would have to do is hang around TB for a while and see the mounting GAS! How many times have you seen someone pick off a Sadowsky photo from the "basses in stock" portion of their website and post it here drooling? Now that's good marketing!

I can understand that a lot of the smaller companies and luthiers probably have a hard time keeping up, but there's just no excuse for others. Look at Ernie Ball/MusicMan; they don't even have double humbucker StingRay's listed on their site and they've been out for how long now?
 
#37
The A5 FL is one of the best basses ive ever played , great craftmanship , wonderful sound , both unplugged and with a large rig , beautiful mwah and growl.
Cant go wrong there man , and ive never heard anything bad about Godin.
 
#38
I am a Godin endorsee. I play a fretted a4 and a fretless a5. The A4 is an older (96) model with the Baggs RT system. I love this bass. It is my #1. I have gigged it so much I have actually worn the finish off the front on the lower horn!

Godin just sent me a new A5 fretless. The model is actually A5-SA (for synth acess). It has a RMC polydrive piezo sytem (individual piezo for each string mounted in brass) and a 13 pin output for direct acess to synths and Roland V-Bass systems. It also has a mid selector switch (selectable tween 700 and 1200 hz). Also a spruce (solid) as opposed to cedar top. These upgrades make the newer models quite exceptional. It has a unique tone which can flutter from a URBish tone to a modern fretless mwah....and the mid selector keeps it in the mix!

Really diggin this bass!

Godin does make expetional basses.

Max
 
#39
Speaking of EQ frequencies, I e-mailed Godin Guitars a while back with a few questions about the A4 and I thought I'd share the response here:

Hi Steve,

The A4 doesn't come with a manual. It's preamp works as follows :

top slider : volume
2nd slider : treble +/-10db@10khz
3rd slider : mid-range +/-10db@200hz
4th slider : bass +/-15db@50hz

As for Godin's pronounciation, it's Go as in ready, set, GO!
and the "in" is kind'a pronounced like the "ain" in ain't.

I hope that helps!

Regards,

Michel
Godin Guitars

- Steve
 

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