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Godin Club

#281
blindrabbit said:
That is gorgeous, I've never seen one of them before! It'll now be on my watch list!
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Thanks man! This was actually my first decent bass guitar. They turn up every so often... usually in the $300-$400 range on th'bay. I even saw a blue-burst SD-4 in flamed maple a while back. I almost sold this one last fall, but decided to just keep it. Upon thinking about it was just too good of a bass to let go for cheap... so I put a set of TI Jazz Flats on it and never looked back.

I'm really looking forward to the arrival of this A5 this week. :cool:
 
#282
Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting a Godin A4 or A5 fretless sometime in the near future because of my love for the upright bass's sound but not its bulk or cost. I've heard great things about the Godin guitars from a friend who owns one, but I don't know anyone with one of the basses.

Do they get that upright tone well enough to pass for one? I've been listening to a lot of folk and bebop recently and I love the tone of the upright, but factors such as size, price, and new technique have made me hesitant. If the Godin replicates the sound well (or at least well enough) it might be a better option for me. The only thing I'd really be missing would be the bow and the ability to play unplugged.

Secondly, how many of you use the synth or midi aspects of this bass? My guitar friend uses his for songwriting with a Roland pedal synth but I wonder how well it would work with bass.

Last, how do the Godin basses compare to something like the Carvin AC40 or 50? They don't have the synth but new they are about half the price of the Godin.
 
#283
I can't speak for the Godin yet, but as a (primarily) upright player that also plays BG, I've yet to hear a piezo pu'd bass guitar that had that sound. I have played a couple high-end EUB's that come closer.

That said, some of the semi-acoustic BG's have a very nice woody, non-metallic tone and when combined with fretless fingerboard, you *can* get a lot of that cool "upright" inflection. They are considerably more portable than an upright.

If you'd be satisfied with "close" I say go for it. As with most things though, YMMV.
 
#287
I've been an upright player quite some time, and I gotta agree with Edward - I have never found a BG that would compare to a real upright. THat said, convenience trumps sometimes. I now take both to our gigs (acoustic blues) and we divide our set list depending on whether the tune sounds better with the upright or not - and how tired my fingers are getting! With tapes on my fretless A4 I can play for hours. Upright: maximum of 2 hours, and I'll be sore enough the next day that I will only play the A4. We are talking tendon/joint issues here - the skin on my fingers is not a problem.
 
#288
Supposed to take delivery on the A5 today... :) Had FedEx hold it at the terminal over the weekend, since it's a signature req'd.

I'll try to sneak outta' work a little early today, and get a head start on NBD - Godin 2.0 edition.
 
#289
blindrabbit said:
I'm also looking to hear about experiences people have had with Shifter Classics. I had a chance to play one earlier this week, and it was the best feeling bass I've tried out in a long time. What a fantastic and fast neck! Unfortunately I wasn't able to plug it in, but hopefully I can head back soon and try it out again.

One particular thing I'm wondering is how people find the weight on these to be. One I tried weighed in at just over 9lbs. Another one I tried seemed significantly lighter, but there wasn't a scale around to test it out with. I'm looking for something lightweight to help counter stress on my injured shoulder - could this be a bass that is light enough? I'm hoping to find something 8lbs or less.
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Godin necks are terrific. The Shifter Classic has a quite flat 16" radius which I really like, traditional or not. I don't recall the instrument being unreasonably heavy and it sounded very good.
 
#290
I haven't ever tried a Shifter, but my SD-5 is almost 11 lbs. The ol' Canadian maple may err on the side of heavy, but the sound & playability more than cancel out the extra effort. Just did 2 sets at a reception Friday afternoon, and 3 sets in a bar yesterday evening with it... can't say enough good stuff about it.
 
#291
I'm going to do some tweaking on the (recently aquired) A5's action this evening...

The G string (and only the G) is a little buzzy from the Ab note up to about where the C# is, suggesting the truss rod needs to be loosened just a touch to create some relief. I have a fairly light touch on BG, but I do like to "dig in" sometimes for effect, so this needs to be addressed before I can gig this wonderful thing. :)


Edit - took a quarter-turn off the truss rod, and cured the buzz. The strings, (I'm pretty sure) are D'Addario Chromes. I don't particularly care for them. Looks like the survey here says LaBella tapewounds are the ticket. Might give them a try.

The bass is really great, all told. My expectations have been surpassed, by maybe... 25%. I'll give it a trial run at band rehearsals tomorrow evening.
 
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#292
Oops, almost forgot... for club purposes, here's the obligatory crappy cell phone shot of my 2 Godin basses. The aforementioned A5, in tobacco sunburst, and an SD-5 in quilted maple to keep it company. :D
 

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#293
Tried out the A5 fretless at band rehearsal last night. Even through my little 50w Yorkville practice amp, this thing sounds pretty darn good...

In listening critically for what some others have posted, that the G tends to be a little weak, mine actually seems fine on the G, but rather a little bit hotter on the D. That being said, the overall balance is *very* good. After playing for just an hour, I was able to easily adjust right-hand attack to compensate for the difference.

Since adjusting the action, the playability is *much* better too. I'll let it settle another day or so, then re-evaluate.
 
#294
Hello Godin Club - I have one of my babies up for sale in the Classified section. It is a beautiful SD 4 with Quilted Maple top. I still have my A5 Ultra but this one is not getting played anymore. Please send any interested parties my way. Its got one little nick/bump on the front and 3 minor scrapes on the side. Sits in at 9 lbs.
 

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#297
They are heavy... mine pushes 11 lbs. with the extra weight of being a 5-string, but for tone/playability, I put it in front of a great many much more expensive basses.
 
#298
I don't think 9 lbs is heavy for an Electric Bass. I've always been a Fender, Fender-ish guy. My Ash body 78' Jazz Bass weighs 12 pounds. My Devon DJ5 Rainbow bass (center bass on my profile pic) weighs 13 lbs. I have good straps like the Eldorado Vintage Wide with Sheepskin padding. I also have the padded Levy's straps that are 3.5" wide. My Godin A5 Ultra has to be 9 lbs as well. The lightest bass I have is a Fender Squire parts Jazz Bass, which is probably upper 7s to 8 lbs.
 
#299
Sorry, I didn't mean to implicate or criticize that bass in any way. I agree that in general, 9lbs is an average weight for a bass, if not slightly below average. For me specifically, with my bad shoulder and bad back, I need a bass to be in the 7-8 lb range. It makes me tremendously sad to have to rule out gorgeous basses like this one for reasons of weight, but I know from experience now that anything in the 9s or higher, even in the high 8s, is not going to work for me. My Shifter Classic, which I absolutely loved tonally and for its amazing neck, ended up having to go because it was in the high 8s, just a hair under 9lbs, and it proved to be too heavy. :(

Bottom line - nothing against that specific bass or other Godins, or even 9+ lb basses in general, its just a personal thing. Still a damn good looking bass, still wish I could have one just like it.
 
#300
Yep, me neither... certainly not a negative critique. 9 lbs *is* pretty standard. I'll tell anyone who will listen - Godin makes topnotch instruments. It's hard to criticize them for anything beyond the piddly.
 
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