Godin Fretless Acoustibass (LR Baggs)

[Sassafras]

Hi,

I have an opportunity to get a Godin Fretless Acoustibass (looks like this: Invalid Link Removed) and I wasn't sure if it is a good deal. I can't find much on this model, the only ones I can find prices for are the A4 and A5, but they do not look the same.

The price of this one I can get is $500, and assuming it doesn't have too many bumps or scrapes, do you think that is a decent price? As I said before, I can't find much official information on the basses themselves, not even from Godin's website, so any personal experience or intuition would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Gougedeye]

That looks to be an older model. I had an A5 and it was a great bass! fun to play and a very cool upright sort of tone. I wish I still had it.

 

[Sassafras]

That looks to be an older model. I had an A5 and it was a great bass! fun to play and a very cool upright sort of tone. I wish I still had it.

Would you say the $500 is worth it for an older model? A lot of the comments I have found online say that it is a very good bass and they like the build of these better than the A4s.

 

[Turnaround]

I like the original Acoustibass better than any other fretless Godin has produced. Because of the light body, there is some neck dive, but that doesn't bother me. Strung with Thomastic flats, the sound is superb in my opinion.

 

[Gougedeye]

Would you say the $500 is worth it for an older model? A lot of the comments I have found online say that it is a very good bass and they like the build of these better than the A4s.

I would say $500 is a good deal. If I could find an A5 for under a grand I'd be mighty tempted.

 

[Sassafras]

I would say $500 is a good deal. If I could find an A5 for under a grand I'd be mighty tempted.

Thank you! I will check it out, and if it plays great and no bow in the neck, I think I will get it.

 

[4Mal]

That is a ridiculously good deal if the bass is I good shape. Hope you scored! I paid a lot more for my cognac burst fretless and about that for a cognac burst fretted.

These basses blow the A series away. They are fully hollow, the A a series has a block. While they are interesting, well made basses, the A series are about as acoustic as a P Bass... The Acoustibass hollow body also has a 12 time harp attached below the bridge that resonates in sympathy with the top creating a super rich tone. Lot's of extra harmonic stuff going on. Very complex tone. They demand good amplification to really shine and when they have it... My setup is a fEarful 12.6 and a GK MB-Fusion. The upper mids are where the cool string & finger stuff happens. I prefer LaBella Tapes for strings on them. They seem to have a more even string to string response than TI's - which are otherwise my string of choice when going fretless.

The AcoustiBass is the poor man's Rob Allen.

The A series... Does have it's advantages. On very high volume stages, they are better behaved from a feed back perspective. The volume has to be really cranked up for it to be a problem but the Acoustibass does have a limit. The other advantage for the A series is the synth access in the a model. The GR synths are fun, not terribly useful but still... I kept my Gr -20 setup just cause. Haven't gigged it in years but it's still fun. These days I use a Baritone Dano as my trigger though... I guess haveing the magnetic option in the ultra series could be seen as an advantage but really, these basses are not meant to be a replacement for a electric solid body. I don't grab an Acoustibass when headed to a dance gig...they can do it, but not like my Lakland 44-01's can... Where the Acoustibass shines is in electro-acoustic settings. Gimme some piedmont blues or folk or reggae' billy, a couple of dreadnoughts and bring it on!

 

[selowitch]

How is the acoustic volume on the Godin Acoustibass?