NGD: a canadian made arched top: godin content

well, this technically was 'mine' since early april. however, i just got it last night.

i've been chasing this guitar for a few years now (since they were released) and the price constantly keeps creeping up. they were first introduced at about 450 new. now they are about 550-700ish new. used they go for about 400ish or so. after years of looking for one used, or new-on-sale on ebay and all over, i finally came across an ad craigslist for this guitar without any real details other than the finish and a price much lower than the Douglas WNO-630 (in white). i thought it was too true to be good (yes....) but thought i'd give it a shot.

got hold of the person, he redirected me to a store in illinois where this guitar was on consignment. however, the owner didn't tell the store owner, Terry about the price drop he had on craigslist, while the illinois store had it for about 80 bucks more expensive. i talked to the guy there for a bit, and we agreed on a price and all. i felt bad for him as we was getting much less, if anything at all since the owner didn't update the store owner. but we talked and we both agreed on a price. i tried throwing in extra 20 so he can get at least SOME profit out of this, but the bank ate about 30 dollars more on my side for transaction fee, and about 40 dollars on his side...banks suck!

anyways, if you're in illinois, or are cruising around and come across them, i highly recommend a store called 'Guitar Works, Ltd.' really nice guy. when i got the guitar, it was in a MUCH better condition than he said it was. he didn't mention any set ups, but did say that the guitar had been sittingon consignment for about a year, meaning rusty strings. i got new strings, well set up and everything....


anyways, enough of me rambling.
guitar: Godin 5th Avenue in cognac burst
Specs:
Top: Canadian Wild Cherry
Back & Sides: Canadian Wild cherry with cream binding
Neck: Silver Leaf maple with contoured high-gloss black headstock (though i'd challenge this. i'm pretty sure this is a mahogany neck)
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Adjustable Rosewood Bridge
Finish: Custom Polished Finish
Radius: 16" (40,6 cm)
Scale: 24.84" (63 cm)
Nut width: 1.72" (4,6 cm)
Colors: Cognac Burst, Natural & Black

Made in Canada

pics:
i got this guitar like this. i didn't like the original pick guard. but i HATE this pick guard the original owner did. its i think rosewood. and he did a number on this guitar as he drilled 4 extra holes into the body, and even stuck a piece of wood under the neck to support this ugly thing....




the headstock was modified as well. no longer did it have the godin or the 5th avenue logo. the owner scratched that in a fairly shoddy way and added these decals. the decals aren't too bad actually. they look more the part. and the original 5th avenue came with a glossy headstock, so at least this isn't as shiny any more....





and 5 minutes into me holding it, i made some quick adjustments:








i'm really enjoying this bridge! the action came VERY low towards the nut, but very high towards the bridge. the thumb wheels made it a breeze to change the action:


the headstock has a splice and the machine heads work just fine, but are a bit too small to turn around. they look vintage, but are a bit annoying. i may change this later on...

 

heres a bit of that rosewood again. not sure if this is godin's doing or the previous owner. but its a nice touch:


the sticker says its handmade and all in quebec, canada




the aftermath of the pick guard relocation through trial n error....the holes seem to be plugged :scratch:











i actually got this guitar out of sheer boredom over what i've been playing as of late. well...for the last 3 or 4 years at least. its just the same old metal stuff. plus, this guitar looks beautiful!

this is my first jazz top/arched top/blues/strange/non-fixed-bridge-that-isn't-floyd guitar, so i'm still getting used to it...the ones i tried in stores had been WAY too bright, but they were using different strings. this is an acoustic set on it right now, and not sure what brand, but they sound great. i'll put up a video later on if i get the time...