Godin 5th Avenue Archtop Acoustic Guitar - Natural Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a great fan of archtop guitars- I own three- and I have long been a fan of Godin guitars, who produce instruments of exceptional quality and value. When I saw that my local music store had the new Godin archtop in stock, I immediately started doing a mental inventory of my collection, figuring out what I could sell to buy this instrument. But playing it changed my mind. It's not at all of what I think of as an archtop guitar- though it may be just what you're looking for.
A little background. Flat top guitars have a resonating surface made form a thin layer of cedar or spruce or some other light wood. They're designed to vibrate as easily as possible. Traditional archtops, on the other hand, have a top carved from a much denser wood- traditionally maple. Whereas the classic flat top guitar sound is big and boomy, and designed to produce a big sound that ranges from bass to high treble, the traditional archtop sound is more percussive, and more midrangey. It's designed to punch through an orchestra in its rhythm role.
This guitar may look like an archtop, but it sounds very much like a flat top guitar, but I think that was intentional. Archtop guitars are becoming more and more popular with the rock and alternative crowd- something that I think goes back to Elvis Costello's "Monkey to Man" video. If the typical modern player picked up a traditional archtop he or she would probably find it unplayable- .013 gauge strings and a high action are a far cry form the low action and skinny strings most players favor.
So Godin has produced something with a very traditional look- think Mother Maybelle Carter for the black version illustrated- with the light action and even sound of a flat top- ad they're done a very good job of it. The instrument I tried had the quality you'd expect of a Godin, along with a good balanced tone and a very easy playing neck. If you're looking for something a bit out of the ordinary for that band you're fronting, you might give this one a try.

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