Godin 5th Avenue Archtop Acoustic Guitar Natural

Received shipment of 5th Avenue in satin black well packaged and in perfect condition.Love this guitar. Very consistent play with little to no string buzz right out of the box. This guitar can whisper and shout when you get on it. For the money I am very pleased. Build quality is very nice. It's a pleasure to look at as well. A+!

I've put together a vintage jazz trio, (yes, we're gigging) and had been playing either my Martin or my Taylor, but neither had that "sound", and they certainly don't have the look to fulfill the cultural expectations of the vintage jazz crowd. I needed an arch top, and didn't (still don't) have much cash to spend on one. (Yeah, I know, using the words "broke" and "musician" in the same breath is a redundancy) I went looking. Good vintage jazz boxes were fiscally unachievable, but I was intrigued by the nearly consistenly positive reviews this modern arch top guitar was getting on a variety of sites. So I ordered one shipped to my local Guitar Center. Fresh out of the box the guitar (Cognac Burst finish) was a gem to look at. It seemed well crafted. No flaws on visual inspection. Neck relief seemed right. I didn't expect the thing to arrive in tune, and it wasn't. Not by a long shot. After wrestling the new strings into tune I was disappointed that the set up was so poor. I expected it to need some adjustment, but it was pretty awful. The action was set absurdly high, and the action at the nut was a good millimeter too high as well. I did a quick and dirty adjustment by dialing down the bridge height. It was playable but just. "Cool looking guitar! How do you like it?" says the kid at Guitar Center. "It ain't lighting my fire" I reply sardonically. I almost sent it back, but decided that, since I had 30 days to return it, I would take it to rehearsal that afternoon and play it for two hours. Glad I did. In the course of those two hours the guitar grew on me and I decided to keep it and have a pro set up done. Along with the set up I had the factory strings replaced with Martin Marquee, which have a bit stiffer core. I've also had a K&K Definity compression transducer installed. It results in a very acoustic sound. However it also amplifies every squeek and squawk of finger noise, so I'm going to try flattops (half-round strings) next. Anyway, I'm thoroughly enjoying this guitar. It has the right sound and it looks like a jazz box should. (My 80 year old father asked me "So what does this guitar do that your others don't?" I told him it goes better with my outfit.) When I've listened to others play my box I love the sound of it. Everyone comments on how beautiful it looks too. Glad I hung onto this little gem, and yes, I would recommend it to a friend.

I've put together a vintage jazz trio, (yes, we're gigging) and had been playing either my Martin or my Taylor, but neither had that ""sound"", and they certainly don't have the look to fulfill the cultural expectations of the vintage jazz crowd. I needed an arch top, and didn't (still don't) have much cash to spend on one. (Yeah, I know, using the words ""broke"" and ""musician"" in the same breath is a redundancy) I went looking. Good vintage jazz boxes were fiscally unachievable, but I was intrigued by the nearly consistenly positive reviews this modern arch top guitar was getting on a variety of sites. So I ordered one shipped to my local Guitar Center. Fresh out of the box the guitar (Cognac Burst finish) was a gem to look at. It seemed well crafted. No flaws on visual inspection. Neck relief seemed right. I didn't expect the thing to arrive in tune, and it wasn't. Not by a long shot. After wrestling the new strings into tune I was disappointed that the set up was so poor. I expected it to need some adjustment, but it was pretty awful. The action was set absurdly high, and the action at the nut was a good millimeter too high as well. I did a quick and dirty adjustment by dialing down the bridge height. It was playable but just. ""Cool looking guitar! How do you like it?"" says the kid at Guitar Center. ""It ain't lighting my fire"" I reply sardonically. I almost sent it back, but decided that, since I had 30 days to return it, I would take it to rehearsal that afternoon and play it for two hours. Glad I did. In the course of those two hours the guitar grew on me and I decided to keep it and have a pro set up done. Along with the set up I had the factory strings replaced with Martin Marquee, which have a bit stiffer core. I've also had a K&K Definity compression transducer installed. It results in a very acoustic sound. However it also amplifies every squeek and squawk of finger noise, so I'm going to try flattops (half-round strings) next. Anyway, I'm thoroughly enjoying this guitar. It has the right sound and it looks like a jazz box should. (My 80 year old father asked me ""So what does this guitar do that your others don't?"" I told him it goes better with my outfit.) When I've listened to others play my box I love the sound of it. Everyone comments on how beautiful it looks too. Glad I hung onto this little gem, and yes, I would recommend it to a friend.

Got it a few weeks ago and i'm impressed with the quality and playability! Using with a Shadow piezo pickup and the Fishman Spectrum DI i get the perfect gipsy jazz tone i was looking for! I give it four stars only because the strings vibrate too much after the bridge generating harmonics that doesn't sound very nice... Solved with a piece double sided tape around the strings, something simple and easy to take off in case i need to change one of them. Wonderful piece of equipment for the price! What you see is what you get.

I bought this guitar because I thought it would be a good-enough everyday guitar that would hark back to my first guitar - a Kay archtop!!! - back in the early 60s. It's a lot better than that, and it's certainly no dreadnaught, but I knew that going in. Very soft sound, lots of finger noise with the stock strings -- I quickly replaced them with Thomastik JS111 flatwounds, which made a huge difference. It has a well-balanced tone, fine action right out of the box, lightweight but sturdily constructed, nicely finished. It's attractive, and sounds at least as good as it looks. I am happy to use it for a softer, jazzier sound.

I ordered the Godin 5th Ave. Cognac Burst at a store but through their online service. Despite some previous experience with shipping box damage,this time too, the guitar arrived in excellent shape, needing only a minor setup and tuning. I first played guitar in college in the mid 60's so I've had lots of experience with lots of guitars. The 5th Aveenue's appearance is stunning and it sounds great for a laminated guitar; the price cannot be beat. Straight-up acoustic sounds full for a fairly shallow body. I play fingerstyle and a thumb pick helps here. The appointments are good, it is light but solidly built, and the workmanship is excellent, no flaws. I sold a cherry-burst jazz box that cost more but had significant assembly flaws and just didn't sound good without being amped. The Godin 5th Avenue is an excellent value and compares favorably with guitars that cost much more.