The Godin 5th Avenue is an archtop. Although it's electric, it excells at being played acoustically. It has a lot of projection, so an amp isn't necessary. The voice is very well-rounded, with the mids shining along with the treble and bass.

The Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin box is made entirely of Canadian cherry. As a luthier, i consider cherry as one of the top woods for acoustic guitars. This is the first archtop I've played made out of cherry. I own a few very old (and valuable) archtops, made from maple and one from mahogany. I prefer the sound of the Godin cherry. It projects like the maple, without being overly bright like maple, but allows the trebles and basses to shine, like mahogany. It's the best of both worlds.

The guitar practically plays itself. It's easy to fret, has a well setup, low action. I only play clean through the amp. The organic sound comes through loud and clear.

The guitar is well-made and beautiful. However, I've given it 4.5 out of 5 stars on quality. The fret ends aren't as smooth as they should be; you shouldn't feel the ends of the frets at all. They should be smooth with the fretboard. They aren't terrible and perhaps it's because I'm a luthier that I noticed it.

The Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin is well worth the price. The guitar is very well-made. I've had brand new guitars in my shop that folks have spent thousands on that need attention. Godin makes wonderful guitars.

I've not contacted them yet. I plan to. I've taken close-up photos of the frets. The frets aren't sharp, but they should have been finished better.

The Godin is unique. Made in Canada, they use locally sourced wood, something we need to see more of. The guitar is beautiful front and back, promising a great sound. Godin honors the promise.

Luthier

All genres