Rare Electric Norman from the Godin family of guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I apologize if my posts have been excessively Canadian-centric. I look here in Canada for guitars so it's where I find a lot of my source material. And, I'm learning more every day without breaching my own borders.

For example; Norman made electric guitars.Yes they did, just like this one listed in my own proverbial back yard.

I know enough about the history of Norman to know that they were a factory that existed before Robert Godin bought it and transformed it into the success it is today, and that they mainly built windows and only dabbled in guitars. There is a great profile here on the history of Godin. I've always known Norman guitars as being one of the entry to mid level acoustic guitar lines under the Godin umbrella not as a builder of electric guitars.

Nice to see this simple one pickup solid body that predates the Godin line of electric guitars. Nice nod to a tulip as well, and great to see the original cheque that paid for it in 1985.

R.W. Haller








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Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin 2 Semihollow guitar

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I've played a lot of guitars from the Godin family of instruments. Seagull, Art & Lutherie, Norman, Richmond, and Simon Patrick are all great guitars within their respective range of instruments.

I love the look of this Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin 2. It's kind of Gretsch-y but with the more organic vibe of an acoustic archtop. I'd love to put a Bigsby Tremolo and a roller bridge on there and see how well those P90 style pickups sound

I wonder if they make one in green

R.W. Haller






© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Godin Multiac Jazz

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The Godin Multiac Jazz is not designed to look impressive, but to sound impressive - and that's something that you can easily spot (and the F-holes are extremely elegant still) in this guitar combining classicism and high-tech innovations. 

As a Multiac model it has 6 piezo pickups in the bridge that can either be used with acoustic sounds (with preamp and EQ) or trigger a MIDI Roland GR guitar-synth, but also be combined with the more traditional humbucker in neck position. 

I've always had a soft spot for Godins, but this one is particularly appealing to me - though I wish it had a transparent black finish!

Bertram D

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Richmond Belmont

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Guitarz reader Colin tells us about his current favourite guitar of choice:

Richmond Guitars is a Canadian guitar maker, owned by Godin. The way I heard it they started the Richmond brand to market some retro designs (I also love the look of the Dorchester).

The Belmont is a mahogany neck and body guitar, 24 3/4" scale, with two Seymour Duncan single coil lipstick pickups in neck and middle positions and a Seymour Duncan '59 humbucker at the bridge. The controls are five position blade switch a la Strat, master volume and tone. It is hard to see on the photos but there is a cool bevel on the top edge that makes it a bit more comfortable to play. The neck is slim and the action is good, the only downside is that it's really heavy!

I picked mine up on eBay when I saw it was cheap, in mint condition and no one was bidding. I have had a cheap Danelectro reissue for years and have a soft spot for the sound of lipstick pickups, so I was intrigued by the some of the clips I saw.

All of the settings sound good, the pickups sound great and the in-between position with the humbucker and lipstick is more useable than I expected. It's a very dark vintage sort of sound, which was just what I was looking for.

The website shows a transparent black and white finish but not a solid black with white pickguard like mine, so I gave Richmond a email and they said: "That's a 2010 model. It had a $1090 list price (including the gig bag). Yours was probably a prototype to test a new finish (we sometimes sell prototypes through our dealers)."

Colin Clews
www.jazzrandom.co.uk

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Godin Artisan ST

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Can't say that I find the design of this early 1990s Godin Artisan ST extremely sexy but it has something typically Godin - a brand I quite like - in its way of keeping discreet while still proposing something slightly bizarre, but always relevant. 

Here the very long upper horn where you attach your strap is quite ergonomic, allowing a better balance, when the lower horn logically almost disappears, since it is usually mere cosmetic. The result is probably disturbing 60 years after Stratocaster set the standard for electric guitars, but it is sensible and gives this guitar a nice personality, is spite and of its boring finish.

You'll notice the double dual blade humbucker in bridge position and the competition trem - all that making this guitar a shredding machine - though I still don't really get the concept of shredding, but who cares?

Bertram


© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Stratocaster

Godin LG EMG

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I like how this sober standard design of Godin guitars is used for very different models - from MIDI nylon-strings guitars to this metal oriented Godin LG EMG with black graphite finish and EMG active humbuckers, via semi-hollow jazz guitars or strat-esque 3 single-coils/trem ones. And this design fits to all!

There is definitlely a Godin on my must-have guitar list...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin

guitarz.blogspot.com

Another archtop/F-holes acoustic guitar, the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin is one of the coolest recent guitars - the Kingpin being the electrified version, with a P90 in neck position. 

It's just perfect, and Godin rules!

On the top of my GAS list!

bertram


 Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Godin Radiator

The trouble with mirror front guitars such as this Godin Radiator is that you can't sell it discreetly on eBay since when you take its picture your face shows!

Still it has this ultra classic elegance of Godin's products, a mix of Telecaster and Les Paul that still has its personality ; I'm amazed by designers who can do that! And the mirror gives it the edge that its classicism lacks.

I have too much fun posting on Guitarz, I should work a little bit more on my own blog !

bertram

Godin Improve Guitar Tone: High-Definition Revoicer to be included in selected guitars. The system is said to be like having two sets of pickups in one Godin guitar.

Godin Guitars releases Performance Series LG and Freeway guitars with EMG pickups

Godin Introduces The LaPatrie Hybrid CW Nylon String Guitar

Godin introduces Detour model electric guitar

Two New Freeway Models from Godin

Synth Guitar For Less Than $800: Godin break the price barrier with the Godin Freeway SA.

New Montreal Model Guitar from Godin: Named after the host of the annual Summer Jazz festival, Godin's latest model uses a two-chamber mahogany body and offers both electric and acoustic sounds.