Godin a-4 or a-5

[John L]

I like the Godin A-8, but would like to see a 4 or 5 string. Has anyone asked? Would be a really nice electric at a reasonable price. Maybe if a few people asked....

[mandelect]

Yes, I emailed Godin a couple of years ago and asked about a 4 string with synth access. They were adamant that they don't do custom orders - a shame!

I think a 4 or 5 string would have great potential for them, and a Godin 'dola or tenor guitar would get my interest too.

[EdSherry]

I haven't tried it with my Godin, but I would think it would be straightforward to take off four strings and make a four string. #A five string would be harder!

[mandroid]

Note: the RMC acoustic gold model pickups that Godin uses are more commonly sold in single notch type, for installing in western style flat top guitars.
info at rmcpickups.com
they are 1/4x1/8, with a small signal wire down thru the base,
and the signal can be combined in a EQ preamp also sold by RMC,
Or as was done in modifying a solid body 4 string
that I had,
the signal leads are kept separate and used as a divided pickup
source to an RMC polydrive 2 box that takes the signal offboard
and the preamp EQ is located in the box,
and split for my installation magnetic pickup has a 1/4" jack,
[a pass thru with the tone and volume on the instrument]

the RMC piezo has a instrument volume control, EQ, 1/4" out
and

there is a 13 pin connection to run Guitar Synth modules, pitch to MIDI, from those divided signals.

In short modifying the electronics on the Godin or buying the electronic bits from their separate maker , is both possible.

and a 5 string retrofit was done to my P5 those were bridge pieces made for fender Strat type bridges, By Steve Ryder.

not fast, but good work.
[ I think some of it was: Maine has to thaw out before Lacquer can be sprayed.]

his own instruments are made to order.



In short, maybe not made by Godin on a mass production basis,
But by a small builder with a significant amount of customer input.
Dialog not an option with mass production,
and shipping wholesale to dealer networks.


Edit: Weber Maverick, with the RMC pickups in the Gibson tunomatic guitar bridge format
would be another way to go perhaps....
I haven't had one of Weber's electrics in hand, to be sure , but it seems possible. has a intonation adjustable bridge
and NAMM showed a 8 string so the parts are there
for 4 or 5 bridge piece pickups..

just a few more holes.

[mandelect]

I can vouch for Steve Ryder's work; I'm really pleased with my synth ready EM-54.

I still interested in the idea of a 4 string Godin Mandolin; I know you can do it makeshift fashion, by removing 4 strings, but that's an untidy solution.


Godin's marketing stance also intrigues me - surely the potential for sales of 4, or 5 string emandos would at least equal existing sales of the Godin Glissentar? Don't get me wrong I love the concept of the Glissentar, but expanding the line of mando family instruments, maybe even including a tenor guitar would surely, in turn, expand their market? Custom builds are great, but my finances are limited and Godin could surely do it cheaper!

Btw, is there much of an acoustic sound from the A-8?

[John L]

I do not own an A-8, but have tried one. They are not very loud acoustically, but have a pleasant enough tone for practicing at home. They are very good plugged in.

[mandroid]

Note: the guitar company only makes one mandolin, the company is named "the Godin Guitar company" after all.


On my Godin the combination of the double string 4 pip pickup
[not really a notch and shouldn't be filed into or you can ruin it]
and the tailpiece being so far away and at a low angle, was prone to my knocking the top G off its perch regularly.

the creation of a tailpiece that levered out to be close to the bridge,
and increasing the down angle, seems a needed improvement.
of course off the shelf tail-piece is part of what keeps the retail price down.
so that would be a customer creation.


the sound output down the wire from the pickups is quite good and there is an acoustic chamber within there , and the acoustic like tone is decent.

It is acoustic , but a closed box.

And you can drive the top with your monitors too loud,
and get acoustic feedback on those too.

[John L]

I understand that they currently only make an 8 string - that is the whole point of this thread. Godin should consider building some other instruments and may do so if they are made aware that there is interest. Maybe a Godin 4 or 5 string should be a solid body, more like their solid body guitars?

[mrmando]

If they built a solid 4- or 5-string they'd be in direct competition with Saga and Epiphone, not to mention hundreds of boutique builders at various price points. If they built a semiacoustic 4- or 5-string mandolin, i.e., one with an acoustic as opposed to a magnetic pickup, that would be a virtually untapped market segment. I can't think of more than a handful of small-shop luthiers who've ever produced such an instrument.

[mandelect]

In order for Godin to assess the potential market for a new mando family instrument, there would have to be some kind of consensus. However, I suspect that we've all got a slightly different take on our ideal instrument; mine would be for a 4 string mandola version of the A-8 - 16.5" or 17" scale length ....with synth ready capabilities.

I'd also buy a tenor guitar necked version of any of their synth access guitars - the Multiac Jazz would be very nice. #I would have thought that Godin could adapt any of their guitars in this way, without too much of an investment risk?

[mandelect]

... mind you, if John can persuade Godin to build a solid body 4 string I'd still be interested!

[mandroid]

OTOH, with a bolt on neck and now an adjustable bridge, the body can be re-necked,and with a new bridge piece re fitted as a 4 string. after sale, hiring a luthier to do the work.

or offer to buy a several hundred 4 strings, as a special order, a $60,000.00 order would get a different audience than $600.00
a payment in advance removes all the risk on their part.

[EdSherry]

I'd love to have a Godin 5-string. Unfortunately, the cost of tooling up to make instruments that are likely to have a very limited market is a big deterrent. (Look at how Fender effectively abandoned the electric mandolin market.)

[John L]

Godin might not need the numbers that Fender looks for... this is the reply I received from Godin:

"Hi John,

We have no plans for a 4 or 5 string mandolin at this time...but if more mando players demand it, we'll definitely consider it.

Regards,


Michel
Godin Guitars"

[mandroid]

Now you need to create a demand, I guess.

cost benefit analysis comparison with modifying an 8 string to a 4.

MHO a feature to stand out: fan fret for 5 strings
say with 15.75" C, 13.875" E
[354/400 mm. for the rest of the world]

was a threshold for a minimum suggested?

[delsbrother]

Hey, neat idea! One question, does the Godin bridge move around, or is it attached to the top? I'm assuming there's a hole drilled in the top under the bridge for all the pickup guts to go through, but is it glued down too? If not, then the whole thing could be a bolt-on swap. You could have both an 8 string and 5 string for the cost of the neck and bridge/pickups. Maybe not cheap, but probably cheaper than a whole custom build.

Maybe Ralph Novak could do the whole thing? He already does fan-fret-retrofits for bolt-on guitars; seems like it would be right up his alley. You know, come to think of it, that might be a verrrry cool Mandobird mod too.

[mandroid]

Think they are all glued down, mine was , the new adjustable ones probably go up and down, but the 4 signal leads need to be unbroken.

[delsbrother]

Well, I asked Novax, and they said they'd be up for a custom order retrofit fandolin neck. How bad do you want one?

[mandroid]

I'd have to resell my pentasystem P5,

.. now with 5 rmc bridge pickups for polydrive
+ 5 pole SD custom single-coil,
[and shaved & refinished for a thinner neck than when I got it]
so anyone with $3600, chat me up.

Apparently maestro Alex likes cricket bats and has big hands,
so the original neck profile was, rather, massive.