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Godin (guitar manufacturer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Godin Guitars
Company typePrivate
IndustryMusical instruments
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972)
FounderRobert Godin
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsElectric and acoustic guitars, basses
Number of employees
1,000+
Subsidiaries
  • Seagull Guitars
  • Simon & Patrick Guitars
  • Norman Guitars
  • Art & Lutherie Guitars
  • La Patrie Guitars
  • TRIC
Websitegodinguitars.com

Godin Guitars is a Canadian manufacturing company headquartered in Montreal[1] that specializes in string instruments. The company was founded by Robert Godin CM,[2][3] and is currently led by Simon Godin.[4]

Range of products currently manufactured by Godin includes electric and acoustic guitars and basses. The company also produced ukuleles, mandolins,[5] and ouds (named "multi oud")[6] in the past.

Overview

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Godin started building Robert Godin's guitars in 1972 in La Patrie, Quebec. The head office is located in Montreal, and they build instruments in five factories in three locations in Quebec, Canada.

Godin Guitars makes instruments under several different labels. Norman makes entry- to pro-level acoustic guitars. Art & Lutherie makes entry-level budget acoustic guitars. The Simon and Patrick brand make mid- to high-range steel-string acoustics. La Patrie manufactures classical guitars. Seagull makes solid wood entry- to professional-range acoustic guitars. Guitars under the Godin brand are primarily mid-range to top-of the-line electrics that are made of high quality wood from the northeastern part of North America. They have many models that feature synth hex pickups (MIDI-equipped[7]) and some with piezo pickup-equipped bridges. Godin 'SA' guitars have piezo bridge pickups which provide six separate outputs via a Roland GK 13-pin output jack, making them compatible with Roland GR, and other guitar-synthesizer units, and the Roland VG series of guitar modelling units.

Leonard Cohen with a Godin guitar (2008)

Godin's guitars have won several awards, including Guitar Player magazine's Editors Pick for the LG, Exit 22, and Freeway Classic. Godin's popular LG Hmb is made of mahogany with a mahogany neck and a rosewood fretboard. The scale length is 24.75", the neck radius is 14" and it has 22 frets. The 2004 model features a five way switch for neck, neck-split to single, neck and humbucker in parallel, bridge-split to single and bridge. The pickups are ceramic. Godin is well known for the Multiac series of hybrid guitars which are available in steel string or nylon string versions, incorporating both piezo and magnetic pickups.

Brands and products

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Brand Products
Godin Guitars Guitars
Seagull Guitars Acoustic guitars
Norman Guitars Acoustic guitars
Simon & Patrick Guitars Acoustic guitars
Art & Lutherie Guitars Acoustic guitars

References

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  1. ^ "Godin Guitars' Montreal Premiere Hollowbody". jazztimes.com.
  2. ^ "Builder Profile: Godin Guitars". premierguitar.com.
  3. ^ "How Montreal's Godin Guitars strummed its way to the top". The Globe and Mail. theglobeandmail.com. 25 March 2019.
  4. ^ "From The Top: Simon Godin I Godin Guitars". musicincmag.com.
  5. ^ "Godin A8 Mandolin", Peghead Nation, by Teja Gerken, August 18, 2015
  6. ^ Multi-oud encorey nylon string on Godin website
  7. ^ Camp, Victoria (1997). Making Music on Your PC. Abacus. p. 160. ISBN 9781557553270.
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