Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Godin Fifth Avenue Uptown GT - Feel the Guitar Lust

The Godin Fifth Avenue Uptown GT is just possibly the coolest guitar on the planet and of course Godin makes it.  There's no possible way I can buy one but that doesn't stop the lusting.


The Godin Fifth Avenue Uptown GT looks similar to a Gibson ES-335 but for $1329 you get an ebony fingerboard, a Bigsby tailpiece, and dual Godin-designed Humbuckers.  (Musician's Friend:  Godin Fifth Avenue Uptown GT - Use the link to verify the $1329 price)

Godin has made the semi-hollow body arch-top guitar affordable and Godin doesn't compromise on quality in the faintest way, quite the opposite, as the play and the tone of Godin guitars is outstanding.  I've raved multiple times about an ebony fingerboard and, of course, this guitar has got one.

Contrast that with a Gibson ES-335 (Guitar Center:  Gibson ES-335) for $2999 and you will find it doesn't have even close to the features of the Uptown GT.  The ES-335, for that price, doesn't have a Bigsby tailpiece, something I consider crucial, and it also doesn't have an ebony fingerboard which is the slinkiest, sexiest wood you could ever ask for a fingerboard.  Instead, the ES-335 has no twang bar at all, the fingerboard is only rosewood, and the pick-ups are set up the way your Grandaddy had them.

The scale of the fingerboard for the Uptown GT differs only by a few millimeters from that of the ES-335 so the physical action of the guitar will be quite similar between them.

You might be interested to learn about Robert Godin and the story of how he built up the Godin product line as he started in 1972 and now has built up an incredible array of instruments.  (Premier Guitar:  Builder Proifile:  Robert Godin)

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