Godin A6 Two-Chambered Electro-Acoustic Guitar (Ultra Natural)

The Godin guitar standard is a step above overseas builders, and just a hair down from custom luthiers. The real truth is when Godin costs more that $1k, it’s worth the quality that goes into them (this is my second purchase from them on Amazon, which is a bit better price, but the same quality)..This particular model is taking experience building acoustic and electric guitars and puts them together in the A6 Ultra.Getting it opened from shipping, it comes in with four strings still in tune! This is from the Godin standard of the final setup of every guitar by hand. This ensures each guitar, no matter the slight differences that come from working with wood, is set up and ready to play! Godin’s early business as replacement neck builders shows as the necks, as well as the guitar body, is best described as “solid as hell!” I’ve never owned a guitar with a solid mahogany neck, and it feels very comfortable, as well as balanced..Without any amplification, this guitar actually sounds pretty good, it’s just that a full sized cutaway would obviously be louder and “deeper”, comparing to this double chambered and sealed body, so it could be lost in the crowd of several dreadnaughts, though it may be louder than you might think.But use of the electronics is what it’s made for! There are two jacks where there would usually be one; the top one alone is for a single line out, as a blend of both systems; using both jacks splits up the two systems and one could use different amplification specialized tailored to each system.Blended, I find the sound very adjustable, using two different volume controls, the main system running the transducer in the bridge with the three band EQ sliders, while the other runs the neck humbucker with two band knobs. Running the blended method does take some practice experience, to find the right sounds while playing, and I’ve found I needed more time spent on finding that balance while performing..The guitar comes with Godin’s own electric guitar strings, and I did ask the company about the use of acoustic strings, and they answered that the humbucker pickup might not perform properly. The gauge they use is called “electric jazz”, .012 - .052, which might be a bit thicker than many electric guitar aficionados would prefer, and this guitar neck is not what you would call a “speed neck”, though the action is very good and easy to play, as is the neck width, which is what most electric guitarists are used to..As far as “fit”, the body is two inches thick and is comfortable to play standing or sitting. In fact electric guitar players will note that it’s lighter than a solid body guitar. With most of Godin’s, their standard is to have volume and tone controls in the top corner, which could take a bit used to. On my other Godin, I didn’t like them up there at first, but soon realized their desire to be closer to the eye, but quick changing the settings will take some time to get used to using sliders.When the two systems are separated, the acoustic “sounds” more acoustic, and the electric sounding like a hollow body electric using the neck pickup (which is exactly what it is!), and it really fulfills having the sounds of both worlds..For my money, I’ve tried acoustic electric guitars where someone had added a sound hole mounted pickup… eh, not bad, but this guitar makes a cleaner statement of that desire.So how does an a/e guitar’s acoustic side sound with electric guitar strings? Truthfully, about what you would imagine it would sound like, though I use a Boss AD-8 acoustic guitar processor, which gives the sound a little of the wood back into the mix.And the electric side, with a couple of stomp boxes, it’s got more bottom end because the humbucker is mounted next to the neck, so to get that high-pitched “screamin’ demon” sound might require some pedal crunch and EQ to accomplish.But it is made to easily go from one to the other (or blended together), and it does just that and very well! As far as I know, it is considered the best guitar for doing just that, and had having one of the older Ovation round back guitars, it’s definitely better, and won’t slide out from your lap!….Godin lists this guitar for over $1,600, typical price at about $1,300, from Amazon I got it for a little less.And I’ll add: Godin ships their guitars inside a very nice gig bag, though this “bag” might be better described as a “soft” case, should keep it pretty well protected.But being who I am, I bought the Godin #1095 hard shell case, like the good ol’ electric guitar cases, but theirs is shaped specifically for the A series guitars, very well made, with the most generous space inside the case for storing cables and other stuff, like picks (?)…They also offer their own line of TRIC cases, meant for tough road traveling.I now own two Godin guitars, same style, I have found them worth the price, but you need to decide for yourself, is it worth it? This is my honest review…

Guitar arrived quickly (despite being delivered to someone else on my street, thank goodness they brought it over) and played great right out of the box. Note that Godin doesn't use rosewood in these anymore, they are richlite which is wood/resin composite and a bit different (since.. it's not actually wood). Happy with purchase, would have preferred if listed accurately and delivered to the right spot.

Amazon's shipping was terrific! I ordered the instrument on Wednesday night and selected the free Super Saver shipping. I received shipping notification on Thursday that it would be delivered the following Friday (8 days). Imagine my surprise when UPS delivered it the next day. One day shipping for free.... how can you beat that!Now to review the instrument:I really like the Godin A6 Ultra. It is all that I hoped it would be. I especially like the sound of blending the humbucker and the piezo. Even unplugged it has a reasonably loud acoustic sound, suitable for practice, though I would not recommend performing without plugging in. It appears to be well made. Godin guitar are a terrific value... a quality North American made guitar for the price of an Asian made instrument. I can get a better jazz sound out of it than with my Epiphone Joe Pass model, and the acoustic sound is much better than the Ovation Viper that I have been playing in our church worship band. I think the A6 will become my main guitar, once I get it set up the way I like.One caveat though. Mine has a defective under saddle piezo pickup. Right out of the box I plugged into an amp, only to find that the piezo crystal under the high E string is not firing. I have e-mailed Godin about this. Since I am a guitar technician I offered to do the repair myself if they will send the part. This would be a lot easier for me than going through the hassle of returning the instrument to Amazon for a replacement.I own a total of three Godin guitars... an xtsa, an A12 and now the A6. This is the first time that I have contacted them about a warranty issue. I have have heard mixed criticism about Godin's customer service. We will see how it turns out and if possible, I'll update this review.Only three stars for the A6 because Godin's quality control should have caught this before it left the factory... otherwise it would have been five stars. I hope Godin makes this right... if so, I'll change the rating.UPDATE - Godin Customer Service contacted me today and we were able to get the problem with the piezo pickup resolved. Apparently the bridge saddle was not properly seated. A couple of taps on the treble side of the bridge with a wrench (at Godin C.S. suggestion)and all is well. Apparently they do stand behind their products... and that's why I changed the rating to 5 stars.UPDATE - APRIL 2020 - Here are a couple of additional comments on my A-6 Ultra after almost 8 years of use.Tuners - The Godin tuners are not of very good quality and would not stay in tune. I replaced them with a set of Grovers and the problems was solved. Godin should put better tuners on an instrument of this quality and price.Electronics - My A-6 develop a habit of eating 9 volt batteries, in just several days even though unplugged. I had to remove the battery after every time I played it. It sometimes would suddenly make a horrible noise while I was playing it in church. Needless to say this made the guitar unusable and I went back to using my old Ovation Viper. I finally got around to taking the guitar apart to investigate the problem. I found that the ball end of a broken string had gotten into the electronics and was shorting it out even when the output jack was unplugged. I made the repairs about a month ago, and have left the battery in it and have checked the battery with a meter periodically. So far, so good. Godin should really change this to a pinless bridge, which would solve this problem.Godin ships this guitar with electric strings. I switched to acoustic strings which improved the acoustic sound through the piezo bridge pickup, but this caused the humbucker to lose bass frequencies, since wound acoustic strings are practically non-magnetic. I switched to strings that are designed for electric/acoustic guitars that have a magnetic pickup (GHS White Bronze) and now I get the best of both pickups and blend them for the sound I like.

I owned one of these 12 years ago and regretted selling it. I also regretted that I bought it for $800 in 2012 only for it to be nearly double the price now brand new. $1500+ for this guitar is way too expensive, however Amazon had these through third party sellers for $1150 and I took a chance of buying it new from a third party. Thankfully, while the guitar had been sitting rand new in its soft shell case and box for likely the past 3-5 years in a warehouse (The 9v battery that was still in it expires in 2025), it arrived in pristine condition. Everything works and, while there is no way I could recommend the high price on other sellers, it's worth $1150 brand new. It plays great, sounds wonderful, and there is really no other guitar like it that provides a dual chamber dual output setting and an acoustic emulator that is second to none.

First 3 frets buzz. Unplayable. Returned! Then I was charged $147 for restocking fee! I am happy!