Hey guys. well i have been lovin the S420 for 3 weeks. a few little issues popped up. i wasn't overly in love with the light strings it came with. but it played as fast as you could ever want. notes flew out of it. the in between settings were anemic compared to the full Hb asault.

i was having some comfort problems with thinner than thin neck. no tone loss but just a comfort thing for me.

the only design flaw is the new string retainer free locking nut. i had those nut clamps as tight as i would dare to go without stripping them and at extreme "floyd" movements i could hear and feel the strings slip in the nut and change the tuning.
a little research showed me that this problem is a common occurrence due to the alloy Ibanez uses. not all guitars but it popped up in my searches often.
also i have a softer melodic side that three dual humbucker rock axes were not offering me.
i changed the strings to 10 from the original 9. big diff in tone and feel for the better. and it still broke the speed limit and bend ability wasn't compromised.
still the only real cool clean tone ( for me) was the neck bucker. i still couldn't get why i needed three dual Hb guitars.
i still consider the Ibanez S series to be a super shred machine with solid fat tone. all it would need is a rough surface on the nut clamp bottoms to aid in gripping the strings better on extreme wiggle stick manipulations.

but all that aside i decided to clue in and address the fact that a guy who loves Strats and all the single coil goodness should not be happy with no single coils.......

so i returned to L&M and swapped it for a new Godin Session in gloss black.
one bucker and dual single coils. two post trem and one hell of a neck ( yes Reif it is maple topped..no rosewood).
and i must say i am very pleased. i am glad to have an axe that keeps it simple and effective. not to mention the workmanship blows a lot of 1000 plus axes away.
no kidding.
as much as i like the Ibanez i needed to have a go to axe that was a simple as a hammer.
more later, got to go pick up my son from work.

You gotta go with what works for you...Good Luck with the new Godin!

Godin makes some sweet guitars. I don't know that any manufacturer has better QC, either.

(Looking at a Velocity, a Freeway, and a couple others myself...)

it's kind of funny because i am a Godin nut as anyone who knows me can tell you.
i have had an SD, SDxt, LGsp90 x 4 (one the newer flame top model) an LGhmb ( cognac burst) and a 97 with dual Seymour Duncans.

Robert Godin is an amazing guy running an awesome company making killer guitars at crazy prices.

i have been Godin free for about 8 months or more, good to be back.

Danny if you can find one i would go for the first generation Godin Progression without the pickguard.

can't find one around here and i am in Canada!

Dude...I had one in my hands a few months ago that had been hanging on the wall of a GC for MONTHS at $399.

I went home and said, "I gotta go back for that axe, ASAP!"

ASAP turned out to be 1 day too late.

damn, that was a deal.

Yeah, and I'm an idiot for not jumping on it when I saw it- it was flawless. It looked like it had barely been played. The previous owner was either not using it that much or took INCREDIBLE care of his instruments.

And, to make matters worse, there were a pair of Velocities floating around the area GCs that were about $100 more...neither of which I bought.

There are a surprising number of nice used instruments floating around the D/FW Metroplex, and I just don't make that kind of money. At the same time those Godins were In store, one GC had a dark green Patrick Eggle semihollow that was going for around $650. And a couple of years ago I had to pass on a Jon Kammerer burled walnut solidbody that was probably a custom. Just $1k. I have 5 of his guitars, so I know exactly what I passed on.

I sold a Godin Flat Five about 2 years ago. Man what a mistake.
I will find another when finances permit.
It had very similar tone and feel to a Gibson 335... only prettier.

"( yes Reif it is maple topped..no rosewood)."


Welcome back from the dark side!

ha ha. i thought you would be pleased. the thing is solid as a rock. seems like one piece and even after being in the gig bag for the night i haven't tuned it since yesterday when i put the bridge down to the body. when it was floating it was solid as well but me no want floaty trem on this.

totally happy with the neck. it feels like it is worn in.

There's a Godin G series(?) at a nearby GC, for $200. Slightly exaggerated Strat-like body, S-S-H with one Vol. & one Tone, looks like a FR at the bridge - odd. I'm not familiar with this beast at all, which is why I hadn't given it a serious look, but it's been there for months, probably long enough that a decent cash offer might get it. Anybody know more about that model?

I don't know them myself, but a quick search of The Web revealed that (surprise) the G series has a pretty good overall rep.

cool, a friend of mine has an ST model with flame top and floyd with rail type pickups. awesome build quality

WPS - The Godin G series is good. I, like Dannyalcatraz, kept revisiting one at Bill's Music a few years ago and weighed the options. They had a mark down sale, where I saw it for under $200. Tried to juggle some funds around, but when I went back, it was gone. Give it another play, and definitely make them haggle.

Zan - congrats on the Session. Another guitar I'd love to have, even moreso than a "real" Fender Strat. One day...

Danzilla, thanks, but I've gone through my guitar budget for a while. Send me a PM, and I'll gladly send you the link, since it's roughly in our neighborhood.

'Zan, I think you'll love the Session. We had them in the shop where I worked, and they blew away anything else in their price range. Enjoy!

Oh, I went and looked. If it weren't black... But the do have a blue Godin Solidac. Let's see if I can trade something in on THAT bad boy!

i definitely love it and yes it will blow away a lot of guitars.
i am no stranger to Godin's bang for the buck. i have owned and played a lot of different brands and it is nice to see a company that still has the hunger to give their products the workmanship they deserve.

the quality of this puppy should embarrass big name guitars that require 4 digits to get have half the workmanship in fit and finish as well as fretwork. i am serious.

i do love Strats. mainly because i believe Leo designed the perfect guitar ergonomically and in versatility.
unfortunately Fender does not offer this awesome an axe at this price point.

i had a metal jam Saturday and took the V and the session. keep in mind the V has a super distortion in the bridge. after a short time the V was in it's case and i had a great tone night with the session. the V is good but the session smokes. i have read somewhere were the Godin buckers are fairly hot. that may be true but that bucker has balance and chunks like a mother. and i am only a 5 way smack away from Hendrix and funk.

Godin humbuckers- and the ones they get from other manufacurers- are often deceptively hot. They sound all nice and clean and controlled...until you decide to bury your foot on your distortion pedals.

They you realize there's a monster on your guitar...

monster yes.
one thing i have always loved about the Godin bolt on models ( i haven't seen the Icon set necks yet in person) is the string height over the body. when you rest your palm on the bridge your hand is close to the body.