Dannyalcatraz Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 A few YEARS ago, a player I know from another guitar board tracked down and helped me purchase a guitar he knew was on my G.A.S. list, and at a price I hadn"t seen before. But for a variety of reasons- including a hiatus from playing- I never did a NGD for this purchase. It"s a used Godin Triumph in silver sparkle, with a dragon brocaded strap from Well Hung. These were also made in sparkle finishes of sapphire blue and ruby red (all maple with alder wings), as well as a clear coated mahogany. But they didn"t make them very long- after just a few years, the model was retired and replaced by the nearly identical Radiator.* The main differences between them were the Triumphs had three pickups to the Radiator"s two, and the sparkle finish was replaced by full-body pearloid pickguards. Back to the above... The Triumph is a hybrid of a Les Paul and a Stratocaster.** It"s hardtail 24.75' scale with a bolt-on neck, volume & tone controls, and a trio of relatively hot but low noise singlecoil pickups. Their sound is hotter than you"d get from a strat, but not quite as beefy as P90s would be. So it can deliver both some nice, almost twangy cleans and still get dirty. The neck is a C shape, and relatively slender. The frets seem to be medium, not jumbo. The fingerboard is rosewood. The body, as mentioned, is maple with alder wings. Its shape is reminiscent of the classic Les Paul, but it"s also a departure. It"s flat, not arched, but the back has a nice contour, almost like you"d find on a Strat. It"s also not quite as thick (or heavy) as a typical LP or LPclone. And thhe silhouette-especially that upper bout- is noticeably...off. If there is one flaw, it"s that the body is JUST different enough in shape that it won"t quite fit well in a hardshell case made for a typical LP type guitar. (I haven"t tried it in one for Strats, though...) As a whole, the guitar"s combination of features add up to a familiar but unusual experience. All in all, it"s a good, pretty versatile guitar- perfect for a wide variety of rock, blues, country or pop type tones. They haven"t been made in a decade or so, but can typically be found on the used market in really good condition for $300-400. I got mine for a little less than that thanks to my compadre. * These were ALSO retired after a few years, but recently were reintroduced. ** Godin has done a lot of guitars that combine elements from Fender and Gibson designs. For example, the SD is another Strat/LP chimaera, and the Belmont is a Strat/SG combo. Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Glad you found your baby Danny and got it at a great price! I liked the sound of the belly contoured back side like a Strat. The newer Teles started using the same concept. Very nice looking axe. The only thing I wonder about is why the 1st and 2nd string saddles are so far forward for intonation settings? (It looks like the 1st string is as far as it can go). Hope you find a case for it. +1 the Strat/Tele cases might do the job. Anyway, belated congrats! Quote Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Right now, it"s still strung and set up the way it arrived. The intonation is fine, soooo... We"ll see what happens when I restring it. Since I"m considering using it for slide in Open C or G, it will need a setup anyway. As for the case, it"s been in an Epiphone LP case all this time, but I really need to keep looking. A Tele case might do the trick. Thanks! Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Psmith Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 That thing just screams "SURF'S UP!" when I look at it! If it's half as much fun to play, it's a real find. My Godin freeway SA is much more Strat-like, and fits nicely in a generic Road Runner (GC house brand) flat rectangular Strat/Tele-style case. Right now, this Road Runner case is on sale, at a decent price for a molded HSC. Road Runner Molded ABS Guitar Case. Quote "Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King http://www.novparolo.com https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 I have a RR HSC I picked up for a funny-shaped Fret-King. Maybe I"ll give it a try for size. Hell..I have Gator & Fender cases around as well. so why not? Food for thought! As for the Triumph, I actually haven"t tried surf with it, which is odd for me. Perhaps I"ll give that a whirl tonight as well.ðð½ðð½ðð½ Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 I almost bought a Radiator once, Godin guitars are overlooked and under-rated in my opinion. A good friend has the "nylon string semi-hollow Telecaster model" and plays it well. They make another nylon string with a 2" nut and flat fretboard, that's a Godin I would LOVE to have. In the end, the electric guitars I've tried have necks that are more slender than I want. At 6'3" I have large hands and need a wide fat neck to be comfortable zipping around. So they are great guitars, for somebody else. Sad... Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Yeah, while they"re not exactly toothpicks, Godin necks are almost as slender as some of the ones that shredders favor. Of course, you could always swap out the neck on one with a wider replacement from a company like Warmoth. (Just sayin" ð ) Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Yeah, while they"re not exactly toothpicks, Godin necks are almost as slender as some of the ones that shredders favor. Of course, you could always swap out the neck on one with a wider replacement from a company like Warmoth. (Just sayin" ð ) True but my favorite Warmoth neck is the 1 7/8" "super wide" Fatback. Even scalloped it is pretty substantial, you need an extended upper horn like a Strat to balance well. Les Paul-ish shapes probably won't balance well. In the end, we go where we must. Doesn't change the fact that the Godins are well made with quality materials and look super cool. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Good answer! Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Niiiiiice. I remember its successor, the similar Radiator- it was a fun, cool guitar, at a very friendly price! This looks even cooler, and I'm sure I'd prefer the wooden body without an expanse of plastic atop it (that is, the Radiator's full-coverage pickguard). Nice strap, too. Install StrapLoks- it is indispensably imperative! So, those are single-coil pickups, and not a sort of mini-humbucker? Yet also not P-90 based? Are they sort of like "gold foil" style pickups? Pokin' around on the internet, it seems that a hardshell case for your Triumph is a hard case to pin down... ! Open-C Tuning... such as, C G C E G C, lo-to-hi? Or... ? Quote Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 The pickups in the Triumph are indeed singlecoils (I can definitely hear the EMF fields generated by stuff in the vicinity) and AFAIK, are not actually P90s. They seem to be wound in-house, and I have found out about them is that Godin calls them 'low noise', which does seem accurate. I can"t say if they"re like gold foils because I"ve never tried gold foils, The Triumph- and my Godin Belmont- are both being eyed for some kind of open G or C tuning for use with slide. I looked at various versions of both, and of the ones listed below, I"m looking hardest at the bolded ones. Open C (C,E,G) Repetitive: C-E-G-C-E-G Overtones: C-C-G-C-E-G Popular variant: C-G-C-G-C-E The bolded variant is pretty close to NST, which I already use; could be good, could be bad. That similarity could help me, or it could trip me up. Open G (G,B,D) Repetitive: G-B-D-G-B-D Overtones: G-G-D-G-B-D Popular variant: D-G-D-G-B-D This is the Keith Richards version. I know 'Keef' doesn"t use the 6th string, but...I"m not him, sooooo... Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 A quick note on the Radiator models. For some reason, when they brought the Radiator back, they changed the body a bit (it"s chambered or Semihollow, depending on which review you read) and went for humbuckers instead of singlecoils, but kept the full-frontal pickguard aesthetic. However, good used ones of the original version can still be found. Here"s one with a mirror pickguard: https://reverb.com/item/36054276-godin-radiator-electric-guitar-w-mirror-finish-c-2005 Oh yeah...and here"s a Triumph with the natural wood clearcoat finish! https://reverb.com/item/1674843-godin-triumph-electric-guitar-org-case-flawless-rare-natural-model-24-75-scale Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 Well, I tried it with settings for funk and surf...and I"m pretty pleased! Your instincts wer spot on, Winston! Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 A few YEARS ago, a player I know from another guitar board tracked down and helped me purchase a guitar he knew was on my G.A.S. list, and at a price I hadn"t seen before. But for a variety of reasons- including a hiatus from playing- I never did a NGD for this purchase. It"s a used Godin Triumph in silver sparkle, with a dragon brocaded strap from Well Hung. These were also made in sparkle finishes of sapphire blue and ruby red (all maple with alder wings), as well as a clear coated mahogany. But they didn"t make them very long- after just a few years, the model was retired and replaced by the nearly identical Radiator.* The main differences between them were the Triumphs had three pickups to the Radiator"s two, and the sparkle finish was replaced by full-body pearloid pickguards. Back to the above... The Triumph is a hybrid of a Les Paul and a Stratocaster.** It"s hardtail 24.75' scale with a bolt-on neck, volume & tone controls, and a trio of relatively hot but low noise singlecoil pickups. Their sound is hotter than you"d get from a strat, but not quite as beefy as P90s would be. So it can deliver both some nice, almost twangy cleans and still get dirty. The neck is a C shape, and relatively slender. The frets seem to be medium, not jumbo. The fingerboard is rosewood. The body, as mentioned, is maple with alder wings. Its shape is reminiscent of the classic Les Paul, but it"s also a departure. It"s flat, not arched, but the back has a nice contour, almost like you"d find on a Strat. It"s also not quite as thick (or heavy) as a typical LP or LPclone. And thhe silhouette-especially that upper bout- is noticeably...off. If there is one flaw, it"s that the body is JUST different enough in shape that it won"t quite fit well in a hardshell case made for a typical LP type guitar. (I haven"t tried it in one for Strats, though...) As a whole, the guitar"s combination of features add up to a familiar but unusual experience. All in all, it"s a good, pretty versatile guitar- perfect for a wide variety of rock, blues, country or pop type tones. They haven"t been made in a decade or so, but can typically be found on the used market in really good condition for $300-400. I got mine for a little less than that thanks to my compadre. * These were ALSO retired after a few years, but recently were reintroduced. ** Godin has done a lot of guitars that combine elements from Fender and Gibson designs. For example, the SD is another Strat/LP chimaera, and the Belmont is a Strat/SG combo. Cool axe. I seen on in brown and it was nice. I'm a sucker for a godin Quote http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane hugo Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 [font:Verdana]Is that in NST? the E saddles are awfully far forward and back, respectively.[/font] Quote http://blip.fm/invite/WorkRelease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyalcatraz Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 E Standard. In fact, I haven"t even changed the strings since it was shipped to me. So far, no issues. But like I said, I"m probably going to use this for slide in Open G or C, so I"m going to get it properly set up when I do so. Quote Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx http://murphysmusictx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.