Godin Session

Godin Session, Handbuilt in Canada

Three years ago, guitar builder Godin from Canada presented the new Session series, part of the Godin Performance line, at the NAMM show early 2010. The Godin Session series is supposed to offer a versatile guitar, suitable for every (session) guitarists who has to be able, or wants to play different styles of music.

What makes a Godin particular special is the fact that the Godin's, even from the "cheaper" series, like the Godin Session series, all are handbuilt in Canada, for prices where you normally expect an Asian factory built guitar. Nothing bad about an Asian factory built guitar here, but handbuilt is handbuilt. For a budget price around 600 USD, a Godin Session guitar can well compete with the factory built guitars from the grand US brands.

godin session headstock

Godin Session, versatile in colors and finishes

Godin brings the Session in all favorite colors, from the popular "bursts", the blackburst, the vintage burst and the lightburst to the electric blue and the electric red Godin Session. Also versatility comes in the finishes; satin gloss and high gloss. All Godin Sessions are build from Canadian Laurentian basswood. Normally this wood would deliver a relatively light guitar, but surprisingly, the weight of the Godin Session is almost 4 kg. I didn't expect that.
Depending on the finish, the neck of the Godin Session is made of Rosewood (dark) or maple (light).
As much as I dislike "bulky" headstocks, the Godin Session headstock I really like; elegant and light, Godin did it right.

The shape of the Godin Session makes you compare it with the original Fender Stratocaster. At closer look, the Godin Session isn't just a Stratocaster clone; the edges and the cutaway - endings are less rounded. The ergonomics of the Godin Session makes the higher frets easy playable. The Godin Session's has it's own face. As the Godin Session is handbuilt in Canada, the overall quality should be excellent.

godin session 

Godin Session, versatile in sound; humbucker and single coils

What really makes the Godin Session versatile though, is the combination of the two Godin single coils at the neck and middle position, and the Les Paul style Godin humbucker located next to the bridge. The Godin Session has the usual typical controls; a five way pickup switch, and volume and tone controls.
The tone control is a push and pull type switch, making it possible to split the humbucker to get the typical single coil sound at the bridge. Still, it won't provide the same sound as a real single coil at the bridge position. As always, the more versatile a guitar in terms of combinations in humbuckers and single coils, some concessions have to be taken for granted.

The tremolo provided is one of Godin's own, non "floating" systems. Unlike a Floyd Rose style tremolo, the Godin tremolo on the Session should keep the tune much better.

godin session

Godin Session

In my opinion, the Godin Session is the perfect example of a guitar suitable for lot's of guitar players. The Strat - like shape, the versatility in sound due to the combination of single coils and a humbucker, the choice in colors and finishes, and most of all, a premium brand guitar, handbuilt in Canada, very decent priced, makes this guitar well worth looking at.
Within the 600 USD price-range, lot's of attractive guitars  are available, like the famous Fender Mexican guitars, but are they more versatile and of better quality than the handbuilt Godin Session?

godin session

Agile guitars

Agile guitars

Nothing beats an original Les Paul, Telecaster, Stratocaster or PRS-model guitar. I'm sure that most guitarists, when asked, prefer the real deal. Problem is that Gibson's, Fenders and PRS's don't come cheap. For starters on the guitar market, or guitar players with a smaller wallet, there are lot's of alternatives. 

The "big" guitar brands have their budget lines, for example Epiphone for Gibson and Squier for Fender, but more interesting are the "clone" builders. They build the popular guitar models, often for a fraction of the price of the original, and this market is huge, ranging from "cheap" Chinese build guitars to the most expensive handmade custom "clones". One of the guitar brands offering budget guitars is Agile guitars. Agile guitars runs an impressive line of models, with flavours for everyone.

agile guitar

Agile guitars by Rondo Music

Unlike "normal" guitar builders, Agile guitars are build, commissioned by "Rondo Music", a USA (Claremont) based music store, established in 1959. Besides the Les Paul and PRS styled Agile's, Rondo Music also sells SX, Telecaster and Stratocaster shaped guitars. As a result, Agile Guitars aren't sold by other guitar sellers. Rondo Music sells their Agile guitars only through the internet, with a focus on Ebay selling.

Besides Agile guitars, there are lot's of guitar stores who sell a line of guitars, which they have produced under there own name or brand. Agile differences with these "store brands" offering a very extensive line of models and finishes. All major guitar models / clones are in Agile's catalog, from standard factory to custom guitars, and some more. Agile guitars are produced in Korea.

agile guitar

Agile guitars, the AL models

As said, Agile guitars runs a very extensive range of models. One of the most reviewed Agile guitar on the internet is the Les Paul styled AL series. Agile's from these series are considered to compete with the standard Epiphone les Pauls. The luxery Agile AL 3000, top of the line within the Agile AL series, should even compete with entry level Gibson Les Pauls.

This Agile Al 3000 features an ebony fretboard, triple bindings and Alnico pickups. Specifications not to be ashamed of for a 450 USD priced guitar. The entry level Agile AL 2000, priced around 200 USD is also Korean build, and according to different reviews on the internet, offers great value for the money. Within the Agile AL series, there is an almost unlimited choice in colors and finishes, compared to the entry level Epihines and Gibsons.

agile guitar

Agile guitars, the Septor, Interceptor and Intrepid models

Surprisingly, Agile guitars manages to offer 7, 8, 9, 10 and even 12 string guitars for incredible competitive prices. The Intrepid 8 string for example, is available for only 499 USD. More strings, more money.

The Agile Septor, Interceptor and Intrepid guitars all offer more than 6 strings, and like the Agile AL series, lots of colors and finishes can be chosen. All the Agile Septor, Interceptor and Intrepid models are PRS / Strat, modern and radical styled guitars.

agile guitar

Agile guitars, custom shop

Every four or five months a year, Ronde Music opens their Custom Shop for new orders. In the Agile Custom Shop, you can have your guitar build from the ground up to your specifications. Here also, Agile's prices are a fraction of the prices you pay for Custom Shop guitars from the major brands.

Anyway, if you have the time, and you are unknown with Agile guitars, take a look at the Agile guitars on Ebay or at Rondo Music. I'm sure you will, like me, be surprised by the specifications and prices.

agile guitar

Fender CS Indian Stratocaster

Fender CS Indian Stratocaster

From the hands of Fender Custom Shop Senior Master Builder Marck Kendrick comes this stunning piece of work, the Fender CS (Custom Shop) Indian Stratocaster.

Like the Fender CS Birdflower and the Fender CS Chris Craft Esquire Boat Art LE (sold!), this Stratocaster is also for sale at the German Music Store. From time to time I take a look at their site to see if they have new "Custom Shops". As they are the largest music store in Europe, they have the funds to aquire the most beautiful and expensive guitars, like this CS Stratocaster. This Custom Shop guitar is not a new item, but it sure deserves a closer look!

fender cs indian stratocaster neck

fender cs indian stratocaster output and knobs

 

The Fender CS Indian Stratocaster has a transparant finish with, airbrushed on the body, a very detailed indian head. It's a masterpiece; the feathers from the headdress expand over the pickguard, and like the indian's hair, it seems like they actually are arranged on top of the Stratocaster's body.

The back of the body, including the cover for the electronics, is decorated with feathers and a bleached wild west animal skull.

Another detail of the Fender CS Indian Stratocaster is the inlay of the same animal skull and feathers in the neck. The output and the three knobs are just clean chrome, a nice contrast to the full decorated CS Stratocaster. I haven't seen a lot of these cool clean chrome knobs on guitars, but I really like them a lot.

Last but not least, the humbuckers almost have the same "woody" color as the pickguard, and here also, the paintbrush expands. The Fender CS Indian Stratocaster is packed with these little details.

I took the liberty of using the pictures of the Fender CS Indian Stratocaster from the Musicstore  website, these images are great, and they show all the wonderful details of this CS Strat. Musicstore sells the CS Indian Stratocaster for just under 10.000 Euro. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find more specific technical information.



fender cs indian stratocaster  full back



fender cs indian stratocaster body

 

Fender CS Indian, 2 Stratocasters and 2 Telecasters

One of the reasons I like to post about CS guitars like this, is the fact that most of the (Fender) Custom Shop guitars are built in small numbers, or "one piece", and after they are sold, it's difficult to get information and pictures once these CS guitars are removed from the sellers website. Also many of these limited Custom Shop Fender's can't be found on the Fender website anymore.

Senior Master Builder Mark Kendrick from the Fender CS built 2 Indian Stratocasters and 2 CS Indian Telecasters.
The German Musicstore aquired 1 Indian Stratocaster and 1 Indian Telecaster.



fender cs indian stratocaster back




fender cs indian stratocaster full body

 

Stolen Fender CS Indian Telecaster

When searching for more information about the Indian Stratocasters and Telecasters, I found the Musicstore announcement about the theft of 50 Custom Shop guitars in the of night the 1st and 2nd of december 2007. Among these stolen exclusive CS's was the Fender CS Indian Telecaster!

The complete list of the stolen CS guitars :  http://video.musicstore.de/diebstahl/index_EN.html
The theft in 2007 was all over the news and on the forums on the internet, but I can't find any information about recovery, so I assume these CS guitars are still "missing". The reward for the recovery of the stolen CS guitars was set on 30.000 Euro, or at least 5000 Euro for the recovery of a single guitar! 

fender cs indian stratocaster headstock

fender cs indian stratocaster neck plate

 

Electric guitars with acoustic pickups



fishman powerbridge on fender deluxe power

Electric guitars with acoustic pickups, an overview.

It's obvious that I'm interested in electric guitars with acoustic pickups like the Epiphone ES-339 Ultra, (the good and the bad), and the Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster.

In this post I present some other electric-acoustic guitars I like, and the acoustic pickup systems which give these electric guitars the possibility to blend electric and acoustic sounds.

Acoustic pickups for electric guitars

lr baggs t-bridge on electric guitar

The most common acoustic (piezo) pickup systems for electric guitars I found, come from LR Baggs, Fishman (both from the USA), Shadow (Germany), and GraphTech (Canada).

shadow nanomag on epiphone les paul ultra

LR Baggs, and Fishman concentrate their activities on acoustic pickups, mostly for acoustic guitars, Shadow also produces humbuckers, and GraphTech focuses on acoustic pickup systems for electric guitars.

graphtech ghost piezo acoustic pickup

Shadow offers the innovative Nanomag, Fishman scores with the Powerbridge, GraphTech invented the Ghost Piezo saddles and LR Baggs hits the scene with the X-Bridge and the T-Bridge. It's a niche market; only a small percentage of the electric guitars have the "extra", acoustic pickup. The Fishman powerbridge and the LR Baggs bridge are probably the most popular ones. Lot's of technical information about these acoustic pickups for electric guitars can be found on the producers websites.

Electric guitars with acoustic pickups

Obviously there are a lot more electric guitars with acoustic pickups than the ones below. These ones give a good view on what's available on the market, within the different price ranges.
Almost all electric guitars with acoustic pickups are also equiped with 5-way switches, pre-amps and dual output jackets; one for connecting the amplifier and one for connecting an acoustic amp or PA, for blending the electric and acoustic sound.

crafter sa(t) with lr baggs acoustic pickup

Crafter SA and SAT

The Crafter SA and SAT are Les Paul styled, semi hollow body archtop guitars. Sides and back from solid wood, and the tops come in different woods and colors. Both the Crafter SA and SAT are equiped with LR Baggs acoustic pickups. The SA also has a Kent Armstrong Lipstick pickup, and the SAT has a Kent Armstrong P90 humbucker. The Crafter SA(T) is fairly priced, around 550 - 600 Euro.

epi ultra III (3) with shadow nanomag

Epiphone Les Paul Ultra III (3)

The Epiphone Les Paul Ultra III (3) is Epiphones's answer to the demand in electric acoustic guitars. The Les Paul Ultra III (3) has 2 Epiphone Probuckers, and for acoustic sounds a Shadow Nanomag is mounted at the end of the fingerboard. The Ultra III (3) has a chromatic tuner onboard, and even a USB connection is available. After registration of the Ultra, Guitarrig software can be downloaded for free. The Epiphone ES-339 Ultra uses the same technology, my review can be found here and here. Pricing of the Epiphone Les Paul Ultra III (3) is around 560 - 630 Euro.



fender telecaster / stratocaster with fishman powerbridge

Fender (Nashville) Deluxe Power Stratocaster and Telecaster

For an acoustic plus, Fender added the Fishman Powerbridge to the Deluxe Power Strat and Tele. The Deluxe Power Telecaster comes with a middle strat pickup, and tele pickups for neck and bridge, the Stratocaster uses strat pickups for the neck, middle and bridge positions. These electric guitars with the Fishman Powerbridge have a five-way switch for blending the electric and acoustic sounds. Available for around 1100 Euro.

Another Fender electric guitar with a Fishman Powerbridge acoustic piezo pickup is the Acoustasonic Telecaster I wrote about, one of my favourites.



godin montreal with lr baggs t-bridge

Godin Montreal

The Godin Montreal is part of the Signature series from guitar builder Godin, located in Montreal, Canada, and they are well know for their new guitar concepts. The Montreal has a carved solid Mahogany body with two f-holes, Jazz Style. Godin was inspired by the Montreal Jazz festival when creating this electric-acoustic guitar. The Montreal blends electric and acoustic sounds by using two Godin Humbuckers and a LR Baggs acoustic bridge and a custom PreAmp. Pricing of the Godin Montreal is around 1600 Euro.

parker fly with graphtech ghost piezo

Parker Guitars (Fly Series)

Guitars build by Parker are something special, as Parker combines woods with modern composites and fibers. Apart from that, most electric Parker guitars are stufed with acoustic technology.

The Parker Fly DeLuxe, MaxxFly, Fly Select and others come in different, modern shapes and colors, and are powered with different humbuckers. What they all have in common is the acoustic technology from the GraphTech Ghost Piezo saddles. Parker guitars don't come cheap.



prs p22 with lr baggs acoustic bridge

PRS   P22 and (singlecut) Hollowbody II

For more than ten years, PRS is using LR Baggs acoustick pickup systems for the PRS Hollowbody II and singlecut Hollowbody II.

In 2012 PRS added the P22 in the program range, their first piezo acoustic pickup equiped solidbody guitar.
The LR Baggs system used in the P22 is the same acoustic pickup system that is used for the longer existing and popular hollowbodies. Only the design of this bridge is smaller than the original LR Baggs used in the hollowbodies, so it fits perfectly in the solidbody. The electric-acoustic guitars from PRS are expensive, starting with prices around 3600 Euro for the P22, and 4300 Euro for the PRS Hollowbody.



gibson les paul with lr baggs piezo pickup

Gibson Les Paul Piezo.

Unfortunately not in production anymore, the Gibson Les Paul Piezo, a Goldtop with EMG (rocking) humbuckers, and a golden LR Baggs piezo bridge. The Les Paul Piezo can still be found in (web)shops.





Gibson Custom Alex Lifeson LP Axcess

Still in production is the Gibson Custom Les Paul Alex Lifeson Axcess with Graphtech Ghost Bridge for authentic acoustic sound, and Floyd Rose vibrato. Humbuckers: Gibson's 496R and 498T. The first 50 guitars were signed by Alex Lifeson.

Bob Dylan; Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, on stage at the Newport Folk Festival 1965



Bob Dylan's guitar Newport 1965

What happened to the electric guitar Bob  Dylan played at the Newport  Festival, was it lost and found?

After writing my last post about George Harrison and his Gretsch Duo Jet, I thought there would be more stories to tell about famous guitar players and their guitars.
This one is about Bob Dylan and his Fender Stratocaster, he played at the Newport festival in 1965. The guitar is supposed to be "lost and found".

The news came out in july 2012, so it's not "fresh from the press". Despite of the fact that perhaps a lot of people already know about it, for me, the story is amazing enough to post. Guitars, history, and modern forensics come together!

Bob Dylan performing at the Newport Festival in 1965

Bob Dylan playing electric guitar at Newport Festival 1965

In 1965 Bob Dylan performed for thousands of fans at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Everybody was expecting him to play acoustic guitar, the way they were used to hear him playing his "'protest songs", and then it happened. He plugged in an electric guitar, the Fender Stratocaster,started playing, and hell broke loose.

The fans did not accept it at all! After only three songs, Bob, with his electric guitar, left the stage. Bob came back and played on with his acoustic guitar. Bob Dylan's fans wanted to hear the acoustic folk sound, not the electric guitar Rock'n Roll sound.

This moment is music history. By combining rock and folk, the music of the 60´s would never sound the same again. Bob Dylan and his electric guitar changed history in 1965, and experts say this guitar is one of the worlds most famous guitars.



Bob Dylan and Bloomberg playing at the Newport 1965 Festival

What really happened to the guitar Bob Dylan played at the Newport 1965 Festival

In July 2012, the American television show, History Detectives, claimed to have re-discovered the famous electric guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, Bob Dylan played during his contraversial performance at the Newport Folk festival in 1965. Bob Dylan denies this claim, but experts are convinced it is the real deal.

The story goes that Dylan did not took very good care of the guitar.  Dawn Peterson, the doughter of pilot Victor Quinto stated that she is in possession of the guitar. Victor Quinto was the pilot who flew Dylan to different gigs in that period. The pilot would have contacted Bob Dylan´s management after finding the guitar, to have it picked up, but nobody showed up.

The guitar was stored until a friend of the pilot´s doughter made the connection between the guitar and Dylan´s performance at Newport in 1963. The woman then contacted History Detectives to have the guitar investigated.

History Detectives with the supposed to be Bob Dylan guitar

A guitar expert compared the grain in the wood in the guitar with pictures taken at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan performed with the Fender Stratocaster, and he is convinced the guitar, History Detectives was offered for examiniation, really is the famous Bob Dylan guitar. In the guitar case, handwritten song texts by the hand of Dylan were found, which makes the story even more real.

Bob Dylan's spokesman and lawyers on the other hand, state that it's for sure not the guitar Bob Dylan played at the festival mentioned; that guitar is, as they say, still in possession of Bob Dylan himself. Bob did loose guitars, some where stolen, but not the 1965 Newport guitar. Anyway, Dylan really wants the guitar back which was left behind in the plane. According to the finder's doughter, nobody from Dylan's management contacted her to claim the guitar, so the guitar remains in a safe place until it's clear who is legally the owner of the guitar.

I think Bob Dylan and his management will, if so, never admit it's the real guitar, until the guitar is back in the hands of Bob Dylan. Experts say the real 1965 Newport Fender can be worth up to 1 million dollar !

Video and updates can be found at the History Detectives website.

Update!

On friday 6 december 2013, the Fender Stratocaster has set a price record on an auction!

Christie's announced that Bob Dylan's -1965 Newport Festival - Fender Stratocaster was sold for a stunning 965.000 dollar.........

The previous record for a guitar sold by auction was Eric Clapton's Fender "Blackie",  by Christie's in 2004 for 959.500 dollar.

Bob Dylan's Newport Festival performance in 1965 is still considered to be the most important event in the American music history.