Godin Redline 3 - Artist series

[RockinJim]

Recently picked up the Redline 3 Artist series - the one with the maple board in the link. Seller on ebay blowing them out new on clearance for $549 with gig bag. Anyone experience these guitars? Made in Canada, was a impulse buy but seemed like a good deal.

http://www.godinguitars.com/godinredline3customp.htm

[Flatpicker]

Godins across the board are very good.

I've flipped a few, more because I found something else rather than them being no good.

[The Rossness]

godin makes good stuff

[Frigo89]

Godin Artisan ST, best "classy strat" I've ever played, which is why I own one of those rather than a Suhr. Helps that it cost me about 1/4 of the price of a Suhr, too.

Great guitars all around. Definitely one of the best bang for the buck brands out there

[RockinJim]

Thanks for the comments, guy. She gets delivered today...I doubt I'll be disappointed.

[Predator1]

Sam Coulson of You Tube fame plays a Godin Redline in a few of his vids. It sounded great although that guy can make most guitars sound great.

[RockinJim]

Well it arrived yesterday, below is my quick review, followed by a few pics:

Out of the box: Needed a light setup, action was OK, floyd needed slight adjustment, appears to be strung with 10s. Gig bag is pretty nice.

Fit, Finish, Body: Very nice job on the art work which has a different hue in varied light. No imperfections I can find. The light gloss/satin finish on the back of the body and neck is hit and miss. When seated guitar slides around in your lap. A satin neck and unfinished body or gloss body would work better for me. Maybe the satin combined with fairly dramatic body contours, particularly in the lower horn area, is not for me, hard to say. The body itself is maple center with poplar wings so the guitar has some weight to it.

Headstock/Neck: Excellent job on the frets and the neck itself is fast and pleasing to play. The headstock's tuning keys are Godin branded and appear pretty high quality and true - slightly better quality than the Jackson keys found on the USA models, IMO. Neck has a nice profile, would call it D shape. It is thicker than a wizard neck but is still comfortable to play.

Floyd: Tone, harmonics are average and pale in comparison to the OFRs on my Jackson USA Dinky, ESP MII, etc. The floyd itself is unbranded (no Godin on the faceplate just blank), the fine tuners do work well and tuning stability seems to be fine, though I did stretch the strings. The bar pops in but is held in the housing with a tiny turnscrew at the base. So once you clamp down the screw to the bar, the bar will not come out. Questionable design IMO.

Tone: EMGs drive the tone, active pups that are consistent. I play mostly passive so it's been kinda cool revisiting EMGs. Battery came in guitar, no issues. Playing through a Bugera 333, it sounds metal with very good sustain. Upper access to frets is good. Action came low from the factory and probably doesn't need adjustment. Pup height was a tad low for my taste, so I adjusted the 81 in the bridge. If you like active pups you won't be disappointed.

Overall: Solid, well built guitar, very good value at the price point, heavy, good feel. Decent quality hardware, speed knobs a plus. Cons for me: Satin finish on body, floyd is average in terms of tone/responsiveness and IMO robs some of the tone potential of the guitar.