Godin xtSA

November 2008 Guitarist 87
GODIN SUMMIT CT, VELOCITY HDR, TRIUMPH & XTSA £541-£1,044
ELECTRICS
The whole range boasts top-class finishes and detail where it matters most
All four guitars sport Godin’s
own branded tuners and other
hardware, but the pickups are a
mix of Godin’s own and Seymour
Duncans. Each guitar comes
complete with a heavy-duty
gigbag that has plenty of useful
storage pockets.
Summit CT
The Summit CT is Godin’s newest
electric, introduced at this year’s
Winter NAMM show. It’s a single
cutaway, string-through-body
hard-tail design that sports a pair
of Seymour Duncan humbuckers,
master volume and tone controls
and a five-way selector switch
that, as well as the usual selection
of the humbuckers separately and
together, offers coil-splitting with
single-coil sounds from the neck
and bridge in positions two and
four respectively. The cream
binding and carved top are
certainly well done and classy
looking, but whether the black
hardware complements that look
is open to question.
Sounds
With just a few strums the
Summit CT reveals itself to be a
really resonant guitar that’s a
pleasure to play unplugged –
something that always bodes well
for how an instrument will sound
amplified. Unsurprisingly, it
proves to be no disappointment.
In passive mode the Summit CT
offers the best of both worlds with
humbucker and single-coil sounds
serving up a range of tones to suit
not just rock, but many other
styles and genres.
Flick in the HDR by pressing the
small switch that is ergonomically
placed between volume and tone
knobs and you immediately get a
small gain boost that could be
useful for taking it up an extra
notch in live performance, but the
main difference is that the sound
seems to become more alive with a
perceived increase in the clarity of
the tone and the dynamic
response. As we know, active
pickups find favour not just for
pristine clean tones, but also
added clarity for out and out filth.
It’s like an added dimension
control that doubles the versatility
of a guitar that was already
versatile.
Triumph
First thoughts on seeing the
Triumph are that it is one sweet
looking guitar – we are quite
partial to metal-flake finishes and
this blue one looks stunning in
juxtaposition to the silver
hardware and the three black and
silver single-coil pickups. With its
dark-coloured rosewood
fingerboard, smooth satin finish
and slim profile, the neck provides
a very pleasant playing
experience, while a slight chamfer
on the front of the body aids right
arm comfort.
Sounds
In terms of control options the
Triumph is the least sophisticated
of the four guitars on offer here, in
that it is equipped with just
volume and tone knobs plus a five-
position pickup selector providing
access to the three pickups
individually and the two
in-between positions. The
available tones are anything but
unsophisticated though, with a
warm to bright range that will not
be unfamiliar to anyone who uses
a Strat – although these pickups
have a touch of P-90 flavour to
them. There’s a sweet top-end to
this guitar with the single pickup
positions providing a lovely, clear
bell-like tone that cuts through
nicely, while positions two and
four contribute a mellower,
funkier vibe.
The bridge position in particular
can supply a country twang that
would suit anyone used to playing
a Telecaster and, as with a Tele,
the lack of a vibrato means that
there is far more scope for
accurate pitching when doing
pedal-steel style or gymnastic
blues bends.
Velocity
The Velocity seems like it may be
pretty much aimed at rockers with
its sleek curves and that
combination of a pair of single-
coils and a bridge humbucker for
added bite and power. The Fender
GIT309.rev_godin 87 8/10/08 3:49:26 pm