Godin Tripleplay

Started by Rorster, April 30, 2013, 05:32:55 PM

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Synth Nicolas

ok, they look promising! like the smaller pickup instead of the one with the bobbly thing. Not sure why they make the FTP like that and not just the straight pickup like the 2012 design....
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

norwegianwood

Quote from: Synth Nicolas on September 09, 2013, 03:14:48 PM
Any here already tried this Godin Tripleplay guitar? I might be interested in one....
so any review is welcome.

FINALLY, the guitars been sent(from Island Music) ;D. I´m expecting it to arrive within 1-2 weeks and will post a through review asap. Mine is the light burst rosewood one.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
Charlie Parker

Synth Nicolas

ok, please let us know what you think! I am also interested in one. Just not sure whether to buy the Godin Tripleplay guitar or only the Tripleplay pickup.
This week I can borrow a Godin session guitar (without FTP) from the music shop so I can see if like the guitar. If don't like the guitar I will order the separate pickup.
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

Synth Nicolas

Does the Session Custom TP guitar also have the H.D.R knob/function like the normal Session Custom?
Can't see it on the pictures. Looks like the H.D.R. is replaced by the FTP control.
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinsessioncustomp.htm

H.D.R. High-Definition Revoicer
The H.D.R. revoices and augments the frequency range of each pickup and allows the player to go from passive to active pickups
with the simple push of a button.
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

admin

#54
QuoteDoes the Session Custom TP guitar also have the H.D.R knob/function like the normal Session Custom?


No

Details here direct correspondance with Godin
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8489.msg61380#msg61380


"The Session Triple Play does not feature the HDR system."

All confirmed details are listed here:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SessionCTPM/

From Our Research Team:

Paradigm Shift
The Godin Session Custom TriplePlay solidbody electric guitar and wireless MIDI controller will rock your world. Its pair of superb Godin pickups crank out an avalanche of tone. But the major news here is that this axe is packing integrated Fishman Custom TriplePlay technology, a wireless USB receiver, and a hexaphonic pickup, turning it into a wireless guitar controller. Now, just think about what the Godin Session Custom TriplePlay can do for your music!

Godin Session Custom TriplePlay at a Glance:
Integrated Fishman Custom TriplePlay technology
Rock all night in complete comfort
Godin: pro-quality instruments loaded with innovations

Integrated Fishman Custom TriplePlay technology
The Godin Session Custom TriplePlay is an incredible guitar without the Fishman Custom TriplePlay system. However, when you factor in this state-of-the-art technology you've got a paradigm shift of major proportions. The TriplePlay system consists of an onboard wireless transmitter and a USB receiver that connects to your computer. This gives you six separate signals from the guitar's onboard hexaphonic pickup, routed wirelessly into your DAW. Imagine instantiating six Thors in Reason with six different patches. Now you've got 18 oscillators cranking, complete with filtration and a boatload of modulation, for a massive super-synth sound. Now imagine combining that with the output from the Session Custom's magnetic pickups. Finally, imagine you're doing all this live, onstage. Now you're thinking along the same lines we are.

Rock all night in complete comfort
With a lightweight, contoured basswood body, a generous cutaway, and speedy maple neck, the Session Custom lets you rock all night in total comfort. A pair of superb Godin pickups crank out an avalanche of tone. For your whammying pleasure, Godin's Tru-Loc vibrato lets you customize the arm position to suit your playing style.

Godin: pro-quality instruments loaded with innovations
Since the early '70s, Godin has been crafting pro-quality instruments with several innovations. Whether you're a session pro or a recreational player, Godin has a guitar built to suit you perfectly. You'll love the clean lines, the exceptionally comfortable playing feel, and the exquisite tone you get from a Godin guitar. You get it all: classic craftsmanship, modern features, and amazing tonality. Here's your chance to get your hands on a pro-quality guitar!

Godin Session Custom TriplePlay Features:
Canadian Laurentian Basswood body; 25.5" scale
Rock maple neck; 12"-radius fingerboard
1 Godin humbucker; 1 Godin Custom Cajun single-coil pickup
Hex pickup; Fishman Custom TriplePlay wireless MIDI system
Godin Tru-Loc vibrato system
Includes VBGSE gig bag

The Godin Session Custom TriplePlay: it's a whole new ballgame!
Specification   Detail
Body Type   Session Custom
Left-/Right-handed   Right-handed
Body Material   Canadian Laurentian basswood
Top Material   Not Applicable
Color   Lightburst
Neck Material   Maple, Bolt-on
Scale Length   25.5"
Fingerboard Material   Maple
Fingerboard Inlay   Dots
Number of Frets   22
Nut Width   1..6875"
Bridge/Tailpiece   Godin Tru-Loc vibrato
Tuners   Godin
Number of Pickups   2
Neck Pickup   Godin humbucker
Middle Pickup   No Middle Pickup
Bridge Pickup   Godin "Custom Cajun" single-coil
Controls   1 x Volume, 1 x Tone, 5-way switch
Case Included   Gig bag
Manufacturer Part Number   038121

Synth Nicolas

#55
hmmm...too bad!

wander why the HDR is not included in the FTP guitar? Is it just a money saver? or will the HDR not work well together with the FTP?
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

merman93

Newer video from Godin. The guitar used in the demo has the final hex pickup design being used on the production model.


Ibanez RG 1520 GK
Ibanez RG 420 GK
Ibanez RG 920 (GK KIT)
Ibanez RGA 121 (GK 3)
Fender Deluxe Players Strat (GK KIT)
Roland GC 1/G 505/G 707
Hamer Phantom A7 (24 pin)
BX 13 (24 -13 pin converter)
GP-10
FishmanTripleplay (2)
VG 88 2.0
Apple Imac/Logic 9
MOTU Utralite 3
Kemper (2)
Gemini 2 Active FRFR

norwegianwood

#57
GOT MINE TODAY!  ;D

its nice!



I´ll be back with a thorough, part objective review when I get the time.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
Charlie Parker

Synth Nicolas

#58
great let us know!

I borrowed a Session Custom for a week from a music store. The one without FTP, because that is not available here yet. I was in doubt whether to order this FTP guitar or just a separate FTP pickup kit.

Here is my short review of the Session Custom:

construction: very well made guitar. Nice light burst finish and great rosewood neck. All hardware is perfect. Really like the looks of this guitar. No complaints whatsoever.
Playability: neck feel great, very easy to play. Ergonomics of the guitar are great. Feels like you are at home right away.
sound: Had to get used to the single coil/humbucker combination. I am a strat player so I like the single coil. Never was a big fan of HSS guitars because single coils have totally different characteristics than humbuckers. Combining those two never felt right to me. But it seems to work better with this pickup setup. The first thing I did was lower the height the humbucker and heighten the single coil. The humbucker was too loud compared to the single coil for my taste. With these adjustments it was ok. Single coil sounds as you would expect; much like a strat bridge pickup. Humbucker sounds nice but rather dark when played clean. Good for jazzy stuff. With overdrive this dark sound transforms in a smooth bluesy SG like sound. Other positions (2,3,4) of the 5-way switch are usable as well. Position 2 and 4 sound much alike although position 2 is louder. The sound of these positions is less characteristic then say the in between positions on a strat and hard to describe what they sound like.
H.D.R. High-Definition Revoicer: It makes the pickups louder and it adds some highs. This works great on the neck pickup (position 1). The dark sound of the humbucker is transformed in a more focused and very usable sound. Just that extra brightness that this pickup needs for my taste. On the bridge pickup it doesn't sound so good. It increases the noise and the sound becomes too bright. You can also use the HDR as a booster for solos. Although with more gain the difference in output between normal and HDR becomes more marginal. Too bad the HDR is not included on the FTP guitar because it is really great for the humbucker. Might be a cost saving issue or maybe there isn't enough room in the cavity for both the HDR and the FTP (?).


The only problem I have with this guitar is the tuning. The tremolo itself feels great. But with each wank of the bar the guitar goes out of tune which is very annoying to me. I am a heavy bar user a la Jeff Beck and have no tuning problems on my strats. But on this guitar I have to tune after each whammy bar action. Also when bending strings some other strings go out of tune very quickly. Might be a problem with the nut or so.

So overall a very very nice guitar with good sounds. Hope something can be done about the tuning problems. In that case I might order a FTP guitar. Still in doubt what to do though. When buying a separate FTP kit you have the flexibility to install it on different guitars. When buying the Session Tripleplay you don't have to bother with installation and you are not bothered by a pickup and controller that might get in the way with your playing.
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

merman93

Anxiously awaiting "Norwegian Wood's" first hand review !!!!!!!

Ibanez RG 1520 GK
Ibanez RG 420 GK
Ibanez RG 920 (GK KIT)
Ibanez RGA 121 (GK 3)
Fender Deluxe Players Strat (GK KIT)
Roland GC 1/G 505/G 707
Hamer Phantom A7 (24 pin)
BX 13 (24 -13 pin converter)
GP-10
FishmanTripleplay (2)
VG 88 2.0
Apple Imac/Logic 9
MOTU Utralite 3
Kemper (2)
Gemini 2 Active FRFR

Synth Nicolas

#60
Quote from: merman93 on September 27, 2013, 02:30:32 PM
Anxiously awaiting "Norwegian Wood's" first hand review !!!!!!!

Yes waiting for that too. Both a review of how it functions as a guitar as well as how the FTP functions in that particular guitar.
Also curious if you have the same tuning problems as I have (see my review above).

List price in Europe is about 1200 euros. But I see it on US sites for 961$ to 995$. Why is there so much price difference for US and Europe?
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

norwegianwood

Hey guys!
I´m having the busiest time of my life on my 3rd year of jazz bachelor degree. I don´t know when I´ll be able to post an in-depth review, but here´s a short one:

THE GUITAR(no fishmantalk)

Neck and body feels SUPERB. The satin finish on the neck is fantastic and feels really high-endish, fast and slick, but not to thin. The way I like it  :) The body´s rounded edges gives makes moving your arm around above the bridge really smooth and thats good as there are many controllers to handle.

The tremolo system works well. The tremolo arm placement screw is not a genius invention, but it works flawlessly and makes the arm "loose but tight". I set so it stops at 90 degrees down.
I do not have tuning problems when it comes to using the tremolo for light vibrato on chords and playing single notes. This is not for divebombs anyway, BUT it could be better. It seems the string glides smoothly on the tusq nut. The tuners however, do not feel as sturdy as I like it, and I´m going to change these for some good locking tuners eventually.

The pickups are good, but they aren´t excactly Fralins, and they can´t compete with a nice seymour/dimarzio setup. However they sound good, and I am still using them though my favorite seymours has arrived. The hum bucker is a little too dark, as someone mentioned, and the cajun doesn´t sound as fat for a tele singlecoil as I had hoped. Still, they are not bad at all, I can get many good sounds from the humbucker, good for jazz and some heavier riffs. Anyways, Im going to try a SH-2n and a Little 59 combo first.

The body resonates very nicely. The guitar sounds balanced accousticly, though not very loud(not very strange with all the hw inside the body). The sustain is as good as any el-guitar I´ve owned(good for tripleplay).

Placement of the knobs I really like. Nicely apart from each other. Hard not to twist the right knob. The start-ish volume knob placement leaves for nice swell/fadeins and the pot is super! Great pots on this thing!

FISHMAN TRIPLEPLAY SYSTEM

LOL. This system is ridicoulslsansa funny(aghhh english) and it works VERY well. The tracking is superb. I tested the range in my schools dance hall. 20 m. away from my mac and I still had a fast signal. With normal use 5-10m range I can´t notice latency on any sounds. I use it with MainStage on a 2011 macbook pro with SSD hard drive and 8gb ram. I didn´t like too many of the sounds in the IK multimedia and Komplete Elements package. In mainstage3 I have all the sounds I like to combine(nice pads, rhodessounds, vibraphone, different mallets, piano, synths etc.). I can use the up and down arrows to switch patches in perform mode. First I used Mainstage right away plug-and-play, but the tripleplaysoftware was a must to get it calibrated. Seeing the volume go up and down on my mac when i twist the knob gives me a stupidly satisfying feeling.  ;)
I had a Roland GR-synth and telemods.co.uk gk-guitar before and the fish man system totally owns it in every single way. Only thing I could think of is the system is(of course) made of plastic and that one needs to be especially careful when switching on off and handling the backside.

PRICE

I payed 999 dollars from Island Music which is like 7500 norwegian kroner tax included(25%). In Norway this is going to cost 12000 norwegian kroner  8)

SUM-UP

Pros:
Neck and body
tremolo-system works as it should, goes back into placement etc.
FTP-system!
Descent pickups

Cons:
Tuners could be smoother/feel sturdier kinda´
Pickups are only descent, not great







Please don´t hesitate to ask me any questions and I´ll try to be as quick as I can. Btw, I´m not a very experienced reviewer sorry its a little messy.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
Charlie Parker

Synth Nicolas

Thanks for the review!

Quote from: norwegianwood on October 08, 2013, 11:49:04 AM
I do not have tuning problems when it comes to using the tremolo for light vibrato on chords and playing single notes. This is not for divebombs anyway, BUT it could be better. It seems the string glides smoothly on the tusq nut.

Not exactly sure what you saying here. This trem should also hold more then just 'light vibrato'. My strat holds the jeff beck style of playing quite well and this Godin trem should be able to do the same. But it was not and I had to retune every 20 seconds or so. The seller in the music store also conformed that the tuning is not very stable with this trem and that it needed to be reworked.
Think I will go for the hardware version of the FTP.
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

Elantric

QuoteBut it was not and I had to retune every 20 seconds or so. The seller in the music store also conformed that the tuning is not very stable with this trem and that it needed to be reworked.

Same Godin Tremolo is on my xTSA

I found it very stable - AFTER I updated the Locking Tuners, swapped the stock Nut for a Graphtech Tremolo Nut and installed a SuperVee Maglok Tremolo Stabilizer

Details here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7527.msg65516#msg65516

thebrushwithin

Godin makes great guitars, for sure, but I am wondering about improved tracking over the hardware model. At one point, I forget which FW version, I was beginning to get very excited, as the tracking seemed equal to my GR30, on the upper strings, and better on the A & low E strings. However, the two guitars I have it on, which are the very same ones as before, are now, for whatever reason, just failing miserably, tracking wise. One of them is also equipped with a Ghost 13 pin system so it is easy for me to compare the GR30, to the FTP. Normally, because of the weather beginning to change, I would think some adjustments might be necessary to experience flawless tracking, and this might explain the spotty tracking on the FTP lately. However, the GR 30 is still tracking perfectly, while my FTP is getting worse.
It has me baffled, for sure. Hammer ons and slides are never accurate, any longer, and bends just suck.
Seems like the built in Godin might have an edge on setup for best results, but investing another grand on something to make the FTP work as advertised, is very risky in my case, as I am still really unsure about the FTP as a live rig. Still, I really hope the FTP issues get resolved, as I am sick of buying 13 pin cables every 3 months or so. This last one from Carvin, the second one I have purchased, didn't last that long, so today, I ordered a Roland cable. No more Carvin cables for me, as they just don't last! If I could get my FTP tracking dependably, and with a hardware synth, then I could make the transition to all wireless, by using FTP and my Kemper. Then my 13 pin gear can stay in the studio. But that seems so far away, at this point.

Elantric

#65
I'm enjoying using my FTP with ipad at live gigs.

Personally, I would not place any Roland Guitar to MIDI device - including the GR-30 or GR-55, Or VG-99 or GI-10, GI-20 - in the same league as Tripleplay. Its night and day for me, with the Tripleplay being MUCH lower latency, and superior tracking. 

My FTP Experience  matches others  - like "Germanicus" stated here:
VG-99, GR or Fishman TriplePlay?
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=9422.msg68056#msg68056
QuoteYes the Tripleplay is much better. FWIW I have a vg99, gr55, JT Variax and the Tripleplay.

Rolands Midi conversion, especially when controlling external sound modules, is not in the same league as the Fishman. Roland is slower, and more prone to false triggers. In the past I was generally happy with what Roland did, but having the FTP, im able to play more 'guitar' and not have to think that im playing a 'midi guitar'. When you play Midi guitar, you have to adapt to its limitations, regardless of the system. This means whenever you are playing in the lower register, you have to be much more careful with your picking attack, fretting, and in general what passages you play are more limited. The FTP is much faster response wise, and as such, I can play more with it. The FTP isn't perfect, but its the best at the moment.

Synth Nicolas

Quote from: Elantric on October 08, 2013, 04:14:51 PM
Same Godin Tremolo is on my xTSA

I found it very stable - AFTER I updated the Locking Tuners, swapped the stock Nut for a Graphtech Tremolo Nut and installed a SuperVee Maglok Tremolo Stabilizer

Details here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7527.msg65516#msg65516

I think it really sucks that you have to do so much modifications to make it work. When I buy a brand new guitar I want it to work how it is. Don't want to invest much time and money to make a new guitar functional. I also think it very strange that Godin trems go out of tune so quickly. All other things on the guitar are top notch. Why can't the trem level up to that?
gitaarles en basgitaarles in Weert
www.gitaarschoolweert.nl

thebrushwithin

QuoteI'm enjoying using my FTP with ipad at live gigs.

Personally, I would not place any Roland Guitar to MIDI device - including the GR-30 or GR-55, Or VG-99 or GI-10, GI-20 - in the same league as Tripleplay. Its night and day for me, with the Tripleplay being MUCH lower latency, and superior tracking. 

My FTP Experience  matches others  - like "Germanicus" stated here:
VG-99, GR or Fishman TriplePlay?
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=9422.msg68056#msg68056
Quote
Yes the Tripleplay is much better. FWIW I have a vg99, gr55, JT Variax and the Tripleplay.

Rolands Midi conversion, especially when controlling external sound modules, is not in the same league as the Fishman. Roland is slower, and more prone to false triggers. In the past I was generally happy with what Roland did, but having the FTP, im able to play more 'guitar' and not have to think that im playing a 'midi guitar'. When you play Midi guitar, you have to adapt to its limitations, regardless of the system. This means whenever you are playing in the lower register, you have to be much more careful with your picking attack, fretting, and in general what passages you play are more limited. The FTP is much faster response wise, and as such, I can play more with it. The FTP isn't perfect, but its the best at the moment.

I have seen others enjoying the FTP, and it is frustrating to have the experience, I have been having. So, after reading this post, I decided to recharge my controller, in case the unit diminishes in quality with anything but a full charge. Bingo!!! My assumption had been that the quality would remain, as long as it still had a charge, but that is not the case. I still had a couple of hours left, if my calculations are correct, but that will not cut the mustard. So, it looks like a full charge is absolutely necessary. By the way, I never trigger another synth with my GR30, so the statement by Germanicus doesn't apply here. Honestly, my GR30 tracks perfectly, only latency(slight) on the low E string, and the FTP is equal, not better, in that respect. Midi out with the GRs is a much different story, but the internal sounds are spot on, and glitch free. I just received my repaired KPA from Germany, so now I can hopefully stop with 13 pins live. Here's hoping!

admin

QuoteBy the way, I never trigger another synth with my GR30, so the statement by Germanicus doesn't apply here. Honestly, my GR30 tracks perfectly, only latency(slight) on the low E string,

I agree - the 1997 GR-30 when triggering the GR-30's Internal Sounds is very fast - faster than even the 2011 GR-55 !

shawnb

#69
Quote from: thebrushwithin on October 08, 2013, 04:54:21 PM
It has me baffled, for sure. Hammer ons and slides are never accurate, any longer, and bends just suck.

FYI - This is an excellent indication the PBRs (pitch bend ranges) are misaligned between your FTP and the synth you are playing.  Get the PBRs sorted out and I bet you'll be OK.  Remember than playing guitar synths, the PBR must be set to the same value ON BOTH SIDES - the sender (FTP) and the receiver (your synth).  Easy to forget or mix up when they're different pieces of gear. 

Just ran into this tonight...   Thought I was having the same issue as you.   It was driving me crazy.  Found out that hammerons worked great in "trigger" mode.  Then recalled that, of course, for hammerons to work when in 'smooth' mode, it has to know how many semitones that interval is...  I.e., your PBR.  I brought them back in sync & everything worked again.

Hammerons cannot work in 'smooth', 'auto', or 'stepped' modes with your PBRs misaligned.  So it's a pretty good clue if 'trigger' seems OK.

Related, your pbr should be => the longest interval you'll tap.    A pbr of 2 is likely too low.   Try 12 or 24.
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

thebrushwithin

Thanks Shawn, Fishman has contacted me, and the symptoms my unit has, are being looked into. The "full charge" solution, I found, does not make sense to them, at present, so they are going to go deeper into the issue. For what it's worth, I changed nothing on the FTP, except to charge it fully, and every single issue disappeared. Never touched the PBR, it just suddenly worked, after the full charge! By the way, I always set mine on 24. Fishman's support team has always been quite responsive, and take these problems seriously, so perhaps this issue is more than an isolated case. When this problem began, I can attest that my old Roland GM70 had a better response. I use synth guitar on every song, every gig, and through the years, I have found the GR30, using internal sounds to be the most glitch free, natural feel of every pitch to midi converter ever made. In fact, ditching 13 pin, is the only incentive, for my purchase of the FTP. It does seem like a great evolution for synth guitar, in that respect. I still own a GR700, GM 70, GR33, and an Axon 100sb. Only the FTP, when it works properly, can duplicate the accuracy of the GR30. Even the Axon, in my experience, was not up to snuff. My goal is to someday use it with a rack mount hardware synth, and be able to trust it as I do my GR30. Hopefully, this problem/solution I have encountered will help lead to this goal, as Fishman digs a little deeper. By the way, thanks for delving into the FTP, and sharing with this great forum, the way you do. It is very much appreciated!

Elantric

Thanks for the update! Keep us posted on further progress with Fishman.

shawnb

Boot order makes a lot of difference.    The ftp will try to set the pbr using CCs upon power up, a technique many, not all, synths honor.  Most synths default to a pbr of 2.    I think the ftp defaulted to 12.    Thus, a good percentage of the time,things work great if you boot the ftp last....    But not if you don't....
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

polaris20

If Godin does a FTP version of the Multiac, I'm in. I love those guitars, but would want it with Triple Play, not 13-pin.

norwegianwood

Quote from: Synth Nicolas on October 08, 2013, 04:01:59 PM
Thanks for the review!

Not exactly sure what you saying here. This trem should also hold more then just 'light vibrato'. My strat holds the jeff beck style of playing quite well and this Godin trem should be able to do the same. But it was not and I had to retune every 20 seconds or so. The seller in the music store also conformed that the tuning is not very stable with this trem and that it needed to be reworked.
Think I will go for the hardware version of the FTP.

I guess your partly right. I don´t have as big tuning issues as you described. Yesterday I did two shows with a jazzrockgroup and I gave the trembar some heavy use during songs and it only required some quick finetuning after.

Btw, does someone know some good lockingtuners that will fit the godin session custom?
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.
Charlie Parker