Sold my Godin

Started by lespauled, June 24, 2017, 03:22:06 PM

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lespauled

I have to say that, right now, I have mixed feelings about selling it. The guitar was beautiful, played great, incredibly versatile, sounded great, almost everything you could ask in a guitar. My ONLY issue with the guitar was the fragility of the RMC piezo/13 pin midi pickups. After learning that the life expectancy of the pickups were 5 years, I couldn't help but wonder when (not if) they would stop working on me.

When calling RMC for a replacement for another guitar, I found out that the life expectancy is 5 years. After that, they recommend you replace ALL the pickups (one under each string), at a cost of about $400. That was something I was unwilling to do. That's when I made the decision to sell it.

Over the last few months, I would have everything ready to post it, but started playing it again, and didn't want to let it go. I made a conscious effort to only use it for midi parts. If I started playing it as just a guitar, I would fall in love with it again.

Until Godin finds another 13pin/piezo option, I'm going to have to stay away from them. It's really sad, since the guitar was nothing short of spectacular.

At least it gives me a nice chunk towards a Kemper :cloud9:

Hurricane

#1
Hello :

¿ Why did you want to replace the piezos ?

Mine still work great since I bought it new in 2005 on my LGXSA -

Only one issue :

I had one piezo cutting the 1st. high [ E ] string , I use 12's . I emailed
and telephone them and they sent me a free replacement to put on and
would cover the labor cost at the store I bought it from . It was only a
few months old ...

I inspected the saddle of the piezo and saw the electroplated metal to have not cleanly
left the valley of the string guide with out any excess plating . It had a paper thin metal
strip I removed with a razor very carefully .

I didn't have to replace it after all and still have that spare . That was all the issue , that paper
thin metal plating that what metal tough and razor sharp .

EZ :

HR

chrish

I purchased a Godin multiac nylon string guitar when they first came on the market and the piezo pickups are still working fine. I even gigged with the guitar for a while so it has seen some use.

Elantric

Ive had far more failure with Line-6 L R Baggs Piezos on my Variax's

Not had an RMC failure ( knock on wood !) 

Shingles

#4
I've had my Godin LGXT since 2001. It has the earlier LR Baggs piezo saddles but surely not so different. It was my main gigging guitar so has seen a fair amount of action and also, in more recent years, a fair amount of neglect.
The only problems I ever had with it: I used to break A strings regularly, until I took a file to that one saddle, and the volume pot is a bit iffy.
If I did have to replace the piezo saddles every five years or so, well, I think it may be worth it to keep playing such a great guitar.
Nik
--------------------------------
Tonelab, VG99, Axon AX100, EDP, Repeater
Godin, PRS, Crafter and Roland guitars
Center Point Stereo Spacestation V3

BrookfieldStrummer

I'm a relative newbie to Vguitars, but I bought my Godin LGXT last year and I love it.  The best playing guitar that I have (out of 13) by far.  I'll take my chances with the piezos.  The only problem I have is that I took it away with me where it was a regular 40C most days and it wasn't too keen on the heat.  Neither was my Les Paul though!
GP-10, GT-1, VE-8, VE-500, Trio plus, Godin, Gibson, Gretsch, Fender, Taylor, Takemine, Yamaha, Hagstrom, Lap & Pedal, Rivera, Marshall, Roland

lespauled

Absolutely, I'm sure that most people will not have a failure.  I fully expected responses that stated they never had a problem.  It's the same with any product.  My reasoning was that they seem to be WAY TOO fragile.  The guitar has never left my house.  Yet, I find that the pickups have different levels from time to time, although not a major issue.    The symptoms arose about 6 months into my purchase.  A simple adjustment in the GR55 cured any level issues.  It was that level changes as well as the saddle failure, and response from RMC.

I was only using it for my GR-55, to record some synth, bass, etc. parts.  I have a Roland Ready strat that has never had a single issue, and that will be my GR driver from now on.

Although the Godin is a spectacular guitar, no doubt, it was not my best playing guitar.  I would put it about 4th or 5th, and that's not shabby by any means, considering how the others play.

sixeight

QuoteI fully expected responses that stated they never had a problem.

Well, I got rid of my Godin XTSA when I bought my VG99. I had lots of trouble with the saddles. They would drop volume, because of my sweaty palms. First only one, then later three of them were giving trouble. I guess piezo's are just not for me.

Shingles

Quote from: lespauled on June 25, 2017, 11:14:47 AM
Absolutely, I'm sure that most people will not have a failure.  I fully expected responses that stated they never had a problem.  It's the same with any product.  My reasoning was that they seem to be WAY TOO fragile.  The guitar has never left my house.  Yet, I find that the pickups have different levels from time to time, although not a major issue.    The symptoms arose about 6 months into my purchase.  A simple adjustment in the GR55 cured any level issues.  It was that level changes as well as the saddle failure, and response from RMC.

I was only using it for my GR-55, to record some synth, bass, etc. parts.  I have a Roland Ready strat that has never had a single issue, and that will be my GR driver from now on.

Although the Godin is a spectacular guitar, no doubt, it was not my best playing guitar.  I would put it about 4th or 5th, and that's not shabby by any means, considering how the others play.

Yes, and I'm sure we're not denying that you had a problem or that there is some fragility. We are just offering an over all balanced view to anyone elise considering a Godin with piezo.
Nik
--------------------------------
Tonelab, VG99, Axon AX100, EDP, Repeater
Godin, PRS, Crafter and Roland guitars
Center Point Stereo Spacestation V3

Rhcole

I think this will show up the most in gigged piezo guitars. Hot stages, sweat, wear and tear, all of those things will factor in.
I just solved my cable issues last year that limited my live use with hex systems.
I think that 13 pin hex systems will be perceived as an interim solution depending on what comes next. Certainly, that seems to be Roland's take on hex/13 pin systems these days.

Tony Raven

Quote from: Shingles on June 25, 2017, 11:28:54 PM
I'm sure we're not denying that you had a problem or that there is some fragility. We are just offering an over all balanced view to anyone elise considering a Godin with piezo.
And in that very spirit, I am going to be one of the few to speak up in support of lespauled. 8) Amazing how many leapt to assuming this was to slag Godin & RMC -- likely the problem exists for ALL multisaddle piezo, so I'll toss Fishman & Graph Tech in as well if that soothes. I'm leery of piezos in general, & there's reasons.

A friend, Adama, loved the E-Type Jaguar her father had given her. She also kept a timing strobe in the trunk, & casually said "I get about 800 miles before I need to adjust it." :o

Me, I sometimes remember to bring my car in for scheduled maintenance, & otherwise expect it to work with minimal shop visits.

As has been made clear here, the Godin is a Jaguar, a six-string sportscar, great for those with the leisure to plan for mid-set (or mid-tour :-[) FAILURE just as the manufacturer intended. That looks to me like planned obsolesence, which is fine (I suppose) so long as all are made aware of the policy before purchase... which I doubt's been done. (It's certainly NOT mentioned on the Godin website.)

Y'all are welcome to the sportscar. Me, I need a '69 Chevy sedan (350/350). ;D
________________

Nobody can actually KNOW how much bashing-about their guitar got during construction & initial transport. Those who live up on the Eastern Seaboard will likely do fine, as will any who drove from (say) California to pick up their guitar rather than trusting FedEx or UPS or the like. As for the rest... well...  :-\ Much the same holds for any who bought their "Synth-MIDI" ::) axe second-hand. And good thing you got the hardtail, rather than a whang-bar bridge that'd only beat heck out of them little wires, even if you never use it.

I'll guess that the $400 replacement doesn't include shop fees. Anyone want to give us an estimate of how many bench hours that'll take?

Having done insurance stuff, the "five years" is just a safe minimum to avoid excess cost of honoring the warranty (which everyone's read carefully, right...?). Maybe the failure midpoint is actually eight years, or twelve, or twenty. Only a fool would look at a bell curve & claim that, because there's a few long-lived outliers, therefore all the early failures are "anomalous."
________________

I work on transit buses, & am skilled in running harness, from 8-ga power down to 26-ga DVR hookups. You'd be surprised how fanatic we can be about securing wires just so, because those buses are expected to have a service life of more than a half-million miles of rough roads & hard turns, & most of the parts will never be replaced or even adjusted -- and that's the way we like it to remain, & we get obsessive.

A few years back I was considering a Graph Tech "Ghost" piezo system for a guitar, having lucked across a blowout sale. But I stopped after looking the install up -- them teensy wires, with no clear way to secure them (spray foam, maybe? ;)), & plenty of room to jounce around.

I'd already dealt with hard-gigged acoustical guitars with piezo saddles, particularly one with six "chiclets" (a Washburn maybe). The owner said one string had started to go quiet, then another dropped out entirely. If I worked for free, he'd still have paid more for parts than the guitar (which was dinged up & would likely need frets soon) had cost him.

One of my main basses is an Ibanez EDA-905, a hybrid with Fishman piezo saddles. Totally love it. And I'm also aware that when (not IF) one of those lovely saddles craps out, I might as well hard-wire the bass for only the magnetic pickup.

Shingles

Speaking as an electronics design engineer with more than 25 years' experience, currently working on high reliability, high power systems for aircraft:
Planned obsolescence is a myth. Way too difficult to actually achieve it in practise.
Its's not a bell curve, it's a bath tub.
Nik
--------------------------------
Tonelab, VG99, Axon AX100, EDP, Repeater
Godin, PRS, Crafter and Roland guitars
Center Point Stereo Spacestation V3

Tony Raven

#12
Here's a serious question: has anyone ever taken out insurance against this? I mean, it's not like having a $400+ repair done on a $2,500 guitar will ruin anyone financially. But if the guitar craps out & interferes with a paying gig (live or studio), possibly far away from home, that's lost money (& possible legal liability for nonperformance) unless repairs can be made &/or a suitable substitute procured immediately.

Clarifying a little: I am NOT trying to slag any of the manufacturers. Heck, I deeply admire Godin instruments, & wish I could financially justify owning a few (though there's a Seagull that I might yet acquire).

There's a few people hereabouts who still prefer the Hex Mag boat:
GK3 or Godin?
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=20304.0

Quote from: Shingles on July 04, 2017, 01:19:51 PMIts's not a bell curve, it's a bath tub.
;D

A better term for what I intended is likely MTBF -- I worked on an undergrad minor in the history of computers. ;)

But back in those Big Mainframe days, everyone was aware of the downtime incurred as part of the price for the uptime. In contrast, the sellers of piezo gear shy away from upfront mention of negative effects due to dampness, age, vibration, & stuck saddles. (I have a terrible palm-muting habit.) To me, it seems kinda mean-spirited to let someone spend $1,069+ on an instrument without being upfront about the risks.


Elantric

#13
Quote from: Tony Raven on July 05, 2017, 03:55:05 PM
Here's a serious question: has anyone ever taken out insurance against this? I mean, it's not like having a $400+ repair done on a $2,500 guitar will ruin anyone financially. But if the guitar craps out & interferes with a paying gig (live or studio), possibly far away from home, that's lost money (& possible legal liability for nonperformance) unless repairs can be made &/or a suitable substitute procured immediately.

Clarifying a little: I am NOT trying to slag any of the manufacturers. Heck, I deeply admire Godin instruments, & wish I could financially justify owning a few (though there's a Seagull that I might yet acquire).

There's a few people hereabouts who still prefer the Hex Mag boat:
GK3 or Godin?
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=20304.0
;D

A better term for what I intended is likely MTBF -- I worked on an undergrad minor in the history of computers. ;)

But back in those Big Mainframe days, everyone was aware of the downtime incurred as part of the price for the uptime. In contrast, the sellers of piezo gear shy away from upfront mention of negative effects due to dampness, age, vibration, & stuck saddles. (I have a terrible palm-muting habit.) To me, it seems kinda mean-spirited to let someone spend $1,069+ on an instrument without being upfront about the risks.

I always bring a spare guitar  - even if that means bringing 2 identical Godins with RMC's
the RMC Piezos are prone to failure if exposed to moisture - It helps if you can perform live gigs without sweaty palms

Avoid outdoor gigs where misting water sprinklers are present


chrish

Backup everything that is critical to performing a gig

alexmcginness

I sold my godin LGXT a couple of years back. I was on a boat and I got on stage to start my set and the G string was gone! I only use V Guitars in my VG-99 and I was lucky I decided to mount a GK-3 on the guitar as well. Took me a set to get the sounds tweaked for the GK-3 and I limped thru the night and managed to do the rest of the 45 days on the ship with the GK. Ive never had a GK go south on me and I always carry a brand new spare one. I couldnt take a chance on the piezo ever again after that. If I hadnt had the GK-3 on the guitar Id have been out of a gig. The Godin is OK for studio but if youre using it live then your taking a chance.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.