Played a Godin Gypsy Jazz Guitar today

Twang

The peche comes with a spring clip especially for D hole guitars. Just swap out the shorter clip thats already fitted to the pickup and replace it with the longer clip, simples.
I owned a Krivo Djangobucker for a short while and much prefer the peche. Apart from the sound I think the ease in which you are able to attach and remove it to and from your guitar coupled with the detachable cable are real advantages.

Buco

Electrified gypsy jazz guitar has it's place.
As easy and straight forward it is to mount and unmount the pickup, a lot of touring and professional musicians just want even less messing around before and after the gig. There is/was a hybrid Benedetto and Eastman has a similar one even before they out out their first Selmer copy. Both Frank Vignola signature model.

I actually saw Frank last night and he played with the Eastman. It was great! Vinnie started to still the show, he was that good. The bassist used to play with Tal Farlow back in the day, amazing, ridiculously good.
Then Rodrigo Shopis has electrified GJ model that a forum member posted about a couple of years back.
If I was playing gigs several times a week, I think I'd prefer to unplug the cable and put the guitar in the case. All these builders and manufacturers wouldn't be making it if they didn't have customers.

And it's pretty easy to add a volume control knob to Krivo. I did it as a part of my project to create a humbucking pickup out of two single coils. It has both tone and volume. It's not as convenient as having a knob right there on the pickup but you can keep it much closer than the amp, within the arms reach.

rgrice

Stringswinger wrote: »

I have owned a vintage Stimer, a Dupont Stimer reissue and a Miller balanced version of a Stimer. None fit on my Dupont (I used them on other Gypsy guitars that I owned at the time). The original Stimer and the Dupont reissue were unbalanced and the hot B string made them unsatisfactory for me. The Miller had low output and really needed a pre-amp (and it lacked a volume knob). The Peche does look cool, has a volume knob and from what I hear is well balanced. If one would fit on my Dupont, I would own one, but so far, the Krivo Nuevo is the only one that fits my guitar (It has a very arched top).

Just curious, how does it not fit @Stringswinger? I have a 94 MD 30 and besides using two-sided tape, it does fine.

Stringswinger

None of my Stimer reissues worked on my Dupont (they might however work on yours, they certainly worked on other Duponts that I have played). My Krivo Nuevo works fine but my Krivo Djangobucker does not fit. There is just not enough clearance between the strings and the pickup on my guitar, especially with the 2 mm action that I prefer.

jeffmatz

The only thing you might run into is on some guitars the D hole clamp doesn't work because there's a brace in the way.

Twang wrote: »

The peche comes with a spring clip especially for D hole guitars. Just swap out the shorter clip thats already fitted to the pickup and replace it with the longer clip, simples.
I owned a Krivo Djangobucker for a short while and much prefer the peche. Apart from the sound I think the ease in which you are able to attach and remove it to and from your guitar coupled with the detachable cable are real advantages.

Keith Murch

Stringswinger wrote: »

None of my Stimer reissues worked on my Dupont (they might however work on yours, they certainly worked on other Duponts that I have played). My Krivo Nuevo works fine but my Krivo Djangobucker does not fit. There is just not enough clearance between the strings and the pickup on my guitar, especially with the 2 mm action that I prefer.

My Dupont also has very little room for a pickup. I have it set up with a very low action too. My Krivo Nuevo fits perfectly. I tried it again the other night and it sounded great. The electric sound of a magnetic pickup is not my first choice, but this pickup is warm, powerful and well-balanced. The only thing I miss is a volume control.
Keith

Stringswinger

Keith,

Miller makes a separate volume control that could easily be wired into the Krivo set up. Contact him if you have an interest.

http://www.miller-age.ch/en/pickup-s-51

Buco

Or this:
https://reverb.com/p/saturnworks-volume-pedal-2014

I was thinking today about something similar to what Miller does. You could just wire in the potentiometer without the custom housing that Miller has and stick it straight to the guitar with a putty. Cover the connections with a heat shrink to keep it away from moving and breaking. You could even put a treble bleed cap/resistor circuit in there.
I'd do it if I didn't have a box built already.

dennis

I’m the guy who gave Godin the idea to make this guitar, so as a disclaimer, I should say that they gave me one of their final prototype models. Another disclaimer is that I actually prefer to play as acoustically as possible; when I play shows I either play 100% acoustic or with minimal amplification (just a simple mic with very little gain in front of the instruments, no monitoring whatsoever). I think I can keep my review fairly unbiased and neutral.

My idea was to have a guitar for situations where amplification was needed such as outdoor gigs with unpredictacle sound conditions, venues with lots of noise (bars/cafes/restaurants), or for bands that are going for the electric vibe in Gypsy Jazz.

I gave them a lot of suggestions and they implemented many of them, and some they didn’t due to logistics/budget.

Some of the ideas they implemented:

-multiac internal mic system w/ piezo combination , possibility to blend between the two
-Stimer style pick-up and the ability to blend between all mic options
-two separate outputs, one for the microphone, and the other for the pickup, so you can plug the pickup into a tube amp, and then mic into an acoustic amp
-a larger width for the neck. They were originally gonna recycle an old multiac steel string neck that was much smaller, and really didnt’ feel like GJ guitar. They released a few prototype models like that that they demoed at NAMM. I was the first to play them at NAMM and immediately told them that it didn’t feel like a GJ guitar, so they scrapped the whole thing and remade another neck that feels more like a GJ guitar

What they didn’t implement:

-The body feel of a GJ guitar. It’s apparently thicker than their other Multiac models, but still not quite as thick as a real GJ guitar. They had their reasons , budget and logistics regarding the Multiac design.
-a nice chunky thick neck. It would’ve been cool, but they were afraid that many of their customers wouldn’t like it. They wanted to build a guitar for GJ guitar players, but also for players coming from other styles who might not be able to handle chunky necks.

Anyway, I do enjoy the guitar for what it is. When I tried the first prototypes, I gotta admit, I was disappointed , but they took my most important comments very seriouisly. Seriously enough to delay the release of the instrument to rework it, and I’m now much more happy with it.

Like I said, I mainly play acoustically when I lead a band , but it’s a guitar I’d use if for example I was hired to play a band that used lots of amplification. It’s just hassle free, I don’t have to bring pedals and all that extra gear. I played with Dorado Schmitt’s Django All Stars group yesterday, and those guys go all out with amplification and I wish I could’ve used the Multiac because I simply couldn’t hear myself on stage. I played on Dorado’s guitar (he played violin), which was pretty much set up the way the Godin is: stimer through tube amp, and microphone in front, but I had no control over any of the sound, and the mic I had to be kept fairly quiet in the monitors to avoid feedback.

Soundwise, it obviously acoustically doesn’t sound like an authentic Gypsy Jazz guitar but it does have some volume. I actually do use it to teach sometimes. It’s meant to be plugged in, and when you plug it in, while it doesn’t sound “exactly” like a GJ guitar, it sounds close enough to my ears for a live gig, when you dial in the right settings, and like I said, it’s just hassle free. It sounds fine with an AER. I know some people are more picky than me when it comes to the exact sound, but I’m of the opinion that a vast majority of sound comes from the hands first and foremost.

I think an added plus is that I can see this guitar as being versatile for styles other than Gypsy Jazz. I think they told me that they put the dot on the 9th fret for most guitar players coming from other styles in the final model, but my prototype has it on the 10th fret.

Keith Murch

dennis wrote: »

I’m the guy who gave Godin the idea to make this guitar, so as a disclaimer, I should say that they gave me one of their final prototype models. Another disclaimer is that I actually prefer to play as acoustically as possible; when I play shows I either play 100% acoustic or with minimal amplification (just a simple mic with very little gain in front of the instruments, no monitoring whatsoever). I think I can keep my review fairly unbiased and neutral.

My idea was to have a guitar for situations where amplification was needed such as outdoor gigs with unpredictacle sound conditions, venues with lots of noise (bars/cafes/restaurants), or for bands that are going for the electric vibe in Gypsy Jazz.

I gave them a lot of suggestions and they implemented many of them, and some they didn’t due to logistics/budget.

Some of the ideas they implemented:

-multiac internal mic system w/ piezo combination , possibility to blend between the two
-Stimer style pick-up and the ability to blend between all mic options
-two separate outputs, one for the microphone, and the other for the pickup, so you can plug the pickup into a tube amp, and then mic into an acoustic amp
-a larger width for the neck. They were originally gonna recycle an old multiac steel string neck that was much smaller, and really didnt’ feel like GJ guitar. They released a few prototype models like that , that they demoed at NAMM. I was the first to play them at NAMM and immediately told them that it didn’t feel like a GJ guitar, so they scrapped the whole thing and remade another neck that feels more like a GJ guitar

What they didn’t implement:

-The body feel of a GJ guitar. It’s apparently thicker than their other Multiac models, but still not quite as thick as a real GJ guitar. They had their reasons , budget and logistics regarding the Multiac design.
-a nice chunky thick neck. It would’ve been cool, but they were afraid that many of their customers wouldn’t like it. They wanted to build a guitar for GJ guitar players, but also for players coming from other styles who might not be able to handle chunky necks.

Anyway, I do enjoy the guitar for what it is. When I tried the first prototypes, I gotta admit, I was disappointed , but they took my most important comments very seriouisly. Seriously enough to delay the release of the instrument to rework it, and I’m now much more happy with it.

Like I said, I mainly play acoustically when I lead a band , but it’s a guitar I’d use if for example I was hired to play a band that used lots of amplification. It’s just hassle free, I don’t have to bring pedals and all that extra gear. I played with Dorado Schmitt’s Django All Stars group yesterday, and those guys go all out with amplification and I wish I could’ve used the Multiac because I simply couldn’t hear myself on stage. I played on Dorado’s guitar (he played violin), which was pretty much set up the way the Godin is: stimer through tube amp, and microphone in front, but I had no control over any of the sound, and the mic I had to be kept fairly quiet in the monitors to avoid feedback.

Soundwise, it obviously acoustically doesn’t sound like an authentic Gypsy Jazz guitar but it does have some volume. I actually do use it to teach sometimes. It’s meant to be plugged in, and when you plug it in, while it doesn’t sound “exactly” like a GJ guitar, it sounds close enough to my ears for a live gig, when you dial in the right settings, and like I said, it’s just hassle free. It sounds fine with an AER. I know some people are more picky than me when it comes to the exact sound, but I’m of the opinion that a vast majority of sound comes from the hands first and foremost.

I think an added plus is that I can see this guitar as being versatile for styles other than Gypsy Jazz. I think they told me that they put the dot on the 9th fret for most guitar players coming from other styles in the final model, but my prototype has it on the 10th fret.

Dennis:
I was aware that you were the person behind this instrument. I think it is a smart move for a Godin to produce such a guitar. There is a real need for something like this and Godin is the perfect company to make it. Like you, I thought the sound was close enough for a live gig and it provides lots of flexibility in terms of amplification. It really looks like a GJ guitar too, which is an important part of the formula. There is one available now at my local dealer and I am really tempted. I was a little disappointed that it is considerably more expensive than the other mutiacs. I was hoping this would be a bargain like most of Godin’s other products. I guess there is more involved in this guitar and it is probably made in small numbers. In any case, thanks for helping to make this a reality. It’s an exciting product.
Keith