The Chetboard

I have a kirk sand nylon guitar and was wondering how the godin guitars compare to them. I did hear them at caas and they do sound pretty good,but didnt seem as hollow sounding as kirks and the gibson chet studio classic models.

I've played both, and I have a Godin. I'd trade it in a millisecond for a Kirk Sand or Gibson Studio Classic.

Bill B.

I owned a Kirk Sand guitar for 11 years. I purchased a Godin about 3 years ago and, though the sound was good, I immediately noticed how much more difficult it was to play. My action was too high and in a separate post I want to tell the story of how I had it lowered. Now it plays much better, but I'm with Bill Bailey when it comes to not even having to think if offered a Kirk Sand in exchange. Actually, I would also jump at a Mel McCullough "Clawmaster".

RandeDager wrote:I owned a Kirk Sand guitar for 11 years. I purchased a Godin about 3 years ago and, though the sound was good, I immediately noticed how much more difficult it was to play. I'm with Bill Bailey when it comes to not even having to think if offered a Kirk Sand in exchange. Actually, I would also jump at a Mel McCullough "Clawmaster".

Hi Rande,

I'd agree with you about Sand guitars, because I don't think I've listened to a McCullough guitar that I would describe as having a great tone. I realize of course, that a lot of that might have to do with the recording "environment" itself, mic, room, etc. (because I've never heard one played "live") but the ones I HAVE heard, (YouTube, etc.) don't seem to have a particularly great sound, (at least to me.) I guess it's all in what the individual listener is looking for. I would have a tendency to 'rank' most acoustic guitars by what they sound like compared to a Sand, or even a Gibson Studio Classic, Excluding many of the great foreign made classical guitars of course!

I confess however, that my tastes in guitars may be a little unorthodox (at least in this forum), as I've also never quite understood all the clamor over guitars with a Prismatone pick-up either, as they're much too "buzzy" sounding to me! I don't mean to diminish the incredible playing and compositional skills of Jerry Reed, nor the fact that he liked these guitars and the Prismatones, I'm just saying that I much prefer the pure, mellow sounds of most other nylon guitars (acoustic and electric), much better.

David

Hi David,

Well, I actually played a "Clawmaster" at this last convention and really liked it. My attraction was the action.
Hey, that last sentence could have been a song title......lol. I agree that the Sand is the standard with which
to compare.

I will have to add that Mel McCullough looked at my Godin and offered to lower my action right there on the spot.
He sent me into a side room and then brought in his black "doctor's bag" of tools and took my guitar apart and removed the neck totally from the body and made an adjustment and reinstalled it and did this twice before handing it back to me. My action was lowered to less than half what it used to be!

When I offered to pay him his response was "My mother taught me to do at least one good deed for someone every day".

That was probably the highlight of my trip. I pick it up and play it much more often now. Also, having watched how Audie Wykle plays Jerry's "Swarmin", I changed how I played my version and am now working on this as an exercise on my Godin!

I've had no experience with Prismatones. I've only heard rave reviews. Phil Hunt's Baldwin sounds really nice with them.

I bought a Godin multiac in late 2005, mostly to use as a driver for a Roland guitar synth. It excelled as a driver, primarily through the RMC pickup, but though it was pretty good as a straight guitar, I never really liked its sound.....
too quacky. A few years later, I got a Kirk Sand classic guitar, and it was all I played.... Almost exclusively as an acoustic instrument. As I really didn't have a use for the Roland, I pretty much stopped playin the Godin, as it didn't compare with the Sand in either playability or acoustic sound. I traded the Godin against a PRS electric, and think I got the better end of the deal....but then again, I appreciate electrics and acoustics on equal footings.

I still have the Roland unit, and would like to get one of the Fender guitars with a Roland pickup. It might still be useable.

I have a 6120 with the RMC system installed. Joe Glasser in Nashville has my 6122-59 Gent now putting the system into it. Once that is done I will probably sell the 6120. I use the GR20 as a one man band when doing a live show. I also have an Alesis drum machine with the 2 pedals. By setting up correctly I can do the synth and the drums with my feet. I just do it for fun. I dont play on the level most of you guys do. I dont have that special gift to take it to the next level but I just want to have fun.