Godin Montreal Premiere LTD
A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHY ANY PLAYER ONLY SLEEPS ON GODIN AT THEIR PERIL.
Canada’s Godin Guitars has been making terrific, reasonably priced instruments for decades, yet the company remains something of an underdog in the United States. Founded across the border long before guitar gods like Clapton, Page, Hendrix and Beck roamed Earth, Godin never accrued the vintage cachet of Fender or Gibson. Neither has it attracted the well-to-do collector market that dotes on expensive instruments made out of fancy decorative woods. Instead, Godin has specialised in high-quality tools for working guitarists around the world like Alex Skolnick and Lionel Loueke.
The Montreal Premiere LTD is one of those tools, but to call it that makes it sound pedestrian – and it’s far from it. The high-gloss Imperial Blue finish with white binding and a pearloid pickguard makes for a striking look that is simultaneously classy and funky. The fingerboard looks and feels like a dark, close-grained rosewood or ebony but is, in fact, Richlite, a highly sustainable material made from resin-infused paper.
Speaking of feel, the mahogany neck’s D-shape makes it comfortable in the hand, while the
24.75-inch scale combines with high, medium-width frets to make for easy bending and generally smooth playability. I initially thought the height of the frets would hamper sliding into notes and chords, but their flawless finish made it easy.
The Imperial’s top, back and sides are constructed of Canadian wild cherry, anchored by Godin’s Breathe-Through Carved Core. This involves three arches that are hand carved through the cedar core’s lower half. The idea is to pair the advantages of a center block – increased sustain, stability and reduced feedback – with the tonal benefits of a fully hollow-bodied guitar.
Indeed, at lower volumes, despite its small body, the Montreal Premiere LTD offered up the airy woodiness of a quality archtop. The tone control is well voiced for jazzy excursions, capable of warming the sound without muddying it. The TV Jones
Classic Filter’Tron-style neck pickup also helped, offering clarity combined with girth. With the amp set clean, the bridge pickup alone served up a Tele-style twang. Combining it with the neck pickup created the classic country sound of Chet Atkins or the Beatles version thereof. Adding some grit by playing through the tweed Deluxe emulation of a Crazy Tube Circuits Falcon pedal demonstrated why Filter’Tron-equipped guitars have become the darlings of the Americana set. Neil Young and Daniel Lanois sounds were instantly at hand.
Additional gain, courtesy of a Jetter Jetdrive or a Pigtronix Octava fuzz, revealed the Montreal Premiere LTD to be a full-on rocker, perfect for crunch chords à la Malcolm Young and creating thoroughly controllable and musical feedback when in close proximity to the amp. It would have been nice to have the tonal flexibility offered by separate volume and tone controls for each pickup, but as caveats go, it’s a small one.