Godin Core Series HB Trans Red

There's something to be said for a family-run business, even if it's grown way beyond that. The hard working ethos and passion for the product usually seems to underly the corporate facade and this is what I've found to be the case with Canada's Godin guitar company. When I received a Godin Core HB model guitar for review, I knew to expect a certain level of craftsmanship and ingenuity. There are three models all up in the Core range including the EMG and P90 pickup models. The HB relates to the twin humbuckers featured on this model.

My first emotion on sighting the guitar was delight. I wasn't expecting such a hot-rod looking, rock'n'roll instrument. The trans red coloured, single cutaway instrument with black scratch plate and tone control knobs is striking to the eye. The mahogany set neck, rosewood fingerboard and beautiful chambered solid mahogany body scream quality. A 3-way pick-up selector switch is in white rather than black for a bit of contrast. A shining Graphtech Resomax silver bridge adds to the aesthetic. The headstock features Godin chrome plated contemporary-type tuners and signature logo.

The guitar is quite weighty in the hands without being back-breaking, and before playing a lick you know it's going to ring out and sustain like a son of a gun. The 22 fret, 300mm radius fingerboard with a 629mm scale length allows for sleek fret runs without being super slippery and makes for a generous note bend. Due to the chambered construction it's possible to output some bold, chunky chords and smooth semi-acoustic jazz stylings, characteristics you'll find in many Godins. However, switch the Nitro humbuckers to rock mode and fuzz away to your heart's content. From fluid George Benson-like licks to Neil Young-style sustained distortion, this guitar had both genres sorted fabulously.

Unlike some of the other innovative Godin models, this is more of a workhorse-like instrument, free of fuss. The Trans Red colour tone is mighty attractive, but you may favour the equally stunning Denim Flame model in blue, the Lightburst or Sunburst options. Comparatively speaking, the Core series is up against your Epiphone SG or Les Paul models and may be a little more expensive. It all comes down to whether you want something a little different and a little more exotic than the bog-standard guitar everyone else owns.

Godin guitars are designed and manufactured in Canada. A nice human touch to each Godin instrument is the quality assurance tag which hangs from every guitar depicting 12 check-off points from body/neck finish and electronic install to intonation set up, final inspection and packing, each initialled by a Godin employee in ink. A small detail but one which proves they care about the products they manufacture and more importantly about the musicians who buy their instruments.