Art & Lutherie?

Nightfire

Nightfire

Aspiring Idiot
Anyone own any of their guitars? They claim the guitars are 100% made in Canada, and the prices are decent.
I think they're owned by Godin, though I have no experience with Godin, but I heard good stuff. Is this like the Squier of Godins?

http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/guitars.htm

This is the one I'm eyeing

gtramicedantbst.jpg


Price tag of about $250


Mike
 
Both Godin and Art & Lutherie, as well as Seagull, Norman, LaPatrie, and Simon & Patrick, are made by LaSiDo Corp. The largest guitar manufacturer in North America.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/print/60590358.html

Godin is their electric line. Seagull is probably the best of their acoustic line. The Art & Lutherie instruments are decently made and are their entry level line. I have a parlour size Art & Lutherie "Ami" and it plays quite well. FWIW, the guys in Los Lobos bought a bunch of them as gifts from a friend that owns a guitar shop.
 
I bought one of the "Ami" ones like Pohaku's talking about for my son for his 10th birthday (the "Ami cherry") -- we've had it for over three years now, and it still impresses -- well built and good sounding little guitar.
 
Good to hear, the Ami are the ones I'm eyeing since Ive been dying to get a parlour sized guitar for campfires and coffehouse performances, etc.

What will the tonal difference between spruce and cedar top be?

And lastly, how loud are these things? I would imagine a smaller body size equates smaller sound...:confused:


Mike
 
Nightfire said:
Good to hear, the Ami are the ones I'm eyeing since Ive been dying to get a parlour sized guitar for campfires and coffehouse performances, etc.

What will the tonal difference between spruce and cedar top be?

And lastly, how loud are these things? I would imagine a smaller body size equates smaller sound...:confused:


Mike
Click to expand...

Can't speak to the loudness of a parlor, but I know about the cedar vs. spruce. I have a Seagull with a solid cedar top. A friend knew I recorded way more than I played out and said that he used to record with a cedar top for it's warmth and richness.

I tried it and fell in love with it. It's warmer & a bit richer than spruce to me. It sounds more (this is gonna sound dorky, but I don't know how else to say it) it sounds more wooden--like I can hear the tone of the wood. Maybe that's because there's less finish--and that can be a bit of a drag. Cedar is softer to begin with, and it's finish in a light matte instead of a heavy gloss. Again, sounds beautiful, but it scratches easier.
 
Yeah, to me spruce sounds brighter and cedar sounds warmer. As whitestrat noted though, cedar is softer so you have to be a bit more careful with it. Older cedar top guitars seem to have more dings in the top.

The Ami is surprisingly loud for it's size. Not as loud as an OM or D size guitar, but it's not quiet. It is more even sounding than a D size guitar because it doesn't have the strong bass response. The one I have was bought for my older daughter when she was @10. She never really took it up and returned it to me. So it's become the family camping and traveling guitar. Play a bunch of them and then pick the one you like best. There will be some variation. Mine is a spruce top in blue. I have three guitars that are parlour size or close (the Ami, Martin 0-18 and Martin 2-17) and a small body Gibson (B-25). Any of them would be suitable for coffee house playing. Plenty loud for that - as long as you aren't competing with a banjo with no sound reinforcement.:D
 
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The quality of all Godin guitars is pretty fantastic for what you pay and (if you live in Canada, not sure about the US) their customer service is pretty darn good with a warranty that has (for me at least) been impressively inclusive.
 
My son's Ami is supposedly all cherry wood, but maybe the top is cedar, I can't remember - it's definitely not spruce. The guitar is surprising loud and even across the frequency range. I have two D sized spruce top guitars, and both are significantly louder, of course, but I have another D sized cedar top that's similar in volume - maybe even quieter. The only other small acoustic I've got is the $50 stupid buy Gretsch western style one from last year, and the Ami is *way* louder than that.
 
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