All user reviews for the Godin Redline 3

Godin is a company well known to jazz players and people who are up to date with midi and synth electronics in guitars. Godin is always trying to innovate whether it be with electronics or different construction methods. Godin always has something new and different coming out. They make a full range of guitars and this guitar is them trying to get into the shred guitar segment. This guitar is pretty simple when compared to some other Godin guitars. The Redline 3 is pretty much a standard shred guitar. It has a maple neck and you can get it with a rosewood or maple fretboard. The fretboard has offset inlays for a cleaner look and they do look nice. The neck is a Fender scale with a wide area of play. With only 22 frets none of them get crowded. The body is 3 pieces of wood. In the middle there is a maple tone block with 2 pieces of polar surrounding it. This guitar has active EMG pickups with an 81 in the bridge an an 85 in the neck. This is a standard EMG configuration that provides many great tones. The controls are standard as well with a master volume and tone with a 3 way switch. To finish it off there is a Licensed Floyd Rose tremolo.

UTILIZATION

Godins have good playability. This neck on this guitar is pretty nice. It is a bolt on but the neck joint is nice and slim so it does not get in the way much. Since it is 22 frets there are not many past the cutaway so they are all easy to reach. The contours on the body are nice and the guitar is nice and light. The neck has a 16 inch radius so it is super flat. This allows you to slam the action right down on the neck so it plays like butter. The neck has a satin finish so it wont get sticky like gloss finished necks. The licensed Floyd Rose system on this guitar is one of the better licensed systems I have played in my time. The body is routed nicely so you can get a nice range on the tremolo. The arm has a pop in system so you wont strip or crossthread it trying to put it in. Once setup the trem is locked in tune and stays that way.

SOUNDS

The EMG pickups in this guitar are becoming a standard pickup set for heavy music. Back in the day a guitar like this would come with a set of Dimarzios or something but not anymore. EMG's are the modern thing even though they have been around as long as Dimarzios. The 81 and 85 pickups have been around since the 70s but only in the last 15 or so years have they really become popular. The 81 is a great metal pickup for the bridge position. It has a high end crunch and distortion that gives it clarity no matter how much gain you are using or how low you tune. The 85 in the neck is a great pickup too. It has a more fuller sound than the 81 so in the neck position you can get fat lead tones. The 85 is also good too in the bridge. With EMG's quick connect system you can easily swap these pickups position without soldering anything. The 85 in the bridge produces a super thick tone and cleans up better than the 81.

OVERALL OPINION

I was suprised when this guitar came into the shop. When I think Godin I think fancy jazzy guitars with midi outputs that players like John Mclaughlin play. I was not very familiar with their more traditional guitars. This guitar is a nice piece. Im afraid most people are like me though and less than willing to look other places for guitars like this. It will be hard for Godin to pull people away from their Ibanez's and ESP's but if they keep making great guitars like these more and more people will take notice of the quality gear they are putting out.