Godin Etude Classical

The Godin Etude is a highly respected classical guitar produced by Godin Guitars under their La Patrie brand. It's renowned for offering exceptional tone, responsiveness, and playability, particularly given its accessible price point. It's often cited as one of the best value classical guitars for students and intermediate players.

Here are the key features of the Godin Etude:

• Made in Canada: A significant selling point, as Godin guitars (including the La Patrie line) are handcrafted in Canada, ensuring high standards of quality control and craftsmanship.

• Body:

  • Body Shape: Traditional full-size classical guitar shape, typically without a cutaway. It's known for being a full-sized counterpart to Godin's "Motif" model.

  • Top Wood: Solid Cedar Top. Cedar is a popular choice for classical guitars due to its warmth, rich overtones, and quick response, making it excellent for fingerstyle playing. Godin often uses "Pressure Tested Solid Tops," which means the wood is tested to ensure optimal rigidity and harmonic vibration.

  • Back & Sides Wood: Canadian Wild Cherry (often referred to simply as Wild Cherry). This tonewood offers a balanced tonal response, often described as having characteristics that bridge the gap between the brightness of maple and the warmth of mahogany.

  • Finish: Features a unique Custom Polished Semi-Gloss finish. This feather-light finish is very thin, allowing the wood to resonate more freely and enhancing the guitar's dynamic range and responsiveness.

  • Color: Typically Natural, showcasing the natural grain of the cedar top and wild cherry back/sides.

• Neck & Fingerboard:

  • Neck Material: Mahogany, known for its stability and contribution to warm tones.

  • Neck Profile: A comfortable classical neck profile, which is wider and flatter than steel-string necks, providing ample string spacing for classical and fingerstyle techniques.

  • Scale Length: 25.66" (651.764 mm), a standard full-size classical scale length.

  • Fingerboard Material: Rosewood. Rosewood is a durable and smooth material that adds warmth to the guitar's tone.

  • Nut Width: 2" (50.8 mm), a standard classical guitar nut width, providing generous string spacing.

  • Nut Type: Graphtech Tusq, a synthetic material designed to enhance sustain and tuning stability.

  • Frets: 19 frets.

  • Machine Head Ratio: 14:1, ensuring precise and stable tuning.

• Hardware:

  • Bridge: Rosewood.

  • String Set: Typically comes with HTC Nylon strings.

  • Tuners: Classical open-gear tuners, for a traditional look and reliable tuning.

• Other Features:

  • Acoustic Only: The standard Godin Etude is a purely acoustic instrument and does not feature built-in electronics (unlike some "Etude EQ" models which might include a pickup/preamp system like the Fishman Clasica II).

  • Case/Gig Bag: Typically, a case or gig bag is sold separately.

The Godin Etude is highly praised for its rich, harmonically complex sound, which belies its price point. Its solid cedar top, Canadian wild cherry back and sides, and responsive finish contribute to a vibrant and expressive instrument that is well-suited for students and serious players alike.