Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR

Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR: In-Depth Hands-On Test

The Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR occupies a unique niche, blending classic semi-hollow guitar styling with a feature set tailored for flexible modern play. With its roots in Canadian craftsmanship, this guitar puts together materials and electronics rarely combined at its mid-tier price point of $1,359. I tested this model over several days through both clean and driven amps to evaluate what kind of territory it covers and what compromises, if any, it entails.

Construction and Materials

• Body & Top: Both are crafted from Canadian wild cherry, giving the guitar a lively, resonant acoustic character. The arched top and semi-gloss Havana Brown finish take cues from vintage jazz boxes but keep the look understated.
• Neck: Silver tree maple (translated from "Silver leaf horn") gives a stable, medium-weight support with a comfortable feel across the full scale.
• Fretboard: Richlite, a composite material, replaces traditional woods but feels slick and dense, offering quick left-hand response. The radius is a flat 16 inches (406.4 mm), favoring contemporary techniques.
• Tuning Stability: The nut is made from Graphtech, a self-lubricating synthetic that strongly resists binding during bends or tremolo use.

The lack of any case or gig bag in the box is a letdown at this price, so factor that into your investment.

Hardware and Playability

• Bridge & Tremolo: The T.O.M. (Tune-O-Matic) bridge with rolling saddles works in tandem with a Bigsby-style tremolo tailpiece. The rolling saddles make vibrato use smoother and help with tuning retention, both important for players who actually intend to use the tremolo.
• Scale Length: At just under 24.9 inches (631 mm), this scale supports slinkier string tension and rapid play, while the 43.7 mm nut width gives a familiar, moderate spacing for most hands.
• Frets: There are 21 medium-size frets, well dressed (no rough edges in my sample), and accessible up past the 17th fret thanks to the cutaway.

Factory strings are D'Addario EXL115 nickel rounds, gauged.011 to.049. They match well to this body resonance, allowing warmth without mush.

Electronics and Controls

• Pickups:
  • Neck: Godin Kingpin single-coil (P90 design). This delivers a bright, woody midrange with noticeable single-coil bite, excellent for open, clean chords or old-school blues crunch.
  • Bridge: Seymour Duncan '59 humbucker (SH-1B). A classic choice, this hum-cancelling pickup offers a more even, muscular voice, suitable for bold leads or heavier overdrive.
• Controls: One master volume, one master tone, and a three-way toggle selector. The controls are smooth and logically placed; the toggle gives quick access to blended or individual tones.

This pickup pairing widens the guitar's palette significantly. The neck P90 rewards dynamic picking and delivers the kind of snarl that sits beautifully atop the naturally resonant semi-hollow body, while the bridge humbucker carves through mixes for assertive solos or heavier rhythm.

Sound and Performance

Plugged into a clean valve amplifier, the Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR sounds detailed and present. The P90 is open and touch-sensitive on chord work and fingerstyle, never shrill, thanks to the mellowing effect of the wild cherry body. Chords have snap without getting thin. With a heavy right hand the neck pickup compresses nicely, inviting classic R&B, jazz, or swing lines.

Switching to the bridge position, the Seymour Duncan '59 yields a robust voice, fatter, slightly scooped, and focused. Raise the gain and it can handle gritty blues-rock or vintage pop sounds. Players seeking high-gain metal might find single-note clarity drops at extreme saturation, but for roots, indie, or alternative styles, it offers muscle with precision.

The three-way selector makes shifting between smooth neck tones, biting bridge output, or distinctive mixed textures immediate. In duet with the Bigsby-style tremolo, you can add subtle pitch color to chords or winding leads, with the bridge's rolling saddles and nut choice minimizing tuning grief even after repeated use.

Playability Notes

The medium-thickness maple neck delivers a rounded modern profile that stays comfortable through long sessions. The Richlite fretboard's glassy texture encourages slides and big bends, while the action is set moderate from the factory. The semi-hollow construction doesn't make the guitar overly light, but it feels balanced sitting and standing.

Field Impressions and Versatility

Field reports match my findings: the Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR opens up further with extended play and adapts to diverse genres. It's equally at home with clean jazz runs, Americana comping, or more aggressive blues-rock excursions. Players using looping setups or running through classically voiced amps (like the Fender Hot Rod) note it can handle full arrange­ments, bass parts, chords, and leads, without losing definition.

Verdict: An Unusual but Practical Workhorse

The Godin 5th Avenue Uptown Custom BR stands out for its combining of a wide, hybrid pickup setup, stable modern hardware, and classic Canadian tonewood construction. While an included gig bag would have been appropriate at this price, the overall package remains compelling for players seeking a flexible semi-hollow that refuses to box you in to just one genre or era. If you want boutique tone, contemporary reliability, and multipurpose performance, this Godin is worth a close look.