Godin ACS Slim
I made this video to demonstrate my Godin ACS Slim guitar. The guitar has two different inputs, one for a standard guitar jack cable and the other for a 13-pin midi cable. This second input allows the Godin ACS Slim to be used with Roland guitar synth pedals. In the video I’ve demonstrated both inputs.
Here’s a quick demo I made with my Godin ACS Slim. It’s a brilliant guitar, with a great natural nylon string sound and synth access.
The dimensions of the guitar are similar to that of a standard electric guitar. The scale length is 25 1/2 inches and the width at the nut is close to 1.7 inches which gives it a much narrower string spacing than on acoustic nylon string classical guitars. The advantage of this is that if you are used to playing steel string guitars (which most of us are) but you want a guitar with a nylon string sound then the Godin ACS Slim gives you the sound of an amplified nylon string classical guitar but feels much more like an electric guitar to play. The dimensions of the “Slim” body and fingerboard radius also generate the feeling of holding an electric guitar but the Godin ACS Slim is still light because the body is chambered rather than solid like a standard electric guitar.
Two Inputs
The Godin ACS Slim has two inputs, one jack input for a standard guitar cable and the second input is a 13-pin connector for synth access. I know not everybody is a fan of using guitars to trigger MIDI sounds and if that’s you then you should think about getting one of Godin’s other multiac guitars without synth accessibility. But for those of you who are interested in the synth access then the Godin ACS Slim is outstanding.
The custom RMC electronics that are installed in the bridge not only give fantastic sound quality when amplifying the nylon strings. They also provide outstanding responsiveness when using the guitar as a synth controller. If there is any latency when triggering synth sounds then it is so small that it’s undetectable. Hopefully the video I’ve made can give a very small example of what the Godin ACS Slim is capable of when plugged into a Roland GR-55 guitar synth.
Does it work as an acoustic guitar?
One word of caution I must add is please be aware that this is an electric guitar. It does not function un-amplified. If played acoustically it doesn’t make any more sound than an un-amplified electric guitar. So, it must be used with amplification.
I feel that while this guitar is extremely versatile and works well for virtually all styles of music. I’m personally not a fan of using it to play classical music. This will come as a surprise to some because nylon string guitars are usually classical guitars. However, there is something about amplifying the Godin ACS Slim that just doesn’t quite sound right for classical music. For me the Godin ACS Slim comes into it’s own for jazz, pop and most contemporary styles of music. Both playing solo and in a band. However, for classical I would always prefer to play an acoustic classical guitar and use a good quality microphone for amplification if needed.
In the video I start by demonstrating the sound of the nylon strings using the piezo pickups in the bridge. Then in the second half of the video I add the synth sounds with a Roland GR-55 synth pedal.
Check out my other video demo of the Godin ACS Slim here.