My rock band student Jagger borrowed this guitar for rehearsal yesterday and wailed on it for two hours and it stayed in tune, so it's possible to get it set up well for that kind of hard playing!
You are welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting! Whenever there's something new I have to figure out about gear, I try to make a video to help others. The xtSA has a unique sound (pickup wise), plays great, and the triple output is just amazing. My two Godin electrics that have floating bridges seem to waver more in their tuning than other guitars I play BUT until I got both recently I hadn't owned a floating bridge electric for almost 20 years, and I'm very picky about tuning stability, so maybe it's just floating bridges in general that vex me slightly.
You are welcome. I think the steps in this video definitely help a lot. I can use the guitar at shows and it is reliable enough for that now. I would say though it's still dicier tuning-wise than many of my other guitars. I rarely use whammy bars in my playing, so I'd just as soon have a fixed bridge version of it. And I know I could always have it modded. In every other way it's an amazing guitar. I have a custom Ibanez 7 string (featured in another video on my channel) on which I recently had the floating bridge blocked, because the benefit - annoyance ratio on its bridge wasn't worth it.
Quick question: to lower the action, is it possible to lower the entire bridge that hangs on two bolts, our you have to lower individually saddle for each string?
I'm not a luthier and I don't do all my own guitar setups; for guitars with vibrato arms I tend to take them into luthiers. My local guy here in the Seattle, Darren Ross (Ross Guitars) would be better equipped to answer your question. That being said, I *think* individual saddles would be the way to adjust action on this guitar. Because you want the pivot/floating bridge to be at a position parallel to the body and you wouldn't want to change that just to affect the action. A good resource might be talking to Godin directly. They are very communicative. They are a small company and I usually end up talking with the same couple people there. Owning 9 Godins I've had a fair amount of communication with them over the years. Thanks for watching my video!
I've only used .010s on this guitar. I have successfully used the xtSA at shows, tuning-wise, but I would definitely say it's still more temperamental in that regard than most of my other solidbody electrics. I think the steps I outline in this video helped a lot, but they did not turn the xtSA into the tuning stability of my fixed bridge Godins or my Strandbergs. I've told myself since i bought it that I could always block the floating bridge if I need to, and I haven't felt compelled to try that step yet. My email is director@issaquahlessons.com if you ever want to compare notes beyond UA-cam.
which output are you using? for an electric guitar pickup / output that seems quite strange. I did have a problem with the synth tracking on my 5th string; I've actually been planning to release a video about that phenomenon and my journey to get it fixed. Keep in mind too that there is a battery in the xtSA, behind the circular plate behind the piezo pickup controls. I didnt realize that when I bought the guitar.
I had a problem with 1 string not coming through the synth or piezo system. I swapped the piezo element with one from my junk drawer and it worked but was weak. I contacted Godin for a replacement, and they said to send them the serial number and the color coding of the wire going to the element. It is critical to get that right as the 3 piezo elements they have/are using have different sensitivities. Hope that helps, the fellow at Godin was great and the element was around $55 CDN
@@noternunstoned getting the electronics solid in this guitar was a tricky road. I talk about this in my Boon or Boondoggle video. Darren Ross at Ross Guitars was the guy who got it right for me.
@@jaye2276 that's a really great concept, and I must admit I've never thought of exactly that before (that any wind around the post can be counterproductive). I've never been a huge vibrato arm guy.... didnt have one on my main guitar from 2004 forwards because my 90s floyd rose guitar was stolen. I'm making a note of that concept with my string changing file!
I have a Godin Solidac with locking tuners like the ones in the video. Question - Is the proper installation to pull the string tight through the hole in the post, screw in the top lock and do NO winding around the post? Does the tuner lock hold the string in place without any string-wrapping around the post - not even once around? Thanks for your help!
@@semancik21 I'm sorry I missed this comment. I try to reply to everything. With a number of varieties of locking tuners, winding around isn't necessary.
Update: the guitar is holding its tuning very reliably now that I'm changing strings following the protocol and steps outlined in this video
My rock band student Jagger borrowed this guitar for rehearsal yesterday and wailed on it for two hours and it stayed in tune, so it's possible to get it set up well for that kind of hard playing!
I'm a bassist that just picked up an XTSA. Love these kinds of videos... I've officially met my quota for learning at least one thing a year :)
Glad you appreciated it. Thanks for watching!
Charles, Thank you for this service to those of us who have invested into the xtsa.
You are welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting! Whenever there's something new I have to figure out about gear, I try to make a video to help others. The xtSA has a unique sound (pickup wise), plays great, and the triple output is just amazing. My two Godin electrics that have floating bridges seem to waver more in their tuning than other guitars I play BUT until I got both recently I hadn't owned a floating bridge electric for almost 20 years, and I'm very picky about tuning stability, so maybe it's just floating bridges in general that vex me slightly.
Charles, thanks for posting this. I have a 20 year old version of this guitar and it had not been holding tune.
You are welcome. I think the steps in this video definitely help a lot. I can use the guitar at shows and it is reliable enough for that now. I would say though it's still dicier tuning-wise than many of my other guitars. I rarely use whammy bars in my playing, so I'd just as soon have a fixed bridge version of it. And I know I could always have it modded. In every other way it's an amazing guitar. I have a custom Ibanez 7 string (featured in another video on my channel) on which I recently had the floating bridge blocked, because the benefit - annoyance ratio on its bridge wasn't worth it.
Just bought a used one these today. I'm sure this will lessen the frustration. Thx!!
Great to hear. This info really helped me dial it in
Quick question: to lower the action, is it possible to lower the entire bridge that hangs on two bolts, our you have to lower individually saddle for each string?
I'm not a luthier and I don't do all my own guitar setups; for guitars with vibrato arms I tend to take them into luthiers. My local guy here in the Seattle, Darren Ross (Ross Guitars) would be better equipped to answer your question. That being said, I *think* individual saddles would be the way to adjust action on this guitar. Because you want the pivot/floating bridge to be at a position parallel to the body and you wouldn't want to change that just to affect the action. A good resource might be talking to Godin directly. They are very communicative. They are a small company and I usually end up talking with the same couple people there. Owning 9 Godins I've had a fair amount of communication with them over the years. Thanks for watching my video!
Thank you so much, I called Godin, seems it has to be luthier because of tools that are needed. @@kaleidoscopeschool
Does string gauge matter? Seems the lubrication and a single wind could be key as my xtsa also does not stay in tune,
Help
I've only used .010s on this guitar. I have successfully used the xtSA at shows, tuning-wise, but I would definitely say it's still more temperamental in that regard than most of my other solidbody electrics. I think the steps I outline in this video helped a lot, but they did not turn the xtSA into the tuning stability of my fixed bridge Godins or my Strandbergs. I've told myself since i bought it that I could always block the floating bridge if I need to, and I haven't felt compelled to try that step yet. My email is director@issaquahlessons.com if you ever want to compare notes beyond UA-cam.
All of a sudden I am getting no sound from my A string on my xtsa. All other strings amplify perfectly. Do you know what the problem could be?
which output are you using? for an electric guitar pickup / output that seems quite strange. I did have a problem with the synth tracking on my 5th string; I've actually been planning to release a video about that phenomenon and my journey to get it fixed. Keep in mind too that there is a battery in the xtSA, behind the circular plate behind the piezo pickup controls. I didnt realize that when I bought the guitar.
I had a problem with 1 string not coming through the synth or piezo system.
I swapped the piezo element with one from my junk drawer and it worked but was weak.
I contacted Godin for a replacement, and they said to send them the serial number and the color coding of the wire going to the element.
It is critical to get that right as the 3 piezo elements they have/are using have different sensitivities.
Hope that helps, the fellow at Godin was great and the element was around $55 CDN
@@noternunstoned getting the electronics solid in this guitar was a tricky road. I talk about this in my Boon or Boondoggle video. Darren Ross at Ross Guitars was the guy who got it right for me.
Wow... You really didn't get the idea of using locking tuners? 😬🙈🙈🙈
These particular ones were unfamiliar to me. I've had other styles on other guitars
@@kaleidoscopeschool oh, okay - but I didn't mean the Godin Tuners... What I meant was...
ua-cam.com/video/rEBtC0lxFKc/v-deo.html
@@jaye2276 that's a really great concept, and I must admit I've never thought of exactly that before (that any wind around the post can be counterproductive). I've never been a huge vibrato arm guy.... didnt have one on my main guitar from 2004 forwards because my 90s floyd rose guitar was stolen. I'm making a note of that concept with my string changing file!
I have a Godin Solidac with locking tuners like the ones in the video. Question - Is the proper installation to pull the string tight through the hole in the post, screw in the top lock and do NO winding around the post? Does the tuner lock hold the string in place without any string-wrapping around the post - not even once around? Thanks for your help!
@@semancik21 I'm sorry I missed this comment. I try to reply to everything. With a number of varieties of locking tuners, winding around isn't necessary.