Richmond Dorchester Review

Specifications

Neck : Rock Maple
Fingerboard : Ergocut Rosewood or Maple fingerboard
Radius : 12"
Nut Width : 1 11/16"
Scale Length : 25 1/2" scale
Body : Chambered Silver Leaf Maple Body with Poplar wings
Pickups : 2 x Lace Alumitone humbuckers
Bridge : Chrome Roller bridge with fixed tailpiece
Tuning Machines : High-Ratio Chrome tuning machines
Controls : 1 x Volume, 1 x Tone and 4-way switch (featuring the neck/bridge in series in position 1)
Colors : Black HG & Cherry Burst HG

Features

From the Richmond website:

This Tone Giant features a 25 ½” scale, two classic sounding Lace Alumitone humbucker pickups, housed in a double cutaway chambered body with a silver leaf maple center and poplar wings. The pickups are controlled by separate volume and tone knobs, along with a 4-way switch that allows you to select between various tantalizing sounds, including the first position which enables the neck & bridge to be in-series, giving the player a fatter tone and more output.

The Dorchester’s bolt-on rock maple neck features the worn in feel of an Ergocut rosewood or maple fingerboard for an incredibly comfortable playing experience. This beauty is finished off with high-ratio tuning machines, a chrome roller bridge with fixed tailpiece, a Nordic white extended pickguard and truss rod cover with matching binding on the back.

Review

The Richmond Dorchester is a stunning guitar- by far the most interesting design of the gang of Godins that arrived at HQ a few weeks back.  The pointy, retro styling combined with the brilliant cherry burst finished deliver on Godin's promise of head-turning design.  The neck is maple, with the same Ergocut Rosewood fingerboard as the Belmont. The Dorchester features two Lace Alumitone humbuckers, one of which is set an at angle into the chambered Silver Leaf Maple body (with Poplar wings). A volume knob, tone knob and 4-way switch adorn the Nordic white pickguard. The styling is superb overall, and Godin has created an interesting, innovative design that definitely turns heads (not surprisingly, the Dorchester was our photographer's favorite to shoot of the lot).

The whole configuration looks like the guitar would weigh a ton,  but thanks to the chambered design I found the Dorchester to be very light. Notably, although lightweight, this guitar was not weighted as well as the Belmont, and as a result was not as comfortable to play.  The lightweight body just isn't quite enough to keep the heavier maple neck in an optimal playing position and your left arm will not appreciate the extra lift required to keep the neck in place.

Aside from the weighting I had one other issue with the design- however stunning- of this guitar. About 3 inches below the bridge pickup, the location of the 4-way switch was a source of some frustration once we got the Dorchester into action in a band setting.  I found it nearly impossible when playing to keep the switch in the topmost position, located as it is directly in the path of your strumming hand. This is an annoying and somewhat serious design flaw, as it really keeps players from utilizing the full range of tones the Dorchester has to offer.

I tested the Dorchester out, like the other Godins, with the help of Ryan from first person shooter and Adam from Left of Zero, and though we were disappointed to not be able to explore more of the neck pickup's range, we still got plenty of play out of the other switch positions. Standing out with its warm vintage tones, the Dorchester played best with clean and low gain settings on the amp. Its chambered body design makes for fantastic reverb-drenched tones that were impressive no matter we played it on.  No matter what you plug this guitar into- a tiny coffee-table sized amp, a small recorder like the Boss Micro BR, or a giant Marshall amp- it shines through with a deep, rich, even reverb. Much like having a built-in "Hall" reverb setting, the Dorchester's real strength is in these great warm tones.

The Lace Alumitone pickups handle distortion fairly well, and it was only at higher (half-past to three quarters) gain levels that the feedback was too much and the noise took over. The Dorchester has great sustain though, and with just a little distortion to grunge it up this guitar really pumped out some amazing modern-vintage twang. Definitely not the guitar of choice for your next metal opus, but a solid offering from Godin whose vintage tones are perfect for jazz, folk, and other lighter fare.

Most of all, I loved using this guitar on folk-rock tunes, its bright tone cut through but wasn't brittle in any way.  In a band setting I found myself reaching for the Dorchester whenever an acoustic would normally be called for. Ideal for a stage setting when you don't want to fuss around with a whole separate set up, but still need the twang and depth of an acoustic guitar. The wonderful reverb provided by the chambered body made the Dorchester's tones perfect for this, cutting through well without sounding too distant or small.

For extended periods of playing the weighting of the guitar was a bit of an issue.  Though its wild shape actually works well enough to make the Dorchester comfortable to play sitting down, standing to play with it is a real drag on your fretting hand after a while.  Like the Belmont, the Dorchester has a fast, playable neck, though this is one of the few times I found myself wishing the body of a guitar were actually a bit heavier!

The Final Word

Overall, though the promises of Godin's vision for design innovation, vintage tone and modern playability are present in the Richmond Dorchester, they are not as well executed as on the Belmont.  Poor weighting and bad placement of the tone selector switch were disappointing features on a guitar so obviously meticulously designed as this one.  Great styling and unique vintage tones go a long way to making up for these features, however, and I fell in love with the warm, bright sound of the Dorchester.

By far and away the standout design feature of this guitar is its chambered body. This not only makes the guitar extremely lightweight, it adds reverb and depth to its range of tones. Much like having a "Hall" setting built into the guitar, the Dorchester pumped out beautiful reverb no matter what we plugged it into. Also serving as a great stand-in for an acoustic on folk and rock tunes, the Dorchester definitely delivered on tone and flexibility.

If warm tones and vintage reverb in a stunning package are what you're looking for, then you should consider the Godin Dorchester.  Though the weighting could have been improved, this guitar makes up for it with a range of rich tones. A great stand-in for an acoustic with built-in hall-like reverb, the Dorchester is a rich sounding guitar that lives up to Godin's mission of combining great craftsmanship with fantastic design and incredible tone.

With Help From:
Ryan Couture of first person shooter (http://www.firstpersonshooter.ca)
Adam Boyle of Left of Zero (http://www.leftofzero.ca)

Photos by:
Joanna Cwik for Velvet Photography (http://www.velvetphoto.com)