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Godin started building Robert Godin’s guitars in 1982 in La Patrie, Quebec.

Godin Guitars’ head office is located in Montreal, and they build their instruments in six factories in four different locations, three in Quebec and one in New Hampshire.

Godin Guitars makes instruments under several different labels. Norman makes mid to entry level acoustic guitars. Art & Lutherie makes entry level budget guitars. The Simon and Patrick brand make mid to high range steel-string acoustics. La Patrie manufactures classical guitars. Seagull known for manufacturing solid wood entry to mid range acoustic guitars. Guitars under the Godin brand are primarily mid-range to top of the line electrics that are made of high quality wood from the northeastern part of North America. They have many models that feature synth pick ups and some with piezo pick up equipped bridges. Godin are notable for their use of synthesizer pickups as a standard feature in their high end models, and many of their electric models use a piezo acoustic pick ups integrated with the bridge assembly. Aside from their technical innovations, Godin have a strong reputation among guitarists for their product quality. Most Godin guitars have the same distinctive, yet traditional, body shape, which has been described as a hybrid of the Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Telecaster bodies.

Godin’s guitars have won several awards, including a Guitar Player Magazine’s Editors Pick for the LG, Exit 22, and Freeway Classic.

Notable Godin players include John McLaughlin, Steve Stevens, Rumesh De Mel and Vinnie Moore. They are also very common among session players and sidemen. Robert Godin was also mentor to Master luthier Mauro Liberatore