Faith ClassiC Burst Venus and Blood Moon neptune Cutaway eleCtros £939 & £949
Faith have been on a roll in the last few years – industry accolades and a bold range of new guitars have made them a very serious option for anyone on the hunt for a quality acoustic. And with these two models some added intrigue is provided by unusual tonewoods and the debut of Faith’s new pickup partnership with Fishman.
Another draw, in this case, is the Venus factor – it’s the shape that helped put Faith on the map, and the Blood Moon version of the OM/auditorium-size cutaway electro won the coveted Best Acoustic Guitar Award at last year’s MIA awards. We were also suitably impressed with the high spec offered at the price point by this consummate all-rounder of the Patrick James Eggle-designed series (the Neptune is based on his Saluda design). And with the Blood Moon Neptune and the Classic Burst version of the Venus in front of us, expectations based on past reputation are understandable.
Like the Blood Moon Venus, the newly introduced Neptune (and the Saturn dreadnought) has a solid AAA Indonesian trembesi top back and sides. The choice immediately marks Faith as an unusual proposition in the ever-burgeoning electro marketplace. The dark reddy brown burst that lends the series its name becomes the perfect canvas for the trembesi figuring to settle into the groove between classy and showboat.
The bridge pins are also Macassar ebony, with the added allure of abalone dots. The impact of the abalone rosette benefits by the restraint shown in the neck inlay appointments; just one mother of pearl Faith ‘F’ logo at the 12th fret. It’s an interesting balance between luxury and subtlety; the flamed maple binding sitting in the former camp, the matt black machineheads for the gold Rotomatic tuners reining the appointments back from the realms of bling.
The Classic Burst Venus has its own tonewood twist with a Red Cedar top paired with mahogany back and sides. Although certainly more common in guitar building than the Blood Moon’s trembesi, its still somewhat unsung next to the
an unusual proposition in the ever-burgeoning electro marketplace, trembesi lies between classy and showboat in visual terms
usual suspects. It’s also a little less visually impactful compared to the Neptune’s trembesi figuring, but no less classy. The subtler contrasts offered by the superbly finished brown, red and amber burst make the thinner abalone rosette shine a little more prominently here. And even though the depth is the same, the shorter scale and wider neck give this a more vintage feel, albeit with the modern C shape neck. Like the Neptune, its finish feels premium above the price point. And it’s also another testament to what difference tonewoods can make.
Feel & Sounds
First impressions when it comes to playing comfort are favourable with the Neptune. The curve of the ebony board and an action that’s invitingly on the low side combine to offer easy playability that’s enhanced by unimpeded access to the upper frets. A narrower, sharper neck heel allows for the strap button to be positioned for palm comfort and the soft, smooth feel of the satin neck makes for a wonderful cutaway experience.
The singing resonance in the high mids that you can literally feel vibrating across the trembesi top is immediately apparent with softer, more compressed lower mids resulting in a real hi-fi quality to chordwork. The highs respond well to the delicate touch in fingerstyle too – the rosewood comparisons Faith mention hold up. The bass response is mellow and creamy rather than weak, but may not be broad enough for some tastes.
And though we can’t help feeling there’s a little low end projection missing there for this shape, it actually works in the Neptune’s favour to some degree. Rather than digging in with this guitar, switching to dextrous fingerstyle really allows that mid detail to flourish in a mellow voice. Dropping down to DADGAD further underlines those qualities. Under more spirited rhythm work with a 0.73mm nylon pick, the guitar’s voice still feels poised and nuanced; in harmony.
The wider neck and spacing of the Venus is certainly a contrast to the Neptune’s but the switch is made comfortable by the same gentle curve and satin feel to make us soon feel right at home. Shapewise it’s the realms of a 000 with Taylor Grand Auditorium depth, and the cedar/ mahogany combination makes for a brighter and livelier tonality, less detailed in the low mids but offering fulsome highs and that deeper low end that sometimes felt like the missing piece to the Neptune’s voice. It’s certainly not true that all fingerpickers prefer wider necks, but here the advantages ring out with strong defined projection over almost jumbo-like frets. The resonance here can easily go toe to toe with the big boys of the acoustic world and the versatility of its full-bodied rhythm sounds marks out the Venus as an all-rounder that could appeal to a lot of players.
Faith have now partnered with Fishman for the electronics in their models,
the resonance on the Venus can go toe to toe with the big boys of the acoustic world and its versatility makes it an all-rounder
switching from Shadow. The INK3 systems on both these guitars present some neat features, too. The panel is profiled low with the control wheels flush. Each has a small protruding knob for your finger to turn that may take some getting used to, especially for larger digits, but certainly looks contemporary.
The INK3 preamp is powered by a nine volt battery that’s accessed by a neat swivelling panel. And its EQ parameters can be comfortably pushed on the Neptune, encouraging adjustments onstage according to the voice you need. Dial the bass and treble to around two o’clock on the Neptune for a fuller defined fingerstyle tone. For us, the organic detail provided by the Fishman Sonicore piezo isn’t on the level of Taylor’s Expression System 2 or the Baggs Element, but the Neptune’s resonant high mids shine through to give character that a piezo system can sometimes lose in translation.
The Venus’s highs seem a little less balanced than the Neptune’s compared to the low end when plugged in. The experience is not as sweet as the trembesi guitar through our Laney A1+ combo
with a comparative lack of character in the mids and more prominent low end and treble. The high end of the spectrum will certainly cut through a band mix here, but it’s a little unbalanced with some brittleness creeping in that we need to shape with the amp EQ. We’ll confess that after playing unplugged we expected the livelier brightness of the Venus to translate to being the better all-rounder when plugged in. But the solid trembesi Neptune offered up some surprises when amplified: its softer character and more detailed mids seem to translate well through the Fishman INK3 system, offering nuance and some welcome low end punch. Although the Venus was brighter and bolder when unplugged, the Neptune is noticeably higher in output when amplified. For some reason, we feel the system doesn’t really do the Venus’s vibrant personality the same justice when amplified.
Verdict
The overall build and finish of these models really does reflect the care and attention Faith gives its guitars. These are two very attractive instruments with their own distinct flavours – in tonewood and voice. The specs compare favourably with more expensive high end models by other brands, with the added twist of some unusual tonewood choices to sweeten the deal. For those reasons, both guitars deserve to be on the shortlist for players looking for something genuinely different from their next electro.