It has a lovely warm tone and am happy with it. Iād say if anything it sounds nicer strumming than on fingerpicking, but still good with eitherā¦
Itās not as easy to play as I expected, the wider neck and string spacing doesnāt seem to make much difference - Iām wondering if itās because the strings are 12s rather than my usual 11s, I guess the differnce wouldnāt make a difference really. And my barre chords are a bit harder to do on it, needing a bit more pressure, maybe again because of the 12s and maybe the action is slightly higher than my usual. But Iāve been playing it an hour or two and Iām adapting to it so I think itās ok and will try to stay with 12s for the tone - just a case of getting used to it.
But the quality is good, everything looks good and smooth. And itās nice to have a hard case finally, my first one. I thought I wouldnāt like the lack of fret markers on the fingerboard, I guess i never really look at them anyway as I havenāt noticed the lack of them, with the side markers being the one we look at mainly.
Well I hope the tread has helped anyone else considering these guitars
And for the Martins, I read they generally ship with high actions - and it makes sense, some people like it high and itās easier to lower it than higher it later So Iām sure theyād be great too. Though Iām happy with the extra perks on the Faith.
Nice looking guitar. Looks like a keeper.
After youāve has it for a month or so and itās acclimated to your home environment you might want to take it in for a set up.
Trying 11s it wonāt hurt the guitar or you can get lower tension 12s. I put 12 on all my 24 3/4 scale guitars and 11s one my 25 1/2 scale. What is the scale length on your Faith?
Thank you @stitch hope so yes.
Iām getting more used to it, it has a different feel to my usual so I think i need a little more time with it to settle in. Good idea, to give it a month to see if I adapt to it or if I think I need a setup/string change.
Sounds sensible to me Im on 11s on my usual so I would probably feel more comfortable with 11s but Iāll see if i can get used to 12s for the tone. Iāve got a supply of 11s for my other, but no 12s yet
I think itās a 25.5" scale, is that more suited to 11s? Iām not so up on scale lengths. Overall itās pretty good, just need to get used to it Iām making more mistakes on this one, mainly my barre chords were fine on my Yahama but need a bit more effort on this one. And strangely feels less finger space rather than more (i.e. touching the strings a little more), maybe iām angling the fingers less slightly and if the strings are higher they might be easier to touch my fretting fingers.
Thanks for the advice
@vanian realy pleased for you chap, not that you bought a Faith, but that you properly test played a shortlist and that you landed on what you liked the most, itās gotta be the way!
She looks fantastic and I hope you continue to take massive pleasure from playing it every day.
Hopefully weāll all get to experience that from you in an AVOYP at some point?
I wouldnāt say more suited itās just my preference Iāve played Gibson guitars all my life and they are mostly 24 3/4 and I like 12 on them so the few 25 1/2 scale guitars I have I use 11ās to keep the feel simpler.
Thanks @Notter, worth doing it properly for something for the long term. And Iām sure Iāll be spending more of my time on this one, I got the guitar bug and putting more and more time into it. Never thought Iād even be able to play one, but just shows anyone can do it if they want to. Not that Iām at AVOYP levels yet And even if i were, i suffer from the Press Record - Lose Ability syndrome Like when you want to show a friend what you can do, and every note suddently becomes a bum note
@stitch I might whack 11s on when string change time comes, I can always put 12s back on if so. Just worried if it would need fiddling with if changing the guage, not so confident with the truss rod and such Or if it loses volume maybe with lighter strings.
At least the buying journey had a conclusion And had great advice here along the way, thanks.
@vanian
Iāve been playing guitar since 1975 and never worried about guitar as much as the inernet generation does. If you get string buzz then adjust the truss rod if not donāt worry about it. If thereās a problem fix it if not let it lie.
Ah good old RBS, we all have it but as with everything the more we do the better it gets. Never completely disappears but keep at ir.
Regardless itās great youāve got the guitar bug and now an instrument that that begs you to pick up and play when you see it. Iām sure your playing will kick on nicely! Keep us posted on how you get on and have slot of fun!
Happy NGD, Vanian, wish you much joy with the new guitar.
FWIW Iāve watched a few videos about string gauge on an acoustic and spoke with people in-store when getting new strings, and my understanding is that the tonal difference and even playability between 11s and 12s is not going to be that significant.
You may find that there are a combination of factors on the new guitar that are influencing, such as action, scale length, nut width, neck shape, neck radius. I am a relatively experienced beginner, so may be incorrect and perhaps some of those factors may be more or less significant.
As @stitch suggested, a setup in a few months is probably a worthwhile investment. I was satisfied with how my acoustic played off-the-shelf and even more so when I did get around to a setup done by a luthier.
You have been playing guitar slightly longer than I have been breathing air! So I will most certainly take your advice on board. The string spacing and the guage are still throwing me a bit this morning but Iāll stick with it and Iām sure will get used to it, if not, Iāll swapsie those strings to see. The action seems not bad looking again, if itās high itās only slightly.
But now Iām doing that thing where Iām keeping it in the case to keep it nice n safe, but we all know sooner rather than later itāll be on a guitar stand where I can grab it any time. Bumps and knocks are inevitible, and character - but for a little while Iām on the honeymoon period so looking after her.
Thanks mate. Iāve avoided messing with the truss rod, but if iām gonna be a proper guitarist I guess i should try know how to do those things Well in theory I have a good idea but in praticeā¦eek. I guess after a while Iāll be used to playing it, just like when we first start itās clumsy but we do it ok
And after a month see if a setup is necessary. I took my Yamaha APX for a set up, they agreed it needed one, but when it came back I canāt say i noticed too much difference, probably because i was inexperienced then And they lost my gig bag tooā¦grrr
