Faith FNCE Electro Acoustic Guitar

Faith is one of the fastest-growing names in acoustic guitars - with an impressive list of young professional endorsers.

We let our seasoned pro, Michael Casswell, loose on one the latest models to see if he agrees that Faith is something special.

I think there's an unwritten rule if you are serious about becoming an accomplished guitar player. It could be just me, but that rule is.... your first guitar should be an acoustic, not an electric. Far too many players concentrate on getting faster at shredding before they concentrate on the rhythm, touch, dynamics and note production that a good acoustic guitar gives you. For my 11th birthday, I asked for a steel strung Kay acoustic. In fact, I still have that truly awful guitar, because it was officially my first ( you never forget your first!).

I'm now lucky enough to own a selection of acoustic guitars, which have all paid for themselves a few times over with studio or live work - not to mention the tuitional Licklibrary DVDs I've made. If you are serious about guitar, then you should own as good an acoustic guitar as you can afford. Which might not be as much as you think, because I was truly blown away by this Faith Neptune. The sound (both acoustic and DI'd), feel and build quality is comparable to guitars I have played that have cost five times as much. In fact, I simply cannot believe how good it is for the money.

To bring in a quality instrument at a price that means you won't have to freeze and starve for the next five years, manufacturers turn to the Far East for construction. In the case of this new Faith that means Indonesia. But so what?  The details and specifications of this guitar are truly top notch, from the solid Englemann spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and a lovely ebony fingerboard, to the very effective onboard Shadow pickup/pre-amp system and even a fantastic plush lined case. It's simply unbelievable for the money.

I guess this guitar is up against the higher quality Yamahas pricewise, which are also good guitars in my experience, but the particular Faith we were sent for review resonates and vibrates in your hand in way that the Yammys I've tried don't seem to. Maybe this was just a particularly good one? I don't know, because its the only one I have played. But I hope some of the tone and sound comes across in our video.