faith guitars

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"Whether it’s one of my own UK-built PJE guitars or one of my Faith designs, my goal is the same: the creation of an instrument that is both highly desirable and highly functional. A piece that would be as visually effective when silent as it would be sonically when in the hands of a skilled musician.”

Solid Foundations
"The use of solid tonewood is central to the sound of all Faith Guitars. Although laminated woods have their place in instrument building, wherever possible solid woods are preferable, as just like a fine wine, solid wood will mature and improve over time, as will the instrument's tone."

The Soundboard
"As with many of my own PJE instruments, I selected Solid Englemann Spruce for the tops of all Faith guitars. These slow-growing trees found mainly at altitude in and around North America have been chosen for their special acoustic properties for many years. The colours can range from a stark white to cream with pronounced vertical grain evident throughout. "

“Tonally, Spruce will give a clear, crisp tone with high levels of harmonic articulation especially when matched to specific tonewoods on the back and sides of the instrument"

"As with many of my own PJE instruments, I selected Solid Englemann Spruce for the tops of all Faith guitars. These slow-growing trees found mainly at altitude in and around North America have been chosen for their special acoustic properties for many years. The colours can range from a stark white to cream with pronounced vertical grain evident throughout. "

“Tonally, Spruce will give a clear, crisp tone with high levels of harmonic articulation especially when matched to specific tonewoods on the back and sides of the instrument"

The Back and Sides
"Mahogany guitars such as the Faith Natural Series, Faith Eclipse Series and Faith Naked Series deliver a tone focussed on the mid-range. If you visualise the tonal characteristics in terms of a frequency curve, it would look like a frown: lower at the bass, curving up through the middle and dipping again at the top end.

The resultant tone will be warm and sweet. This tonal character means that all the notes blend together well and therefore is ideal for strumming and accompaniment purposes, and when recorded, it sits comfortably in a mix."

"In comparison to Mahogany, Rosewood – as used on the Faith HiGloss Series - has more natural low-end and high-end power, delivering more audible harmonics and resonant overtones.

"The Trembesi wood, as used on Faith Trembesi series instruments, is a recent addition to the Faith range, and was a great discovery. Indigenous to Indonesia – where the Faith workshops are based – this beautifully grained wood sits comfortably in between the tonal offerings of Mahogany and Rosewood. The response curve starts high, dips a little and rises once more toward the top: somewhat less markedly than rosewood. The resulting sound is remarkably loud and responsive with evenly balanced harmonics."

Approaches to Lacquer
"The top of all Faith guitars - except Naked - are coated in a thin coat of protective lacquer, as not only does this prolong the aesthetic integrity, it also ensures the spruce soundboard is controlled correctly. However, I have chosen to take a number of different approaches with the back and sides of the various Faith guitar series."

"In my experience, satin finished guitars sound livelier: the Natural series and Trembesi series are testament to this. The unrestrained tonewood can move more freely therefore allowing more sympathetic resonance throughout the instrument, creating a more naturally 'woody' tone. This tone is equally evident in the Naked Series which has a simple 2-stage satin finish on the top, back and sides. The Naked series are stripped of pretty much all decoration, leaving the beating heart of the guitar in its un-lacquered glory."