GEAR REVIEW
and fancy fret-board inlays, thus giving the
instruments a clean organic appearance. Like a
Greek goddess, Naked Venus lures attracters in
with superb playability and a seductive price tag.
Foregoing glamour and glitz, the guitar is literally
stripped down to its essence while delivering
a beautiful tone and victorious craftsmanship.
The guitar is handmade in Indonesia using all
solid woods with traditional luthier methods and
meeting every high expectation of Faith Guitars.
No laminate woods here. All Faith Guitars
instruments use solid tonewoods to deliver an
immediate satisfying sound that, like a fine wine,
continues to blossom with age and meaning the
guitars tone will improve with time. Naked Venus
has a solid Sitka Spruce top, solid mahogany
back and sides, and proprietary X-brace design
that collectively produce a beautiful resonance
and timbre.
The Naked Venus appearance is humble with
a single Faith style ‘F’ inlay at the 12th fret,
2mm abalone rosette, and satin finish giving
this instrument a clean but sharp look without
ignoring important architectural features of
higher quality guitars. Faith Guitars claims a
satin finish allows the body to resonate more
freely, producing a livelier sound than guitars
with lacquer finishes, and after playing the Naked
Venus I can’t argue.
Accoutrements include unbranded Grover tuners,
a NuBone (by Graph Tech) nut and compensated
saddle that increase sustain, harmonic content
and volume, on-board electronics package
(powered by two CR2032 batteries) mounted
on the side of the guitar which includes bass,
treble, volume, phase (helps eliminate feedback
issues), battery check and tuner, plus a Shadow
“Nanoflex” pickup seated under the saddle.
Unlike typical pickings the unique Nanoflex
pickup captures the vibrations of the strings and
body of the guitar collectively.
Straight out of the case Naked Venus was in tune
and ready for action. The mahogany neck has
a rosewood fingerboard with slightly lower than
usual action making it extremely comfortable
to play and fret buzz free, while the satin finish
allows effortless navigation up and down the
fingerboard, eliminating the sticky feel of high
gloss necks.
Acoustically or plugged in, the guitar has a
loud voice with well-balanced lows and highs,
and a pronounced midrange that sits easily
in a recording mix and makes a perfect
accompaniment for a band situation. Whether
strumming chords or picking fingerstyle, the
tone is clear, responsive, warm, and opens up
wonderfully when you dig in. ■
FEATURES
VERDICT
Across the board Naked Venus easily rivals
guitars three times the price and is a superb
choice for any player looking to take a
serious step up without breaking the bank.
The future looks bright for Faith guitars in
the USA as more players get their hands on
these fine instruments. Guitarists in America
will finally get a chance to play these wellcrafted instruments and hear for themselves
what all the excitement is about!
OCT/NOV
DIGITAL EDITION
GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
65