1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Jan 13, 2019 17:30:28 GMT
Anyone any ecperience? Thinking of getting one instead of my tried and trusted HBs!
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Post by doktorsteve on Jan 15, 2019 10:29:16 GMT
Funny you should ask that question.
Just bought a Naked Venus after being annoyed by the bland/mellow sound of my HB 414CE for 3 years!
The Naked Venus is bright but sweet. I tried the Taylor 114 CE and a similar priced Martin.
The Taylor was good but I could not pull the trigger at £700! The Taylor possibly has more bass but I tried it in a different shop to the Faith so I am not sure.
I went into a local shop where they had the Venus on sale for about half the price of the Taylor!
It seems to be beautifully made and you can feel that the body is quite live unlike the highly laquered HB. For me the action is perfect - really low on the high strings.
Bass seemed to be lacking but I think that was due to the low break angle on the guitar I bought. I filed some slots in the bridge to increase the break angle and that increased the output of the low E string and rather tamed the high E string. Or maybe my cold started to go away and I could hear better!
It could be that I started from a low level with the 414 and that I could have been happy with a different HB.
Please go and try some then tell us what you think.
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1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Jan 15, 2019 14:14:38 GMT
Please go and try some then tell us what you think. Think the Venus is the most popular in that series. I was thinking of getting the Neptune - haven't seen any locally - might take a chance like I did with my HBs. Quite like the natural look - like my 2 HB acoustics.
Solid wood back and sides for the price is a bonus too.
I'll let you know!
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1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Jan 16, 2019 21:05:16 GMT
Ordered - arriving Friday - can't wait!
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1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Jan 19, 2019 11:17:02 GMT
It's a beaut. Can't put it down
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Post by mattmilton on Feb 4, 2019 8:40:46 GMT
Glad you're enjoying it. I played two of the Faith Mercury (parlour) guitars in a shop a few weeks ago: the Naked version and the Classic Burst version. They were nice guitars and grew on me as I played them, although not so much that I fell in love with them. The Classic Burst version not only looked nicer but was much more enjoyable to play as it had a slightly wider nut. I felt quite smug about this afterwards because the guy in the shop was adamant that they were identical, but I googled it afterwards and sure enough the Classic Burst is 45mm compared to the standard 43mmm; that 2mm may not sound like much but makes a tremendous difference in comfort/playability for me.
It's making me think all the more seriously about buying a Harley Benton CLP15M (45mm nut mahogany parlour) before Brexit...
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Post by mattmilton on Feb 4, 2019 9:15:16 GMT
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1,110 posts
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Post by dodger on Feb 4, 2019 14:00:49 GMT
mattmilton - I bought the Neptune Naked and am really pleased with it. Lovely sweet tone and airy yet throaty when you dig in a bit. Really comfortable to play as well. That classic burst dread is a beaut - is it joined at the 12th fret too? I was almost buying the naked mars which is the lower end dropped shouldered dread but I already have an epiphone that shape. I have the Harley Benton CLA28VE which has a 45mm nut - I notice the difference when moving from that back to 43mm (all my other guitars are 43). I'm also a cheapskate who hasn't paid more that £350 for a guitar! I don't think I need to when I have great sounding guitars in all the different shapes for much less. I
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