Stiff action on Faith

sawyer · February 2018

So bought a gorgeous gloss Faith Venus last year. Feels 'stiff' in first position. C chord in paticular. I'be lowered the bridge a bit which made it better, but my old Tanglewood plays better. Nut clearance looks ok when I hold down 3rd fret. Been in touch with local luthier who quoted me £70 for setup including fret dress. Does that sound about right? I've not the confidence to start messing with nuts and frets ha

guitarfishbay · February 2018

The price sounds ok but stiff action near the nut is still usually caused by the nut being too high.

Is there an actual issue with the frets? It might not need a fret dress if it’s just high nut slots.

Are there any other obvious differences between the guitars such as scale length or string gauge?

If you compare the nut clearance is the Tanglewood lower (this is my guess).

sawyer · February 2018

It' hard to see,my eyes aren't the best. Got light strings on it.£70 sounds ok? I'l have to get it done. Sounds beauiful but doesn't play as fluid as I'd like. I've got to sort of think about aiming for chords rather than just playing them if you know what i mean.

Fuengi · February 2018

I had a Crafter like that, beautiful guitar but really stiff playing open chords. I moved it on but wish now I'd taken it in for a set up.

Can you take it along and explain the problem to the luthier to see how confident they are they can resolve it?

ICBM · February 2018

If it feels stiff in the low positions it's either the nut or the relief - there can be quite a 'turn up' towards the end of the fingerboard sometimes.

Are you sure the nut is low enough? When fretting at the third fret, there should be less than a quarter of the string diameter between the string and the first fret, preferably even less - around a tenth if possible, especially on the low strings. (About .001" to .005" as you go from high E to low E, if you're measuring it.)

sawyer · February 2018

It's setup time isn't ha.

sawyer · February 2019

Well over a year since I posted this and I've finally got round to getting my Faith setup! Totally worth £80. Played the guitar for hours last night when I got it home. Recommend John Wesley in Barnard Castle if you in North East. If you having the same issues,just bite the bullet and get it sorted:)

Fuengi · February 2019

Glad you got there, Faith produce some lovely guitars.

Just out of interest, did you try the guitar before you bought it or was it an online purchase?

As I'm creeping up the cost ladder with guitar purchases I'm taking more time to try them thoroughly before pulling the trigger.

sawyer · February 2019

Did try it in the shop yes. I knew it was gonna need some work but it sounded great. I'm just tight ha. The chords just sort of hang in the air.Wish I'd just done it and I'd of had two years enjoyment out of it ha. Im sure it was the bridge height as nut looked fine holding down 3rd fret. I took it down a bit myself but then lost my nerve. He did a fretdress too which must help and noway would I attempt.

Fuengi · February 2019

sawyer said:

Did try it in the shop yes. I knew it was gonna need some work but it sounded great. I'm just tight ha. The chords just sort of hang in the air.Wish I'd just done it and I'd of had two years enjoyment out of it ha. Im sure it was the bridge height as nut looked fine holding down 3rd fret. I took it down a bit myself but then lost my nerve. He did a fretdress too which must help and noway would I attempt.

Interesting. For me, it's about the feel as much as the sound, I'll only really 'play' it if it feels good.

But maybe I'm missing something by not considering that a setup can alter the feel.

stimpsonslostson · February 2019

My Faith was the same. Glorious when capo'd but strangely stiff (great description of it by the way) open.
One set up later (at the now defunct LiveMusicShop in Edinburgh) and now it's an absolute joy to play. I can't imagine ever parting with it.

DLM · February 2019

Yeah, alright, I'll concede that the performance is a bit wooden:

merlin · February 2019

I had a girlfriend called Faith who liked a bit of stiff action....

(Someone had to. I'll get my coat)

menamestom · February 2019

I thought this was going to be an atheist rant!

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Stiff action on Faith

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