Faith Eclipse Venus vs Martin D-X2E Koa: some thoughts

Snags · August 2023

No-one other than me will probably care about this, but you never know, so ...

I wasn't technically in the market for another (electro-)acoustic but I've finally put the Furch in for a bit of fretwork and a new saddle, which meant I had to fall back on my venerable and trusty Takamine EG332C for a couple of outings. Now, there's nothing wrong with the Takamine for a guitar of its type/class, and for many years it was my only option. But after ~6 years playing the Furch, the gap between the two was just too stark (as it should be, given the relative prices and construction/woods), so I felt prompted to start the hunt for a sensibly-priced #2/backup guitar.

Don't have the £££ for something comparable to the Furch, so was looking at second hand that would at least be acceptable as an alternate when needed, up to £500. A trawl of all the usual places didn't throw up much until I looked at one of the local shops, and low and behold, they had the two guitars above, pre-loved, and both up for a coincidental £499.

Reader, I bought one of them (after a decent play test).

My primary concerns were playability and the plugged-in sound direct to PA/acoustic amp as realistically that's how it was going to get most use, not at home acoustically.

Visually I was more drawn to the Faith as being a bit different, something of a statement but not a garish one, whereas the Martin just looked like a cheapo Martin that they hadn't bothered to finish properly. For my purposes, the Faith won out on this, as it's for being a bit of a tart performing solo. Traditionalists would differ.

Construction the Martin is solid spruce top, high pressure laminate back and sides. The Faith is solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, albeit buried under a lot of black lacquer.

Acoustically I'd say the Martin sounded more natural, and a bit warmer, despite being laminate. Possibly partly down to the dreadnaught shape, possibly down to the neck construction. This translated to the plugged-in sound (via a Boss acoustic amp povied by the shop), with the Martin being a little warmer/more 'woody' sounding, and the Faith being brighter and to my ears a little bit more 'plastic' (possibly due to the finish) with the EQ all at the mid-point. However, my glamorous assistant (Mrs Snags) who was providing unbiased and slightly bored ears instantly said that she thought the Faith sounded better both unplugged and plugged in.

Electronics both Fishman, but the Martin is the MX, and the Faith the INK3. The tone control on the Martin didn't really do a great deal to my ears, and the 'flat' sound was not as sweet as the 'scooped' option. By contrast, the Faith had bass, mid and treble, all with quite a big sweep on them, so boosting the bass, cutting the mid slightly and boosting the treble a smidge (sort of scooped) really rounded it out. The Faith certainly has much more scope for adjusting to handle venue/PA quirks, although is definitely a brighter and more zingy prospect whatever you do.

Playability was interesting. The neck on the Martin was quite chunky/deep in a D shape, certainly visually and looked a bit crude, but felt very nice, with a non-grabby open (possibly satin, but it looked fairly open) finish. The action, however, was utter crap, with the strings about 6" above the fretboard at the 12th fret (possibly a slight exaggeration, but it most definitely needed a good setup, and I'm not entirely convinced that you could have got the relief to the point where it would give a low action).

In contrast, the Faith felt a bit plastic fantastic because of the high gloss black finish; at first blush it felt a bit cheap and shit, kind of like picking up an Epiphone electric hoping it will be Gibson-like and then realising that no, it's just shit[1]. It was however, beautifully setup, with good intonation and a very playable action all the way up the neck.

The final indicator on playability is that I put the Martin back after about 5 minutes, knowing that there was no way in hell I'd want it without the action being properly dealt with, and also thinking it was OK but a bit of a non-entity. Whereas I was still playing the Faith and trying different things after 15-20 minutes, and had to remember that it was getting close to knocking-off time and I needed to be fair to the staff.

Random Other Thoughts and Notes

The tuner on the Faith is OK, but not great in use at first blush. It's a bit digital[2], so small adjustments don't register until it suddenly snaps from being flat to in tune (on the display, not aurally). Still, it works and is handy to have if there's no pedal or clip-on available.

The Faith came with an adequate but not fantastic hard case (original) the Martin with a gig bag (original).

List price for the Faith is just under a grand; street price seems to be £715 - £850. List for the Martin is £695 and street seems to be £650-£680.

Clearly the Martin's are perceived to hold their value better, but after playing both, I'm pretty sure that's a brand tax rather than a quality one.

Looking at online demos, it's noticable that although Faith describe the Eclipse Venus as a "stage guitar" very few of the reviews/demos actually give you the plugged in sound, they all just mic it acoustically. Cynical me thought this might be because the electronics were gash, but they're not.

I came home with the Faith, after a very brief haggle that got it down to £470. Added bonus when I got it home and rummaged through the case, in amongst the paperwork, truss rod key and a couple of tatty picks there was a G7th Performance Two capo, for which I never would have shelled out £30.

Private sale I'm sure you could get either cheaper. I have no idea if they were both "as factory" or if the Faith had been setup and the Martin hadn't, but the difference in setup and playability was night and day on two guitars with nominally the same secondhand price in the shop. Neither are Furch-beaters, but given the price differential, that's not surprising. The Faith does make a viable alternative/backup, though, without me hating on it so much I can't sing, and the punters are unlikely to care. Plus it's black.

Image: https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=5e175fd218fbc52f%21845736&authkey=%21ABZcm8Uhmwq5YEo&width=1960&height=4032

[1] Other views are available

[2] Well, it's entirely digital, duh, but the operation feels digital rather than smooth

Soupman · August 2023

That's a nice guitar. I've known a couple of people with Faiths and they're decent guitars.
With the Martin you'd have had to shell out for a set-up unless you do your own. Also the premium price for the name is only relevant if you intend to sell it - if not then why worry!
Everyone is different so I can't say you made the right choice, but I reckon it's the same choice I would have made. Oh, and the G7th capo in the case is just the icing on the cake!
Sounds a bit of a bargain. Well done you!

Tannin · August 2023

A great read @Snags, full of interest, and I reckon you made the right choice in the end.

Dave_Mc · August 2023

Nice score

That's the way I'd have gone, too. (You can get Faiths with a satin neck finish but obviously that didn't apply since you were buying second-hand and you were stuck with what they had.) Unless you're willing to spend quite a bit more the Faiths are hard to beat, at least based on what I've tried (which isn't all that much, admittedly).

Littlejonny · August 2023

I’ve found all the Faiths I’ve ever tried to be easy-playing. That one looks really cool as well!

Monkeybone · August 2023

Welcome to the Faith brigade. I'm on my second Faith, started with a Naked Venus and now on a Legacy Neptune, they're brilliant guitars for the money.

Whistler · August 2023

Snags said:

The Faith … is definitely a brighter and more zingy …

Silk and steel strings improved my zingy Faith 12-string. Try a set sometime.

Snags · August 2023

@Whistler Interesting, thank you, I'll get a set in when I next change strings and give them a whirl.

lincolnblue · August 2023

That looks lovely. I've had a Faith (Neptune Trembessi) for 10 years now and, whilst it'll never be my no.1, it is a great guitar for the money. I think 10 years ago it was about £700 new.

I found the Faith has aged well so yours being used wil hopefully have some of the bedding in already done. I use D'Addario EXP16s on it and they pair brilliantly.

Enjoy it and welcome to the Faith club!

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Faith Eclipse Venus vs Martin D-X2E Koa: some thoughts

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