Faith FS12 Saturn

This is the 12-string version of the Faith Natural Series Saturn and it's resolutely acoustic - no onboard electrics at all. According to my research, it's built in Indonesia, but I'm not too sure of the year; I bought it new in March 2008. As for the woods: it's all-solid which at this price is an amazing bargain! Top is Engelmann spruce, sides and back are Indonesian mahogany, fingerboard is macassar ebony, as is the bridge. None of this wood is particularly strikingly figured - the macassar on the fingerboard has a nice, subtle stripe in it - but to my hands it feels vibrant and musical even before you start playing. The finish on top, back and sides is a subtle satin. Having had a bad experience previously when an extremely light satin finish quickly became dirty, I immediately applied a thin coat of lemon oil. This seems to ward off smudges without compromising the satin look. There's also a lovely maple binding around the top edge. The tuners are Grover. Don't know what the nut is but it isn't bone or tusq. The scale is standard 650 mm and nut width is 43 mm, of which more later.

From a 12-string you expect a full, shimmering chorused sound when chording, and that's precisely what you get here. With all those solid woods in the mix, this guitar's a beaut. Single-string (or rather, single-course) runs are resonant and loud. One thing I'm still not decided about is the fairly narrow (for a 12-string) neck width. Being used to a classical 52 mm and an acoustic 42 mm with standard string spacing, I could have done with a bit more room to play with, and the string separation here is such that you have to be very precise indeed with your picking. But maybe that's a good thing and will improve my general playing. If you're a strummer rather than a picker, it will make hitting chords a deal easier.

The action and intonation of this guitar are fine, nothing to complain about or adjust. The tuners work well, although there's a slight pinging when I raise the treble-side strings to pitch, which is probably due to the less than brilliant nut. Since I like bone nuts, I was thinking of having this replaced anyway. The fret ends are poorly finished and quite sharp; not enough to slice your fingers off but definitely uncomfortable.

I haven't had it long, but it seems to be a sturdy enough beast. It's wonderfully light and hangs on the strap without any effort. (NB: this guitar has a button pre-installed on the bottom edge of the neck heel, which is by far my preferred method of hanging a guitar). As for the finish: I'm a sucker for that satin look because it just seems to let the wood vibrate more than high-gloss finishes; but it's not the most protective of coatings and I anticipate a certain amount of grime and battle-scars. But then again, that relic'd look is tres chic at the moment.

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I've been playing for 25 years in rock and folk bands, now moving more into jazz, blues and classical. I have a couple of good handbuilt Spanish nylon-strings; a Takamine dread; a Tokai knockoff of a Gibson 335; a Peerless Jazz City; and a Gibson double-cut faded which I'm on the point of trading. I needed a 12-string, not as a main instrument but for the lush jangle on certain songs. I chose this after sitting in the shop trying out all their 12s and continually coming back to this one; and if it were lost I would certainly miss it and think about buying another.