Freshman FA1DSB & FA1FN

Thankfully things have got a lot better. Good design has been married to the cost-efficiency of Far Eastern manufacture and not only have prices fallen to levels that put an acoustic guitar within easy reach of all but the poorest in our society, but also quality has soared to the point where an unplayable guitar is a monstrous oddity and not the norm.

Scotland’s Freshman Guitars started out in 2002 and has been busily earning itself a well-deserved reputation for producing high-quality, extremely playable instruments at attractive price points. Unusually for low-cost instruments, every Freshman guitar carries a serial number, is set up in the factory and is again inspected when it arrives in the UK. The company is a shining example of the success that can be wrought from focussing on a specific market area, listening to its customers and having a real commitment to manufacturing a good-quality, good-sounding, attractively priced, easy-to-play guitar.

The Freshman range now covers some 92 models and the range of available prices means that the company can satisfy the demands of a very wide range of players, from beginners to professionals.

The solid Sitka spruce tops on both guitars are of reasonably good quality, with narrow centre grain widening fairly rapidly as it heads for the edges. On the FA1FN there is some silking in the centre region but that quickly disappears, while on the FA1DSB there is absolutely none at all. This lack of silking usually indicates that the fronts are slab-sawn, rather than quarter-sawn. Although quarter-sawn wood is held in higher regard for guitar fronts, it is more expensive since more wood is wasted in the sawing and thicknessing process. The back and sides of these two guitars are made from mahogany laminate, which is plywood to you and me. The giveaway is that the backs have no centre seams. Again, laminate back and sides (as opposed to solid wood) are no big negative as even the Selmer-Macaferri guitars, as played by Django Reinhardt, had laminate backs and sides. There is also a significant advantage in the use of laminates as they are inherently more stable than an equivalent thickness of solid wood. The back of the FA1FN is braced flat, while the back of the FA1DSB has a slight braced arch.

Both guitars are well finished. The FA1FN has an attractive, all-over satin finish that is very well done and shows no flaws that I could see and complements the natural top perfectly. The FA1DSB, on the other hand, is finished in gloss with a well-executed three-tone sunburst gracing its top. Again, the finishing is exemplary with no discernable flaws. All in all, both guitars are very good examples of the high level of construction, fit and finish that can be obtained nowadays from Far Eastern acoustic guitar manufacturing.

The sound of this particular guitar was a bit bright and brash, partly down to the brand new D’Addario EXP-coated strings and partly down to the fact that this was a four-month old, brand new guitar where the various bits of wood still have to learn that they’re not part of a tree any more. I’d expect the guitar itself to mellow considerably in the first couple of months of playing as the guitar and the EXP strings settle down.

The FA1DSB turned up a very slightly higher action (0.01mm higher at the nut to be precise) that felt altogether more comfortable than its smaller sibling. Again, there’s more than enough left in the saddle to take the action down to electric guitar levels (if you were to be so crazy) and another setup would result in a perfectly playable guitar coming your way. The neck felt very similar to that of the FA1FN, but was ever so slightly heftier, which again suits me just fine and makes for an easy-playing instrument.

While it also favoured the brighter side of the tonal divide, the increased body size meant that the guitar’s sound had inherently more bass in the mix, and so the brashness was less evident than on its stable mate. Once again this is a guitar that I’d expect to mellow much in a couple of months of playing.

The FA1FN is a good guitar in the Martin OOO/OM mould and acquits itself well in the context of its market positioning. Sound wise it is a bit bass-light, but I’d expect this to be rectified as the guitar plays in. It’s better to start with a bright guitar that will mellow than a dull guitar that’ll be going nowhere. The FA1FN has significant competition out there to fight against and it is the strength of the Freshman name that will give it the edge it will need to succeed.

The FA1DSB, on the other hand, might find its life slightly easier. It looks really good in its high-gloss sunburst coating and should prove extremely attractive to those who want a look a little more classy than the ubiquitous natural frontages that grace so many music shop walls. Sound wise this is a guitar that can only improve with playing. It too is entering a very congested market area, but its appearance, coupled with the Freshman brand values, should ensure that it has a good fighting chance out there.

These two Freshman Maple Series guitars are certainly more than worthy of your consideration should you be looking for a good quality first guitar, an upgrade on your current guitar or simply for a guitar to take around while you leave your prized, one-of-a-kind, hand-built beauty safely in its case at home.  0