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Old 02-17-2011, 04:38 PM
Elisavaet Elisavaet is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 22
Default I just ordered a Wechter OOO Mahogany

Hi all

I just ordered a Wechter Model: TO-8418 Triple 0 Select Mahogany 18 from Sweetwater. It should be here Mon or Tue (tomorrow would be asking too much even though it's 2 day shipping!). I normally would never order a guitar online because I find so much variation in each as I play different versions of the same model (for acoustics). But I couldn't find anywhere that I could try out Wechter guitars at all, let alone a OOO, and the reviews and specs are pretty amazing, so I'm taking a shot.

I've played a classical for years, and she's a beautiful guitar, but I've wanted an steel string for a while that would allow me to get better definition in the upper range and more clarity in the bottom end but still be as, or nearly as, touch responsive as my classical. Dolores (my classical) can be a bit boomy, particularly when recording. I've enjoyed playing Martin dreads and a few of the OOO and OM guitars but they're too expensive typically. I like the tone of the Taylor 314 and DN3 and (surprisingly) the 210, but I still have to work at it to get the fullness I want (with my style) from a Taylor. A 12 fret OOO portends to be a good guitar for me.

When I stumbled on the Wechters, I think from a post here perhaps, I was pretty stunned. Yes, the Recording King and Silver Creek both are less expensive, but I've wanted a 12 fret slot head for a long time and the TO-8418 is the first one I've found anywhere that's reasonably priced. I actually had to do a little spreadsheet so I could compare the specs and try and A/B compare. I've included a link below if you're interested. I don't know how much I learned from that exercise, but it let me get it all clear in my head. I probably should have done one of the Recording Kings at the same time, but I really liked the 1 7/8" nut width and 12 fret body on the Wechter, so the spreadsheet eval was more about convincing myself to pay the extra bucks. I assumed the Wechter will not need a setup, but added that cost and the cost of a case to the Silver Creek for comparison. Note the extra (estimated) body volume for the slot head, as you would expect.

The Wechter is still more expensive, but as a good friend once told me, "Katherine, that extra few hundred dollars will be long forgotten shortly, but you'll still have that guitar for years and years. Get what you want." I am just hoping that the Wechter doesn't have that "Gibson boxy" sound but is more of a "Martin" full sound with warm overtones. I can't imagine it being thin (fewer overtones) like a Taylor with that light big body. I've always preferred the classic D18 combination of Spruce over Mahogany, and that's better for the clarity I like, so waiting for the Rosewood version to be available isn't an issue for me.

Wechter vs Spring Creek

If anyone is interested, I'll post some pics and a review and perhaps a video playing one of my pieces once I get her in. I live in the N Dallas suburbs (Richardson, TX) and would be happy to let anyone in the area play her, perhaps meeting at one of the open mics in the area.

Peace,

Katherine Elizavæt
http://www.youtube.com/user/Elisavaet
"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise." The Duchess: Alice in Wonderland
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