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  #16  
Old 02-18-2011, 06:18 PM
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patticake patticake is offline
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getting an all solid guitar of decent quality for less would make it a better value, but since the rk is laminate back and sides, i wouldn't say it's a better value - it's less guitar for less money. i'd say the wechter is a deal.

if you want to compare to recording king, the RO-126 would be the model i think is comparable.
http://www.elderly.com/new_instrumen...%22--RO126.htm

that being said, the few wechters i've seen are very nicely made, well finished, and if they're a little brighter than some guitars, they have a pleasing tone. i haven't seen the model you're getting, and i am very curious about it. maybe when we go to mccabe's this weekend they'll have one in as they had a few wechters our last 2 visits.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elisavaet View Post
There is simply no question in my mind that the RK-10 (or RK-16 which I think replaced the 10) is a better value than the Wechter. I wish I could play them both side by side then pick!
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  #17  
Old 02-19-2011, 12:38 AM
willsing willsing is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirkham13 View Post
I agree- congrats- its a sweet looking guitar-
Willsing, please if you will tell us the differences between this and the RK. I am looking them both over and am unfamiliar. You can pm if you prefer but I think its helpful general knowledge. Thanks-
Sure, I'd be happy to comment. I am no expert on the best descriptive terms, but I am so picky on the tone I like. Anyhow, here goes.

Top of the food chain on down in what I have played in this range.
Recording King ROS-616 (I own it) A couple more BF's than the Wechter. All solid mahogany, ebony fingerboard, 12 fret slothead. The first words that come to mind are: extremely resonant, lots of volume, well defined and punchy bass. Not the type of deep low end on my Taylor GS5, but still commanding, with some of the lower frequencies rolled off. When I record with it, it's like the aural exciter is on with just the right compression, only without the harsh cheesiness of the exciter. So sparkly and lots of air, but no harshness. Great strumming or fingerpicking. Warm but punchy and shimmery with bright but buttery trebles, not harsh at all. I fricking love this guitar. It's so responsive. But watch out, I bought this one with a flawed bridge and it had to be repaired. I heard there was a bad batch of them, so watch out. Once I had it fixed, OMG......my GAS is gone.

Wechter 000 Mahogany (spruce top) I own it.
A lot like the ROS 616......12 fret slot head, lots of resonance and volume with a nice balance between warmth and sparkle. Paid 6 and a half BF's. Has the bell-like tone in the trebles and the punchy, well defined bass, like the RK. Warm, full and fairly commanding mids. Very responsive guitar as well. Not quite as loud as the RK. Great note separation, great strumming as well as fingerpicking. What's different is that spruce tone that adds just a tad more of complexity to the tone over the 616. Lots of sustain. Plek set up was pretty good. It has a couple of strings that are a few cents flat at the 12th fret, but I can live with that due to the delicious tone. I cannot really dig into the upper trebles doing rest stroke without a bit of snap or buzz. And I do not want to raise the action any more. At some point I might take it to a luthier. This is a keeper, my Llarrivee OM-03r was not, just for reference.

Recording King 626 Played it at a shop
Almost as good as the Wechter, but more expensive. Perhaps YMMV. Very similar though. Again we are comparing individual guitars and there is so much variation

There were other RK's that I played as well that I do not want to compare here because I did not really play them enough. They were really nice, such as the Schoenbergs and the Adrionak Spruce toppers, both in dread and 000. All really nice guitars, that did not have my name on it at the time. If I won the lottery, I might have to bump em again.

Whew, time to go pick a couple of tunes.

Hope that helps and good luck,
Will
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Last edited by willsing; 02-19-2011 at 12:47 AM.
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  #18  
Old 02-19-2011, 05:43 AM
kirkham13 kirkham13 is offline
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Thanks for the replies, can't wait to hear the review of the new Wechter MT-
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  #19  
Old 03-22-2011, 08:28 PM
fuciledacaccia fuciledacaccia is offline
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Default Wechter vs. Recording King

Does anyone have any feed back on the Wechter TO 8418, 28, or 42, compared to the RK ROS 626, 627, or 647??? Love the slotted headstock and the wider fretboard, but what about the overall quality and sound? Appreciate any info I can get.

Thanks
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  #20  
Old 03-23-2011, 05:05 AM
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patticake patticake is offline
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i've seen several wechters, and all were very well built and finished - honestly better than the rk's i've seen, but the few i played were brighter, and i'm not a fan of brighter. you may be. a funny thing - when i first saw a couple wechters, they looked like cheap guitars to me, that feeling i get from a low end epiphones. it's the finish - there's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't have the type of gloss look i associate with a good guitar, and i'm not sure why. no one else seems to have this reaction, so it's just me.

btw, you can get the slotted head and wider fingerboard on a blueridge parlor, also.
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  #21  
Old 08-10-2012, 06:55 PM
DCannon DCannon is offline
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I've had a Wechter TO 8418 for a couple weeks now and wanted to give it some play time before commenting. I must say it's amazing.

I've always been one to only buy guitars I can actually play, and fortunately, a local shop had just gotten three of them in stock the day I called, so I had my pick. And a good thing, since the three were quite different in several respects. The one I chose immediately stood out in terms of tone, volume, workmanship, and playability. I took my Martin OM-16 along to compare and the 8418 blew it away in terms of volume, balance, and clarity. The store owner and some customers couldn't believe how much louder and present the 8418 was than the OM-16. But then in all fairness, the OM-16 is a smaller, thinner body. The 8418's intonation is very accurate, even when capoed up to the 7th fret, which is about as far as I can go on a 12 fret.

I play in an Irish/Celtic band and tune my guitars to DADGAD. The 8418 sounded great in the store, but was still very bright, so still not quite "perfect". I was looking for a brighter voice than my Martin D-41 and OM-16 for a different mix with the fiddles, whistles, etc, and the 8418 certainly fit that personality...and then some. Having been a luthier for many years, I was sure I could take the bright edge off a bit, so bought it for the same price as online including tax.

The first thing I did was change the D'Addarios to Martin SP lights since the SPs have always sounded slightly warmer to me than D'Addarios. I then replaced the plastic bridge pins with Gurian ebony pins with MOP dot, which fit the 8418 perfectly with no need for sanding or special fitting. Finally, after a slight neck adjustment and still getting some slight buzzing on some strings up the neck (I capo a lot on the 3rd, 5th & 7th frets), instead of making a new bone saddle to very slightly raise the action, I decided to use a shim, so used a soft wood cut exactly to fit the slot. The combination of these changes, along with "playing it in" did the trick and it's amazing. It still has a bright, but full, clear tone...now without that "edge" I was initially hearing. I used it for the first time last night at an Irish session with several other players and it sang beautifully when finger picking, yet jumped out when strumming on the up-temp jigs and reels. The guys who are used to hearing my Martins made it a point to say, "Man! What guitar is that?! It sounds amazing." I never thought I'd say this about my beloved D-41, but especially for the Irish stuff, I prefer the 8418. I finger pick some slower tunes/airs on the 7th fret (playing in D, A, Em, & G) and it just sings with beautiful tone and sustain with much better volume and presence than either Martin.

Workmanship is very good with no obvious flaws and the tuners are fine, although I'll probably eventually replace them with Grovers. Comes with bone nut and saddle. Wechter includes a self-adhesive Martin-style tortoise pickguard in the case to give the player a choice to retain the classic look, or add the pickguard. I chose to add it. Also comes with a nice, fitted, hard shell case.

Overall, this is a fine guitar at twice the price, at least the one I got. Actually, I think I may have gotten a particularly good one. The SPs are sounding pretty good, but I'm going to try other strings before deciding. I just picked up a couple sets of John Pearse PB lights, and a set of D'Addario Flat Wound. Also have a set of Martin medium-lights I may try. Ah the fun of a new guitar! Next up.... a K&K Pure Mini pickup.
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  #22  
Old 10-16-2013, 11:42 AM
Mcirish Mcirish is offline
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I know this is an old thread, but I just had to chime in about the Wechter 000 style guitars. I have both the 18 and the 28 versions and they are both great guitars. They have a big sound without being boomy like a jumbo. I tend to play the TO-8428 the most due to it having a little more punch, which is needed in the band I play in. I did shim both bridges with a maple shim, ever so slightly. I tend to play pretty heavy and this helped make them both great for finger picking and strumming.
Lately, I've had the desire to compare my Wechters with some other $3k+ guitars. Not because I'm dissatisfied with the Wechter. It's more that I like the Wechter so much that I wonder if a Martin 000-28VS or GE would be even better. I've had a few people tell me not to waste my time or money. Possibly good advice. Today, I saw a T)-8428 on ebay. I rarely ever see them. If I didn't already have one, I'd buy that right away. Such great guitars for so little money. I can say that I haven't played my Taylor 310CE in quite a while. The Wechter just sounds more balanced and full. I think I still have some prejudice against Asian made guitars, but this seems to be an exception.
I have also been curious about the Recording King guitars as well. I've got a Recording King banjo that is great, so I wonder how their guitars are.

Its too bad the Wechters are gone now. I never liked the Pathfinder shape but the 000 series is something else. I think in years to come, people are going to be trying to find them. They never really caught on but that had to be because of brand/build origin. The guitars are great no matter who made them or where they were made. I too wish the finish were a little different (thinner?) but these guitars are keepers.
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  #23  
Old 04-06-2015, 09:45 PM
intro intro is offline
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Default Wechter Pathmaker "Silk and Steel" Owners?

Any owners of a Wechter Pathmaker Silk and Steel model out there? I own one and it's AMAZING, but details are hard to come by. This one was made in Paw Paw, MI and is numbered "The 653rd One" and hand signed. It's top is Spruce (Black) and its sides and back are Walnut.
I also just bought a Nashville-Tuned Wechter NV8413CE and it, not to my surprise is also amazing.
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