Writer's Bloc

New Chomsky Article

From Seattle to Miami

FTAA Countdown in Miami

More Wechterage

This guitar is solid. Where my old guitar feels fragile in my hands, Annabelle feels like I could smack something with it and break it. It's more massive than you'd expect, and the weight is shifted to the neck. Definitely a different feel, that I love.

But she's already wearing me out. The action is definitely too high. This guitar clearly needs a good setup. The truss rod in the neck might need a little bit of a tug, but I'm switching to a lighter gauge string (Elixir Polyweb Custom Lights), so the neck could shift on its own. The nut looks great. It was hand-carved. The saddle is also shaped beautifully, it is simply too high. The underside of the saddle needs to be sanded down, probably by as much as 1/8". I want the action to be as low as possible without fret buzz. It's a precise operation. I would have to get a flat piece of plywood, my staplegun, and some sandpaper (what gauge?), and run the saddle in my hand across that. Plus, the neck is wider than what I'm used to, but once I get used to that it'll be fine. The neck width is actually very close to my Ibanez electric.

I'm thinking of taking Annabelle on a little trip into the White Mountains in New Hampshire to get tutored. There's a really amazing little shop in Ashland called the Vintage Fret Shop. It is situated alongside a river in an old blacksmith's shop. It's where I played a Wechter for the first time. The guy has a little shop set up right in the front of the store, and oh yeah, he sells guitars too. Very cool. They have very reasonable rates (I was quoted $10 to set up my guitar with low action), and their shop just exudes competence. Plus, their repair guy has a degree in philosophy. Too cool. I think I'll have them work their magic on Annabelle as soon as I can get out there. Then perhaps my new mistress will be gentler with my poor fingers. :-)

^ posted at 10:29 PM

plucking my wechter

The acoustic tone has a lot of potential. It's a small-body guitar, so it's not going to have the punch of a Dreadnaught acoustically. But it has some sparkle to it, a very even, balanced (if a bit boxy) midrange, and I should be able to dial in the bass setting I need electrically. Acoustically, the low end is a bit better than my 15-year-old Alvarez WY-1. In all, I expect the guitar to sound better with age. It definitely has that "new guitar" sound. Slightly boxy in the midrange. But I look forward to recording it with some nice condenser microphones.

I haven't plugged it in yet, but that looks to be the most interesting part about the Wechter. It has a 3-pickup system: a piezo pickup under the saddle, a magnetic pickup across the soundhole, and a condenser microphone on a little gooseneck inside the guitar. It will certainly give me a much wider tonal range than what my Alvarez provided.

The construction on the guitar is very, very solid. I expect this guitar to be much more durable than my last guitar, which I played pretty hard. To me, acoustic guitar is a percussion instrument, and while always respectful, I am not always gentle with my instruments. The neck joint is the most solid I've ever seen. The cutaways are actually a single, curved piece of solid wood. The assembly is very strong and vaguely shaped like a crossbow. The acoustic body is then attached to the cutaways, resulting in a very solid guitar from the neck joint up.

There was no strap button installed. I got a new drill bit and a new strap button from the store and installed it myself, according to instructions provided on Wechter's website. Now that the strap is in, it hangs nicely and comfortably. Because the neck is so solid, and the wood in the cutaways is substantial, the guitar is very balanced in weight. If anything, it's a little too heavy toward the neck. I look forward to playing this thing live.

There were a few small blemishes in the finish. Nothing I'm too worried about. One small annoyance is the placement of the fret markers. For most of the markers, they are placed closed to the fret itself, rather than halfway between 2 frets as on most guitars. However, the 17th fret marker is off; it is placed exactly between the 16th and 17th fret. Someone's measurements were off slightly.

The current action is a bit too high for my tastes. I need to lower it, which will entail sanding down the bottom of my saddle. I may take it to a luthier to have it done for me.

I've been looking forward to having this guitar in my possession, and so far it hasn't disappointed. It sounds good acoustically, should sound great electrically, and is durable. For the money, I don't think there is a guitar that more closely fits my needs at present. I am grateful to be playing it.

^ posted at 1:04 AM