Wechter 6524FA

Wechter Scheerhorn Model 6524
Purchased from Janet Davis Music in Bella Vista, Arkansas (via phone)

Tim Scheerhorn provided his high end design to Wechter to produce an (more) affordable resonator by having the body mfg'd in China, but it is then setup in Wechter's Paw Paw, Michigan facility and equipped with critical U.S. parts (resonator cone, nut, saddle, etc.)

The U.S. setup includes:
* Rout ledge for premium hand spun con & fit cone into body
* Fit Ebonex-capped hard maple saddles into custom tensioned & milled cast aluminum spider
* Tension spider/cone assembly
* Install parabolixc baffle
* Fit soundposts
* Fit bone nut
* Burnish string grooves in nut and saddle
* Fit coverplate & tailpiece
* Install Scheerhorn designed string set
* Final setup


Curly Maple Top
Curly Maple Back and Sides
Nato Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard with flush maple fret markers and dot inlay
Ivory ABS Binding
Almond Sunburst Finish
Diecast Chrome Tuners
Premium Coated Strings
bone nut
premium spun aluminum cone
cast aluminum spider
hard maple saddles with proprietary Scheerhorn model black cap
proprietary Scheerhorn internal baffle
chrome plated tailpiece and coverplate
Case included

Model Specifications
Scale Length 25"
Upper Bout 10.4"
Waist 9"
Lower Bout 14.25"
Body Length 19.3"
Body Depth at Headblock 3.5"
Body Depth At Tailblock 4"
Fingerboard Width at Nut 1.875"
Fingerboard Width at 12th Fret 2.25"
String Spacing at Bridge 2.312"

I'm rating as an 8 because it didn't come with some of the inlaid fretboard decorations that the Goldtone Beard Signature models did. It still is a strikingly beautiful guitar.

In my pursuit of a square neck Dobro / resonator in the $500 - $1000 price range, my number #1 priority was sound quality,... and #2 priority was sound volume. I did an extensive search on internet to try and find reviews and sound examples. Surprisingly, I found a number of key reviews & sound examples that helped me narrow my search down to the GoldTone Paul Beard Signature Series and the Wechter Scheerhorn 6500 series resonators.

I then spoke to a couple of dealers who spoke highly of both the GoldTone Beard and the Wechter Scheerhorn. I was told that the GoldTone Beard has the more historical dobro sound, vs the Wechter Scheerhorn with a more contemporary version of the dobro sound. Both were described as having *excellent* sound quality. In terms of the sound volume, the dealer (who carried both makes/models) said that the Wechter Scheerhorn wins hands down. When I asked about their shop installing a pickup,.. he said "don't bother" it doesn't need one... it's loud... loud.... loud.

Upon receiving it,.. I invited a friend of mine over who has a lot of experience playing dobro.. and he was equally amazed at both the sound quality and volume. He played gospel for approximately 2 hours.... and his wife grew increasingly impatient (only so many newspapers & magazines she could read)... but he just wouldn't put down the instrument.

The sound is very rich... do a search on Google for Scheerhorn and you'll find some excellent sound examples that will knock your socks off.

No dislikes whatsoever. I'm glad I spent the amount of time I did researching the instrument I wanted. I wished I could have picked it up for $500 used,... but none were available on e-Bay,... and I doubt there will be.

Action, Fit & Finish are superb. No flaws whatsoever.

The guitar is very well-built and solid! I think that Wechter's approach to leveraging a top-end luthier, overseas manufacturing to reduce the instrument's cost to under $1,000, use of critical U.S. customized parts, and final assembly & setup at a U.S. Wechter facility is a ** WINNING ** combination.

I've been playing (on and off) for 5+ years. I have **no** regrets about buying this guitar. I have two other guitars that I don't intend ever selling: A Larrivee D03 Mahogany,... and a Blueridge BR-160.

Other resonators I compared it to (mostly via spec comparisons, user reviews, recorded sound) include:

Regal RD-52 (good reviews)
Liberty
Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature (also highly rated)
Gibson Houndog