Acoustic Guitars

[bjcarl]

Howdy Acoustic guys...I'm pretty much solely and electric player and I'm contemplating purchasing a Pathmaker Elite...any thoughts?

I'm hoping to find a good acoustic, mostly for rhythm playing/strumming and finger picking that can get reasonably loud without mic'ing or plugging into an amp.  Having a pickup system is nice, but not essential.

I've read the praises about Wechters(low action, good tone, etc), but I haven't talked to anyone that's owned one and I haven't met a Wechter in person. I'm open to other suggestions, but the Wechter's at the top end of the acoustic budget at the moment($649 at Sweetwater).

Incidentally, the two acoustics I currently have in the arsenal:  a Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat(meh) and a Taylor Big Baby(desperately needs a set up and the action's too high, but I prefer the tone over the uninspiring Fender).

Thoughts?

[Hudman]

I never played a Wechter, but I know they get good reviews. 

[DeepEnd]

I met a guy maybe four years ago who owned one and he said he loved it. It sounded okay when he played it. Never played one myself though.

[headstack]

Nashville tuning is a good bit different from standard in that the G, B, and E are tuned an octave above, like the high strings on a 12 string.

Great vid though of an amazing player... Johnny Hiland is tops!

IIRC, the Wechters have plywood back and sides with a solid top.

Being that acoustic guitars are so deeply individual, I would recommend going to a shop and playing stuff in your budget.

You might even check out used instruments since they can be nicely discounted and will allow you to get a much higher end guitar for your money.

For instance, in your price range the older Alvarez Yiari play and sound great as well as being well made.

Also look at Guilds, Martin, Yamaha, older Breedlove, Epiphone, etc.

In these brands you can find $1,000+ instruments with a few small dings or light scratches in the $600- range with relative ease.

I do not know where you are from, but visiting larger urban areas or cities like NYC, Boston, Denver, LA, can be well worth the road trip.

Listening to recordings of mass produced guitars can be deceptive in that a great recording of a decent instrument can sound excellent.

This will not give any information on how that instrument sounds in the arms of the player and this can be so vitally important.

Just my $0.02