2000s Wechter Pathmaker 3101 Double-Cutaway Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Overview: This poor guitar was sidelined upstairs for ages but I finally got it back to rights. This is an import (rather than US-made) Wechter Pathmaker and it has a ridiculously-accessible, super-quick neck thanks to its double-cutaway design and shape. It plays much more like an electric than an acoustic and has a variety of onboard, plug-in-ready features.

When built, it made use of a 3-way pickup system with a magnetic pickup (at soundhole), piezo undersaddle pickup at the bridge, and a microphone. The piezo is unfortunately non-functional (it had bad ground hum from wear and tear and so I disconnected it) but you can still easily blend the mic with the magnetic pickup and get a mix of sounds both more-acoustic and more-electric, in their way.

I often wonder why modern acoustics don't have more fret access and this style of guitar proves there's no reason not to have it. It doesn't have the most exciting acoustic tone (first because it's an all-ply body and second because I have electric 11s with a wound G installed on it) but the playability really can't be beat and for me (as someone who loves open tunings and moving-around with a capo), I find this advantage huge.

Repairs included: I reglued the bridge (it had already been glued poorly before), cleaned it up a bit, and set it up. It has a fresh 9V battery for the preamp and is playing spot-on and ready to go.

• Weight: 4 lbs 14 oz
• Scale length: 25 1/2"
• Nut width: 1 23/32"
• Neck shape: slim medium C
• Board radius: 14"
• Depth at first fret: .83"
• Depth at seventh fret: .90"
• Body width: 15 1/2"
• Body depth: 4 1/4"
• Top wood: ply spruce
• Back & sides wood: ply maple
• Bracing type: x
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: unknown
• Action height at 12th fret: hair-under 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 48w-11 with wound G, Pyramid nickel strings
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: modern medium

Condition notes: There's a fair amount of epoxy leavings around the bridge (back edge especially) from an older, not-great, bridge reglue. I gave the bridge a very light shave on the top (then cleaned it up) to allow more saddle adjustment height (it was super-tall to begin-with and so is normal height now). I also added string ramps behind the saddle. There's mild usewear throughout the instrument (light scratching, etc.) as well. As noted, the original piezo pickup (under the saddle) is not working and is disconnected with the lead taped to the side of the guitar inside. The preamp still works as normal and allows blend between the magnetic pickup and the microphone. The frets are barely-played, in good order, and did not need a level/dress before setup (remarkably).

It comes with: It actually has a nice hard case.

Consignor tag: CLLR