I agree about the Davy Stuart. I've played on a couple of his instruments and they were as good a deal as I've seen for the money. Good playing, rich sound, great looks, amazingly inexpensive. Another builder from that end of the world I've been impressed with is Graham MacDonald. I think he's from Australia. Fine instruments, probably a bit more money.

I also agree that the Webers have a more solid sound and are better built, but I don't like them for a couple of other reasons: they are ugly to my eye, and they are alittle hard to play, much like the old Flatirons that the Weber folks used to make. Very well built, beautiful craftsmanship, great sound, stiff action. I used to play a Flatiron and still recommend them if you have strong fingers or are willing to lose a bit of tone quality by lightening the strings and lowering the action. I've been spoiled by my Sobell.

John