I can’t speak to the broader “community view,” but I’ve owned both a maple National Scheerhorn and a Beard MA6 (E body). And of course, Beard has a wide range of models with different tonal personalities.

Both are high-quality, pro-level instruments.

In my hands:

The Beard (with a Legend cone) is extremely responsive and powerful. When you dig in, it really punches—strong attack, quick response, and plenty of volume.

The National Scheerhorn was also plenty loud, but didn’t quite have that same immediacy or “pop” on the front end.

Where the Scheerhorn stood out to me was in its sweetness and sustain. Single notes had a pleasing bloom when held, and chords had a nice shimmer. The Beard can certainly do that too, but it was more of a defining characteristic on the Scheerhorn.

I also preferred the feel and setup of the Beard—totally subjective, of course.

In the end, I reshuffled my lineup and kept the Beard MA6, which is now my main instrument.

For what it’s worth, Greg Booth has played a National Scheerhorn professionally, so they’re clearly more than capable in the right hands.

No substitute for a test drive…so play them if you can.

YMMV.

To my knowledge Greg never played a National Scheerhorn. He plays, what most of us refer to as a "Tim built" Scheerhorn. Of course, it that's incorrect Greg will set us straight.

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Originally posted by docslyd

To my knowledge Greg never played a National Scheerhorn. He plays, what most of us refer to as a "Tim built" Scheerhorn. Of course, it that's incorrect Greg will set us straight.

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If you scroll toward bottom of this thread, you'll see his reference to his National Scheerhorn as well as a YouTube video with said instrument.  As I understand it (from same thread) it was a touring instrument, while his Tim-built remained at home.

https://www.resohangout.com/topic/60581

If he's checking the forum and cares to elaborate, that is certainly best source.

quote:

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Originally posted by JC Dobro

quote:

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Originally posted by docslyd

To my knowledge Greg never played a National Scheerhorn. He plays, what most of us refer to as a "Tim built" Scheerhorn. Of course, it that's incorrect Greg will set us straight.

---

If you scroll toward bottom of this thread, you'll see his reference to his National Scheerhorn as well as a YouTube video with said instrument.  As I understand it (from same thread) it was a touring instrument, while his Tim-built remained at home.

https://www.resohangout.com/topic/60581

If he's checking the forum and cares to elaborate, that is certainly best source.

 

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Hi guys, here's my story. Around 7 or 8 years ago I found myself using D tuning on several songs in all the shows I was playing with the band, and tuning back and forth from G tuning. It's tedious and you have to go through it at least twice to get it in tune with that much of a change in tension. The last straw was when I had to do it twice in the same set! So I decided to get a DoubleShot equipped guitar and checked with Tim to discuss it. He said he knew of a new National L Body that had an invisible blem in the finish that was a little cheaper and he would install the tailpiece. So I pulled the trigger and toured with it for a couple years. Nice  guitar, I made a Christmas video with it. https://youtu.be/m-Ct1DYYTgc?si=VK5HTRErcg3gKAMA. Then Kathy had a new cd project and I wanted to use my Tim built guitar for that but then I couldn't do gigs with the DoubleShot. So in 2022 I had one installed on the Tim built guitar. No regrets, no negative impacts. Since then I've stopped touring with Kathy due to family health issues and I may sell the National. 

Thanks for the added detail Greg!

....love your playing with Kathy and your videos, Greg. Hoping that everything gets better for you and your family....
Thanks for posting.