BreedLove AC25/SR Plus

Price Paid: US $595.00

Features: 9
i think the features of this instrument have been covered rather well.

Sound: 10
i compared this guitar to several other makes and to be honest each time i played this breedlove i tmade me feel like singing. i play various styles, such as finger picking, swing, folk, classic rock, country, etc... and this guitar holds it's own with others costing much more. unplugged or running through amplification it has a balanced sound with a crisp clear tone. i have owned a few different acoustics, gibsons, martins, ovations, guilds and fenders and this is one of my favorites, period.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 9
i noticed several other reviews faulting this category but on this particular guitar i have to say that the fit and finish is quite good. the woods are very nice and the abalone inlay is better than what i saw on several higher end guitars. the finish is very good and i love the finish on the neck.under close scrutiny i have been unable to find fault with glued joints, finish of the frets, or workmanship. the action on this one was set to my specifications by the tech where i purchased the instrument. a major plus in my estimation for dealing with smaller local shops than large mail order or national chain stores.

Reliability/Durability: 9
i have owned and played this guitar on gigs regulary for over a year now and would have no problem using it without a backup if need be. i have found it to be well built and dependable.

Customer Support: N/A
i have not dealt with this need so i cant give a perspective.

Overall Rating: 10
i have been playing music for about 37 years. in addition to the breedlove i currently own a guild f-48, 1969 gibson goldtop deluxe les paul, 76 ovation breadwinner, and a giannini craviola 12 string. from what i have read here it reinforces to me that the personal service and excellent deal i got from a local shop beats the alternatives hands down. i paid under $600 and got the hardshell case, planet waves humidifier, several sets of strings and a twice a year setup/checkup by the tech as well as the strap button installed. the best feature as far as i am concerned is the sound. every time i pick this guitar up i feel like singing. i have owned this guitar for well over a year now and i am as infatuated with it now as when it was brand new.

Submitted by pipemaker at 01/19/2006 22:12

Price Paid: US $700

Features: 8
Bought back in December 2004. I have several other steel and nylon string acoustics, and bought this due to the small body size, access to upper frets at cutaway, and fishman pickup. I rate it highly for features, my only wish, would have been a slightly better pickup system. While the Fishman is very good (piezo only). I have since had an LR Baggs dual source (peizo and mic) installed, and wish the Breedlove had a Baggs instead.

Sound: 9
I have had this guitar for close to a year now, and have been very happy with it, but I can sympathize with the one earlier reviewer who suggested some reviews were just too glowing. I agree and will comment on action fit and finish concerns below. I dont think sound quality is overstated however. I have played 100s of acoustics in last 20 plus years, and currently own about 10. The three best sounding steel string acoustics I have ever played have been Breedloves. The first two cost as much as my car, the AC25 costs a fraction of the custom models, but still sounds excellent. It has great tone and projection unplugged, and sounds great direct into our Mackie PA, or through a selection of pre-amps I have played it with. I have played numerous times informally, and on stage with other acoustic players, using some much more expensive instruments (Martin, Taylor, Takamine, Ovation), and the AC25 normally sounds better, and always plays better. I did have a colleague with a high end Martin which really impressed me in direct comparison (D42). It probably got nod, with even more crisp low end punch, but given much bigger body size and 6x higher price on Martin I don't feel bad. Again, LR Baggs pickup with combo piezo/mic would be only improvement. I have Alhambra classical with this combo, that is true 10.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
Guitar was too well set up (light strings, almost "electric low" action). Also no strap button or pick guard. Breedlove were helpful on strap button installation, pick guard purchase. Changed out strings and tweaked truss which improved sound and projection on picked notes particularly higher up the neck.

One other problem showed up after several months of playing. I found that even though AC25 seemed very easy to play, I would hurt my left hand if I played for extended periods. It turns out that that there were two subtle finish problems that were rubbing and chafing my left hand as I played. Firstly, the nut (I think its tusq), was sharp on the top edge (radius from low E string, down to fretboard). If I played for long periods of time, or very frequently, I would get blister. Second, even more subtle, the finish on the top edge of the first fret ( edge of fret wire), is also slightly rough. Its so subtle, you cant feel it just by rubbing your hand up and down neck, or even in short spells of normal playing. Play for a long time, and presto I developed another little cut/callous on another place on my left hand.

I still dont have these problems completely fixed, so I have to ration my playing. I have owned so many guitars over the years, and have never had similar finish problem (at least on one I have wanted to play so much...).

Between these problems, a small finish blemish on the back, and fact that the top wood grain is not great (compare it to a LaPatrie/Seagul and see how good it can be at this price point), I give this a 7.

Reliability/Durability: 10
Having been very picky in last category. I have used this guitar live many times and it has been solid. Gold grovers are good (but Grovers seem to be a lot cheaper than they used to be). Bridge truss is an excellent feature for sound quality, but should also help with reliability. I never play electric without backup, but would not hesitate with the breadlove

Customer Support: 10
Little interaction, but has been very good.

Overall Rating: 10
I love this guitar. It needs a little bit of work, but has been well worth what I paid. I would probably buy same model again if I had to.

Submitted by Nick at 09/27/2005 18:06

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 9
Features have been given. Solid top and back. It's a very pretty guitar to look at with the ivory-like binding and mother-of-pearl surrounding the body. The mother-of-pearl fret markets are very nice too. Gold Grovers. Very pretty rosewood. This cut-away is more pronounced than other makers but it has grown on me. I love this size guitar and I get a kick just looking at it on the stand. It's surprisingly deep, perhaps just as deep as a dreadnaught but in a 000 body size. Mine is almost perfect but it did need a pro neck adjustment at the start. If the Fishman had a tuner I'd give it a ten.

Sound: 9
I tried plenty of acoustic-electric guitars in the $350 and up category. I was suprised at the dead dry sound of every darn guitar I played, ones that users give high marks to. I guess my ears are getting more sophisticated. The only ohter guitar that sounded in the Breedlove category was an over $1500 Martin DC16RGTE-Aura. Very nice, especially the new Aura system. But over $600 nicer? Not for my wallet.

The sound is warm and precise, with ample lows and round crisp highs. I prmarioy fingerpick on an acoustic and this guitar fits that style to a tee. This is my first rosewood guitar and I'm a convert from mahogany. (To be fair, all my past guitars were less expensive.) The store had two of this model and this one had a deeper sound by a significant margin. Given its size, it's not a booming strum machine, buy a dreanought Martin for that. It sounds just fine plugged in with plenty of adjustments available.

One more thing. These guitars come with D'addario EXP 80/20 strings which I suppose are fine. I prefer the phosphor bronze EXP version, so I changed the strings and it sounds better to me now.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 9
The action was high on mine but an adjustment at the store put it right where I like it. Mine's almost perfect, just beautiful. There is an edge band area that has a somewhat lighter finish on the back, very minor. I might invest in a case if I knew what fit.

Reliability/Durability: 9
This guitar could be played out. Why not? The finish seems pretty rugged and the wood not too thin. The Gold grovers might wear off in time. It's a glossy finish all over but it's not overdone. Mine has a strap button already installed so I'm set to go.

Customer Support: 9
I called to ask about the neck adjustment and the string model. There is a unique anchor system inside that holds down the bridge extra tight. You can see an adjustment there. The warrantee is 5 years. I had a neck adjustment about 10 days after the purchase. I know how to adjust necks but this one threw me. I did file down the bridge quite a bit. I'd suggest getting any needed adjustments done by a pro.

Overall Rating: 9
Like I said, before I bought I played Ibanez, Ovation, Takamine, even Taylors and I'd choose this guitar again hands down. Admittedly, there are fewer guitars in the $$600-$900 range than below and I didn't playevery guitar in my price range. But this is an exceptionally good value. Play them in a store if you can. The other one I played didn't have much bottom.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/29/2005 11:48

Price Paid: US $800

Features: 7
The features are great. I wish I'd have at least gotton a gig bag with it but Sa la vi...

I'd give it a 10 for the inlays and stuff but there are a few things that irked me from the beginning.

1. The inside has sloppy gluing.
2 The hole they cut for the fishman is not proportional. It has a small empty space between it and the pick up.
3. It was supposedly a new guitar I got from elderly music but it had a dink in the finish on the back of the guitar.
4. Despite the nice gloss and inlays I've noticed on a number of the atlas series have knot in the wood grain on the front of the instrument. It makes it look like a dent from a few feet away.
5. Last but not least there are weird black dots on the inside of my guitar. It looks like *gasp* mold... I hope not I will investigate when I change my strings.
6. Has no strap button,,,

Sound: 7
The guitar is very beautiful. I felt copelled to write a review because I bought the guitar based on these reviews and found they were a little to glowing compared to what I got in the mail.

I have a small problem with the sound of it. The sound of this instrument completely relies on the guage of strings you have on it. I intially put Dimarzio Alchemy mediums on it and was absolutely amazed how it sounded. However, the action on it was a bit high from the factory. Which made it a bit difficult to play on the higher frets with the Medium strings. I then put on some Alchemy xtra lights to see if I could remedy the playability problem and had the exact opposite problem. The lights made the guitar very comfortable to play but the sound is now dead and lifeless. In fact, in its current state the 'B' string sounds louder than the other strings and has some weird harmonic twang to it.

I am going back to the Mediums and going to try and get a luther to solve my headache, thats going to be about $80.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
From the factory the action is sub-optimal....
Pickup hole was cut sloppily.
Finish was great... See my first answer for the rest of it...

Reliability/Durability: 9
Looks durable and great. I would gig without a backup

Customer Support: 9
Has a 5 year warranty. I am going to call Breedlove and see if they can help me with my issues. I played an expensive Breedlove and was hoping I'd get a little slice of that heaven. What I got was alright. I guess for $800 I cannot complain

Overall Rating: 7
Ive been playing seven years. This my first accoustic. I shopped alot and played dozens of guitars before I bought this one. Ironically, this was the only guitar on my list I did not play before I bought it. I bought it on the integrity of Breedloves good reputation for excellence. Bad idea.... Dont do that... Make sure you know what you are getting before hand,

Submitted by crickett at 04/14/2005 13:16

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 9
You can read the features on the breedlove's site. I'm rating this very high because for the price it has more features than anything even close.

Sound: 10
I played everything out there for around $1000 new or used. I played Taylors, Martins, Guild, anything that was in my price range. This Breedlove was truly amazing compared to everything else. I have one friend with a 614e Taylor and another with a Jumbo body Taylor (not sure of the model #). This Breedlove is as good as teh $2k 614e. The Jumbo is nicer but the breedlove doesn't pale in comparison at least. I'd highly recommend this guitar!!!

Action, Fit, & Finish: 8
Decent action although it tends to get buzzy if you switch gages and types of strings. I put the D'Addrio EXPs on it and the buzzing went away. Neck feels really nice.

Reliability/Durability: 10
Very stable and well built.

Customer Support: 9
Breedlove was quick to respond to some questions that I had.

Overall Rating: 10
I'd highly recommend this guitar. It's an amazing guitar at an amazing value!!!

Submitted by Aric Bandy at 09/08/2004 10:15

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 9
2004 Breedlove made in Korea. The guitar is solid Spruce top with Indian Rosewood back and sides. The other features are listed on the Breedlove Web Page under Atlas Series. I would give 9 for features because you can't ask for more from a guitar that is priced so low.I possess much more expensive guitars but this guitar comes quite close to the others I own both in terms of looks and features. Cosmetically, I don't find any flaws on the guitar

Sound: 10
I use this guitar for Fingerstyle and it really sounds stunning. I could not have asked for more. The sound is clear and crisp, very close to Martin JC-16RGTE which I also own. The Martin cost me much more. The price of this guitar may be low but not the sound. I would have to commend Breedlove for coming up with this affordable guitar with such rich sound. This guitar will beat any Takamine in that price range.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 9
The action as it came to me was perfect. No adjustments were needed. As I mentioned above on the features, the guitar was flawless in terms of finish, setup and aesthetics. Very well made!!!

Reliability/Durability: 8
The guitar feels very reliable but then I only had this for a month. So I don't want to make a premature comment. But from all indications so far, I think it will be dependable.

Customer Support: 10
I have talked to Breedlove a couple of times to find more information on their guitars before I bought this one. I have to say they are very friendly. From their enthusiasm on the telephone, I feel that they are very Quality Oriented Company and they definitely know how to communicate with customers in order to gain their loyalty and respect.

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for about ten years. I own Martin JC-16RGTE, Larrivee Lv-09E and Taylor 915 CE. This Breedlove is up there with them.

Submitted by Jahan at 04/08/2004 20:02

Price Paid: US $800

Features: 9
* Made 11/1/03 Korea
* 20 Frets
* Solid spruce top
* Fishman Classic 4 active electonics/ pickup
Controls:
Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Brilliance
* Under saddle piezo pickup, Fishman
* Body & fretboard : solid Indian Rosewood
* Neck: mohogany
* Top : solid Sitka spruce
* Finish: High gloss
* Body Style: standard concert with deep/soft cutaway
* Bridge: *Trussed*, *pinless*, Indian rosewood
"scalloped bracing, pinless bridge and JLD Bridge Truss System."
* Tuners: Grover gold plated
* Neck/Scale: narrow 1 13/16", medium, scale: 25 1/2"
small, oval frets.

Sound: 10
* It suits my style well. I mainly play electic & or midi guitar now,
but played acoustic for years except for the last 2 years.
It takes more strength than an electic, probably because of the heavier
strings but strenght will come back with play- & it WILL be played.
* I'm mainly playing/practicing it through a POD XT right now, with headphones. I tried several patches but the Acoustic was the best for obvious reasons. The classic Fender style amps sounded good too.
I'll play it acoustically in parks/outdoors but will go direct from the POD XT on stage to the sound system via a small Behringer mixer.
* Noisy? No unwanted noise, but very responsive, it reproduces everything!
* It's very loud compared to a Godin/LR Baggs piezo pickup. Much louder than mag pu's. The sound is very rich, full in spite of being a concert style guitar. I played the dreadnaught model (same line: Atlas Korean Import) & it was a bit louder, but another customer had dibs on it, so I plugged it in & was very impressed by the fullness of sound across the board: this guitar IMO blew away Taylors of the same type.
(I tried them immediately after testing it.) It cost about 1/2 as much. Probably not an investment or collection piece:
IT IS A PLAYER!
* The guitar has a great acoustic reproduction, very balanced all the way up the neck. The controls can add a great deal of color, or take it away. The guitar sounds great with flat settings. It sounds great using the classic amp emulations too. Not too good heavily overdriven-
too bright, but it's NOT an electric. I will try it with a Seymour
Duncan Woody XL that's been sitting around- that gets a decent electric
or acoustic sound.
*Likes/Dislikes: it would be nice to have a notch filter to dial out feedback. I'll probably have to put a feedback Buster in it live.
The rosewood back is very 'boomy'.
Other than that I LOVE this guitar. I haven't played or looked at acoustics for quite a while & I MUST SAY this guitar is technically ahead of the rest. It's about time. Classics may be a better investment but technical advancements do improve sound. It's all about the science & the quality control. Breedlove & their Korean builders have designed & produced a real 'working musicians' line here.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
* Setup: the guitar had high action but the superb tech set it up
fast to my taste: action as low as possible with the least fret buzz
He installed a gold strap button too.
* No runs, no errors, all hits! Great pro look. Beautiful inlays.
I would have liked a flamed top but spruce doesn't flame!

Reliability/Durability: 10
* The guitar will withstand live playing, with TLC.
* Hardware seems very good.
* Finish is thick & glossy.
* Looks very dependable.
* I would use it without a backup.

Customer Support: N/A
* The dealer was very open and honest, even admitted that he/they liked it's sound more than the Taylors (after it was obvious I didn't want a Taylor, of course!)
* It's new, it's warranted.

Overall Rating: 10
* I've been playing for 38 years.
best Gear: Godin LGX-SA, Brian Moore i8.13, upgraded Hamer Duotone
import. Roland GI-20 analog to pitch converter. EMU P2K with 2 orchestral modules. Line 6 POD XT.
next best: Parker P-38 w/GK-2A midi pu. Hamer SATB Les Paul double cutaway clone. Hamer Centaura, ash Strat clone.
Behringer VAmp 2.
Acoustic: cheap but juicy Ibanez solid top 6 string.
Epi (Korean) Jumbo 6 string
Ibanez 12 string
Basses: Schecter 5 string active preamp
DeArmond 4 string R&R bass "
Dean 4 string acoustic bass with piezo pu & preamp
* If it were lost or stolen I'd tearfully buy another.
* I love the size/weight & sound. Hate nothing.
Favorite feature: the trussed bridge produces the best sounding top I've heard yet.
* I compared it to Taylors. No sense comparing it to others, I know what they sound like having played acoustics for years.
I chose this one because of the superior sound for the price.
I don't collect guitars as an investment, I play them.
* I wish it had a notch filter or some other feedback defeating feature , but there are other ways of acheiving that.
* I'm replacing a cheap solid top import with this one. I wanted something that looks great & sounds great for playing on stage. Not that the Ibanez import was bad but this one 'blows it away' in all categories! It better considering that it cost 3 times as much including tax & a case.

Submitted by Louis at 03/09/2004 09:23