Price Paid: 2000 (CAN)
Features: 9
Made in the USA, don't know the year. Bought in august 2004. 20 frets, solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides. Concert body shape, no electronics. Beautiful gloss finish, and bear claw in the spruce. Breedloves own special JDL bridge truss system. Grover tuners. Came with a hardshell Breedlove case (a very nice case incidently!) and a little card thing to prevent scratching the guitar when you change the strings. It's got a cut-away, but beyond that it's pretty plain looking - in it's own beautiful way. Oh, it does have a mother of pear inlay around the sound hole.. Black binding. Some of the most beautiful grained mahogany I've ever seen... Can fit into any acoustic situation. Has everything you could ever need in an acoustic guitar
Sound: 10
I play everything there is - from Christian worship to folk, contry, acoustic rock, bluegrass, jazz, latin, blues and classical... Really, if you can play it on an acoustic guitar, I'm probably doing it. It's got a simply amazing full, complex sound. Each note rings with clarity and the guitar just sings. I've tried out hundreds of different guitars, and while some can sound great at particular things, most fall flat in some way. This guitar sounds exception no matter what you try to play. It's got strong bass, yet it's extremely balanced and well defined. The highs sparkle and shimmer. I honestly can't imagine a better sounding guitar.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
Wow! You obviously get what you pay for with this. The set-up and finish was immaculate. I've never seen a guitar so flawless. It's got the nicest neck I've ever played.
Reliability/Durability: 7
Well, it's made of thin wood, so I wouldn't put it in a fight with anyone, but it's certainly not going to fall apart. The JDL bridge system, in theory should prevent the top from warping, so this guitar should last beyond my life time. I've certainly play it live and without backup. Once you've played this guitar, you could never dream to play anything else... That said, you probably want to baby it - as it is going to be somewhat fragile and it's not exactly cheap enough to easily replace.
Customer Support: 10
I wrote them and e-mail asking questions about my guitar before I bought it and they responded within a few hours. They were extremely polite and seemed to be going that extra mile to make me happy with my decision and to make sure I was as informed as could be. I've never had any problems with the guitar, but the people at breedlove seem very nice and it seems they've got great support.
Overall Rating: 9
I really love this guitar. The only guitars I've heard that compare are a few Collings guitars (at twice the price) and other breedloves. I had a hard time choosing between the one I bought and another one that was used and had rosewood back and sides. They would have been the same price or me, but decided on the mahogany because it was so well balanced and seemed like (as I've proven since) like a guitar that would record better because of the more balanced lows. I really find it makes most Taylors, Martins, Morgan, Larivee, and even Santa Cruise guitars that I've tried out sound one dimensional. I should mention, though, I've tried out others of the exact same model that aren't nearly as awe inspiring. They are nice, but not THIS nice. Perhaps I'm just lucky. Certainly worth trying out though.
Submitted by Patrick at 10/13/2004 17:07
