BreedLove SC25 Walnut/Spruce

Price Paid: US $1,200.00

Features: 9
This guitar was made in 1996, and was purchased used. I had a Fishman Rare Earth Blend pickup installed (used with a Fishman Pro EQ II Platinum). At $1,200.00, I was tickled to get it at an affordable price. It features B-Grade Black Walnut ("B" for looks, "A++" for tone!!), which was made from over-grown walnut trees in Oregon. It has a luscious Sitka Spruce top which has aged very nicely, a thin Bloodwood rosette, a Walnut headstock overlay and gold Mini-grovers (neither are offerred by Breedlove now for the SC - unless you ask for them). This is grand-concert body, with a body depth of a dreadnought (4 9/16"). It features a wide, 1 3/4" nut and fingerboard. Includes hardshell case.

Sound: 10
I had the action set low for fingerstyle playing. Had I let the action remain higher (see "Action, Fit and Finish"), one would hear that it has a boom that would rival any dreadnought yet remains clear across the registers. As a fingerstyle instrument - few can compare. Punchy bass, clear, warm mids, and sweet highs that will not be countervailed by the low bass. Never have I heard guitars with so much clarity and seperation between notes - thus the Breedlove is unrivaled for it's broad spectrum of tone - distinguished by it's deep, rich bass. A dream to record with - even if you ONLY decide to use the Rare Earth blend (which actually needs no preamp). But when mic'd "properly", subtle nuances can be heard that bring out the rich, woody walnut and the delicate, sweet highs. Think "mahogany" meets "rosewood", and generally speaking - that's the sound of a walnut Breedlove.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
I use this guitar almost exclusively for fingerstyle - thus the action is set very low. It can endure light picking with this setting but a buzz will occur if attacked. The finish has endured sunshine and sweat from outdoor gigs and with gentle polishing remains transluscent and shiny. Steve Henderson plied his trade as the Wood Buyer for Bob Taylor while working for Taylor Guitars - even this entry level guitar has flawless book-matching for the top and the back. The milky Sitka has mellowed and browned, with beautiful figuring that could at a distance be mistaken for red cedar. You could swim in this top. As for the Walnut - the oranges, the browns, the hints of black - have a sheen not at all disimilar to koa. As this is B grade wood, knots were not criteria for rejection. Yet, the knots do not deter from the beauty of this piece. Master luthiers and master woodworkers.

Reliability/Durability: 8
I've owned this guitar for just 5 years - five years of indoor and outdoor gigs. No major problems. The grovers show no signs of wear. The finish is solid and there are not even any buzzes heard.

Customer Support: 10
I have asked the Breedlove people for Appraisals on Company Letterhead, and they have always responded well. Further, the staff is a joy to speak to on the phone, and their replies to my e-mails were prompt, personal and friendly. I intend to visit Tumalo, OR and visit the factory.

Overall Rating: N/A
I have been playing guitar for some 23 years. This was my first solid-wood acoustic. It will not be my last, and I have also since become the proud owner of a gorgeous Breedlove C1-MP, with quilted maple back and sides. Were a villain thief to do me dirty, I would buy yet another Breedlove. IF there is a flaw with this guitar - if technique is sloppy, the first string can be fretted out because it is close to the edge of the fingerboard. While I enjoyed the Taylor 314, 514, 612 and 712 . . . even the 912, I found that not even Taylor can match the tone of a Breedlove. The only instrument that could best this one would cost me $7,000 - $12,000!

Submitted by Gregory LYgon at 05/07/2002 06:06

Price Paid: US $1,000

Features: 9
I recently purchased this beautiful guitar, and I plan to keep it for a *long* time. On top of which, I got it for an incredible price, so my CFO (aka wife) wasn't too upset! ;-)

Okay, here are the features. The SC-25/W is a Grand Concert size, deep body guitar with a soft cutaway. It is built in the U S of A (Tumalo, OR to be precise). The top is sitka spruce. Back and sides are Oregon walnut. It also has an ebony fretboard, rosewood peghead, and chrome tuners. No pickguard. Cool hardshell case included as well.

Breedlove's "S" series is their stripped-down version of their "premier" guitars, which come with fancier purflings, rossettes, etc. That's why I give the Features a "9" instead of a "10", although personally, I wasn't interested in the fancier appointments. Trust me, this guitar still looks and plays great.

Sound: 10
I've been playing guitar as a hobby for about 7 years, and this is my first serious, non-beginner acoustic. I strum and flatpick, but I bought this guitar because I want to play more fingerstyle. This guitar inspires me to do just that. It sounds great, even in my feeble attempts at playing Mississippi John Hurt. The bass is deep and resonant, the treble is bright and clear.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
The guitar was fine for me straight off the shelf. The workmanship is absolutely flawless. I may try lowering the action just a tad with lighter strings, depending on where my playing takes me, but for now the action is a huge improvement over my previous guitar. Also, the neck feels light and smooth.

Reliability/Durability: N/A
I've had this guitar for only a short time, so I can't comment on it. Breedlove comes with a lifetime warranty, and I plan to have this baby for a loooong time.

Customer Support: 10
I called Breedlove and spoke to Peter Newport soon after I brought the guitar home just to get some more info. Peter looked up my guitar serial #, then gave me the history on when it was made & shipped, some more on the guitar specs, and details about the warranty. He was very helpful.

Overall Rating: 10
Breedlove's ad tagline is "Who said your soulmate has to be a man or a woman?" Maybe it's just the honeymoon stage, but right now I've got a major case of BreedLUST. This guitar makes me want to pick her up and play more. Hey I'm just another busy non-musician guy with a wife, 3 kids, and a career, but this guitar has me carving out more time to play and (hopefully) get better. I'm even playing it in the morning at 6 am for 45 minutes before catching a bus to work.

So...if something untowards where to happen to this guitar, I would go through the usual stages of grief that happens whenever you lose a friend. I might reconsider my opposition to the death penalty is she were the victim of foul play. Then I'd go out and buy another just like her.

Submitted by Michael at 07/09/2001 11:34

Price Paid: US $1650 (before the pickup)

Features: 9
Look at the breedlove site or other reviews for 'special breedlove specs'. Basically, the guitar is a 4 1/2" deep concert cutaway in spruce and walnut (gorgeous wood selection, by the way). The neck is mahogany/ebony, ebony bridge, rosewood peg-head veneer, grover mini-tuners, black plastic binding on body and neck, and a few accents of abalone (rosette and peg-head inlay). This is an "S-series" guitar, wich means it's stripped down cosmetically. Note that when Breedlove boasts no change in craftsmanship for the S-series, they're not lying. This is a beautiful guitar: top quality woods and very well constructed. I played it next to an extravagantly ordained EG model (probably one of the most expensive Breedloves I've ever played. . . it was beautiful, no doubt); my 'lesser' guitar (it was not mine at that time) was certainly congruent in build quality.
It doesn't get a 10 'cause i really like big, rounded frets, which aren't found on this guitar. Then neck is very comfortable, though, with a fairly flat radius on the fingerboard, and easy access to all 20 frets.

I had a Fishman Natural Matrix installed in shop. I use a sansamp Acoustic DI as a preamp.

Sound: 8
Breedloves are generally guitars that make people say "wow" out loud the first time they play one. The bass response in breedloves is always immense and deep. I think what caught my ear in this walnut/spruce guitar is that the same quality of 'vastness' in the bass end is apparent with out the lows overpowering the sound. The bass in the signature model i mentioned earlier was nearly offensive (with blackwood b/s on a jumbo guitar). The tone in my guitar is big and clear, but ballanced.
I had the action raised some, thinking i may want to strum occasionally. Once the string buzz common to delicate guitars was gone, this guitar outplayed my dreadnaught for a lot of strumming applications. I now use this guitar as my *main* guitar for recording, both fingerstyle and strumming, though i still use the old dreadnaught quite a bit in live situations.

The spruce gives this guitar a really crisp sound in the highs. For a lot of people, this is a really great thing. I am a classical player, and prefer the sound of cedar for a little more mid-range, overtone play, and for a 'rounder' edge to the attack. I think this same guitar with a cedar top would be my '10' guitar. With the spruce, I give it an 8. This guitar was the first guitar w/ a spruce top that i've ever bought, though, if that says anything. Even with the spruce, harmonics are rich and bold, and it isn't too hard to mellow out the tone, which i like to do. Still, i am anxiously awaiting the guitars maturity. The sound board is already starting to yellow a little; that makes me smile.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
The guitar was immaculate when I bought it. My only complaint is not with the guitar: the wire for the pickup rattled a little, but that wasn't installed by Breedlove, so i'll let it slide :)
I bought the guitar in January, and the dry of winter gave me some fret problems the first couple of weeks. AL&M in Norfolk VA (where i bought the guitar) treated me well, though, and now all's fine 'n dandy.

Oh, i just remembered. When i got the guitar, there were burrs on the G-string's tuning peg that caused me to go through 7 G-trings in 5 days. I was MAD. But that's fixed now, too.

The burrs were a small matter. Breedlove scores a 10 here.

Reliability/Durability: 9
All my friends say they feel like they're going to break my guitar when they play it. I must say, i felt the same at first. I've grown into it over the last 6 months, though. In fact i just wrote a note to Breedlove commending them for such a solidly built instrument. It is VERY sensitive to humidity, though. But I welcome the weakness a sign of top-notch quality.

The finish on the guitar is really great, by the way. Breedlove says they spent a lot of effort formulating it, and it was worth it. It is extremely resiliant and flexible. And it is beautiful as well :)

I never gig w/out a backup, but the guitars proven durability has caused me to feel a lot more comfortable taking it out of the recording studio and onto the stage.

Customer Support: 2
I have been extremely displeased with Breedloves correspondence etiquette. I have sent the numerous e-mails and have never received a response. The day i bought the guitar, though, we called them to ask about the availability of the same guitar in cedar. We talked w/ Steven himself and he was delightful. Could it be that the e-mail account is just defunct? Or was he only friendly on the phone because he knew I was calling from a dealer and was about to buy one of his guitars? I am hoping for the former, but until I call the company myself i will have to give them a low score here.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for 6 years; i'm a guitar major (rising senior) right now. I played LOTS of guitars before dumping my hard-earned cash in on a guitar; i plan on keeping this guitar forever. The only guitar that I really liked the sound of more was a Martin 000-28VR, but i wasn't much for the feel of the neck, and it was soooo expensive. Had I the time, i would have waited for a cedar topped guitar to come in. I needed the guitar for a recording project, though, and i am really truly pleased with the guitar I have.

I suppose what sold me on breedlove was the huge bottom end, the beautiful build quality, and (i admit it) the great feeling of owning something a little more exotic than a martin or a taylor. If it were stolen, I would probably buy a cedar topped version to replace it. But this guitar is a step away from perfect in it's own right. After a solid year and a half of searching, I am pleased to say that the guitar I ended up with is one that suits me beautifully.

Submitted by robb esperat at 06/10/2000 17:37