What do you hear? Stuff I think about.....

[davismanLV]

I would say Breedlove did everything in their power to present what they wanted to present. To think fair mindedness had anything to do with this is just being naive. They build a big lush resonant guitar. Is it what you want in a bluegrass band? Is that guitar what you'd find hanging on a Guitar Center wall? Breedloves are a pretty sounding guitar, good for some things, not for others. A friend has one I always enjoy playing, but I'd never buy one because it is not what I want in a guitar. They do slack key fingerstyle really well, country blues not so well. But really, anyone trying to sell you something is suspect, be it a company or a dealer.

Br1ck, I do see your point. And it's a good one. However, having owned two of these amazing guitars that they've built, I've started looking more and more their way and they have such a great team that's flourishing under Tom Bedell's guidance and creating new ways to produce better sounding guitars. Second only to maybe Taylor is utilizing woods they get and avoiding clear cut sources and promoting sustainability, which is critical for our planet at this point. Also, I see them showing up in different settings. Now country blues is not a specialty of mine, but by family involvement (spouses nephew, Rob McCoury, banjo player for the Dell McCoury Band and also The Traveling McCourys) I've seen him in concert multiple times and besides being a super nice guy and multiple Grammy winner, when his band goes up on stage and launches off into their set I was stymied. Their lead guitar player was playing a Breedlove! So lo and behold there he was and when we went backstage later to meet the guys I asked him, "You're playing a Breedlove. I'm a little surprised." He said, "Don't be, they're making some of the best guitars these days." So that's just one instance, I'll admit but they're showing up more and more and after having two and playing more, I can certainly see why. And if you have a good product, why not show it off? Just thinking anyone selling something is suspect is maybe a tiny bit skeptical for me. I'll listen. We'll see when Ray buys his!!

 

[Rayk]

We'll see when Ray buys his!!

Nah Brick says there no good for country .

 

[davismanLV]

dread #2 sounds muffled in comparison. the Breedlove concerto had better tone overall IMHO. the dread #2 (spruce/hog) did give it a run for its money, but I could actually hear the tones of the Concerto best of all 3. and that is just strumming. if the above then is true to my ears, then fingerpicking, the Concerto should be also best. maybe i need to rethink what i really need guitar wise right now, as my goal is to hear what i am playing vs say just another Guild westerly dread. not that there is anything wrong with that per say. but this post has been helpful. thanks for posting.

Woody, it's good to hear you say this. There are so many different sounds and tones out there. And Guild has a lot of them!! And I love the brand. I started with my D65S of course bought new in 1994. Then I wasn't even really thinking about another guitar but when twocorgis called me and said, "Tom, get on Las Vegas craigslist right now!!" I did and found a DV-72 for a killer price. Took a month to close the deal with those jokers and paid even LESS than they were asking!! So at that point to me I was in dread heaven. A maple guild arched back limited edition Guild dread, and another shining Guild example of what a Guild rosewood dread is!! Then with those areas covered, I started looking for something specific. Concert size, something I can play on the bed or couch without putting my body through contortions. Rosewood, short scale. That's when the Taylor showed up. What a sweet little guitar. Does it sound like the dreads? Of course not. But that's okay it's got a big sound for a small guitar. Then of course I saw that Breedlove Oregon Concert Rogue in that beautiful blue color and that search started. A bit bigger than the Taylor and deeper too. You can't compare them. Different woods and sizes and factories. The Breedlove you can push a lot harder. So, it's nice to have variety in your arsenal and to be able to pick and choose according to your mood and what sound you want. And right now, each one is in a different tuning. And that rotates as well. Variety is good!!

 

[Greenstar]

Great video! My ear keeps going back to that Gibson on this one.
Thanks for posting it.

 

[davismanLV]

That Gibson is my #2!! Sounds great.

 

[Badger]

I never trust videos. There are too many variables. The adjustment of the audio, the distances of the microphones and the room where it is recorded. not to mention the strings that can enhance or sink the sound of an instrument. The same guitar in different videos can sound different.

 

[Nuuska]

Ahhh the search for tone and the intricacies of frequencies begins .

Tilt Billings and The Student Prince

 

[Rayk]

Tilt Billings and The Student Prince

Haha "This type of guitar brings out the best of me "
Oh yeah . Hehehe

 

[richardp69]

I thought the Breedlove sounded terrific. It had a crisper, clearer sound to my ears than the others. Someday I'll buy a made in the USA Breedlove.

 

[Rayk]

I thought the Breedlove sounded terrific. It had a crisper, clearer sound to my ears than the others. Someday I'll buy a made in the USA Breedlove.

There's not many other vids on this guitar which is a model unknown at least I didn't see any specs or model type other then concerto .
Of coarse the vids I've seen are not as nicely set up as the Breedlove ones .

 

[davismanLV]

There's plenty of videos on the Breedlove Concerto E, if you search youtube. Possibly not those specific woods, but I've not looked for that.

Breedlove Concerto E videos

 

[Rayk]

There's plenty of videos on the Breedlove Concerto E, if you search youtube. Possibly not those specific woods, but I've not looked for that.

Breedlove Concerto E videos

Ugh I was specifically looking for adi/rosewood ce
I'll check out the others thanks .

 

[davismanLV]

Ugh I was specifically looking for adi/rosewood ce
I'll check out the others thanks .

I can get you a little closer. Here's the Concert sized (smaller) with sitka/rosewood:

Masterclass Brazilian Auditorium CE Sitka Spruce - Brazilian Rosewood:

Not exact, but does that help?

 

[bobouz]

At first I was going to say that none of this matters to me because I fingerpick 99% of the time. But upon listening to the samples twice, the Gibson comes out a clear winner to my ears. Not exactly a surprise!

 

[Rayk]

I can get you a little closer. Here's the Concert sized (smaller) with sitka/rosewood:

Masterclass Brazilian Auditorium CE Sitka Spruce - Brazilian Rosewood:

Not exact, but does that help?

Tom these are great but not achievable by the average player. You heard my very basic music , skill aside No Eq other then reverb and occasionally compression on some tracks so you hear exactly what the guitars sound like less what color the mics create .
What we hear in these vids are they are very professionally recorded. This is not exactly what we'll hear guitar in hand .
So I look for more home recorded or more basic type recordings . You possibly don't know how much these tracks can be made to sound great and the qwirk is they can do this with out altering the original sound by multi tracking and just Eq'n .
So it gives them an out.
You take one track after another add a bit here offset a bit there some high or low filters along with a we bit of delay or not and holy cow you have a amazing room filling acoustic .
You might know all this so I apologize if so but I felt bit of reality was needed . Lol

Hugs brother

 

[davismanLV]

I was just trying to help out, Ray. Continue your search.......

 

[davismanLV]

At first I was going to say that none of this matters to me because I fingerpick 99% of the time. But upon listening to the samples twice, the Gibson comes out a clear winner to my ears. Not exactly a surprise!

It was a clear leader in the #2 slot for me. A super great sounding guitar!!!

 

[Rayk]

I was just trying to help out, Ray. Continue your search.......

Oh yeah and thanks it's much appreciated . I just don't trust pro vids as a accurate source of true representation.
No worries there's 2 breedloves I remember well one was a dread when I began my search it was out of my price range and it was a dread and it did sound very good , well really good . I went back for it but it sold and it was discontinued at that time which was every bit of 15 yrs ago but I remember it along with a later model concert I played .

 

[Nuuska]

..... This is not exactly what we'll hear guitar in hand .
....

Hugs brother

Then we have to remember, that the player always hears different sound compared to someone who is in front of the guitar.

 

[Grassdog]

Thanks for posting this Tom. I very much enjoyed the video and discussion. I'd have to say I prefer the Breedlove with Gibson coming in second. I don't think any of them sound bad. Some guitars record better than others (that Breedlove excels in this regard for sure) but that doesn't necessarily mean they hit all the marks. Sometimes what the mic picks up isn't what it sounds like from the player's perspective or several feet further out in front. I'm intrigued enough by the video to check one out one of these Breedloves next time I'm guitar shopping, so I guess the ad did it's job.