Decision: Breedlove/Rigel/Weber

[Steve_R]

I'm down to a Breedlove Quartz with F holes, Rigel A Natural
and the Weber Hyalite. The Rigel and Weber come with case but the Breedlove comes with a gig bag. There's only a $200 range from the lowest priced of the three to the highest price. We don't have these locally so I am going to have to order without playing, although I will have an approval time. Any opinions/comparisions on tone, volume, quality of build, etc would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[doc holiday]

I just sold an Fstyle varnish mando and am playing a Hyalite while I wait on another custom mando. It plays easily and has great tone. And of course its backed up by the great folks at Weber.
Regards
Doc

[foggyvalley]

Doc,
Did you happen to sell a lefty Weber?

[seanh]

Hugo helmer music in Mt Vernon WA. 360 336 6109 has a hylite on the wall with upgraded maple sides and back. It sounds great I play it every time I stop by. Its been on their wall for a while now I bet they would deal on it. They have a web site but I don't know the adress. A look through the weber site for dealers in WA. should link you to it. I can't speak for the breedlove but i think I would favor the weber over the rigel. That of course is my personal taste but I have owned both. All are great picks though. If you buy it tell them Sean sent you maybe they'll give a free pick next time I'm in. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif I bought two Webers from them a mando and an octave. I like to support my locale music store.

[mcmando]

If it were my money, I'd definitely go with Rigel. #I've owned two Rigels and a Weber (although no Breedlove), and played many other makes-- Rigel is hands down my favorite. #I think it's the neck and fingerboard on the Rigels that makes them the best. #Playability is better than any other mando I've ever had in my hands.

[doc holiday]

Doc,
#Did you happen to sell a lefty Weber
Almost broke my heart. But there is a lefty Heiden on the way and I had to come up with the #$$$$. #If there was any way to keep both i'd of done in.!

Doc

[Mando Medic]

Steve R-,
It really depends on how you define tone. They are 3 completely different sounding and playing mandolins.
In my opinion between the 3 and having owned and played all three, for the way I play and the tone I want, I would choose the Breedlove. It will also develop a darker chop and more volume with less brightness but good clarity. I hope that helps. Kenc

[Steve_R]

I would be interested in a more mellow sound, not
so bright. Good volume but not necessarily the ability
to cut through in bluegrass. I have small hands so a
comfortably playable fretboard.

[vedauwoorocks]

Steve--I bought a swell Rigel A+ Deluxe first and then found a good deal on a Weber Custom Hyalite oval hole. These are totally different mandos and can really change their sound with different strings. I was running TI's on the Weber which gave it a low and mellow tone. I changed both to J-74's recently and I like the contrast. If I had to make up my mind between the two, I would take the Rigel. These mandos are way ahead of their time. It takes only a few minutes on the phone with Peter or anyone at Rigel to realize this. It was really thanks to Dale and a few of the Cafe Experts that I stumbled onto a Rigel in the first place. Until then, I was kind of caught up in the Gibson thing.
You can't go wrong with either of the mandos you mentioned. I really like the quality and customer service of both Rigel and Weber.
--Fred

[John Flynn]

I have to agree with the Rigel choice. I have played multiple examples of the Breedlove and the Weber and they are fine instruments, but IMHO, the Rigel is the better choice. I haven't actually played an A Natural, but my main mando for the last year and a half has been an A+ Deluxe and I am extremely satisfied with it. If I had to replace it tomorrow and was in the price range you have chosen, there would be no question I would go for an A Natural. My reasons would be better playability than either of the others, more even tone across the fretboard than the Breedlove and more volume than the Weber.

Playability wise, I feel Rigel & Breedlove are better than Weber. The A Natural may not be around much longer....that's the rumor anyway. Breedlove builds a great mando. They are very hard to beat at the quartz pricepoint. If your interested in Rigel, consider a used A+ Deluxe IMHO.

[PCypert]

Hey,
I've been a longtime fan of Rigels but recently came into a used Weber I couldn't pass up. Normally I've steered clear of Weber's. Then I read there mission statement. Right on with mine. Really wanted one of their after reading their belief statements. I think I'll go Weber from now on. Makes the decision easy for me. Maybe down the road I'll look at small builders with similar convictions, but I just thought it was too cool for a company to put it their beliefs first thing in their mission statement.

Oh and my new mandolin is great too. Got a matte finish instrument with tone bar and radius fingerboard upgrades. All the mando I need currently. Absolutely blows any Rigel I've played away. But I have played some bad Webers that sounded terrible. This is my own opinion (which isn't worth much) but I think Weber can put the gloss on a little too thick sometimes. Also they're mandos tend to sit on walls at predominately guitar shops that don't have mando players coming in to play on them. So I think the strings, etc kind of go dead as does the instrument from neglect and lack of playing. When mine came in it took about an hour to warm up to me. Now it barks, sings, everything I wanted it to do. My opinion is a Weber with matte finish over a gloss one.

If you go Rigel I'd take Dale's advice. I think he has a new used one coming in (Rumor has it). They play well. The fingerboard is a little wider and if you have small hands a Weber will be the only narrower fingerboard. The Breedlove's and Rigel's play great, but they are wider.

Play a bunch as there are dogs in all camps. There are hidden monsters in the ranks of some of them and you can get turned off because of other's comments and their having bad eggs. You could find a Hyalite that blows any other A style out of the water. There are some Festival A's that are better than their Artist cousins, but you have to play them to know.
Paul

[John Ely]

I've had a Breedlove Quartz, and have a fancier Breedlove mandolin now. I have a Weber flattop octave mandolin, too. You can't really compare these instruments directly, because they are so different, but all in all, I prefer the Breedloves. It's hard to express, but my bias going in would be for Breedlove. I have never even seen a Rigel in person, so I have no opinion there.

[Walter]

I'd go with the Rigel. This will be the most versital of your choices. Great playability, and much more consistant in tone and quality than Webers.

[DarthWoody]

I have a couple Webers, including a used Hyalite I picked up on the Cafe a couple years ago. #I like to think of it as my "beater", but what a terrific, easy-to-play instrument. #I have the bridge set real low and there is not much chop, but it is very easy on the fingers.

There is something about the matte finish which makes me more at ease taking it outdoors, I suppose I don't worry so much about rough handling. #I take it out in the front yard, I take it to the dog park, I take it camping.

Though I bought this one used, I have a custom Beartooth, and I can tell you Weber is a real pleasure to deal with. #But I hear nice things about Rigel service also.

If I was going to order a new Hyalite, I would consider an oval hole, as the teardrop shape is very Celtic. #Even with F holes it's not really a bluegrass instrument. #Not that there's anything wrong with that. #:-) #I have a 1917 Gibson A1 with gorgeous tone, but the Hyalite is, to my mind, easier to play.

Stephen

[RichM]

I've owned a Breedlove KF, and Weber Gallatin, and a Rigel A+ Deluxe. All good mandos, all different. Although I don't think you could go wrong with any one of them, if forced to pick just one, I'd have to go with...

...the Rigel. It's the whole package. First and foremost: tone, tone, tone. It just sounds wonderful. If it was just the tone, it would still be my first choice. But in addition to the tone, you get a swell neck, a radiused fingerboard, and a factory-installed pickup. The typical "used" price for these makes them the best bargain going.

[pickinNgrinnin]

Another entrant to the mix would be a used Weber Absaroka. You can find used Rigel's Breedloves and Weber's at good prices with a little patience. Save a bundle of dough too.

I know Dale likes the playability factor and I do too but I've had no difficulty in playing any of these Mandos. Actually, I played a Rigel Natural for the first time a few weeks ago. A comfortable neck and fretboard indeed but I just couldn't get past the visual impact this Mandolin had on me. Sorry to say but IMO, this was one ugly Mandolin. Maybe it is a good thing they are discontinuing the natural? An F9's finish looks top drawer compared to the industrial like look to the Rigel natural

In my book, FWIW, Webers have it in tone, playability, fit and finish, value and customer service.

After the first couple of batches of solid dark brown A Naturals they went to a more visable burst.......that helped a little. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Steve_R]

I've decided to buy a Breedlove Quartz,with a strong lean
to the A style Quartz OF although the KF is tempting
because of it's unique"K" shape. The sunburst finish looks
a little funky in pictures I've seen. I called Breedlove
and they said they have changed their finish and it looks
better than previous ones. The natural finish looks nice
with the contrasting dark fretboard and bridge.

[Damnation Gulch]

Hey man, check out this Weber Absaroka. The reserve aint met but I bet its just a buck over a grand. I've been eyeballin' it but I want an F...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....me=WDVW (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10179&item=3728571628&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)

[Damnation Gulch]

Heres another thats just cryin for attention:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....IT&rd=1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3727615198&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1)