2003. Breedlove Rogue

[Grimm]

https://i.imgur.com/MzSEkMC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/AfxxF20.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hJ9NtJr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OUN7Quf.jpg

I am a musician who has always wanted to play mandolin. I finally decided to get started. Better late than never right?
I am starting my journey with this used Breedlove I found in a local shop. I feel very lucky as I am from a place where there's little demand for mandos.
I am a novice with the instrument, but I have a decent ear. It sounds great to me, especially compared to the other instruments I was considering in the same price range.
Let me know what you think! And thanks for looking.

Dan

[almeriastrings]

Very nice find. Those are a really fine quality instrument. Quite rare. Not many out there at all - I believe only 16 made?

Original list price on those was $6K!!!

https://themandolinstore.com/product...ss-rogue-sold/

[GKWilson]

A couple of the best sounding mandolins I've heard
were Breedloves from that era.
Very loud with beautiful bell tones.
What a great find and what a great first [and lifetime]
instrument to start on. Enjoy.

[GKWilson]

Always thought that Rogue River inlay was cool.

[MikeZito]

Welcome to the mandolin world! After nearly 40 years of being a musician (albeit, not a very good one) the mandolin is still, by far, the instrument that I find most fun. (Well, a VibraSlap is fun too, but I don't think that REALLY counts as an instrument.)

Enjoy the ride!

[Randi Gormley]

don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but the Rogue name is also attached to the plywood Musician's Friend brand mandolin you can buy for $49. Just so you understand to refer to it as a Breedlove (which has a certain reputation) rather than just as a Rogue (which has another reputation entirely!).

That said, it's a lovely instrument. Congrats and many years of playing!

[j. condino]

What is the serial number on that one?

[Grimm]

What is the serial number on that one?

I have SN: 6339

[almeriastrings]

These can be referred to as "Breedlove Masterclass" instruments.

No confusing it then with a $49 plywood special

[jefflester]

Breedlove has changed "series" and models quite a bitt over the years, it's hard to keep track. I don't suppose anybody has a good history of the models? The archive at the Breedlove website has some of the older ones, but definitely not all. I remember back in the early 2000s there was the Quartz line (satin finish, no binding), Spirit I think was one level up (added binding) but then a bunch of names I can't remember where they fell in the pecking order (Oregon, Olympic, Orca, Rogue, Columbia, Alpine, etc). This was all before the FF models though they still kept some of the names I think.

[Grimm]

Jefflester,
I know the folks at Breedlove keep a good record and have catalogued information on each of the models they've put out over the years. They were very helpful when I called them for details on my Rogue. I looked elsewhere for the info before I called them and I couldn't find anything too helpful. I would call them especially about instruments from early on.

[Vincent Capostagno]

To amplify on jefflester's post: in the heyday of the Bend operation, there were three levels (master class, premiere and quartz) offered in K and O body styles, with oval or f holes. The quartz also had an ff offering. Names. Master class: Orca KO, McKenzie KF, Alpine OF, Rogue OF with pickup. Premiere: Olympic OO, Oregon OF, Columbia KO, Cascade KF. I have the specs for most of these, if you need details s of 2008.

[j. condino]

I think the "heyday" was when it was back in the old Tumalo shop about ten miles out in the sagebrush from Bend. 'Probably the coolest work commute I ever had- ten miles of mountain biking single track through the high desert juniper and sagebrush above the river canyon while I watched the sunrise on nine volcanoes....Does anyone own #4072? That was my favorite of all I built.

I fondly remember sitting outside on the old picknick table while Kim taught me Whiskey Before Breakfast at lunchtime- how many old bosses can you say that about?????

[Vincent Capostagno]

Have to agree. I have Oregon # 172, probably from 1978. Beautiful flamed maple on back, gorgeous sunburst on front. No signs of wear after 20 years. Tuners turn "like butter" with no maintainance. Unusual tailpiece that no one at Bend could identify but it has no rattles after all those string changes. My playing buddy has Cascade #014 which has a slightly thicker neck. I have played mine against a much later Alpine and can hear no difference. Consistency. That's why there is a "Breedlove Sound". I would like to think that these early models were carved by Kim himself. You are more likely to know but it doesn't matter if the final product sounds just like the later Master Class.

[Ancient]

I own a Rogue and the first Orca produced.

[j. condino]

I remember that first Orca and the afternoon when Radim Zenkl came into the shop to give it a test run- very cool mandolin. They made a seafoam green version of that, like an early 1960s Fender, for one of the NAMM shows; not their best idea....

As much as the marketing guys like to show Kim sitting in the corner with his John Lennon glasses hand carving the spruce, it is all marketing BS. With the possible exception of a prototype or two, they were an engineered product that was cnc machined with a specific market and approach. After Flatiron, I believe it was Steve Carlson's company who did the cnc carving as a subcontractor for the first ten years until the new shop. There were very minor tweaks in the old shop, but nothing like you may have been lead to believe. You were definitely told to NOT mess with things.Occasionally Kim would make a few adjustments, but back then they were almost $1 million in debt as a small company and everyone was overwhelmed with a heavy workload. I'd build two complete mandolins before lunch, send them off to the paint room, and then did all the assembly and setup work for two finished instruments after lunch every day, all while constantly being verbally abused and threatened by the front office for working too slow....!!!

[Scott Rucker]

I have an early Olympic, serial number 148. I bought it used from Gryphon in the early 2000s. It's a fine instrument with a sweet, clear, ringing tone and a neck like a baseball bat. The maple is to die for.

[bjz]

I remember that first Orca and the afternoon when Radim Zenkl came into the shop to give it a test run- very cool mandolin. They made a seafoam green version of that, like an early 1960s Fender, for one of the NAMM shows; not their best idea....

As much as the marketing guys like to show Kim sitting in the corner with his John Lennon glasses hand carving the spruce, it is all marketing BS. With the possible exception of a prototype or two, they were an engineered product that was cnc machined with a specific market and approach. After Flatiron, I believe it was Steve Carlson's company who did the cnc carving as a subcontractor for the first ten years until the new shop. There were very minor tweaks in the old shop, but nothing like you may have been lead to believe. You were definitely told to NOT mess with things.Occasionally Kim would make a few adjustments, but back then they were almost $1 million in debt as a small company and everyone was overwhelmed with a heavy workload. I'd build two complete mandolins before lunch, send them off to the paint room, and then did all the assembly and setup work for two finished instruments after lunch every day, all while constantly being verbally abused and threatened by the front office for working too slow....!!!

I’m currently considering a breedlove rogue…are you suggesting that these are similarly machine produced (like the premier OF I own and really like) just with fancy wood and appointments?