How can a Breedlove breed more love?

[almeriastrings]

The wood on Melissa's is superb. A perfect match to the finish, too. My main stage guitar (when I'm not using one of the old Martins) is a one-off "Herringbone D28" style built by Kim Breedlove as a prototype. It is a really, really fine instrument. So good I do not feel short-changed at all when using it compared to say, the 1950 D-28. The 'unique' Breedlove style guitars, though, never did much for me at all... but he can certainly build 'traditional' instruments when he wants to. I have not seen or played any of the newer 'downgraded' mandolins, but I also do not much like the new 'orange' finish colours which - to me - remind me a bit of those old 1960's department store instruments! I also much preferred the old, classy looking logo. Sound-wise, all of the 'original' Breedlove mandolins I've encountered have been really impressive... a shame they seem to have moved downmarket. May not be a good move, because as FP rightly points out, 'BLING' rules in that arena....just look at MK and stuff like that....

[RichardF]

At last, enthusiasm for Breedlove on the forum. It does seem to me that Breedlove do not get much of a look in on the forum when recommendations for upgrades are requested, but maybe I'm just being paranoid as a happy 2006 Quartz OF owner. Here in the UK, Forsyths in Manchester keep a small stock of Breedloves, more than they show on their website, but they do seem to stay on the wall for a long time. Mine was a second hand buy from there two years ago, seemingly in unplayed condition looking at zero plectrum scratches in the matt finish and the unmarked case. I contacted the Old Hippies and received manufacturing date by return email with their pleasure. I had a Fishman M200 fitted at time of purchase and, with a good pre amp, it plays very well. The Breedlove Quartz is really good. I've played it every day, it's maturing well but as I've said before Breedlove just don't inspire the passion of the Weber brand, maybe because of the Flatiron origins, Bruce Weber's reputation and the beauty of the Weber's looks and tone. Anyway I like my Breedlove a lot and that's what's important to me.

[foldedpath]

Aside from the gorgeous wood on Melissa's mandolin, notice how great the binding looks. And binding isn't just cosmetic, it's more protective against dings than a simple top-to-sides join without binding, like my Breedlove Zenkl mandola.

[dan in va]

IIRC Larry Breedlove used to work for Taylor and left to start Breedlove guitars, then went back to Taylor, and is now retiring from Taylor. Brother Kim, brother in law to Geoff Stelling, moved back to Oregon and became involved with Breedlove guitars. If this is so or not, then Bryce and Sunburst can surely speak with authority and insight, and clear up any ?'s. The current Breedlove instruments look like Kim's mind at work to me. i've never met Larry, tho'.

So....the kinship between Taylor and Breedlove may be more accurate than the posters know.

Actually, as far as finish and engineering, the Collings and Taylor instruments seem to have something in common. This isn't a negative statement...just a taste observation. There, i said it!

[CSIMelissa]

I like the older logo better than the new one too. It just looks artsier and yes, the black binding on my (future!) mando is a great contrast with the blonde wood. I was floored when I saw it in person after putting it on layaway via phone.

I think their popularity will grow as more and more 'discover' them. (When I'm a famous mandolin player, everyone will want one! )

[Mike Bunting]

What is interesting to me is that the majority of posts only talk about looks, either positively or negatively. That tells me a lot.
The reason that I don't have one is simple, I do not like the sound. It seems one dimensional to me, does not project well and has no character (the same as the Taylor guitars that heve been mentioned). I quite realize that taste is subjective and mine may not agree with yours.

[JeffD]

I haven't taken a survey or anything but most of what I have seen on the cafe about Breedlove seems positive to very positive. I don't see as many negative comments as I do about other brands or models, and overall I would have thought, from just my random surfing, that most folks like them and some folks love them.

I have never had opportunity to play one. I love the different shapes. No more, or less, ridiculous than the original F style, which took a me a while to warm up to.

[JEStanek]

I had a KF mandolin for a while. I liked it's plain Jane looks and preferred the blonde to the Breedlove burst color (a good bit). I moved it along because I didn't really like the neck. I was more comfortable with the narrower V neck on the Eastman mandolins (I don't care for their sunbursts either).

I think Breedloves suffer because their shape isn't what people expect. They have a fine voice to my ear and skill level.

Mandolins are a small instrument market and non-traditional shapes have an even smaller market share.

When folks ask for a wider more substantial neck on a $900-1800 mandolin I usually recommend the Breedlove line.

Jamie

[Elliot Luber]

Never was a fan of the K series. To me it looks like something that used to have a scroll but someone chopped it off. But the FO Legacy looks nice to me.

Not a fan of it's look, but the sound can be surprisingly good.

[multidon]

Jeff I took some time to read the old Breedlove posts and you are right. A few negative comments but lots of love too.

[Petrus]

IIRC Larry Breedlove used to work for Taylor and left to start Breedlove guitars, then went back to Taylor, and is now retiring from Taylor. Brother Kim, brother in law to Geoff Stelling, moved back to Oregon and became involved with Breedlove guitars.

I think that's basically accurate. I recently read Bob Taylor's autobiography, Guitar Lessons, and he briefly mentions Larry Breedlove at one point. Good book btw ... really gets into the hard work that Taylor and his associates put in for many years before their brand caught on (and brushes with bankruptcy) as well as dealing in great detail with his production philosophy and methodology. There's one cool anecdote he tells about how in the early days, still working with a handful of people out of his garage, he took a tour of the Martin factory in Pennsylvania and it blew his mind and he realized, "so this is how it's done!" -- resulting in major changes to his production line soon after.

Actually, as far as finish and engineering, the Collings and Taylor instruments seem to have something in common. This isn't a negative statement...just a taste observation. There, i said it!

I've got a Breedlove Crossover on my wish list (A style) along with a bunch of other instruments. Nothing I've read here has turned me off them. I know there was a discussion some months back about them moving production of certain lower-end models (maybe the Crossover) to China, but their website has a tour of their Chinese facility and it's really a small workshop, not anything like an Apple/Foxconn factory or anything like that, so nothing about that bothers me. I'd buy one if/when the right time comes.

[klaezimmer]

What is interesting to me is that the majority of posts only talk about looks, either positively or negatively. That tells me a lot. The reason that I don't have one is simple, I do not like the sound.

Good enough reason. Excellent, in fact. I have a Breedlove Columbia, an oval hole, K-style body. The looks caught my attention; the sound enamored me to it.

I do find the sunburst on the dark side and would have preferred to have found a blond version; but after 5 or 6 years with it, I still have absolutely no regrets in buying the one I have.

Ron

[DHopkins]

As for non-traditional looks of a Breedlove... Sometimes it's nice to break away from the crowd and have an instrument that doesn't look like everyone else's! I was happy I found one with an allover glossy finish. I actually think it would have been sold awhile ago but there were two things in my favor: a. When Willcutt Guitar puts something on their web site they usually don't display it in their store and b. through a fluke/mistake on their web site this mando was hard to find and not listed in the "mandolin" section.

You go, girl. I have two Breedloves and love 'em both. The workmanship is impeccable and the tone and playability are outstanding. Yeah, they look a little different but that's just not all that important.

[Jonkay]

I have a Breedlove Spirit that I have owned for about twelve years. It is a really fine instrument, really well made and it sounds
great. The only thing that I don't like about it is the internal pickup. Through an amp, it sounds really boxy and unnatural.
I recently bought a The Loar 700 mandolin because I wanted an F-Model mandolin. Comparing the two, the Breedlove
Spirit sounds a bit mellower then The Loar. The Loar has what I would call a brighter brash sound....and I am using the
word brash in a good way. I guess I would have to say that The Loar sounds more Bluegrassy. Both instruments sound
very good, though.

[Douglas McMullin]

I have played a few over the last half dozen years and I have enjoyed each one. A Spirit model I once played was particularly good. I think they make very playable instruments and I quite like the sound, though I agree that they have their own thing going. I have always thought that their base American OO and OF models were a great deal compared to what you get for an import of similar cost. I guess it is subjective, but I would rather have simple aesthetics and a good sounding and playing instrument, over too much glossy finish and so-so binding. Not a hack on some of the imports, but that is what I have found with the bling on some of them.

I will report back because I just ordered a used OO as a travel mandolin. It has the orange burst, which I actually find to be reasonably attractive.

[Mike Snyder]

I'm with Bunting. The modern looks are fine, really attractive, actually. Fit and finish are exellent. I play every mandolin I can get my hands on and I've never heard a Breedlove that I'd care to own. It's not a bad sound, just one I don't want to hear from MY mandolin. That's not bashing, it's perference.

[sgarrity]

The mandolin market is very traditional. We like sunburst F5s and A5s with the occasional blonde thrown in for variety. Outside of that, anything els can be a tough sell! So you couple the non-traditional looks with their "unique" tone and the market just isn't going to be that kind to them. I played a new FF when they first came out and was surprised by its tone and volume but it definitely wasn't a bluegrass instrument. And like it or not, bluegrass is where the market is.

I've owned two of the Revival series guitars, a D-28 and a D-18. These were very fine instruments. A little on the fundamental side but very high quality fit and finish. I sold the last D-18 when I started having left hand issues and just couldn't handle the 1 3/4" nut any more. I'd own another of their traditional-styled guitars in a heartbeat. You can usually find them in the $1500 range used. The equivalent used Martin will run you about $600-1000 more.

[MikeEdgerton]

One of the best sounding D-18 style guitars I ever heard was a Breedlove. That thing was spectacular. So spectacular that I bought one of their Korean copies for an electric gig I was going to start doing on a regular basis. The gig fell through but I still have the guitar. It's good, not great. The guitars built in Bend were better in my mind. As far as the Breedlove mandolin goes I could never warm up to them. That was a personal preference. With regards to Taylor, I own a Taylor guitar that I got in 1989. I traded a Martin D-28 for it. I got the better part of that deal. My Taylor 814 and Martin D-28 Marquis pretty much share the stage depending on what I'm playing. I have a recent Taylor that I bought to use while my 814 goes back to the factory. It's a lower model and it's good, again not great. We haven't become friends yet.

[Jeff Mando]

With regards to Taylor, I own a Taylor guitar that I got in 1989. I traded a Martin D-28 for it. I got the better part of that deal. My Taylor 814 and Martin D-28 Marquis pretty much share the stage depending on what I'm playing. I have a recent Taylor that I bought to use while my 814 goes back to the factory. It's a lower model and it's good, again not great. We haven't become friends yet.

About 20 years ago I was working in a vintage guitar shop and we were stocked with great 50's and 60's Martins and Gibsons. We took a used Taylor in trade toward a vintage guitar. It was a D-18 type of thing with no electronics, no cutaway, BUT spruce top with Koa back and sides. I kept comparing it to a Banner J-45 we had in stock and the Taylor was better! Of course, that made no sense to a vintage nut like me. I still think about that guitar! (and feel stupid for not buying it.)

[dcoventry]

I have played perhaps a dozen or so mandos and only one sounded good to me. The rest were boxy and rather hollow. YMMV.

HOWEVER, a purchased a dread here on the Cafe that is just STELLAR, and for a good price, too.

http://breedlovemusic.com/instrument...al-d-ar-deluxe

[almeriastrings]

Yes... those 'traditional' series dreads (and OM's) were quite something. Put together really well, and the sound was right up there with very best Martin or Collings can offer. You have to use the past tense, unfortunately, because they went and dropped the entire line - even though they only introduced certain models as late as 2012-13. Up side is you can find them at good prices. I've had mine about 6 years - and it is a lifetime keeper. It is the hand-built prototype exhibited at NAMM when Breedlove first decided to move into traditional style guitars.



I think the mandolins very much have their own signature sound as well as distinctive looks.. quite different entirely from anything 'Loarish'... which is possibly why there is this love/hate response. I've heard them played in folk and jazz contexts where I thought they sounded good.

[eastman_315]

I've been on the road lately & have been playing my traveler, an Eastman md-514, more than my Breedlove American KO. So I pull it out & get it in tune. After a few strums I know why I like it so much. Its not the custom toner & gloss. Its not Kim's aesthetics (which I particularly like in the K-style mando). Its not even the playability of the wider, radiused neck. Its the wonderful, full resonant voice!



I'm not great at describing the sounds of mandolins in general, but I have heard Breedloves described as "modern" & "complex." I suppose those descriptors work.

Anyway, for me, its a keeper. I'd love to own a Weber oval-hole & someday, who knows, I might. I'm sure the Weber would sound awesome and not like my KO. But that's OK. Its got a sweet voice all of its own.

Frank

[sgrexa]

I mentioned the lack of publicity / advertising in an earlier post and yesterday I notice a full page color Breedlove mandolin ad in the latest issue of Vintage Guitar! I don't think I have ever seen a Breedlove mandolin ad in any guitar magazine before, very weird!?

Sean

[CSIMelissa]

Here's a question - I've only paid attention to it on my Breedlove that I have on layway. The seal inside with the serial number and the number mine is in the limited edition is signed by Kim Breedlove. Are all the serial number seals (don't know what else to call them) signed by him or is it just the "special" ones?

[eastman_315]

Are all the serial number seals (don't know what else to call them) signed by him or is it just the "special" ones?

I don't think the CrossOver mandos are signed but I could be wrong. I did play one at Elderly but didn't look at the label. My KO is, though.

Frank