STOAKES GEAR TALK – BREEDLOVE ORGANIC SERIES CONCERT COPPER E

I must confess that Breedlove aren’t a guitar company I am overly familiar with, so when the Organic Series Concert Copper E arrived a few weeks ago, I really didn’t know what to expect.

After doing a bit of digging and searching the realms of the internet, I can tell you that Breedlove are a company that really care. They use sustainably harvested tonewoods and the company as a whole are always ahead of the curve. Founded in 1990 by Larry Breedlove and Steve Henderson, both former Taylor luthiers, Breedlove are putting out some quality guitars.

The Organic Series is Breedlove’s affordable range, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve played far more expensive guitars that are nowhere near as sonically good as this little concert! With it’s African Mahogany back and sides and a Torrefied European spruce top, this thing really sings. Torrefaction is a fairly modern process of drying the wood in a controlled environment; the wood then takes the characteristics of aged wood in terms of tone and appearance, while becoming more resistant to changes in temperature and humidity. This basically means it sounds glorious!

The guitar sports a lovely binding and I love the Indian Laurel finger board with its offset dot inlays too, but both of these are rather subtle details. Consider that Breedlove’s are a real players guitar, and are by no means the flashiest guitars on the market, but sonically, that tone is superb. The guitar I have has a simple copper burst finish and I have to mention that headstock with it’s staggered offset tuners, very cool!

I have been playing it for the last few weeks and in all honesty, I haven’t been able to put it down. The guitar feels super comfortable and like I said, that tone is so sweet. All you have to do is just brush the strings, ever so lightly and you get a big full, boomy sound. This is the ideal guitar for acoustic sessions as it really can deliver – it sure does pack a punch! It’s a really versatile guitar too. It is just as comfortable being finger picked as it is being strummed. You can literally play anything on it, from folk to country, even acoustic rock if you plug it in!

I have to say, I was a little concerned I when I plugged it into my amp. The Undersaddle Piezo pick up has no EQ controls, just a volume and tone, but my worries very quickly disappeared when I actually heard it. The guitar sounded pretty much exactly as it did acoustically which I have to say is brilliant. You can manipulate the tone a little if you want a little more or less treble, but all in all, all the pick up does is amplify the already wonderful tone. If you dial the tone all the way down, you get a really ‘bassy boom’, ideal for palm muted stuff and the more percussive stuff a la Newton Faulkner, and all the way up is a tiny but shrill, but that is to be expected, half way I would say, is perfection.

The Concert Copper E is being marketed as a beginner’s guitar. I would have to disagree, this is a ‘for life guitar’ for guitarists. They way it plays, the way it sounds is just stunning. Aesthetically, it’s not the best-looking guitar out there as I have mentioned and if you didn’t know Breedlove, you could be forgiven for walking straight past it at the guitar shop, but the moment you pick it up, start to play, or plug it in, my god, it’s got you. Overall, it has been an absolute pleasure to play!

Specs:

• Body Type: Concert
• Neck Wood: African Mahogany
• Solid Wood Top: Torrefied European Spruce
• Solid Wood Back & Sides: African Mahogany
• Top Finish: Copper Burst Semi-Gloss
• Fretboard: Indian Laurel
• # Frets: 20
• Nut Width: 1.69″
• Tuners Hardware: Premium Breedlove Chrome w/ Black buttons
• Lower Bout Width: 15.37″
• Waist Width: 9″
• Upper Bout Width: 11.279″
• Body Length: 19.874″
• Body Depth: 3.75″ (neck), 4.5″ (tail)
• String Gauge: Olympia light (.012″-.053″)
• Pickup: Breedlove Natural Sound (Microsonic VT HD 2-AAA)
• Bridge: Indian Laurel
• Binding: Black (6mm)
• Inlay: 3mm MOP plastic Dots Offset
• Scale Length: 25.59″
• Sound Hole: 3.937″

S.R.P: £589