Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

[Silence Kid]

I always liked Breedlove (especially the pointy cutaway models they no longer make.) My pair aren't such lookers, they're bottom of the line $200 (new) Discoveries... But I can't quit them. I'm an electric player who doesn't gravitate toward acoustic, but I just can't help but think these sound about twice as good as anything available under the $800 mark or so; even comparing models side-by-side at stores. Maybe it's the large body? Who knows. Anyway, wanted to share some experiences on mine after giving each a nice little session; there have been some ups and downs in a couple years owning:

-Discovery Dread Mahogany; bought online after trying one at Guitar Center. Then regretted and almost returned it; within two weeks, two of the cheap/weak open-gear tuners broke (and were replaced under warranty no question; I even noted a flaw in the website description of the guitar to cust. support and it was corrected in hours.) A month later the top bellied and I was livid till a luthier told me the degree of bellying (~1mm or so) was "normal;" I dropped the action and kept playing, though I had a bad taste in my mouth. I would have sold it if it didn't sound AMAZING. A month later, the guitar ceased to sound good at all due to the noise of a loose brace flopping around inside; Breedlove customer support now did not want to front $50 shipping to repair it, so I took to fixing it myself (not hard.) This cured the top-bellying issue too. This thing is a ****ing lemon. But it's AMAZING.

-I bought the Discovery Dread Maple because I was pissed off at the Mahogany lemon I was going to return. I marched back to Guitar Center to pick up the guitar I originally wanted, now on sale (I didn't realize until I bought it that it was the Discovery MP.) One thing, brand new both came with the truss rod loose and huge relief in the neck, with high nuts; the "Martin standard setup" I guess. The Maple has been trouble free, and has a louder, more focused sound than the Mahogany... But overall, I still prefer the more open, harmonic tone of the Mahogany.

So I keep telling myself (as I did from the start) I'm going to sell one of them, but I can't bring myself to do it; they're just plain jane acoustics (solid top, no cutaway, pickguard, or horrible integrated piezo,) they each do their own thing, sound great, have great necks, and 50% of the time don't **** up and cause me to contact customer support. Anyone else tried/love these?

 

[PipeRain]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

I loves me some Breedlove. I have a lowly Breedlove Pursuit that I will put up against any guitar under about $1,700 without thinking twice about. Tried Martin's, Gibby's, Tak's, Yammies, Epi's, Taylor's (Blech) and anything else I could get my hands on up to the 1,500 - 1,700 dollar range and walked away with a $500 Breedlove. The one place it will not hold up is volume, but that's what mic's and/or pups are for. Yes, the piezo is, well, a piezo but my TC Helicon Play Acoustic takes care of that and if I don't upgrade to a Breedlove Auditorium in the next 5 years or so I may just swap for a better pup system. Drop a set of Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze strings on your Breed's and prepare to have your hair blown back. Those strings are amazing.

My LMS has this right now for sale, but what really has me grinding my teeth is this guy. Sweetness and light baby, sweetness and light.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

I almost bought a Pursuit... But backed off from it when I realized how similar there Discovery was, and that I didn't need the preamp/fancier top woods etc. I think the Pursuit has a bone nut and nicer binding as well.

I'm still using a large stock of Daddarrio 16s (which are the OE strings) but I do want to step down in guage and see if that hurts things much... Thanks for the tip. I picked my maple among a batch of Discoveries because it was the loudest one, it's def. loud enough but the mahogany plays at a more regular level. Overall I tend to like Taylors best once you reach a certain point, but under that it's Breedloves and Takamines that seem to stand out to me... I don't like Martins I've played so much, to be honest.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

The original, pointy Breedloves were some of the best acoustic guitars I've ever played. I haven't tried the more traditional models, but it looks like I have to now.

 

[PipeRain]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

I almost bought a Pursuit... But backed off from it when I realized how similar there Discovery was, and that I didn't need the preamp/fancier top woods etc. I think the Pursuit has a bone nut and nicer binding as well.

I'm still using a large stock of Daddarrio 16s (which are the OE strings) but I do want to step down in guage and see if that hurts things much... Thanks for the tip. I picked my maple among a batch of Discoveries because it was the loudest one, it's def. loud enough but the mahogany plays at a more regular level. Overall I tend to like Taylors best once you reach a certain point, but under that it's Breedloves and Takamines that seem to stand out to me... I don't like Martins I've played so much, to be honest.

Yes, the Pursuit has a bone nut and bridge. I played the D'Adarrio's that came stock for a couple of weeks then proceeded to go an the hunt for a better string and played a ton of them. I really like the clear articulation that the concert shape provides but wanted a bit more warmth and depth, without sacrificing the clarity and articulation. The kicker is tho that, as a primarily electric operator, I couldn't hang with 13's or anything even close. Most of the time the best I could do was 10's. Pretty sad eh? Compounding the issue is that over the years of bass playing I was/am pretty deeply entrenched in the Jason Newsted-esque camp of "If you can't play well, play hard" to the point where its a habit I am really struggling to break so a string has to be pretty remarkable in its ability to sound clear on an acoustic with me banging on it. I tried every string I could find at either of my LMS's and the local GC. Even ordered some Dean Markley Blue Steel Acoustics from Amazon as I really like them for electric but they turned out to be the worst of the lot on my Breedy. In listening to the various strings and gauges I knew the tone was in there, I just couldn't coax it out. Then one of the sales weasels at GC offhandedly suggested the EB-AB's so I did. Amazingly, the 10s' were too light. I moved up to 11's, then 12's, then 13's and ultimately back to the 12's. What further surprised me was how wide and open, yet still deep, the EB-AB's sound. And they last. And last. And last. Finally, a string that lived up to the hype on the package. The one downside is that they look like a set of dirty, worn out string straight out of the package and will leave black residue on your fingers for the life of the string. Weird, but I'll take it.

FWIW, Taylor's have never really done it for me. I know they are well constructed but the tone, to my ear, is generally flat and lifeless to outright "Honky". Sort of like an Strat run thru a solid state amp that someone has zero'd the lows, dimed the mids and runs the highs around 2 or 3. Probably just a quirk of my ear but these are the ears I have to live with, so there it is.

 

[PipeRain]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

The original, pointy Breedloves were some of the best acoustic guitars I've ever played. I haven't tried the more traditional models, but it looks like I have to now.

Everyone needs an "Excuse" for another guitar, so there ya go! I have played both originals and the "Post-Bedell's" and frankly can't tell much difference other than the visuals. I do miss the original logo and the "Mustache" bridges....

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

Another killer bang for the buck acoustic is the Eastman AC120. I got one a few months ago, and wouldn't hesitate to take it to a Martin-heavy bluegrass jam.

 

[PipeRain]

Re: Breedlove Discovery Acoustics

Those Eastman acoustics are monsters. When I was on my hunt a few years ago no one around here was carrying them, but since then one of my LMS's has started and they look really good.