Thou shalt not GAS for thy friend's gear.
Went to see my mate Mike last night. He's been on a bit of a spending spree whilst I'm away. There's an old (+- 30 years) Yamaha FG580 that he closed a deal on last night. Looks to be in very good condition too.
So that's cool. Then he hands me his new pride and joy.
This is a Breedlove Focus SE. Redwood top. Rosewood back and sides.
And the noise this guitar makes... I played it for 10 minutes or so and then suggested to him that he search my car when I say I'm going.
This guitar is 2, maybe 3 weeks out of the shop. Not finally set up yet (they'll do that when he's happy it's settled down), but it plays pretty good already. I'm out of practice and rusty, but I had no difficulty at all playing this (and it has 13s on it). Not too much bling on it. Very well finished and built. Gotoh tuners, very good quality case.
But most of all the sound of the thing. It's not a big guitar - about the size of an OM. It has a big voice. And a rich voice. Good rosewood guitars have a complex, rich sound with lots of overtones. This is like playing a piano in the way that you hit a note and all sorts of things start ringing. A lush sound, yet there's clarity as well and a beautiful balance. It's very good for fingerstyle with good separation between the strings and a firm, clear bass. Does OK with a flat pick as well.
Comes standard with Baggs electronics and a very good quality case.
He also has a 2nd Breedlove. Can't find a picture of the exact model on the Breedlove site, but it's their "concert" body shape, the same as the focus. Spruce top. No cutaway. Dot fingerboard markers. Both guitars have Breedlove's "bridge truss".
This is a less expensive guitar, about half the price of the Focus. Very good for the money. Price wise you're in the same ballpark as a 3 series Larry or a modest Taylor. This is well finished but the woods aren't quite as good. It's a little brighter than the Focus and not quite as complex and rich, but still sounds pretty good and plays just as well.
It will be interesting to see how these guitars progress. The spruce is going to "play in" and improve. That's what spruce does. Cedar top guitars are usually more open when new but then change less with time. My understanding is that redwood is close to cedar in terms of sound and as regards the playing in/opening up. We'll see. That Focus is already sounding very, very good.
A key difference between redwood and cedar is that redwood is a slightly stiffer wood, thus has more headroom and you can hit the guitar harder. I recall a fabulous (and very expensive) Breedlove that I played about a year ago that was very dynamic when played soft but could also take a really hard hit (playing wise, in case you thinking about Keith Richards-style antics). This focus has the same attribute, and the top feels very dynamic and lightly braced. I don't understand what the bridge truss does, but I'm guessing it allows them to brace the tops more lightly. This guitar feels alive when you play it.
Anyhoo... I didn't knock him on the head and take his guitars or anything. But it's hard sometimes....
