Breedlove Guitars AC250/CR

The guitar has a cedar top, laminate rosewood back and sides, a rosewood fingerboard, and Fishman Classic Four electronics.

I needed a guitar to play both acoustically and through a PA with a band. I tried many Taylors, Martins, Larivees, and other auditorium style guitars. To my ears, this guitar sounds as good or better than most. I would say the sound is bright but woody. The guitar has good projection, a rich tone with a good balanced sound. The guitar has a lot of overtones and harmonics, so much so that tuning can be somewhat slow. Plugged in, the guitar sounds great and has good string to string clarity.

Good setup. Satin finish, frets, inlays, and headstock overlay all nicely done. Action could have came a little lower. Small discoloration in the cedar top and small lump in black binding around body.

Had it about a month. So far so good.

5 year warranty. No experience with customer support

I played many guitars before selecting this one. I am very well pleased with my purchase, but for perspective shoppers I think it's important to remember that your buying a guitar and not a brand name. Play as many guitars as you can get your hands on before selecting the one that you want.

My guitar is the synth model with rmc pickups and outboard eq.,13 pin synth output.It is rosewood with a cedar top.It has grover tuners and was made in Korea.

The sound plugged in is is fair on guitar sounds.The synth sounds are poor at best.I purchased it because of the synth output.I have an old strat and an ovation ledgend with Roland gk2 pickups.Both work great with synth module.

Here is where the guitar fails.The action was very high.When the neck truss was tightened the action was ok,all but the d string,it buzzed on the upper frets.The frets had to be trimmed,were wider than the fret board.I have owned more than 70 guitars over many years,this guitar is hard work to play.

I have never taken this on stage nor would I.We do big band,pop,country and some latin music.This seemed to be a swiss knife of guitars.I will continue to use 2 guitars.

The guitar is under warranty. I have called 4 times and sent 1 e-mail. First call I was told the tech was out to lunch and to leave my phone number he would call when he returned.No call back.Called 2 days later tech was out,e-mail him.Sent e-mail no answer.called again, tech out.Finally got tech.on still another call.I explained the problem,he said I would need to return the guitar to them and they would send me a ups number.His office girl was to call me in about 20 or 30 minutes to give the details.No call.1month later I have given up.

I have been playing many years,about 35 years on stage.All types of music.Am retired now and play about 25 parties,dances and many church services each year.Some of the products I use are Roland,Peavey,Ketron x4,Mackie,EV,Shure,Elka,Ovation,Fender,Gretsch,Qsc.I should have asked how good is customer service.No I would not replace it.Breedlove needs to look at their quality control.

Just to clear something up first of all, this review is for the AC250/CR/SYN, an AC250 CR with synergy pickups ( one gold plated piezo per string). It has a satin finish, and a soft cutaway, and is made of cedar, and laminated east indian rosewood on the back and sides. It is a concert body.

This guitar is AWESOME. I have had it for almost a year, and everyone who has played it, including a few professionals, says that it is THE BEST sounding acoustic guitar that they have ever heard. It has the most balanced, warm sound that I have ever heard!!! I have played many high end acoustics, including taylor and le-benito, and I have never found a guitar that sounded like this one. it is the most responsive acoustic guitar that I have ever held. In other reviews, people complain about the fishman pickup, I have never heard the fishman, but the synergy system is amazing. It perfectly captures the natural warmth and tiembre of the guitar, with low feedback, and also has synth and midi mixing options... you can make the guitar sound like anything using a roland....

I have never used that feature, I love the sound that the guitar makes too much!!!

From the factory, my guitar was set up perfectly... i did not even have to have the action lowered, and I like low action. My only complaint was the low E string was like a hundreth of an inch too low at the nut. I put in a drop of super glue, and let it dry, and the problem was solved... The finish is flawless, breedlove takes great pride in what they do, which is making great guitars at an affordable price

I would absolutely use this guitar at a gig without a backup, it is the most dependable guitar that I have ever had, and it feels like it will last forever (a little heavy)

I only gave them a ten because I could not give them 100/10.

My guitar was severely damaged due to my own stupidity.... I backed over it in my car. I called the factory, and they let me speak to a repairman IMMEDIATELY. I learned that it could not be repaired, as then neck was put in with epoxy (the only thing that was destroyed was the neck by the tuners). After two hours, they called me back, and told me that if i would send my destroyed guitar to them, that they would send me another at cost!!! This is absolutely over the top as far as customer service goes!!!! They are kind, and treat you with respect!!! They absolutely stand behind their product 100% no questions asked!!!

I do not think that my guitar would have ever needed service if i had not run over it, but companies that stand behind their products to this degree are few and far between!!!

Not only do they have a great product, but they stand behind it as well!!

Perfect instrument, great quality, great service, excellent price....enough said.

Cedar top, rosewood sides, back and fretboard, neck appears to be mahogany, adjustable and sealed Grover tuners, Fishman Classic 4 pickup system and hardshell case.

I hybrid pick and fingerpick and I'm very happy with the bass response of this guitar. The overall tone is very warm which is what you would expect given the cedar/rosewood composition, but what really pleases me is the volume, definition and sustain. The treble strings are quieter than the bass, but this I think has more to do with my attack than it does with the instrument. When I dig in strong with my fingers the guitar is responsive to that. I'm sure I'll soon adapt my touch to the instrument. The guitar came strung with Elixir 12's and they seem a good choice. Overall, the guitar seems a good match for the jazzy blues progressions I favor and the alt/folk singer/songwriter that I am.

I have no complaints and can find no flaws. A very good design that was well executed. The action is very playable but I'm sure I'll have it lowered a smidge at the nut and then maybe at the bridge. I'm hesitant to change the bridge height because the action is reasonable and I like how responsive the guitar is to changes in attack.

Only time will tell, but I'd be very surprised if I ever have to make more than minor adjustments.

I have been playing for 17 years and I have owned perhaps 35 guitars during that period. I currently own just 1 electric and now this acoustic. I played many guitars over a 3 month period before buying this one and they ranged in price from $500 to $2400. Ultimately, I feel I have purchased a great all around acoustic at a reasonable price. A working man's instrument with a subtle flair. The other guitars that I was considering were made by Taylor, Everett, Avalon, Tacoma and Guild. And, other than the $900 dollar Guild they were all priced between $1200 and $1800. The Avalon and Guild were my favorites as they had big sounds and great acoustic presence and were visually very appealing, but they were all great guitars. The Breedlove won out because it felt immediately comfortable to me and had a sound that rivaled the best guitars that I had played while costing a lot less.

The Avalon and Guild had bigger, brighter more piano like sounds to them whereas this guitar is warmer and not so much quieter as intimate. Owing I'm sure to it's smaller body and cedar top. The Avalon was to my ear the best guitar I played at a price of $1415, but the difference in tone and playability between it and the Breedlove were not so much about quality but preference. The Breedlove suits my style and voice and was for me the best guitar at the best price.

This is the Breedlove Atlas series acoustic/electric (under-saddle pickup) with cutaway. Real cedar top with laminated rosewood back and sides. Satin finish, with a pretty abalone soundhole decoration. Same length and depth as a dreadnought but with a 9 inch waist and "soft" cutaway which sits nicely on the knee and makes the neck above the 14th fret accessible. Grover tuners stay in tune O.K., but not great. I give it a seven because although the guitar has a cutaway, pinless bridge and electronics, it lacks any accesories, i.e. case, strap, pickguard and uses laminate wood.

A Little about ME & MY STYLE:
I mostly flatpick blues, bluegrass and rock. 3 years of experience pretty much 7 days a week and a major technophile. I also have a '91 American Stratocaster and a Fender DG-10 with Phosphor Bronze 13's and LOW action that suprising gets more compliments than more expensive guitars.

GOOD:

The sound is well-balanced and rich. When plugged in (very clean, with no noise), or playing at home, the guitar sounds brilliant. Amazing sustain, you could pluck a string and walk away and it will still be ringing when you return. Real good harmonics too. A very balanced tone, neither tinny nor bass heavy. Although it sounds pretty bass heavy to me, listeners say its fine.

BAD:
Not very loud overall compared to a dreadnought. Naturally, narrowing the waist and the cutaway feature removes a lot of space from the overall box, and thus you lose volume. I would not recommend this guitar for someone who plays acoustically, unplugged at a jam session for example. If you are the only guitar then maybe, but I played it only once at a bluegrass jam just to see how it performed and was drowned out pretty badly. Hard and heavy flatpicking sounds weak with no substance and some buzzing. It came with light, coated D'Addarios which I swapped for Medium D'Addario Phosphor Bronzes and the lights sounded better.

Action from the factory was rediculously high. Medium to fast chord changes, scales or whatever were a challenge. I lowered the bridge by about 2mm and the nut grooves by about .5mm's.The pickup was fine from the get-go. Overall I'd say the finish was high quality, especially considering the price point. It has a satin finish which is nice and low maintenance. A pickguard (they offer clear stick ons) would be nice from the factory. The pinless bridge is a cool, feature making it easy to chage strings. One thing that anoyed me was during my first gig with this guitar, the bottom of the neck had an edge to it that irritated the top of my palm where it joins the knuckle of the index finger. Sliding back and forth made it worse. It might go away over time, who knows.

I can't say because I've had it only a few months, but the guitar is quite sturdy, a bit heavy too compared to other acoustics. The hardware, strap buttons, neck are secure and look they will last.

Have not dealt with Breedlove, but I've heard positive remarks about their customer service.

Bottom Line:

For the price this is a solid, well made and attractive guitar. With a lowered bridge, the narrow waist and the cutaway feature it is a very comfortable instrument to hold and play. The sound is balanced, clear and has great sustain, but lacks volume for unplugged performance. This does not comprise a one arrow quiver if you know what I mean. I fills a niche for the singer-songwriter, but to be totally honest, why not spend another $150 and get an all wood guitar without electronics from a better brand. Just my $.02

This is Breedlove's Atlas series, made in Korea. Solid Cedar top, laminated rosewood back and sides. Fishman Pro IV pickup. Soft cutaway with a Satin finish, rosewood overlay on the headstock. Pinless bridge, Grover tuners, strap button on the neck (side of the heel, very nicely done). This guitar is drop dead GORGEOUS! I own 6 other guitars, 2 which are 3 times the price of this, and this is by far the best looking one I now own.

I strum and pick, this thing sounds wonderful either way. Came with some coated daddario strings that sound freakin great! Awesome sustain, just as good as my higher end yairi dy-62. Not sure how to describe the sound, rich, full, LUSH is a good word, and this is all unplugged. Plugged in, the fishman sounds ok, but unplugged, man, does this guitar sound great! (unplugged is how I mainly play).

Action was perfect from the factory. Not too low or high, just perfect. The wood, finish and fit is SUPERB! I could not find one flaw on this thing, and believe me, I looked.

This seems to be a very well built guitar, gotta be careful with the satin finish on the cedar top, and there is no pickguard, so you're kind of asking for it if you play like Monte Montegomery! The neck seems very heavy, not sure what kind of wood it is. This and the pickup are the only negative things I can find, and I'm not sure if heaviness is a bad thing, just different from what I'm used to. It doesnt seem to affect the sound.

Havent dealt with Breedlove,hope I dont have to.

I've been playing 3 years, have 6 other guitars, 2 are high end Yairi's. I absolutely love this guitar! It immediately became one of my favorites. I know the atlas series is breedlove's lower end, but they appear to have QC down pat in their Korean facility. The soft cutaway is sweet, and the finish on both the top and back is perfect, and the rosewood is absolutely stunning! I do wish it came with a case, but what the heck, I just built a guitar cabinet, so it really doesnt matter! It is advertised on Musicians friend as having the synergy electronics. It doesnt, so keep that in mind. I let them know of their incompetence in advertising!