Breedlove Guitars AC250/SM-12 Atlas 12-String

I just bought this guitar yesterday so I am a bit in the honeymoon stage but the features are fairly clear. It is a compact 12 string with a truly full sound. I have small hands and find the neck to be excellent. Some 12's make me stretch... I love the body style escpecially sitting. In just melts into your lap. I have an Epiphone hollowbody made in Korea and honestly when I brought it home and really looked it over the finish is pretty crappy. I REALLY looked this guitar over before I wrote the check and it is perfect as far as I can tell. The electronics seem very good and I love the tuner ... especially for a 12 string. The Gig bag gets good press but I think it's kind of cheesy...

I play kind of folky stuff. Harmonica on my neck and country folk stuff. My main guitar is a 1965 Gibson J50. I do more flat picking than leads but I am having no trouble getting tangled up in the strings on this guitar. I do not hammer a guitar so some comments about playing loud don't affect my playing. I have banged it a bit just for fun and have found no buzz but I generally think all 12's get a bit muddy when banged. Picking up toward the neck or down near the bridge makes some dandy difference in brightness. Can't find anything so far I dislike.

I had the guitar guy at the store tune this guitar a bit when I bought it. The strings were a bit high for my tastes. He agreed and when he tweeked it it was just right. Again I have to say I really looked this guitar over before I bought it. The fit and finish is, as far as I can tell, perfect.

I played many guitars before I bought this guitar and one very important things to me is how it will hold up. It seems very solid. It's seems heavy for it's size and feels like it should hold up well. The tuners seem solid if non-discript. The strap buttons look fine...(never had one fall out). The construction is braced for the extra load of a 12 string. In my pre-purchase research I felt comfortable with the construction and I have no reason at this point to worry. I always pack my Gibson but I would not hesitate to rely on this guitar.

No opinion but they have a good reputation. I am just a few hours from Bend and look forward to visiting the factory.

I was a singer in a band in the late 60's and early 70's. I have been playing guitar... mostly poorly for almost 40 years. The last 10 I upped my game a bit and hope to make a clean 8 or 10 bucks an hour in the clubs when I retire. I did my homework and asked all of the questions. I played it through different amps and side by side with many other guitars of all price ranges. I just kept picking this guitar up. I played Martins and Taylors, Ovation, Fender and one made in Canada ... can't remember. All I can say is I am satisfied so far. Like I said I just got it so I am a bit love struck. I have put a several hard hours on her though. I have a gig next week with lots of loyal listeners. I can't wait to see what they think...

Body Style: Deep Body Concert 12 string with Soft Cutaway
Body Depth: Deep, 4 9/16???, 3-3/4??? at Heel
Width at lower bout: 15 ?????
Scale Length: 25.5"
Nut Width: 1 7/8???
Neck width at body: 2 5/16???
String spacing at saddle E-E, 2 5/16???
String gauge: Light
Finish: Satin
Top Wood: Solid Sitka Spruce
Back: Mahogany Laminate
Binding (body & neck): Black with BWBWB Purfling
Rosette: Abalone rosette w/ Black Border
Nut and Saddle: Tusq
Frets: Standard
# Of Frets: 20
Fingerboard and Bridge: Rosewood
Inlay Pattern: Breedlove Offset Pearl dot Position markers
Headstock Overlay: Rosewood
Tuners: Chrome Grover mini Tuners
End Pin: Ebony
Electronics: Fishman Classic IV
Built in 2008.

Well balanced sound, as others have said, better to use a lighter touch. But even when I strum a little harder, it manages to keep the clarity and broken-in sound characteristics. Nice, reasonant sustain.

Not a loud, projecting acoustic sound, per se but sweet nonetheless. Again, the lighter you play, the less mud and more chime-like sound.

Nice cuts of wood all the way around. The mahogany back has a vertical striping I have yet to see on other AC250/SM12s. The binding by the endpin is slighly raised (but tighlty glued, etc.) so I have to knock the score down from perfect.

Frets nicley dressed, with no rough spots.

Seems like a solidly built guitar. Stays in tune AND you don't have to detune a whole step and use a capo to relieve top stress- amazing for a 12 string.

Haven't had to deal with Breedlove, but by all accounts, they're good,

I was hesitant to buy a guitar with laminate construction, but the bottom line is, the sound is beautiful- even when running it flat through a Line 6 Flextone III at rehearsals.

My only gripe is that in this day and age, there is no reason to omit an onboard tuner on an acousitc/electric, especially for a twelve string. Since my other acoustics have onboard tuners, I had to go out and buy a tuner expressly for this axe. To me, that's not acceptable for a $700-900.00 street priced guitar.



Been playing for almost 40 years and seen 'em all. This guitar a great value.

If your checking this review out you probably have a good idea of the features. My rating is based on the price level. I like the look of a pickguard and installed one myself. Other than that, I have no complaints.

I agree wholehearedly with the previous review which stated that you need to coax the tone rather than beat it.....very true. The guitar respond beautifully to a lighter touch. I don't mean you have to baby it.....but you do have to experiment a little to get the most out of it. I think you have to experiment with all guitars to find their strengths and weaknesses so I don't view this as a flaw, just a characteristic. The sound is very full and not much different from a Breedlove Jumbo. I'm a Taylor man, but don't have the funds to own more than one (414ce).....so the tone doesn't match the Taylor, but honestly it comes close and for the money you can't beat it.

This guitar was flawless right from the store. The store supplied me with D'Addario strings (I use D'Addario's on my electrics). I like Elixirs on my acoustics, but the D'Addario EXPs sound nice. I'll try the Elixirs when I make a string change and see which ones I like best. I prefer the brigher sound. Back to the finish....it really does look like a much more expensive guitar. If this guitar was made in Oregon instead of Korea, you would pay double its price. I really can't find anything wrong in this category.

This guitar seems to be very well built. I like the JLD Bridge Truss system which should totally alleviate any possible bridge lifting problems in the future. I baby my guitars so I'm not so concerned with durability. But like any wooden instrument, you have to take care of it.

I haven't had to contact them so I can't provide an opinion. Hopefully I won't have to.

I've been playing off and on for over 30 years. I own a USA Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Epiphone Riviera, Ibanez Jazz Box and a Taylor 414ce. If lost, I would replace it unless I had the extra buck, then I would buy a Taylor. If not, I wouldn't hesitate to buy this guitar again. Highly recommended for this price range.

2005 model Made in Korea.14 frets to the cutaway,20 total frets.
Solid spruce top,Laminated Mahogany sides and back.
Electric -Acoustic with Fishman Classic 4 under saddle pickup,Volume,Bass,Mid,Treble and Brilliance control. Pretty basic but easy to use. Active pickup.
Mahogany neck, Spruce top,Laminate Mahogany Back and Sides.
Concert size with cutaway. String through bridge,Grover tuners,Black Binding on body and neck.Satin finish all over. Not sure of the scale but the neck measures 17/8 th at the nut and is a bit thick,not bad but substantial.It also has the JLD Bridge truss system in it as do all Breedloves. Resonates front and rear and projects well for it's size.

I have no particular style...ask anyone! I play a bit of anything. It covers a lot of 12 string stuff smoothly and is articulate enough to play leads with.
I've been mainly using it through PA and/or a Ultrasound AG-30 witha Boss RC-20xl looper,no effects.
The sound is very round and full with a lot of low end due to the bridge truss system. A lot of low end for a small bodied instrument. Not the typical 12 string jangle here. You hear the higher octave strings but they aren't overbearing.It covers a nice"sweet" 12 string sound well. I like the sound very well compared to several of the really high end guitars out there. There are a few I liked a tiny bit better but you have to pay 4 -5 times as much for them. 12 string isn't my main guitar so this is a nice sounding/playing instrument that doesn't break the bank.It is a very responsive guitar and likes to be played lightly.The dynamics are there you just have to coax them out rather than beat them.

The guitar came setup well. The action isn't perfect but really, really close.I was impressed with the action/setup straight out of the box.
The finish is impressive and nothing about it shows poor workmanship.No sloppy finish,no bad joints or anything you might expect out of a fairly low end guitar. I think I read that the setup is done in the U.S. at Breedloves regular factory.
Nicely done top with a nice abalone rosette and the headstock sports the Abalone Breedlove Emblem.Very tiny inlaid fret markers.
The Grover tuners on the guitar must be very low geared because you have to tune them quite a ways to change tuning. The tuning is very stable.Check the tuning then play for hours .

I don't see why the guitar would present a problem with decent care on stage or off.
It has an upper strap button installed that seems quite solid.The endpin/jack arrangement is screwed on with three tiny screws and I'm not familiar with this system but it seems very well done.
The finish looks great and satin finishes are quite durable.

I've never dealt with the Breedlove people but they sell a very impressive product so I would assume they are good folks who try to market a great product so they don't have a lot of quality issues. These type of folks usually want you happy so they go the extra mile.

I've been playing 30+ years.I own it all, well most of it anyway.Too much to list!
Taylor,Martin,Ovation,Fender,Gibson,Godin.
I didn't think it was Laminate Backed until I checked the specs on Breedloves page but the sound is still the same sound I liked when I picked it up.
If it ran away I'd probably wait to see what the rest of the Breedlove Atlas line sounds like in a 12 string but the truth is this suits me fine.
I love the fact that it's a 12 string with a nice woody sound to it with decent bass response. It's not a Jumbo so don't expect that. It's more of a nice size ,easy to play instrument with good projection and a "not so brash" sound.
I played several Taylors high and low priced.The diffences were small if any. I played Takamine and Alverez Jumbos,Not my sound.I played a very high end Breedlove. It was a very nice instrument but I'm not sure in a blindfold test I could have picked between the two. Playability wasn't an issue .They were all similar.
In short if you're in the market for a nice 12 string don't pass these little guys by. You will be pleasantly surprised.