Breedlove Guitars Focus Koa/Spruce

2002 Focus Limited with figured koa back and sides and a spruce top with a soft cutaway. Ivoroid neck and body binding instead of black binding as on the Focus standard, Focus inlays,ebony pinless bridge and ebony fretboard. Gloss finish, satin finish mahogany neck, pearl ring around soundhole. Fishman blender electronics. Nice hardcase, guitar fits very snug. Ebony peghead overlay with pearl inlaid Breedlove logo. Give it a nine because it only lacks abalone body purfing which is merely cosmetic, but for me, it has everything I want This model offers features than are far more expensive on "other" makes of guitars.

This is far beyond just a guitar.. it is a musical instrument! It has piano-like clarity in the notes especially in the bass register. It is the most balanced guitar I have ever played, what I mean is that the tone is so silky smooth, and no one frequency or note outdoes the other, they blend effortlessly up and down the neck. And boy are there overtones gallore, especially with open tunings. You hear the note(s) clear and strong but there are these resonating overtones that surround the notes it is dreamlike. Get this, when I use my digital tuner it is sometimes hard to dial in "00" ony any string because you turn the keys and get it close and then the needle on the tuner jumps all over the place....as I mentioned overtones gallore!!! These overtones enhance the notes and gives it fullness, sustain and an absolutley beautiful musical quality. Breedlove has a distinct sound, one I cannot put into words. When I first played it I thought, "what have I done"... but the more I played it the more I liked it. Taylor guitars sound like acoustic guitars, Larrivee sounds more musical... but Breedlove surpasses both to a different level, like I said before, it is more than just a guitar. You can make the Focus sound like a guitar and you can make it sound like a musical instrument.... some who read this will make sense of that. It can be bright, it can be warm, it can thump, it can sing. VERY responsive to playing technique and attack. It can be soft, or it can have an edge of "crispiness". Have not plugged it in yet so I can't say how it performs amplified. I will submit a follow up when I do. I have no real need right now to play live, having the blender was a bonus for me. I play fingerstyle and flat pick both rythm and blues licks, sounds and perform great for all styles I play, it does't peter out when you dig in, it just responds that much more. I do not like the D'addario strings it came with , they are too squeaky..... will replace with either Martin SP's or Elixirs.

Practically flawless, I found two microscopic places where it looks like an overcut spot with a knife, on a point on one of the wing fretboard inlays, and one behind the nut where the ebony overlay attaches to the neck, again VERY microscopic...border line picky! Action is high for my liking, I will adjust once the guitar settles in its new environment. Finish is flawless, perfectly bookmatched 3A koa back, all joints are perfect. A beautiful hand crafted guitar. Not handmade, Hand Crafted!!

I can only determine thus far that this guitar will last a lifetime. My only concern was the bridge truss system and how over time it might affect the guitar structurely, since it is not a traditionally constructed guitar. But after researching it I have faith. As mentioned a well hand crafted guitar that was maticulously constructed with solid woods and a voice of angels. As longas I keep the temp. and humidity under control.... no problem.

I bought this guitar sight unseen, unplayed. In fact I never even played a Breedlove before. Steve and Pete at Breedlove are most helpful, in fact I called them just to inquire about their guitars twice, and the second time I told Steve what I was looking for in a guitar, and I was told about a limited run of five guitars they had on the bench and all were sold except one, this one I ended up with. We hung up and Steve went to the shop to check on this particular guitar and called me back ten minutes later with all the details. Sold. Pete called me the next day and gave me a contact of Micheal at Ye Olde Music Shoppe in Charleston, SC. I had talked with Michael a few months earlier about a Larrivee so that is who I was going to call any way. I was referred to Breedlove by a friend of Micheal's. Micheal was ready to call me when I called him and we sealed the deal. So all in all Steve, Pete & Micheal were great to work with and they are passionate about what they do. They all gave me confidence to buy sight unseen/unplayed. Highly Reccomend all parties

I am not a professional musican by any stretch of the imagination, but this guitar makes me sound like one! I have been wanting a premium acoustic for a long time, looked at Taylor, Larrivee, Collings, Martin, Goodall, but the Breedlove spoke to me like none other. There is a tagline on the Breedlove website that states, "Whoever said your soulmate had to be a woman..." "Let the spirit move you..." Play a Breedlove and the true meaning of those two staements will ring true...........