Breedlove Guitars ABJ25-CM4 Atlas

Fretless acoustic 4 string. Rosewood fingerboard. Maple Neck. Cedar top with gloss finish, mohagany (sp?) back and sides. Fishman AKB Preamp.

Kinda wish it had an ebony fingerboard but some people prefer rosewood.

Sounds about 95% nondifferent from an Upright Bass. Has all the wood and the thump that an upright brings as well as the poor sustain.

When I purchased this Bass off Ebay my idea was to find a bass that brought the warmth and sustain of an electric bass to the organic and earthiness of the upright. I got half of what I wanted. I'm a little dissapointed with it but I still find that I play it regularly despite it sustaining poorly, especially above the 12th fret.

If what you want is a compact and portable Upright Bass then I would give this bass a 10.

The bass amplifies good but the Preamp doesn't have very broad EQ.

The nut and saddle were pretty high when I got it from the factory. I filed both of those down for more sustain.

The saddle wasn't glued but the nut was. I think it would have been a better idea for BreedLove not to glue the nut down. Any serious fretless player knows how vital the height of the nut is to get good fretless sound. I usually have 2 or 3 spare nuts and saddles on hand at any time for different action heights. It's their only fretless instrument so I'll forgive them for not being totally savvy to this.

Only had it for a couple of months.

Really nice people. I've talked to BreedLove about 4 or 5 times about the instrument and given them feedback. They were very supportive and helpful.

If I could take my money back before I bought this bass I would have probably bought a Godin acoustic instead. It just doesn't have the sustain that I hoped it would.

Despite having said that I still find I play it daily. It's got a charm and personality that compels me just to pick it up and spend some time with it. Really good for working on your upright walking bass stuff. It's a lot of fun like that. I'm just waiting for a jazz jam session to come up so I can show it off a little.

***JUST END YOUR SEARCH & BUY THIS BASS!!***
Read below & consider my extensive research and homework to save you laborious search time looking for the perfect acoustic fretless bass.

Features: Jumbo deep body, gloss finish, unlined/unmarked ebony fingerboard, position reference dots along side length of neck only, SOLID western red cedar top, SOLID mahogany back & sides, 34? long scale length, tortoise binding, abalone rosette, Tusq nut & saddle, gold Grover tuners, & Fishman Classic IV onboard pre-amp electronics, and a simple exquisite ?less is more? appearance.

The BC10 Breedlove hardshell case is absolutely gorgeous as well: jet black tolex covering with red stitching, 6 gold latches, a super beefy carrying handle, and an included external carry strap/shoulder sling (I doubt I?ll ever use the strap ? but I?m all about additional bells & whistles).

In my search, I also considered the Michael Kelly dragonfly fretless, the Tacoma fretless, and about every other fretless acoustic currently available ? but wound up landing on the Breedlove - no contest.

This is absolutely ? hands down - the best sounding acoustic fretless bass guitar crafted for under a cool grand ? or for any price in my opinion. I think it?s the most beautiful acoustic fretless bass made as well. Who in their right mind wouldn?t want to own a Breedlove? Even though it?s the Breedlove Atlas series, this model is one fantastic ? super high end instrument! I conducted 4-5 MONTHS worth of research, homework, and inquiries before ordering one of these. I also completely researched what my options would be for modifying it after it arrived.

The FIRST thing anyone should do as soon as they receive their new, pristine Breedlove bass, is rip those cursed round wounds off of it as fast as they can! I even explicitly requested/instructed the Guitar Center store that I ordered it through - NOT to let any of the employees play it when it arrived. Believe me, everyone will drool over it & want to handle it as soon as they see it. I hated to be a killjoy about it, but I knew even minimal to moderate playing on the round wound strings would groove indentions on the fingerboard requiring painstaking work to steel wool/scotch-brite pad them out. Be forwarned - sure enough, someone did play it with the round wounds on it and created about ? hour worth of work for me to carefully level out the grooves & marks on the fingerboard left behind by those gnarly, worthless, round wound strings.

I?m a detailed woodworker, have built several of my own stringed instruments, and take care of all the lutherie work required on the instruments in my collection. Following suit, I did slightly modify this bass in a couple of minor areas to make it the perfect acoustic fretless bass.

First, I really had to break the extremely sharp upper & lower edges of the fingerboard binding with fine sandpaper, steel wool, and then a Scotch-brite pad. (Always be careful & protect the guitar top & other finished surfaces). The edges were very sharp when the bass was received ? accurate & perfect ? but too sharp.
Next, you?ll want to change the round wound strings to what my research proved to be the best set of stainless steel flatwounds known to man: the Labella 760FS (45, 65, 85, 105 string gauges with black silk windings). Here?s where you just need to take my word for it. Don?t monkey around with trying to save a few dollars on a cheaper set or less expensive brand of flatwounds. This is the absolute right set & you?ll want to go ahead and just get these. I spent the most time researching strings & you?ll regret the time and money you wasted by getting anything else (how many times can you afford to ?try? a set of bass strings out at $30 - $50 a set anyway?). I researched ALL of the flat wound sets available, consulted Breedlove on the issue, and evaluated all of the various choices of string gauges. The Labella 760FS set can be purchased for the best price & quickest availability through www.bigcitystrings.com. These folks are knowledgeable and a great resource for all string needs.

The stock gauges of the round wound strings shipped on the guitar are (45, 65, 80, 100). Obviously the new D & G flatwound strings will slot in with no modifications. You will be required however, to carefully oversize the E & A string bridge mounting holes by a few thousandths to accommodate the new larger E & A flatwound strings. This can be easily done using drill bits and the right tools. I use: hex shank drill bits, inserted into a 7? flexible shaft ? bit extension, inserted into a manual ratcheting screwdriver/bit driver (no power drills). Using standard sized drill bits, just choose the same size or a slightly larger drill bit than the current hole diameter, manually hand drill it through, and from there begin ?wallering? the bit back & forth and up & down while turning the screwdriver handle. Periodically test the hole with the new string to know when enough clearance has been achieved for each slightly larger flatwound string. Once again place cardboard or thick paper on the soundboard to protect it while working.

As far as the action/playability, this bad boy absolutely GROWLS & has that awesome ?fretless? buzz sound all over the scale. Many other models have the tendency to only buzz in the upper regions of the fingerboard (on each string - say beyond the equivalent of the 9th fret or so according to my experience).

I play bass weekly on my church worship team which plays acoustic driven praise & worship music. This bass?s sound has been positively commented on countless times and if played with the correct fretless technique, really does cut noticeably through the mix and adds that eerie haunting fretless element to every song it?s played on. Add to it a Heartwoodes Bullet style Cocobola exotic wood guitar strap, and you?ve got yourself one outstanding & stunning package that everyone will take notice of no matter where you play. You can check out the Heartwoods exotic guitar straps at www.heartwoodes.com.

Breedlove customer support was contacted multiple times before the bass was even ordered. Each time they were courteous, very knowledgeable, and were able to answer all of my technical questions. Hats off to Breedlove Customer Service/ Technical Support! I give them AAAA++++.

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this acoustic fretless bass at 1000. If properly modified, this acoustic fretless bass is not only stunning to look at and behold, but completely euphoric to play ? every time you pick it up. I?ve got eclectic taste in stringed instruments and have compiled a premier collection of custom made high end guitars & basses. The Breedlove ABJ25/CM4 totally belongs right in there with them - both in looks and playability ? totally. This is a super high-end instrument for an unbelievably great price. How?s that for a positive product review?