Post by NattyBumppo on Sept 12, 2005 20:52:24 GMT -5
Received the Breedlove from Elderly and man, what an absolutely gorgeous instrument! Flawless finish, every detail perfectly executed. The pinless bridge with the bridge brace is a nifty item that pulls the soundboard very taught resulting in excellent sustain. Lastly, the tone of the guitar is wonderfully balanced and piano clear. Not boomy, not overly bright but a very complex sound. My Washburn sounded bland in comparison and I always thought it was a decent sounding little guitar. My only complaint regarding the sound was its lack of projection/volume. For a dread style guitar, it is very subdued. An impromptu jam session at the the tech's shop with three acoustics illuminated the Breedlove's volume deficiency.
Now for the downer.....the low E and A strings were buzzing violently up and down the fretboard. This happened terribly while strumming and even on single notes leads and scales. The D string buzzed a bit, though nowhere near as bad as the other two. A quick change to new EB Earthwood Lt. (.011) strings and a small improvement but still not tolerable. Yet another set of EBs in .012 and another small improvement but still, not tolerable. A quick email to Elderly and they agreed to extend the 5 day return policy so I could have it checked out AND they'd allow me $25.00 to do so. Very accommodating and pleasant folks to deal with!
The tech felt a neck adjustment, saddle shaving and possible fret leveling/dressing would be in order though looking down the fingerboard I couldn't see any variation in fret height. He said if it didn't do the trick , a reset on the neck would likely be in order.
Sadly, I sent it back to the good folks at Elderly. If it had a bit more punch I probably would have went for the work. The saga continues.
Now for the downer.....the low E and A strings were buzzing violently up and down the fretboard. This happened terribly while strumming and even on single notes leads and scales. The D string buzzed a bit, though nowhere near as bad as the other two. A quick change to new EB Earthwood Lt. (.011) strings and a small improvement but still not tolerable. Yet another set of EBs in .012 and another small improvement but still, not tolerable. A quick email to Elderly and they agreed to extend the 5 day return policy so I could have it checked out AND they'd allow me $25.00 to do so. Very accommodating and pleasant folks to deal with!
The tech felt a neck adjustment, saddle shaving and possible fret leveling/dressing would be in order though looking down the fingerboard I couldn't see any variation in fret height. He said if it didn't do the trick , a reset on the neck would likely be in order.
Sadly, I sent it back to the good folks at Elderly. If it had a bit more punch I probably would have went for the work. The saga continues.
