When it comes to selecting tonewoods on a Breedlove, it's sometimes easy to
overlook Mahogany as an option. After all, let's face it - Breedlove builds
guitars with some of the most amazing tonewoods available, both in terms of
looks and tone. But some of the best damn guitars I've ever heard and played
have been made with Mahogany. This most venerable of tonewoods delivers a
tone that is solid and strong in the bass, with clearly defined highs. It
gives a lot of the warmth of koa, but with a less pronounced midrange, giving
it a balanced, articulate tone. If I were forced to whittle my own collection
down to a single instrument, the one I'd have left would likely be a certain
Mahogany-backed guitar I own. It's not the most expensive guitar in my stable,
but it does so many things so well. And that's what I'd need if I could only
have one.
This Breedlove C25 really fits the above description well. It's not the most
ornately appointed instrument you can find on my site, but if you're after
a guitar that sounds great and is a great player to boot, and you don't need
a backwood that looks like it might have cost the lives of three sherpas and
a pack-pony to bring out of the darkest corners of the rainforest.... well,
to you, may I present your new guitar. And it's not like the Mahogany is hard
on the eyes, either - it's a gorgeous rich red color, with a great pattern
to the grain. But lets get back to tone. This guitar is really sparkly in
the high end - you get crisp high notes that cut through well. And there's
a really solid bass response to underpin the highs. It's a really satisfying
guitar to hear. And it's a treat to play, too - the neck feels great, and
action is right in the pocket.
If you're not normally one to stop at a Mahogany guitar and you have read
this far, then my flowery prose might well have worked - perhaps I've got
you considering a tonewood you might not have thought about. If however, you're
already a Mahogany fan and you're also in the market for a Breedlove, give
me a call about this one. It's a winner.
