WARNING!!! If not played in moderation, your wife may begin calling your guitar "the other woman".
Finding the perfect guitar is a challenge. I had been looking for one with pure intonation, a nice deep sound on the lower strings, and a slick look. About two years ago I ran across an advertisement in a Worship Leader magazine. I felt a call as I turned the page...."Bennn....Bennnnnn....you must play me....you must find me...buy me..." You know the call. Don't pretend you don't.
After owning sub par guitars, I found the Breedlove. Here are a few important things I look for when searching for the perfect guitar.
- Can it be played with a capo and still maintain it's tuning? Be sure to place that capo way up to at least the 6th or 7th fret. I like to play up there sometimes.
- Is the action at the right level to play chords on the lowest point and highest point of the fret board?
- Does it have the nice deep sound as close as possible to a Dreadnaught without actually being a Dreadnaught?
- Is the pickup/mixing for the electric plug in a Fishman or better?
- Does the body of the guitar bring a classic look with just enough personality to make it mine?
At age 15, I learned to play on a Gibson 12 string (thanks for the hand me down Mom!). I then scraped and saved $500 to purchase a jet black Alvarez acoustic electric guitar. I had played Alvarez guitars since then. When I began leading the worship at Grace, I found that I needed to step up to a guitar that can resonate better than what I had.
I have been playing the Breedlove Atlas Series AC25/SR for a year and a half now and it is definately on par with Taylor guitars (some day I'd like to have one of these too!). If you're in the market for a good acoustic guitar, I highly recommend the Breedlove Atlas guitar. I believe the listed price was approximately $1000. Most dealers will start their price lower than that at around $800, but you can talk them down to $750 if you're patient. I purchased mine from Guitar Source in Overland Park, KS.
Click here for a list of local dealers in your area.
If you play guitar, I'd love to have comments on what you play and why!
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