Thank you everyone for the comments so far. I was able to go to a local GC and play two guitars that were on my list: Breedlove Pursuit Exotic Conert Myrtlewood with the Bourbon burst and an Alvarez AP610 EFM.
Breedlove - Solid guitar but not my favorite from them. I imagine there’s a big difference between this and their Oregon line featured in all Myrtlewood. The guitar did really well on an amp, arguably the better of the two in regards to tone plugge in. Regardless, it did fall short unplugged. It almost seemed suffocated. My wife described it as lacking warmth. It could potentially be from the finish; I’m not sure as my other two guitars have a satin or more natural finish and don’t exhibit these qualities. The nut is 1 11/16 which was kind of a deal breaker. It didn’t sound anywhere near as good as my Breedlove Atlas Solo C350/ CRe (Cedar top). This was somewhat of a bummer as I was excited about the tonewood but either way I did make up my mind in needing a 1.75 nut or larger.
Alvarez - Great little guitar I didn’t know I was looking for. Fit the bill and was a solidly cheap price at GC. Did well plugged in but not as good as the Breedlove. I did enjoy the Breedlove neck more; I can’t figure out the exact reason but I imagine the fact the Breedlove neck is slimmer played a factor. All in all great little guitar but my wife an I agreed it sounded far too similar to my Parkwood 320 to justify spending any money on a new guitar.
I did also play a Breedlove Moon Concert Series. Wow... if I had twice the money to spend it would definitely be on the list but at that price point there are going to be more contenders. The Breedlove neck with a 1.75 nut is very nice.
The lack of 1.75 nut drops the Pursuit out of the list but opens a very interesting option as I was very pleased by Alvarez, the MPA 70 someone else mentioned. I couldn’t play one but I listened on YouTube and compared to the one I was familiar with. Much more crisp tones, sounded beautiful. I then listened to the comparable Blueridge 341 and found the Alvarez superior. I may place an order so I can try it out, it’s beautifully built.
Not to ramble on but I also picked up a classical just for kicks as it was next to me and wow it almost through a wrench in the plans. I absolutely loved the gentleness of the nylon strings. I love the soft feel for fingerstyle and my wife said I played it beautifully compare to the steel strings. This however would be a complete deviation I feel from the blues parlor I set out for. It has made me really interesting in a silk and steel set up though; maybe that will be a good compromise.
Sorry for the long read. I love Larivee but they’re in the bracket with the Moon concert - twice what I’m thinking of spending.
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