Quote:
Originally Posted by mcduffnw
Speaking of Steve Henderson and Breedlove, one of the big internal disagreements at Breedlove in the late 90's to around 2000/2001, that had a part in Steve Henderson leaving Breedlove was the beginnings of Breedlove importing the Breedlove "Atlas" line of Pac Rim made guitars. As I understood it, the development of the Atlas line was in a large part due to financial needs and challenges Breedlove was facing, and the notion in the "pro Atlas" camp at Breedlove was that the profit margins and higher volume exposure of the Breedlove name at the lower end/beginner/entry level guitar market would more than make up for any potential "loss of status/reputation" of the Breedlove name in the custom/boutique market.
Steve Henderson did not feel that way about it, and did not want to fully associate the Breedlove name with the Atlas line because he felt that it would in fact water down or degrade...if you will...the Breedlove brand and quality reputation of their various model of custom Masterclass level instruments. I am not sure if he was fully opposed to having them as a part of Breedlove's offerings, but, I know that he was very concerned that they would cause Breedlove guitars to be viewed through a different quality and value lens, from that point on, by the guitar market/buying public.
I think, sadly, he was/is ultimately correct in his belief. While the Breedlove "Pac Rim" lines have become very successful in certain ways for the company...$$$..., it did...IMO...come at the ultimate cost to their status and reputation at the custom level. When you go on Ebay and Reverb nowadays, you rarely see a high end full on custom Masterclass level Breedlove for sale...new or vintage. You just see all the Guitar Center/Sweetwater level model lines...row after row, column after column, page after page.
When you go to a smaller dealer, you rarely see a Masterclass level model, again, you mostly see the lower and mid line models.
And you rarely see a vintage Steve Henderson/Larry Breedlove/Terry Meyers instrument from the early to late 90's for sale...anywhere. No, they did not make all that many, but they made hundreds per year, and you just don't see them, as aficionado's of the brand hold them close, and snap them up quickly when they do rarely pop up for sale.
I know I wish I still had one of my late 90's Breedlove Masterclass Ed Gerhard Signature Model jumbos. They were really stellar guitars. Sigh...maybe someday...
duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher
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Well said, Duff. I was a Breedlove fan and owner from the beginning, and they were--and are--amazing and unique guitars. I wish they'd stayed artisanal rather than trying to become big. Although I owned a few of their Atlas and other Pac-Rim guitars as well (and liked them), there's no question that their aggressive expansion into lower-priced guitars hurt the image of their higher end American guitars. And, yes, hurt resale value.
I follow Breedlove in the new and used online market, and their high end models seem to be a tough sell, even though they're probably wonderful guitars. Since the Steve Henderson years, the company has been erratic and confused, and they probably now survive solely on the basis of those under-$1000 models one sees at GC and everywhere else.