Surprised by Breedlove Maple Jumbo AJ250 SF plus

[samirguitar]

I have been on a good maple jumbo search for a while.

Gibson J200 is not in my budget so I tried ones made by Epiphone and Sigma and found them brittle. At the risk of people screaming at me here, I might add that I actually tried Gibson J200 in a shop and although resonant and grumbly, still found the brittleness of Maple in it once I moved past the 5th fret. I thought it's all the hype and perhaps maple is not for me.

I never got a chance to try the Taylor.

2 weeks ago I bought unseen (14 days return policy) a good deal on Breedlove AJ250 SF plus. It is a laminate flamed maple; but oh boy it is built so well. It does not sound brittle at all. This Breedlove is a heart-warming guitar. It has that slight dry sound like walnut to it. And it rumbles delightfully and supports my singing voice perfectly.

I realized now what some folks say about the build being more important than the wood itself. Here I have been thinking all along that maple = brittle sound and this Breedlove changed that for me.

I didn't mind a laminate maple as I guess maple anyways doesn't add any overtones so it should be ok. But now I wonder if Breedlove does a solid maple jumbo :-)



If anyone is looking for a Maple Jumbo, give this one a try.

[lowrider]

Wait, there must be something wrong. I can't see your pictures. You wouldn't post a NGD post without pictures would you?!

[FingahPickah]

You might want to check out :

https://www.eastmanguitars.com/ac630_bd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23jic-QMp4U

Street price about $2200.00 brand new.

[Stevien]

Yep, it's more the builder than the wood! I have a Breedlove maple concert, & it defies all the negatives you hear about maple. It has the clarity & transparency of maple on the high end, but really packs a punch & solid bass! Enjoy!
Steve

[Kyle215]

Had a similar experience with one of their American Series dreads (2011 model)… took a chance ordering from eBay last summer because the price was right & I can’t image that I’ll ever sell it. I’ve got some significantly more expensive guitars in the house and this one hangs just fine.

[Brucebubs]

Rosewood guitars can be wonderfully warm and clear sounding guitars with their scooped mids.

Mahogany guitars also sound superb with their highs and lows dialed back and those mids shifted forward.

Good maple guitars have more of an even, flatter tonal balance ... which I really like ... but I wouldn't call my SJ-200 'brittle' sounding.

[FingahPickah]

There's a reason maple back and sides has loooooong been the wood of choice for the violin and mandolin families of instruments including cellos, mandocellos and double basses.

I have two maple Guilds: a '73 D44M (of the Bluegrass Jubilee Series) and an '87 JF65-12. They both are balanced, loud and clear.

[Tannin]

There is a word missing from this conversation, and that word is "Guild".

[AndrewG]

I was also very pleasantly surprised by my Breedlove Discovery MH. Bought it unseen, unplayed and what a delightful guitar it has turned out to be. Needed no setup work whatsoever. Laminated back and sides can indeed sound very nice.
If memory serves I believe there was a period in the 1950s when the J200 was built using laminates for the back and sides.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I was also very pleasantly surprised by my Breedlove Discovery MH. Bought it unseen, unplayed and what a delightful guitar it has turned out to be. Needed no setup work whatsoever. Laminated back and sides can indeed sound very nice.

If memory serves I believe there was a period in the 1950s when the J200 was built using laminates for the back and sides.

Yes, I have read about that too. The LG-2 was also made using those maple plywood sheets for the back and sides for some of the production runs in the war years. I would love to find out how Gibson made the maple plywood? Was it 3 ply, all of maple. Was it rotary cut or linier cut? Was the middle ply set at 90 deg? Did Gibson make it themselves or did they buy in from a plywood manufacturer?

Interestingly, the "wild cherry" back and sides on the cheaper Godin guitars are a 3-ply they make themselves with a core of solid maple set at 90 deg to the outer veneers of rotary cut cherry. I'm sure that construction, plus the maple necks (stained dark), is why those guitars tend to "chime".

Maple is a wonderful wood for guitar making. But I think it has a reputation for a certain look, and so its wonderful sound quality and build stability take a back seat somewhat. There are 100s of threads on AGF discussing "should I buy mahogany or rosewood" but hardly and threads on "should I buy mahogany, rosewood or maple". The primacy of mahogany and rosewood during the "golden era" had much to do with cost and availability - maple would have been the expensive option!

[musicman1951]

This is the most beautiful maple guitar I've ever heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3_mbJtyomk

[jwellsy]

A few years ago I saw a youtube video of a guy in Australia playing a Breedlove Blond Jumbo that inspired me so much I had to get one. I still have it, but I can't find the YT video any more and have no idea what the gentleman's name was/is.

[FingahPickah]

Originally Posted by jwellsy

A few years ago I saw a youtube video of a guy in Australia playing a Breedlove Blond Jumbo that inspired me so much I had to get one. I still have it, but I can't find the YT video any more and have no idea what the gentleman's name was/is.

What is the model ?

[jwellsy]

Originally Posted by FingahPickah

What is the model ?

I believe it was a J350.

[gfspencer]

I just bought an old Martin maple 12-string. It sounds fantastic! I've been playing guitar since 1962. I never knew that maple sounded so good. Better late than never.