I'm seriously looking at Breedlove guitars. I'm a fingerstyle picker and have been playing a big ole Martin D-35 for a long time but have realized that
the body is too darn big. I think I may have found my next guitar- the Focus Special Edition. The C25 shape and size seems just about perfect, the body depth
produces sweet bottom end, and the highs have a lot of brilliance. Here's my question: anybody out there have experience with a redwood top? How does it
compare with sitka and cedar in your opinions?
0 Kudo
tonewood: cedar or redwood?
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 kymandogal |
tonewood: cedar or redwood? |
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Parlor
Posts: 18 November 15, 2007 08:37:24 |
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ragtime man |
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Concert
Posts: 917 November 15, 2007 09:18:05
Northwest Lounge
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The cedar top on the Breedlove will make it a warmer sounding guitar but it most likely will not take the hard strumming that the redwood top will take. Both
redwood and cedar will have a warmer sound than Sitka. The Breedlove cedar will respond to a soft fingerstyle player while the redwood can be fingerpicked but
will handle a heavy stum better. The redwood when fingerpicked will require heavier picking to get it to respond than the cedar will. The Breedlove with
cedar can be strummed but again it will not take the hard/heavy strumming that the redwood will take without getting what I call muddy. If you are playing a
lot of bluegrass stuff and you need to cut through a banjo the redwood would be my choice again if I were strumming. You mention you have been fingerpicking a
D-35 so you have had quite a bit of volume so if you fingerpick the redwood hard you most likely will get more volume out of it without it breaking up while if
you are softly strumming the redwood will not produce the sound that the cedar most likely will.
Regarding redwood/cedar compared to Sitka the redwood or cedar will be a warmer/mellow sound while the Sitka will be brighter. Hope this helps. ragtime man |
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ragtime man |
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Concert
Posts: 917 November 15, 2007 09:20:59
Northwest Lounge
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I see this is your first post so welcome to the Breedlove forum Kymandogal. There are some great folks here and some folks that have a lot of knowledge
about guitars. I hope you hang around and join in.
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kymandogal |
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Parlor
Posts: 18 November 15, 2007 11:35:04 |
Thanks ragtime man, very helpful indeed. Based on what you've shared and my initial impression of the Focus SE, the redwood top may be just the ticket. I
plan to visit my local dealer again tomorrow and have a further conversation with the guitar to see if we like each other enough to commit to a long-term
relationship.
Thanks for the welcome too!
"The creative is the place no one else has ever been... What you will discover will be wonderful; it will be yourself." Alan Alda
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MandoSquirrel |
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000
Posts: 509 November 15, 2007 17:30:57
Mandolin
moderator 
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I don't have enough experience with cedar & redwood tops to comment, but all of the C-25 bodied guit's I've tried out have been real nice, as
you say, it's a great body size & style.
Welcome aboard, & don't neglect the Mandolin section; we're interested, no matter the maker! 
Mandolins;
Breedlove Quartz KO(sold! awaiting delivery of Cascade!  ); Victoria,
B&J New York ; cheap Romanian Mandola; Flatiron by Gibson pancake(currently untunable, after "repair"attempt ).
Guitar: Guild D-25NT. |
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powerandwisdom |
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Gatekeeper Concert
Posts: 996 November 16, 2007 05:17:11
Guitar & Technique
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Welcome aboard!
I think ragtime man summed this up very well. A builder I have spoken to loves redwood and refers to it as "cedar on steroids." I have found cedar-topped guitars to be very open, warm and responsive. I play primarily with my fingers and cedar works great for this style. The deep body C25 with a cedar top ought to be a great guitar, although I also think the shallower-bodied C15 would work very well too (less sustain, quicker response). Redwood should give you everything cedar would - just more of it. Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a
fire. -William Butler Yeats
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ragtime man |
#6 | |||
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Concert
Posts: 917 November 16, 2007 10:38:57
Northwest Lounge
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kymandogal wrote:I plan to visit my local dealer again tomorrow and have a further conversation with the guitar to see if we like each other enough to commit to a long-term relationship. Yes indeed! Sometimes the initial conversation, or attraction, does change as you get to know each other better. Good luck with the potential long-term
relationship. Let us know if you enter into a long-term relationship.
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kymandogal |
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Parlor
Posts: 18 November 16, 2007 15:53:05 |
Well I spent another hour with the Focus SE this morning. It's looking good so far. I am really impressed with the sustain and how it sounded when I put it
into an open tuning. Wondrous- and from such a comparatively small guitar!
"The creative is the place no one else has ever been... What you will discover will be wonderful; it will be yourself." Alan Alda
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ragtime man |
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Concert
Posts: 917 November 16, 2007 23:08:53
Northwest Lounge
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Kymandogal, can you get someone to play what you like to play on the Focus for you with you out front up close and about 25 feet away? That way you can hear
what others are hearing. I find my guitars sound a little different when I am behind them than when I am in front of them. Also you get an idea of the volume
when the guitar is not vibrating into you and you are out front of it at different distances.
Well just a thought. I think this Focus has the potential for a long-term personal relationship that will bring many hours of pleasure to you. Keep us posted. ragtime man |
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opiee1 |
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Parlor
Posts: 1 January 1, 2008 19:39:14 |
I would prefer cedar. Harder strum and it's good. I've got a sc25 focus/Koa. Love the instrument. Good luck. Can't do wrong with Breedlove at
all. I understand where you're coming from with your Martin. I've got a D28. The body of the focus is much more fun. The sound is
"unbelievable".
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YerDugliness |
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Parlor
Posts: 36 January 2, 2008 14:53:37 |
It's good to hear that some of you like the redwood. I spent quite a bit of time drooling around Breedlove's forum before I ordered my Custom Shop
Revival Deluxe 000 and would not have chosen redwood. My dealer suggested I call one of the Breedlove representatives and discuss with him my target playing
style (fingersytle, no picks, just fingernails and fingertips) and the sound I was hoping to achieve (best described by Breedlove in their description of the
Phoenix as "smoky"). We spent about 45 minutes discussing different woods for the top and the sides/back, and in the end it was the redwood for the
top.
I've played classical guitars for 35 years and really like that warm, mellow tone the cedar tops produce; it's nice to know that I'll get the same sound from the redwood, only more of it! Also, in the last 3 years I have picked up a steel string Dreadnaught so I have been using a flatpick more--it's also nice to know that the redwood will stand up to that better than the cedar, which I also have found to become "murky" toned when driven hard. All in all, I feel the advice from the Breedlove representative allowed me to target that sound I've had rumbling around in my brain for the past few years, and had I not taken my dealer's advice and called them I most assuredly would not have chosen redwood. Dugly 
Last Edited By: YerDugliness January 2, 2008 14:56:36.
Edited 1 time.
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powerandwisdom |
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Gatekeeper Concert
Posts: 996 January 3, 2008 19:52:41
Guitar & Technique
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"...I've played classical guitars for 35 years and really like that warm, mellow tone the cedar tops produce;..."
I too love that sound. I believe you have ordered a fabulous guitar. Can't wait to hear from you when she lands! Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a
fire. -William Butler Yeats
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ragtime man |
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Concert
Posts: 917 January 4, 2008 08:39:13
Northwest Lounge
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I too have had a cedar topped guitar and ever since I traded it in I have wanted another. There is something about the mellow warm sound that just gets me. I think redwood is even prettier so I am also thinking about redwood for a top. ragtime man |
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YerDugliness |
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Parlor
Posts: 36 January 4, 2008 20:02:54 |
ragtime man wrote: Breedlove makes a Master Class Series guitar with the same tonewoods and describes the sound as "smoky"--sounds like the type of sound a ragtime
player might have been seeking in a smoky speakeasy back in the 1920's, doesn't it |
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ragtime man |
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Concert
Posts: 917 January 4, 2008 22:32:25
Northwest Lounge
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YerDugliness wrote: Yes the guitar is something to look at. I was going to drive a bit and try one out but it was sold before I could get there. The only thing I didn't
think I would like was the shallow depth as I seem to enjoy the sound of a deeper bass. Never the less, I would like to play one and listen to one.
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YerDugliness |
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Parlor
Posts: 36 January 7, 2008 13:21:42 |
ragtime man wrote: I was a bit uncertain about the bass, also, until I heard a 12-fretter made by a different company. No more. The larger body size of the 000 model seems
to compensate for that shallow depth--IIRC Breedlove lists it as 4"--the one I listened to was a real cannon!! It easily produced as much bass as my
solid wood dreadnaught (again, by a different manufacturer).
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powerandwisdom |
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Gatekeeper Concert
Posts: 996 January 7, 2008 20:21:41
Guitar & Technique
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ragtime man,
I really think you will be surprised by the shallower body. To my ears, the bass is still there, just not as resonant. A quicker response...perfect for that thumb-driving ragtime sound. 
Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a
fire. -William Butler Yeats
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