FROM GUITARPLAYER.COM | 2.19.16 | MATT BLACKNETT
If you’ve ever paired the perfect wine with the perfect cheese, chocolate, or steak, you know how that combo can elevate both of the components to an almost orgasmic state—one that is infinitely greater than the sum of the two parts. That’s what Breedlove is attempting with their Legacy series: clever pairings of tonewoods to not only bring out the best of both but to also complement each body style the woods are used in. The Legacy Concert LTD is one such recipe, and it’s a stunner, both visually and sonically.
The ingredients—solid Koa for the back and sides and solid Sitka spruce for the top—result in a gorgeous caramel burst on the front and beautiful figuring on the back. The look is made even sexier with the sensual curves of the concert-sized body, the gentle cutaway, and the subtle and pretty abalone rosette. The cool headstock caps it all off—definitely one of the more eye-catching non-traditional designs.
I tuned up the Legacy with the silky-smooth Gotoh machines, picked a couple of fretted notes and let them ring against some open strings, and it was immediately apparent that this guitar has “it.” That 3-dimensional otherness that separates amazing instruments from good ones. The tone is balanced and sweet, with superb clarity from string to string. It exhibits great dynamics when strummed, but might be even better suited for fingerpicking, thanks to the string spacing afforded by the relatively wide, flat neck. Hybrid-picked passages with hammer-ons and pull-offs have a real pianistic quality that is just plain delicious. The Legacy’s easy action also makes big barre chords and long stretches a breeze.
While the Legacy Concert performs beautifully in the studio, it’s also a great choice for a gigging acoustic because of the generous inclusion of a second strap button and the onboard LR Baggs Anthem TRU-MIC system. Combining a condenser mic with Baggs’ Element undersaddle pickup, the Anthem brings out all the Legacy’s acoustic goodness with surprising feedback rejection for a mic-based setup. I was able to get plenty loud through both acoustic and electric amps, and the tone stayed sweet and musical. Chords rang out with authority and speedy flatpicked passages sounded great as well, even way up the neck, which I was able to access easily with the sloping cutaway.
This is obviously not an inexpensive guitar, but Breedlove definitely delivers the quality that the price tag demands. The Legacy has a hip, modern look and sound and is not trying to duplicate what has already been done. This guitar is its own thing, and it’s a beautiful thing at that.
