My third and final Breedlove Guitar is a Signature Concerto E from Breedlove’s Organic Collection. I’ve only had him for a few weeks, so I’ll tell you more about what he represents than what he’s accomplished.
His name is Gentlemen Specialist, and I gave him the name after typing in “birthmark” into the Wu Tang Clan name generator. He has a cute little smudge below the bridge from the natural imperfections in the wood which reminds me of the little birthmarks I have all over my left thumb. Additionally, last year I became obsessed with the Wu Tang Clan name generator when I learned that it was where Childish Gambino found his stage name. I figured if it’s good enough for him, it should be good enough for the rest of us.
When I walked into the display room at the Breedlove headquarters, I was pretty sure that I wanted this specific guitar to come home with me. The body is a giant number eight, with matte finish and the colored accents are earth tone (which I love). He reminds me of wheat, sunsets on a hill, and good, simple folk.
I’d like to think that I’m objective about guitar sound, but the truth is that the guitar’s look is almost always what I end up obsessing about. Luckily for me, when I plugged him into my pedal board and started to loop with him, I knew he’d fit right in. The bass kick sounds are incredible. It sounds like it’s coming out of a bass amp or a subwoofer, which in a live setting is really useful for bringing the energy up.
This guitar represents a new phase in my music career, where I’m beginning to partner with people to accomplish bigger goals. When you become self-employed, you don’t get a promotion, a list of tasks to become proficient in or a boss to tell you when you’re on the right path. Instead, you learn patience as you cultivate new connections, songs, and hopefully, more money. Forming a partnership with Breedlove felt like a promotion in that I found a teammate who admired my work, just as I admired theirs. I could tell my non-musical friends and parents that I’m working with the company that made my guitar, and they could say, “Wow Conner, that’s exciting!” On top of impressing my parents—a childish desire I hold to this day—Breedlove has provided opportunities for me to play my music, from Nashville, TN to Bend, OR, and I’m continually grateful for the quality people I meet through them.
Leslie Knope from Parks & Recreation says that “No one achieves anything alone.” Breedlove has helped me achieve so many musical goals by helping me find quality guitars that can take the intense three-to-six gig strain I put on them per week. I hope to continue to find quality partners like Breedlove to help me in my pursuit to make music for the rest of my life.
Stay tuned next week for my final blog post as I answer frequently asked questions about my life as a full time musician. I’ll be covering everything from “what kind of strings do you use?” to “don’t you ever get tired?” Please send me your questions, if you have any, by emailing me at info@connercherland.com. I’ll see you next week!
