This is my travel buddy and at-home guitar, Little Brother. Little Brother is a Discovery Concert CE by Breedlove, and I got him in Summer 2019.
Earlier that year, I was playing at a coffee shop when my main guitar started acting funny. When I opened the battery compartment, I found the 9 volt was tangled with the springs. Then I pulled at the battery like a total noob. The springs stretched and snapped, effectively breaking the electric components of my only guitar. I nearly cried—I’d never experienced a guitar breaking before, let alone having caused it.
At my local guitar repair shop, a kind and very tall man looked at me sympathetically, like a doctor would a worried parent, and told me everything would be okay. We ended up having to change out the original pickup for an LR Baggs. A week later, I was relieved to have my guitar back, but realized I was going to need a secondary instrument.
Thus began the quest to find Little Brother! I planned a visit to the Breedlove shop, in Bend, during my next tour and was introduced to the entire Breedlove team. They gave me a tour of the factory and let me play a few songs for them in the display room. I was amazed by how meticulous the work of guitar making is and so impressed by the craftsmanship I witnessed. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the value of a handmade guitar.
Now, I can have a very hard time buying anything other than food and gas, or paying rent. The decision making part is hard; the paying for stuff part is hard. I can make myself dizzy walking circles around a purchase. For this reason, I was amazed at the patience of the Breedlove staff as they walked me through the features of each model and showed me 30+ guitars before I ended up picking one.
They helped me to narrow down the features I valued and steered me in the right direction. When they noticed that price was one of my main sticking points, they were able to guide me to more affordable models, which allowed me to rest in my decision to purchase Little Brother.
Here’s how I use Little Brother, and why I love him so much:
Practice—I no longer take my main guitar out of its case when I’m at home. I use Little Brother for all practice and at-home guitar noodling.
Travel—because of his diminutive size, Little Brother is an easy travelling partner.
Alternate Tunings—Little Brother is a smaller guitar, so I can put him in an open/alternate tuning and bring him along to gigs to reduce lag time in a performance environment.
Fret Access—Little Brother is a cutaway guitar! That means I can play extra high on the neck, which my other guitars don’t allow for. I can put a capo much higher on the neck, or use the high frets for more varied guitar solos.
Cable Jack & Separate Strap Pin— When you play a lot of gigs using a strap, and that strap is held up by the cable jack, over time you might end up loosening the cable jack. This can be problematic if you don’t catch it early on and make proper adjustments, so it’s amazing that Little Brother has these features separated.
Built-in Tuner—I love a built-in tuner.
Now that I use my work guitar at gigs only, I’ve started writing songs on Little Brother. He only has about 10 songs under his belt at the moment (compared to his older brother with over 100), but I’m so glad to have him in my life, and I’d love to play you a Little Brother-inspired song today!
