How Breedlove owner Tom Bedell merged past and future into a blues-inspired acoustic guitar and inspired a new limited edition line.
Born in 1950, Tom Bedell grew up around the instruments and tones that still define how many of us relate to acoustic guitars. A fan of the blues and folk music, this was especially true for him. Fast forward to 2010, and Tom was a veteran of the acoustic guitar industry. Not only had he successfully owned and run multiple instrument retail shops in his time, but he also offered his own highly regarded line of traditional-leaning acoustics, Bedell Guitars.
Still, when the opportunity arose to purchase Breedlove Guitars in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Tom couldn’t resist. He could now offer Breedlove’s innovative design language and harmonically rich signature tones to players, as well as Bedell’s old-school signature.
Today, Tom’s traditional and innovative sides have come together in a very personal form, the Breedlove TB Vintage Edition Blues Orange Concertina M1. Here, Tom goes deep into his brands and the Custom Shop Breedlove that inspired the new model. He discusses everything from how it blends his love of ‘60s roots music with high-tech design and the surprising electric guitar that inspired its show-stopping aesthetic.
Bedell & Breedlove Acoustic Guitars
Fine acoustic guitars with different philosophies
“I grew up playing in the late 50s and 60s. It was right at the beginning of the folk-rock, rock-and-roll era, and of course, that’s the music that I knew. That’s the music I loved. So, with Bedell [Guitars], I wanted to get the guitar sounds I grew up with. We wanted Bedell to be yesterday’s guitar today.
But Breedlove was a completely different design. We had a different mission. We wanted Breedlove to be tomorrow’s guitars today and as technically advanced as we could be using Sound Optimization and hand-voicing. That’s why we came out with our four different body shapes: to give you both projection and volume and overtones and complex sounds. That’s what makes music sound so good.”
Brands Collide & Inspiration Strikes
How a jam with some friends and a gift from his wife, inspired the TB Vintage Edition Blues Orange Concertina M1
“I was traveling on my honeymoon in Sydney, Australia, and my just-new wife said to me, ‘Is there a thing in the world that you’ve always wanted that you’ve never, ever been able to get for yourself?’ I go, ‘Yes. An orange Gretsch guitar.’ We were walking through Sydney, and there was a huge music store. We went inside, and they had an orange Gretsch. I showed it to her, and we left. The next day, guess what got delivered to our hotel?
Years later, I was jamming with a bunch of friends. We were talking about ‘What was your favorite guitar back in the ’60s?’ We were just doing the usual name-dropping of this guitar, and this and that. I said, one of mine is my orange Gretsch. I thought, ‘You know what? I own a guitar factory. If I wanted to design and build my own orange guitar, I could totally do that.’ [laughs]
We’re doing some outrageous colors with Breedlove, so I said, ‘I’m going to make it a Breedlove, and it’s going to be a blues guitar. I want it to sound like what I grew up with.’ I’m proud that I own Breedlove, and it was fun for me to put a different twist on a Breedlove than we have before, one that relates back to my story.”
Crafting a Custom for the Boss
Designing and crafting Tom’s original TB Blues Orange Concertina
“I went into our wood stacks, and Myrtlewood just struck me as the absolute perfect wood to design my own orange guitar. It has that excitement and that vibrance. I went with the Concertina because I wanted it to sound like the guitar sounded back when I first started playing acoustic and electric guitar. I wanted something that I could play the blues on. I like the idea of a smaller body and wanted that 12-fret action. And I wanted to put a magnetic pickup (the LR Baggs M1) in the soundhole because we didn’t have piezo when I started playing.
The looks, the design, and how it plays all fit my design criteria. From there, the finish, the binding, and all that stuff, Angela (Christensen, Breedlove Wood Management & Product Development Manager) and I did together with Jade, our head finishing guy. I took my old Gretsch orange guitar back to Jade and said, ‘I don’t want it to look exactly like this, but I want it to be a Tom Bedell vintage Breedlove guitar with a magnificent piece of Myrtlewood that will really pop.'”
The Finished Product and Beyond
How a singular vision for a one-off guitar inspired a new model and a limited edition series.
“The final guitar is absolutely stunning! Creating it has been a ton of fun. Of course, everybody was laughing at me about wanting my orange guitar, but once they looked at the finished product, they all said, ‘God, I’d like to have one of those!’ That’s why we decided to come out with a limited run.
And because I had so much fun doing it, we have decided to make it an annual event. Every year, we’re going to introduce a limited-run model of TB Vintage Concertina acoustic guitars. The TB Vintage Edition Blues Orange Concertina M1 is the 2023 one. Right now, Angela and I are working on the 2024 one, which we’ll introduce next spring. It’s going to be so much fun.
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