Koa, meet your match; mahogany, move over.
Myrtlewood is here to split the ukulele atom.
Innovation has long been the byword at Breedlove, and just as we pioneered the use of sustainable native Oregon myrtlewood in guitars, we’ve done the same with ukuleles.
Namesake Kim Breedlove’s obsession with the ukulele and all things Hawaiian is well documented, and that fascination continues today at Breedlove, with a variety of acoustic and acoustic electric myrtlewood-based Wave headstock concert and tenor ukuleles, available in a panoply of intriguing finishes—including, new for summer 2020, Emerald and Sunset Burst.
Myrtlewood is magnificent for ukuleles. Hawaiian koa, not surprisingly, set the standard in the 1890s, with its bright, ringing tone echoing the sunny climes of the archipelago kingdom, 70 years before statehood. Its interlocking grain patterns and orangey highlights, too, telegraphed an exotic aura of the islands, particularly when the first great ukulele craze was launched at 1915’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Within a few years, mahogany became the choice for mainland ukuleles, with thousands flooding the market to feed the yen of strummers and singers fascinated with the sweet sound of the ‘jumping flea.’ Mahogany’s darker hue matched its tone, with a warmer, rounder sound than koa.
Myrtlewood, which grows not far from Bend on the rainy, windswept Oregon coast, magically combines the best sonic elements of rosewood, mahogany and maple. Myrtle’s bright latter aspect matches the beautiful ping of koa, while the former’s warmth and deeper bottom is a dead ringer for old school mahogany, all with the bonus of being U. S. grown and sustainable, making for earth-friendly ukes of unsurpassed quality.
And, whether natural or jazzed up in Emerald or Sunset Burst, myrtle is every bit as enchanting as koa, with even more varied natural patterns, swirls and colors. Myrtlewood calls out to you—play me, play me!
Breedlove ukuleles are not toys. Nor are they simply little guitars. They are genuine musical instruments that come from a complex, proud history. Before becoming a powerful symbol of Hawaiian culture, and long before becoming a YouTube pop sensation, ukuleles made an epic journey from Portugal to the Pacific, evolving, particularly in the Honolulu workshop of Manuel Nunes, from the Madeiran machete to its now familiar form.
Breedlove’s Tenor is throaty, comfortable and loud, with plenty of room on the fretboard for modern pyrotechnics and lots of righteous support for singing. The Concert is more traditional, perfect for the flashy chord melody strumming that popularized the instrument in its early days, and just right for ripping Radiohead’s “Creep” at a meetup or fingerpicking the Beatles’ “Blackbird” online.
Ukulele Magazine’s Matt Blackett loves Breedlove’s “really impressive,” “gig-ready” ukes, which come equipped with premium Aquila Super Nylgut strings, noting, in a video review, the “full, balanced sound” and the fact that “they intonate beautifully, all the way up the neck.”
With a Tenor in his hand, the smiling Blackett said, “Looks great, sounds great. It’s a great ukulele.”
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