Worship Guitar Magazine recently reviewed the Oregon Concert, voted 2015 Acoustic Guitar of the year, and Aaron Lehman goes into great detail in the review. He also awarded the Oregon Concert 9.2 out of 10! Check out the full review below.
By Aaron Lehman , June 30, 2016 | From worshipgtr.com
I have owned a Breedlove Atlas Series C250CR for the past 7+ years and it has been an absolute tank of an acoustic guitar. I have had a very strong love of Breedlove guitars ever since I sold them 5 or so years back at a music store I managed. They have always been extremely well built and more affordable than everything out there.
Well overtime the electronics in my C250 went bad and recently I decided it was time that it was time to retire that old guitar and use it for when I want to sit around the campfire. I began doing some research on what I wanted. I knew that Breedlove recently went through some transitions as a business and new ownership was involved so I decided to exclude them from my immediate search. After looking at Taylor and Martin guitars I thought I had my search narrowed down to the Taylor 324e with mahogany top back and sides. I like smaller bodied guitars that have a crack and sparkle without being too dark and boomy.
I drove to my favorite local dealer, Woodsy’s Music, to try the Taylor out and in the process of playing a few different guitars I spotted the Breedlove Oregon Concert in the corner. It was just slightly cheaper than the Taylor 324e at $1499.00 (2015 Model. New Price is $1699) and I remembered how much I loved my old Atlas Series. I decided to give it a go. I strummed one chord and almost fell out of my seat!
The notes just rang off of the guitar. The entire body resonated against my chest and I could feel every nuance of my playing. The neck was just right and the herringbone and rope rosette appointments were just enough flare without being to flashy. But what was the back and sides made out of. After doing some quick looking on my phone I found that it was Myrtlewood and that it was exclusive to Breedlove and the Northwest corner of the United States. While I did not necessarily like the plain blonde finish on the guitar I loved that the guitar was original. I loved that Breedlove was the only one with that wood combination. Oh and did I mention the tone!
After going back and forth and realizing that the only reason I didn’t grab the guitar and take it then was the finish of the back and sides I decided that I was being ridiculous. I took it up to the counter and the salesman brought out the prettiest hardshell cast I have ever seen to go with it. The interior of the case is lined with black velvet, the outside is trimmed with red stitching and golf hardware. You really have to see it to understand.
Fast forward to this past weekend at Church. I was leading this week and so I got the rare chance to play acoustic. I grabbed the Breedlove and plugged it into the PA. The Fishman Matrix pickup (2015 Model. New models have L.R. Baggs EAVTC Pickups) sounded crystal clear and there was very little eq adjustment needed at the board.
Now sometimes I have buyers regret on acoustic guitars once I get them into an actual worship leading setting. I think it stems from the fact that I am lightly and slowly strumming the guitar at the store before buying it so I can hear every nuance of it’s tone. Then when I get it to Church and start playing I quickly realize that I play totally different than how I tested the guitar out.
Needless to say this was not one of those times. I dug into it and hammered it through two separate services and where most smaller bodied guitars tend to get flabby and muddy with heavy strumming this thing rang true. Most people call these things finger-style guitars but I found that it is a great for us heavy strummers.
After having the guitar a week I have grown to love the plain blonde finish and I think it sets the guitar apart from everything else out there. I think at some point I want to try the dreadnought and possibly get it in the sunburst finish just to have a different flavor but we will see. Oh I almost forgot. When I got online to register the warranty I noticed that Breedlove is giving away an absolutely epic Pendleton Wool Blanket when you register your Oregon series instrument before August 30th, 2016. Win Win!
While mine is the 2015 model the only changes on the 2016 version are the price and the pickup. The pickup is likely a bit better since I have grown to like L.R. Baggs a little better and in my opinion $1699 is still a steal on this guitar because it just sounds that good. Period!
