BY CHRIS GILL
Guitar World Magazine

When Breedlove Guitars started producing instruments in 1990, the company quickly established acclaim as a builder of high-end American-made guitars with unique styling and bold innovations. Musicians who followed the company closely were stunned when Breedlove's first Atlas Series imported guitars hit the market in 2004. The Atlas guitars offered the sound, feel and soul of Breedlove's custom models at a significantly lower price by sacrificing the customization options and using plainer woods, laminated sides and slightly different construction and bracing techniques.

Breedlove's new Pro Series bridges the gap between the company's Performance Series guitars built in Breedlove's Custom Shop and the highly affordable but somewhat stripped-down Atlas Series imports. The Pro Series provides similar performance, playability and tone and many of the same features as Breedlove's high-end custom instruments at a price that's well within the means of many performing musicians. The company's new D25/SRh dreadnought is the second model in the Pro Series, which also includes a concert model.

FEATURES
Although THE D25/SRH'S solid sitka spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides may not be as exotic as some of the tonewood options found on Breedlove's Custom Shop guitars, the AAA-grade materials are stunning. The D25/SRh shares numerous attributes with its Custom Shop cousins, including an ebony bridge, fingerboard and headstock overlay, the same bracing pattern, a bolt-on neck, Gotoh 381 tuners and 1 3/4-inch nut width. The only primary feature that the D25/SRh shares with the Atlas Series guitars is a double-action truss rod that's adjustable via the sound hole.

The 20-fret neck is carved from a beautiful solid piece of streaky-grained Indonesian mahogany shaped to a rounded, comfortable "U" profile and topped with a smooth, silky-feeling satin finish. An abalone rosette, herringbone-pattern top purfling and ivoroid binding add a high-end custom touch of class to the guitar's appearance, while the distinctive asymmetrical Breedlove headstock, pinless "winged" bridge, tiny pearl dot inlays, "pinstripe" fingerboard edge inlays and unique curves of the D25/SRh's body shape give the guitar that unmistakable Breedlove character that truly stands out from the crowd.

An L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup/preamp system is discreetly mounted inside the sound hole with just the edges of volume and tone controls peeking out. Breedlove also offers several electronics customization options, including the Dual Element and M1/I-Mix from L.R. Baggs or Breedlove's Synergy system.

PERFORMANCE
Despite the D25/SRH'S midlevel price, everything about this guitar -- its appearance, materials, construction, attention to detail, feel, playability, tone and more -- screams "high end." Many guitars costing twice as much don't feel or sound as luxurious as the D25/SRh. The dreadnought body shape delivers commanding, aggressive bass for rhythm players without the excessive boom and bark encountered with many traditional dreadnought models. Treble notes possess a sweet, sparkling zing that usually is found only on smaller concert-sized guitars, and the midrange is round and full with an almost voicelike sonorousness.

My test example came strung with medium-gauge strings, but they felt surprisingly light even though the guitar has a 25 1/2-inch scale. These strings are heavy enough to really work the top when the guitar is strummed vigorously and pump out considerable volume when playing fingerstyle. This is a very responsive, articulate instrument that responds exceptionally well to dynamics. The guitar's neck feels similar to that of a really good Strat, which makes the D25/SRh a great transition instrument for electric players who are going acoustic.

Although the L.R. Baggs Element Active system isn't as versatile as other options on the market, it provides exceptional string-to-string balance and tone that is warmer and more lifelike than many other undersaddle piezo pickup systems. The Element Active system may not have the feedback suppression and multiband EQ flexibility of other preamps, but if you want just the pure, unadulterated acoustic tone of the D25/SRh you don't really need those additional bells and whistles.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Breedlove developed the Pro Series with the goal of shattering price-performance boundaries, and it has succeeded with the D25/SRh. While it may not be the cheapest guitar on the market, the D25/SRh compares favorably with many instruments in the $4,000-to-$5,000 price range, offering exceptional value for the dollar. I imagine that in a blindfold test most players probably couldn't distinguish the tone and playability of the D25/SRh from Breedlove's pricier Performance Series instruments, and they still probably couldn't tell the difference even once the blindfold was removed.

LIST PRICE: $1,999.00
MANUFACTURER: Breedlove, breedlove-guitars.com
BODY: Solid rosewood back and sides
solid sitka spruce top
NECK: One-piece Indonesian mahogany
NUT: 1 3/4 inches
FINGERBOARD: Ebony
SCALE LENGTH: 25 1/2 inches
FRETS: 20
BRIDGE: Ebony
TUNERS: Gotoh 381
ELECTRONICS: L.R. Baggs Element Active under-saddle piezo pickup with volume and tone controls

PRO -- OUTSTANDING MATERIALS AND DETAIL, SWEET TONE, VALUE

CON -- ELECTRONICS SOMEWHAT LIMITED

The Element Active's volume and tone controls are mounted within easy reach in the sound hole.

Herringbone purfling adds an expensive touch of class.

Say goodbye to lost endpins with Breedlove's snazzy "winged" ebony bridge.