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Breedlove Acoustic Bass
Breedlove BJ350/SMe4 Acoustic Bass Review - 03/07/14 This 4 string acoustic bass from Breedlove is an excellent instrument.  It offers great playability and great construction.  Nothing about it feels cheap.  The bass was made in South Korea and has a beautiful sound.  This is one of the few acoustic basses that you can hear, unplugged, when you play with someone playing an acoustic guitar.  Granted the guitar player may have to play a little softer than  normal but the unplugged volume was great compared to the Dean, Ibanez and Fenders I was able to play before purchase. I read a lot of reviews and saw a few YouTube video and there were two other basses I wanted to try, a Washburn and a Warwick Alien.  None were available in my area but considered ordering the Washburn anyway knowing I could return it but felt it was too much hassle and the wait time was 30 days or more.  After doing some research I found out that the Warwick Alien is made in China and was expensive given that the value diminishes rapidly on Chinese made instruments.  The instruments made in Korea hold their value better but not as good as instruments made completely in America and of course that depends on the model. This model is a the extra deep studio jumbo bass guitar. The neck is made of Nato Mahogany and the fret board is East Indian  Rosewood. The back and sides are Sapele Mahogany and the top is Sitka Spruce. This model futures chrome Grover tuners. The  playability on the Breedlove is very good. As with all acoustic basses the action is harder than on an electric bass but no so much that it was difficult to play.  Playing was smooth and enjoyable. I recorded a blues progression in “A” on my iPad, played it back and was able to play bass along with it without having to use an amp. For me this makes my life easier as I can just pick it up and start playing without having to drag out cables and an amp just to practice. The intonation is spot on but due to the length of the neck the intonation can  fluctuate due to weather and humidity.  It doesn’t seem to fluctuate wildly but is noticeable until it gets acclimated to room temperature. As with most acoustic instruments its best to let the instrument breathe about 30 minutes or so before performing with it. The preamp is by L.R. Baggs.  I was unfamiliar with this manufacturer as almost every acoustic guitar or bass has some type of Fishman system in it. The preamp has a built-in tuner that is backlit and glows orange when not in tune and as you tune each note it has an arrow pointing sharp or flat and the backlight turns green when in tune. Other features are Presence, Treble, Middle and Bass sliders, a phase button and volume knob. The sound is very good and was pleased with the deep woody sound I heard. It was exactly what I was looking for. The price for the Breedlove was as high as a Godin but waiting until there was a sale got the price down to a reasonable sum. All in all the Breedlove BJ350/SMe4 is an excellent  acoustic bass that I look forward to playing for years to come. For more information you can follow this link to the Breedlove website: http://breedlovemusic.com/instrument-archive/atlas-archive/studio-bj350-sme4-bass.
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Breedlove Acoustic Bass
Breedlove BJ350/SMe4 Acoustic Bass Review - 03/07/14 This 4 string acoustic bass from Breedlove is an excellent  instrument.  It offers great playability and great construction.   Nothing about it feels cheap.  The bass was made in South Korea and has a beautiful sound.  This is one of the few acoustic basses that you can hear, unplugged, when you play with someone  playing an acoustic guitar.  Granted the guitar player may have to play a little softer than normal but the unplugged volume was  great compared to the Dean, Ibanez and Fenders I was able to  play before purchase. I read a lot of reviews and saw a few  YouTube video and there were two other basses I wanted to try, a Washburn and a Warwick Alien.  None were available in my area but considered ordering the Washburn anyway knowing I could  return it but felt it was too much hassle and the wait time was 30 days or more.  After doing some research I found out that the  Warwick Alien is made in China and was expensive given that the value diminishes rapidly on Chinese made instruments.  The  instruments made in Korea hold their value better but not as  good as instruments made completely in America and of course  that depends on the model. This model is a the extra deep studio   jumbo bass  guitar. The neck is made of Nato   Mahogany and the  fret board is East Indian   Rosewood. The back  and sides are   Sapele Mahogany and the  top is Sitka   Spruce. This model futures  chrome Grover   tuners. The playability on the  Breedlove is   very good. As with all acoustic  basses the   action is harder than on an  electric bass but   no so much that it was difficult to  play.  Playing was   smooth and enjoyable. I recorded a  blues progression in “A” on my iPad, played it back and was able to play bass along with it without having to use an amp. For me this makes my life easier as I can just pick it up and start playing  without having to drag out cables and an amp just to practice. The intonation is spot on but due to the length of the neck the  intonation can fluctuate due to weather and humidity.  It doesn’t seem to fluctuate wildly but is noticeable until it gets acclimated to room temperature. As with most acoustic instruments its best to let the instrument breathe about 30 minutes or so before  performing with it. The preamp is by L.R. Baggs.  I was unfamiliar with this manufacturer as almost every acoustic guitar or bass has some type of Fishman system in it. The preamp has a built-in  tuner that is backlit and glows orange when not in tune and as  you tune each note it has an arrow pointing sharp or flat and the backlight turns green when in tune. Other features are Presence, Treble, Middle and Bass sliders, a phase button and volume knob. The sound is very good and was pleased with the deep woody  sound I heard. It was exactly what I was looking for. The price for the Breedlove was as high as a Godin but waiting until there was a sale got the price down to a reasonable sum. All in all the  Breedlove BJ350/SMe4 is an excellent  acoustic bass that I look  forward to playing for years to come. For more information you  can follow this link to the Breedlove website:  http://breedlovemusic.com/instrument-archive/atlas-  archive/studio-bj350-sme4-bass.