i'm going to offer an opinion for you regarding Breedlove Tenor Ukes, and i've had actual hands on and ownership of 6 different ones.
keep in mind what i am saying here is personal opinion only-no scientific data has been compiled nor is there any financial gain of any sort aimed at my comments.
and yes, i have the sitka/sapele listed for sale, but i teeter back and forth to keep or sale it-its not a must do type situation. i dig it, its a fine Uke no matter what the headstock says(i've owned a couple higher end ones that have left the house, the Breedlove won out......), and its the only Uke i own now-so that makes it especially difficult to let go. i've yet to find anything i like better, still looking. if i decide to spend over $1000 i will call up Kinnard Ukes or Covered Bridge. but i'm really satisfied with what i have and i know i can't replace it with anything else in the same price range and be happy, so, thats my personal issue............
On to Breedlove Ukes(IMO)
all are top shelf in action, playability, build quality. everything is well thought out and just works. i love the bridge design. its classy, it ties easy, and looks great imo.
i like what they did from the start regarding the carbon rod stiffeners in the neck(my necks never budged and they are very flat, so no extra relief is built in to avoid buzzing-and combined with the excellent fretwork, this allows a low, easy playing action-UP and DOWN the neck, not just in the first 7 frets).
the neck profile is very comfortable, its a very fast playing neck, finished with a glassy smooth finish.
Radius FB-for some it makes a difference-it does for me-i no longer care for flat/no radius fretboards
Frets: i already mentioned the nice work done on those-larger size and they ring real nice-especially in the upper register where many Ukes(many big name Ukes) go "thunk". think guitar, these Ukes play like a nice guitar-in my mind how a Uke should play in these golden days of luthiery that we live in.
wood quality: its going to be very nice no matter what wood. Breedlove puts out nice stuff-no junky wood.
Tuners: Gotoh(i think Waverly on the Masterclass all koa). they all work smooth and effortless-no loading up when tuning, adjustment is fine and spot on-as it should be.
knowing what i know, and having owned a couple different models of the Breedloves, once my $ range went into the $1100 and up, i would be looking into a Kinnard or thereabouts(Collings if you go into the $2000 range). don't get me wrong, the Masterclass models are fine Ukes, they will pop your eyes out with beauty, they play great every one i've had hands on with(of course one must do/have a personal setup performed to get into the zone), but these Masterclass don't sound all that much different than the bottom end sitka/sapele that i own. now the koa does send out a slightly warmer tone-very slightly so, but the sitka top allows more projection, more punch "if you want it", yet still plays quiet/smooth/sweet(with regards to string choice). i sold my Masterclass. Loved how it looked, but preferred the sitka top more. think sitka top guitar and koa top guitar-there is a difference there in tone and projection. neither is better, just different.
Mim did have an older video out there with a Masterclass all koa and the sitka/sapele, listen to it-you should be able to tell the differences.
Cedar top Breedloves. These have not impressed me. They are nice, sweet, and of course play excellent all over the neck. The tone, the sound, just has this compressed quality to me-i keep trying to dig in a little harder to get that note i want. Of course, and again, i'm used to the sitka top-makes a huge difference. If i had never played/owned the sitka top, i would have loved the all Koa Masterclass for sure.
My 2c, if you want a Breedlove, find one of the sitka/sapele models, and put the other $800-1000 in the bank. If you want to spend $1100 or more, contact Kinnard Ukes and get yourself an all walnut Tenor or anything in your thoughts and never look back.
good luck in the search
d
