Alright, I have been spending some time with one of the natural satin all laminate ones. This is actually the least expensive instrument Breedlove sells right now. Musician's Friend ships these triple boxed. You get an outer box...Then the first Breedlove box, then inside that is the next Breedlove box with the uke inside.
Please note: if you get this from Musician's Friend, and order a case to go with it, they will not take the time to put it into the case before shipping. That is true for any of their instruments that do not include a case. The only time you get an instrument inside a case from them is when it ships to them that way. They don't even open the boxes. They receive it, store it, ship it. That said, I knew I'd be seeing an instrument that hasn't been touched since it left Breedlove's shop in Oregon.
I'll pass on some thoughts relating to the one that has been in my hands for the past couple of days (I don't have pictures, but may get some eventually...but my tablet's camera is not high quality so never does anything justice):
The official Breedlove model name for this is: Pursuit Ex CU S.
Ex - exotic
CU - concert ukulele
S - satin
As noted above: This is the natural satin finish....not the burst finish (I think that one looks great though too).
Build quality: Very good, clean build.
Looks: This one doesn't have any really wild or super interesting grain on top, but I still find it attractive. The sides have a more interesting grain pattern. What is really interesting to me is the shade of this myrtle wood. I've never had anything like it. It is light yet has some brushes of black or dark brown and gray. The herringbone rosette and binding really look nice against the wood. I like the unique headstock shape, as well as the Breedlove bridge design...both carry over from some of their guitars. The instrument as a whole is very pleasing to my eyes.
Hardware/parts: The tuning machines are quality. They're an 18:1 ratio and work very well. I expected to get decent machines, but nothing this nice. The nut and saddle are made out of bone, which took some extra time and effort.
Intonation: Very good.
Frets/fretwork: I wouldn't consider the frets narrow for a uke, but they are short in height. The fretwork is good. Frets are level and also crowned with some polishing. I chose to polish them up even more to 12,000 grit with a finishing pad I have here. I like almost a mirror shine. It is easier on the strings and looks better.
Action: The action was set at around 3mm as best I could tell. It was perfectly playable as-is. That said, I like a bit lower action, even though it can sacrifice some sustain and volume. I'm going more between 2-2.5mm there. The frets are level, so they can take it no problem. Also, there is plenty of available saddle to adjust, so the neck angle and all is good.
Sound: This is where I don't like to comment much, since we all hear differently and have our own preferences. I even hear differently from one day to another sometimes.
I first played it in my small bedroom with hard floor and mostly hard surfaces. It was louder than I expected it to be. It doesn't have a lot of complex overtones, but is more of a dry type sound. Some ukes something in the sound that my ears can't stand, especially when digging in to play a bit harder. This is not one of them. I don't hear the annoying chirp or odd C string resonance that some ukes tend to have when digging in. Mostly I play with a softer touch, as I find the tone better that way on any instrument, but it is nice to be able to hit the strings harder and not have the sound become annoying to my ears. For me personally, this uke has a very nice, usable sound.
The strings that come stock are
Super Nylgut. These really settle in quickly seems like. I am more than likely going to experiment with some other strings (maybe even from two opposite ends of the spectrum like nylon and fluorocarbon), but I could be happy with these strings. I'm still getting a feel for the instrument and these strings. I also checked the sound in the living room, which has carpet and not so many hard surfaces and still found it to have plenty of volume for me personally. I don't think it would stand out in a room full of ukes, and it would get drowned out by most guitars, but it works for me. I prefer something more intimate/quieter...yet I wouldn't call it quiet.
So what are the cons?? I haven't found any. Anything that might be considered a con would come down to personal preference. It is built well and plays well.
Some notes about the Musician's Friend listing: One part states it comes with accessories: saddle, sticker, truss wrench. It does come with a Breedlove sticker, but there is no extra saddle or truss wrench as there is no truss rod. That info must've gotten carried over from the guitars. The lower cost guitars do come with an extra saddle and wrench.. They don't have bone saddles though. Also, I think the tuning machines on the uke are better than on the Discovery series guitar I played on (great guitar though, don't get me wrong). It also has the nut width listed as way wider than what it is...I didn't get a measure of the nut, but it's not the roughly 1.8" that the listing states...It is not even 1.5" ..It seems more typical in width.
IF I had to compare this to another uke currently on the market, the closest thing I can think of would be something like the Kala Ebony laminates, which are pretty nice little units....except this seems a bit higher quality with some higher quality parts (nut, saddle, tuning machines), and better QC before going to the vendor I'd think...in my opinion.
Final thoughts:
I think it's a good, solid player with a nice sound and there are a lot of people who would be happy to own and use it.
If you're a uke collector or someone who mostly just enjoys high end ukes with more of a traditional ukulele sound that many here crave, this one probably isn't for you. There are always exceptions, but I wouldn't personally recommend it to someone in that category if asked.
I think this is more of a blue collar kind of uke...if that makes sense. I could imagine seeing this pop up in a lot of uke videos with singer-songwriters or people doing covers, etc...people that probably won't ever come to the forum here and really just want to have fun and make music and don't get into all of the stuff that is discussed here.
I like it better today than I did yesterday. It is growing on me and I'm happy with it being my one and only uke for right now. It is nice to me, but not something that I hold in such high regard that I'm afraid to touch it and play it...That has been a problem for me before with higher end instruments. They just don't work for me personally.
In one sentence I'd describe this uke as a good quality music making tool.
I'd like to add that I've been impressed with Breedlove's customer service. I always feel better about playing an instrument when I've had positive back and forth with people at the company. I've had contact with customer service folks as well as tech support/luthier types there over the past year or so and all were very polite and helpful.
Those are my thoughts and opinions, for what they're worth.
It seems these are popping up in quite a few Guitar Center's around the country, so some of you might get the chance to try them there too as some already have.