New Breedlove Pursuit ukuleles.

Awesome. :) Welcome to UU!
I didn't end up keeping the one I had, but still feel the same about it. Good, solid instrument...but not solid wood. ha.
They are making some new models now. These are not even listed on Breedlove's website. I think all of the newer models may be solid wood.
 
Awesome. :) Welcome to UU!
I didn't end up keeping the one I had, but still feel the same about it. Good, solid instrument...but not solid wood. ha.
They are making some new models now. These are not even listed on Breedlove's website. I think all of the newer models may be solid wood.

Thank you! Solid top though, right? I have the “sunburst” version w/abalone purfling and rosette. Concert cutaway w/piezo pickup & tuner.
 
I'll jump in here since I have some experience with several of these Breedloves, and I haven't seen a lot of information on them. Maybe it will be helpful to someone.

I own the sitka top Lu'au concert and the myrtlewood Pursuit tenor. Somehow I stumbled across the Lu'au on Amazon for $140ish, and I picked it up since it usually goes for around $250. I love Breedlove guitars, so it was a good chance to try out one of their ukuleles.

I asked and their service rep said the Lu'au series is their regular ukuleles and the Pursuit versions are specially made for Guitar Center (and affiliates). Trying them out, they are more or less the same, with some aesthetic differences. They're mostly all solid myrtle tops and laminate myrtles sides and back. I've tried over a dozen different models, and the sound is very similar from one to another. Breedlove is very consistent, build-wise. Even the sitka top and myrtlewood top versions sounded alike. However, none of the Breedloves I tried were set up after the factory, so the action varied quite a bit.

I like their sound, but it's not amazing. The sound is about on par for their price range. Besides aesthetics, the other varying factors were finish (gloss or matte), electronics, and cutaway. Appearance-wise, myrtlewood seems to have quite a bit of variation. Or rather, most of the myrtlewood bodies look very similar, but occasionally some really different wood grains/patterns show up.

The onboard tuner is garbage. On almost every one I tried, they were off. I'm not sure if this is a size thing since they seem to track better on the tenors than the concerts. Given how cheap and accurate clip-on tuners are, I don't understand why they weren't able to get onboard ones that work better.

Both of mine have these tuners, and they annoy me enough that I'm thinking about removing them and asking a shop/luthier if they can just refinish the squarish hole as a sound port. But I have no idea what that would cost, and these aren't high end ukes to begin with.

I haven't tried many different strings on them yet, but I'm sure that will improve the sound. They seem very sturdily built, and for me, their price/quality makes them good for travel/festival ukuleles.
 
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Thank you for the reply, snowden. I, too, love Breedlove guitars for their sound, quality, and style. That is why I bought the Ukulele without doing a lot of research. I am happy with it. I will say that compared to my KoAloha solid koa tenor and Kala solid maple concert, the sound is comparable in terms of volume — it certainly rings and has a sweet sound, but not as focused as the KoAloha.

The tuner is pretty accurate compared to my TC Electronics polytune. I mean they almost give the same readings within cents. I haven’t heard the pickup with an amp yet, but it sounds pretty decent via Garage Band and headphones.

The strings work. I don’t have enough experience playing uke to know the difference compared to fluorocarbon and nylon. My KoAloha has Worth fluorocarbon strings (I think) and they have a softer, more tactile feel than the Aquila’s. I’m leaning toward liking them more, at least on the higher-end Uke.

I wanted a uke that wasn’t all solid for travel and low/high humidity conditions. Overall, I am very satisfied with the sound, fit and finish (gloss), abalone purfling and rosette, bone nut and saddle, and fretboard. The open back tuners work. The uke stays in tune for the most part with minor periodic adjustments. I recommend this uke as a step-up beginner to intermediate/professional looking for a great overall concert ukulele at a price that won’t break the bank ($249.00 new).
 
Thank you! Solid top though, right? I have the “sunburst” version w/abalone purfling and rosette. Concert cutaway w/piezo pickup & tuner.
I think the sunburst top is solid, if I remember correctly. I didn't read back through this thread, but I know I spoke to a Breedlove rep once. The natural top was definitely laminate. That's the one I had.
 
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Duh!
 

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Thank you for the reply, snowden. I, too, love Breedlove guitars for their sound, quality, and style. That is why I bought the Ukulele without doing a lot of research. I am happy with it. I will say that compared to my KoAloha solid koa tenor and Kala solid maple concert, the sound is comparable in terms of volume — it certainly rings and has a sweet sound, but not as focused as the KoAloha.

The tuner is pretty accurate compared to my TC Electronics polytune. I mean they almost give the same readings within cents. I haven’t heard the pickup with an amp yet, but it sounds pretty decent via Garage Band and headphones.

The strings work. I don’t have enough experience playing uke to know the difference compared to fluorocarbon and nylon. My KoAloha has Worth fluorocarbon strings (I think) and they have a softer, more tactile feel than the Aquila’s. I’m leaning toward liking them more, at least on the higher-end Uke.

I wanted a uke that wasn’t all solid for travel and low/high humidity conditions. Overall, I am very satisfied with the sound, fit and finish (gloss), abalone purfling and rosette, bone nut and saddle, and fretboard. The open back tuners work. The uke stays in tune for the most part with minor periodic adjustments. I recommend this uke as a step-up beginner to intermediate/professional looking for a great overall concert ukulele at a price that won’t break the bank ($249.00 new).

Hey, we have some things in common. I also play a KoAloha and use a TC Electronics tuner. Though in my experience, the Breedlove volume doesn't come close to the KoAloha's projection. And the onboard tuner is not nearly as accurate as any of my other tuners.

And I bought my Breedlove concert a bit impulsively too, though in my case, it was because it was the last one in stock at a ridiculous discount.

I did try plugging mine into an amp, but just briefly. Sound-wise, it didn't seem much better than a passive pickup I have on a different instrument. But I don't actually care for the onboard electronics, it just happened to be included on the models I wanted.

Playing up the fretboard, I thought my Breedlove had intonation issues, but I discovered it was because the tuner was not accurate. That and some issues with loose wiring (I think) is why I'm contemplating removing the preamp/tuner and converting the hole into a sound port.

I had a family member who also wanted a Breedlove ukulele, so I tried out several different models at Guitar Centers and uke shops. And I tried out multiples of the same models, too. Sound was always consistent. Action was inconsistent. And except on the tenors, onboard tuners were always a bit off, which you could tell by checking against a more accurate tuner and/or by checking the intonation, which was fine when tuned correctly. In the end, I steered them towards a Romero ST Concert for about the same price.

That said, I'm also satisfied with the Breedloves, especially as travel ukes.
 
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