Hailing from the Pacific Northwest Breedlove Guitars (www.breedloveguitars.com) is a breath of fresh air in the guitar market. They apply new technology, ideas and designs into their guitars bringing the instrument into the modern age. We tested the AC250/CR Synergy model from Breedlove's Atlas series.

One of the first things that really jumps out about the Breedlove Atlas series are the looks of the guitar; the Korean made AC250/CR has a nice soft cutaway on a concert body shape and a great looking headstock. There is no way to mistake this guitar for any other. It has a solid western red cedar top, rosewood laminate back and sides as well as a rosewood fingerboard with offset position markers and a TUSQ® nut. The satin finish adds a nice touch to the overall appearance to the guitar. Another nice aspect of the guitar is the pinless bridge and the interesting gold colored saddles.

The bridge has six individual saddles. These are for the Breedlove Synergy System which features RMC pickups (featured on many other Synth equipped guitars such as Brian Moore, Godin, etc…) that goes to an eight-pin connector. Each saddle is an individual pickup; this is for use not only as a regular piezo pickup but also for using the AC250/CR with synth and MIDI gear. A special eight-pin cable is provided to connect the guitar to the RMC Poly-Drive II preamp, where all audio and synth options are controlled. You have to use the preamp to get a sound out of the pickup, either Synth or regular audio.

One oddity to the guitar is that there is no "hump" in the top between the bridge and the end of the guitar. This gives us another very modern, very cool feature in Breedlove Guitars - the JLD® Bridge Truss. As stated on the Breedlove website:

"Since 1990, Breedlove Guitar Co. has been using a unique device in our guitars that has allowed us to brace our tops in a very progressive way, concentrating primarily on the top's acoustic properties. There is a synergy that results from a graduated top thickness, balanced scalloped bracing, a pinless bridge, and the JLD® Bridge Truss System. This has given our guitars their own distinctive sound, one that is highly dynamic, bringing out a "piano like bass" that results in a remarkably well-balanced tone for application in a broad variety of musical styles.

On our six string and twelve string guitars we use the JLD Bridge Truss system as a key component in the bracing of the guitars. This cantilevered truss counterbalances the string tension to create a relaxed top and guarantees structural integrity of our steel string guitars. A relaxed top maximizes wavelength response."

The AC250/CR is a very modern voiced acoustic guitar. It is very punchy in the mid-range and not too heavy in the bass department. The neck feels and plays fabulously! The 1 11/16" nut width is very nice; this guitar plays like a well oiled machine. This is one of the only acoustics that I would have to raise the action on to accommodate my playing (I have a slightly heavy right-hand attack), as is I got a little buzz from it, but this is very easily fixed. The guitars weight is well-balanced and it is very comfortable to play sitting or standing. I really liked the concert body shape, which is less bulky than the dreadnought I currently favor. (I believe I will soon be switching to a smaller body size.) I love the look and sound of the cedar top; it is a nice change from the typical spruce. The slightly mellower tone gave the guitar a cool vibe.

The more I played this guitar the more I noticed a lack of bass response, especially form the 6th string. I changed the string but that didn't help any, so I went to a local Breedlove dealer here in St. Louis (Fazio's Frets and Friends) where they happen to have another AC250/CR Synergy. The guitar they had in their shop did not have the same lack in the bass frequencies. I wonder if adjusting the JDL® Truss System would remedy this or maybe it is just this guitar. (It is a well-known fact that you can take ten guitars of the same model and run and they will all sound differently.) I also had some problems with the 5th and 6th string when connected to my synth unit. They would occasionally not respond, or dip way down in volume. I changed the battery in the Poly-Drive preamp and made sure that the synth sensitivity was set well, but still the problem occurred. (Now, for the record, I have also had this problem with other synth instruments. Sometimes the saddle is not "perfectly" seated and will have occasional erratic response, this may have happened in shipping the guitar, but usually it is something easily remedied.)

Overall, it is a very nice guitar that plays great. The neck feels so good it almost becomes addictive to play it. The size, weight and feel of the guitar is superb. This is a great guitar for the money, especially is you need an acoustic with Synth/MIDI capabilities (of which there aren't many).

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Cool: A very modern guitar both in sound and technology.

Not so cool: Have to use external preamp to get any signal from the pickups, a 1/4" jack for audio only would be cool.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5