Breedlove AC 200/SM

This is how I look playing my new Breedlove guitar.


This is how I will look onstage playing my new Breedlove guitar.

I bought my first acoustic steel string guitar and it arrived on Thursday night! It's Christmas in March for me. I did so much research, people. I know everything there is to know about vintage Yamaha FG acoustics (who they were modeled after, what type of wood was used, which years the "red" label was produced, which have the easiest action, etc., etc., etc.). I could go into detail, but thinking about it tires me so I'll just tell you about the one I now own.

It's a Breedlove AC 200/SM. That means it's from the Atlas series and it is a concert size (has a smaller body than a dreadnought; although this one is slightly larger than most concert-sized guitars). 200 is Breedlove's method of labeling it as having a satin finish, non-cutaway, laminate back. Lastly, SM stands for Sitka Spruce top (solid) and Mahogany (laminate) back and sides.

In terms of appearance, I think this guitar has the prettiest body with a simple abalone rosette around the sound hole, black binding, and a non-cutaway top - I'm not the hugest fan of cut-aways (I know, I know, but you can reach the upper frets easier). I like how clean it looks without a pick guard, however, I probably need one on it. It has a pinless bridge and chrome Grover tuners (which I prefer to that of gold).

I found the sound quality to be the best in considering other new guitars in my price range (I also liked the sound of a Fender CD140S).

I've heard the action is good with no setup necessary; however, it all feels difficult for me right now because I'm just learning. The neck isn't as wide as I thought it would be. Supposedly the nut width is 1 11/16th of an inch, which is on the narrower side for a guitar. It is difficult for me to not press other strings while playing cetain chords, but that could be one of two reasons: I'm just a beginner so am learning how to position my fingers or I have fat fingers. I tend to think it's the latter. Maybe a 1 3/4ths or 1 7/8ths inch nut would be better after all. Regardless, the tips of my fingers hurt and my nails have never been shorter.

Acquiring a guitar has been a very long process for me including many late nights on Ebay, Craigslist, Harmony Central, Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Youtube and dozens of other sites and stores reviewing guitars and talking to anyone who knows anything about the guitar (thank you brother/Brooks, brother-in-law/Clay, Adam, Kim, Dave, Ronnie, and everyone I emailed on ebay).

To tell you the truth, now that the guitar is here, I'm a little nervous. I think it's going to be even more difficult than I initially thought it would be. I constantly start things and never finish them. I either get bored, distracted, or frustrated when things become challenging and I don't want that to happen this time. I'm going to really put some effort in to learning - even if that means playing 10 minutes every day - which I have been doing.

You know, I've wanted to play since I was 13, but my brothers learned first so I just let them do it - it became their thing and they were/are really great at playing the guitar. Well, over the years I've put my efforts into learning and doing other things - namely excelling at school - and forgot about how much I wanted to learn the guitar. Well, I have a terminal degree so school is dead for me at this point. I have time to do other things like figure out a career path, play the guitar, maybe date. I guess I could have done all of those things while in school, but for some reason when it comes to managing my life, I can't really multi-task. I'm trying to pursue the things I've always wanted to do and not use the lack of money as an excuse to not achieve something. I'm a believer in the phrase, "where there's a will, there's a way." I only hope that my will is finally strong enough to pave the way.

So I've been learning chords at the moment. I have a list of 45 songs I want to learn and have been looking at the tabs for each online (beginning with the songs that sound the easiest play). I'll slowly have to build my way up to Iron & Wine, Wilco, Elliott Smith, and Led Zeppelin. Basically I'm learning how to play on my own with the help of the internet and friends - like Adam, who showed me the Bm chord (Adam I know I said I could learn a barre chord if I wanted to, but maybe I was wrong). I've mostly been practicing the G, D, A, E, Em, and Bm chords. Shifting from one chord to another es muy dificil. Hopefully the more I practice, the more instinctual it will become. I've been learning parts of songs from Harvest Moon by Neil Young, Those to Come and Gone For Good by the Shins, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, The Boy Done Wrong Again by Belle & Sebastian. As soon as I can play a song, I'll record it for you and upload it to Youtube. Until then, I'm just figuring things out, toughening up my fingers, going to purchase a capo and tuner and rockin' as much as a beginner can. Forget Bread's The Guitar Man, this is The Guitar Woman!

So begins my life as a rock star. Wish me luck!