As a tonewood, mahogany has a particular place in lots of a coronary heart for its candy ring—one thing that’s very tough to explain in phrases. Is it a vocal high quality? A roundness? A heat? All these descriptors can apply—
particularly when the instrument itself brings out the wooden at its greatest.

Such was the case with the Breedlove RTC-MMe concert-sized non-cutaway guitar I examined, a mahogany acoustic-electric that delivers huge sound in a really comfy mid-sized bundle. The instrument is a part of Breedlove’s Roots sequence, which sits on the basis of the corporate’s lately reworked lineup. Breedlove has pared issues again—fewer physique types and tonewood choices—and now builds your complete line in its Bend, Oregon, workshop. In apply, that shift feels much less like a discount and extra like a tightening of focus.

Inside this strategy, the Roots line retains issues easy: a small group of physique sizes, from parlor to dreadnought, and acquainted wooden pairings, executed with an emphasis on really feel and tone quite than ornamentation. The RTC-MMe follows that lead. It additionally has a mahogany neck and, graced with a easy brown satin end, is sort of the guitar equal of triple chocolate cake. Penning this at lunchtime could have conjured up that metaphor, however sonically it applies—the RTC-MMe’s tone is sort of wealthy.

Construct and Really feel

The RTC-MMe’s physique suits proper in that Goldilocks consolation zone—substantial with out feeling cumbersome, and comfy whether or not you’re taking part in seated or standing. The 25.5-inch scale fretboard is 1.75 inches vast on the nut and carries a 16-inch radius, and the neck’s C form, mixed with these dimensions, makes for a really acquainted really feel that leaves the guitar poised to deal with a variety of taking part in conditions. 

As somebody who has spent approach an excessive amount of time trying underneath furnishings for pins that went airborne when altering strings, I particularly just like the pinless ebony bridge. Not solely does it make string adjustments simpler, it’s additionally a part of a design that provides very steady tuning. The Breedlove nickel tuning machines do the job and work easily.

With easy dot inlays and understated black binding to go together with the satin brown end, the RTC-MMe isn’t flashy—however it’s elegant. Visually, the design makes the wooden the star and focuses the attention on mahogany’s grain, offset properly by the darker ebony parts.

Nonetheless, the good-looking look isn’t truly the satin end’s greatest attribute. When it comes to hand-to-instrument really feel, the Breedlove has one of many silkiest necks I’ve ever performed. It feels so good to the contact that I discovered myself choosing the guitar up even after I wasn’t planning to play in any respect. When you go away it out of the case, it’s a tough guitar to stroll previous, even for those who’re speculated to be doing one thing essential, like getting a writing project carried out.

Playability and Tone

The motion on the RTC-MMe I examined was superb. It’s springtime within the Northeast as I write this, and within the final week the climate has gone from the 40s and moist to the 70s and sunny, with some yo-yoing between these extremes. The instrument dealt with the circumstances nicely.

I just like the tight responsiveness of 25.5-inch-scale guitars, and the RTC-MMe is not any exception. It permits for a quick, managed assault on single notes and readability when strumming chords. Fingerstyle felt instantly comfy, with sufficient room for clear chord voicings with out forcing a stretch, and single-note traces got here off quick and articulate whether or not performed with fingers or a decide. Strummed, the guitar delivered an enormous, centered sound that stayed tight and managed.

Tonally, it leans right into a heat, resonant, and well-balanced voice, with a full, satisfying midrange and a transparent prime finish that by no means ideas into brightness. When you’re drawn to mahogany guitars, this one actually leans into that materials’s character, delivering the candy, rounded voice that defines a well-made instrument constructed from the wooden.

What made the RTC-MMe stand out was the richness of the resonance, particularly on single notes. If I needed to decide one phrase to explain the standard, it might be lyrical. Okay, two phrases: lyrical and constant. The overtones unfolded throughout the guitar’s vary, which made it particularly sturdy when taking part in melodies.

Strummed chords sound huge and nicely balanced, articulate within the higher reaches whereas sustaining readability on the low finish. When you prefer to strum after which play bass traces or low-string melodies, you’ll just like the RTC-MMe’s voice. Notes performed towards sustaining chords or drones converse distinctly, and the guitar’s wonderful intonation helps chordal harmonies sing.

Alternate Tunings and Recording

In addition to it carried out in normal contexts, I used to be pleasantly stunned by how the RTC-MMe excelled with pitches under normal tuning.

As I write this, I’m engaged on a documentary soundtrack in collaboration with Native American flutist Tim Lucas, and his work on the D flute (minor pentatonic scale) has been hitting the candy spot for lots of scenes. To enhance that flute whereas conveying the temper of these scenes, I’ve usually needed to tune all the way down to dropped D. I believed that may be a reasonably good take a look at for the Breedlove—and after sharing a few recordings with the staff, we ended up sticking with the RTC-MMe in that position.

The tightness of the size helps hold slack tunings from sounding too unfastened. However the RTC-MMe’s potential to provide low D a strong voice is what actually makes it work; the guitar delivers a wealthy sound, dense with overtones, that’s straightforward to regulate with assault.

I additionally discovered the RTC-MMe straightforward to report. I used a single large-diaphragm AKG C414 a few foot away, and since that appeared to work for the others within the undertaking, I caught with that setup, which highlighted the guitar’s wealthy mids. Plugged in, the L.R. Baggs HiFi pickup, with controls discreetly mounted within the soundhole, delivers a transparent under-saddle tone.

The Backside Line

Oddly, pretty much as good because the Roots Live performance RTC-MMe sounds—and as versatile because it has confirmed to be—the factor I appreciated greatest was the sleek satin end. The neck felt superb to the contact, letting my hand glide simply as much as the twelfth fret. And since the intonation and tonal steadiness are so sturdy, chord-scale arpeggios that mix fingered notes with open strings—one among my favourite methods to check any guitar—had been particularly rewarding.

Finally, the RTC-MMe let me play the best way I needed to—and rewarded me for it.

SPECS

BODY Live performance measurement; strong mahogany prime, again, and sides; African ebony pinless bridge with compensated bone saddle; black binding; stained satin end

NECK Honduran mahogany; 25.5″ scale size; 1.75″ bone nut; African ebony fretboard, 20 frets; 16″ radius; dot inlays; Breedlove nickel tuners; stained satin end

OTHER L.R. Baggs HiFi electronics; Elixir phosphor bronze Nanoweb mild strings (.012–.053); deluxe hardshell case

MADE IN USA

PRICE $2,899 avenue

breedloveguitars.com