The Breedlove name is mostly known for distinctive guitars, but at one time, they also produced impressive USA-made mandolins. Nowadays, reasonably-priced USA mandolins are hard to find—it seems like anything under $2,000 is made in China—so 2000s Breedlove mandolins are a great buy.
This 2008 Quartz FF mandolin features Breedlove's unique almost F-style body design (more of a curl than a scroll), constructed of a carved Sitka Spruce top and gorgeous Flame Maple back and sides. It is a well-voiced mandolin with natural response. It can handle some bluegrass chop, but it's got a sweet voice for gentle strumming as well. Its balanced tone allows leads and intricate picking to ring out with clarity and cut through the mix. And with a satin sunburst finish, it looks just right, too.
As you'd expect from a proper US-made mandolin, the Quartz has a radius fingerboard, quality tuners, an adjustable Ebony bridge, and a high-quality tailpiece. No need to upgrade anything to get the setup dialed—with a fresh fret dress and bridge adjustment, this Quartz FF is exactly where you want it. Its slightly wider nut width—1-3/16"—spaces out the fingerboard nicely. If you sometimes feel cramped on a small mandolin fingerboard, that extra 1/16" goes a long way. Plus, the taper creates more space for your picking hand, so intricate cross picking patterns and tremolo are more fluid.
This 2008 Breedlove Quartz FF shows some play wear, and it is set up with an LR Baggs Radius M pickup. There is some damage to the top from where a previous pickup was located (see photos). There is some pick wear in all the obvious places, and there's some snark/clip-on tuner wear to the headstock.
There was a time when quality mandolins like this were readily available, but now reasonably-priced USA mandolins are few and far between. If you need a professional-level instrument but can't afford the $5k price tag, this Breedlove will more than suffice. And guess what? It's already set up with an LR Baggs pickup. It includes its original case, which is worn and heavily stickered. The handle has been replaced with an NRS strap.