At Breedlove, this resonant local resource—in stunning natural and color-added finishes—is the foundation for a wide range of world-class instruments, including new Custom Shop, Oregon, Exotic, Eco, and Pro models.
Tonewoods, by definition, play a critical role in shaping an acoustic instrument’s sound and character. That’s why myrtlewood—with its stunning aesthetics, sustainable sourcing, versatile tonal qualities, responsiveness, dynamic range, and visual appeal—has emerged in recent years as a top-tier choice for luthiers and musicians. This sometimes-overlooked treasure of the Pacific Northwest both enhances the visual appeal of a guitar and elevates its sonic capabilities.
Although the use of myrtlewood in guitar building was spearheaded by Breedlove Guitars in the ’90s, and it’s a local resource for the Bend, Oregon-based company, today appreciation for the evergreen as raw material for instruments is growing. And Breedlove is offering a series of new myrtlewood-based guitars to keep pace.
Breedlove Guitars: The Myrtlewood Story
Myrtlewood’s appeal lies in its tonal properties. It boasts a spectrum that can be described as a blend of rosewood, mahogany, and maple—offering a balanced palette, clear and pronounced highs, warm midrange, and tight, controlled bass response. This balance ensures that myrtlewood guitars can handle fingerpicking, strumming, or flatpicking with equal grace.
Responsive, Articulate, Dynamic
Myrtlewood’s unique, uniform cellular structure and density contribute to its exceptional responsiveness and articulation. It allows the guitar to produce a quick, precise attack with excellent note separation, making it an excellent choice for intricate fingerstyle playing and percussive techniques. As a result, musicians often praise myrtlewood for its ability to capture the subtle nuances of their playing style. Another advantage is its impressive dynamic range. Myrtlewood responds well to changes in playing intensity, from delicate fingerpicking to powerful strumming. This makes it an ideal choice for musicians who want to explore a wide range of expressive possibilities within their playing.
A Stunning Tonewood – Natural or with Creative Colorwork
Myrtlewood is visually captivating, with a wide range of organic colors and grain patterns. It can range from pale yellow and golden tan to deep purples, reds, and browns. Its figuring—which includes quilted, curly, and spalted patterns—makes each piece of myrtlewood unique. Breedlove guitars has been crafting guitars out of myrtlewood for almost 30 years. During this time, we’ve discovered myrtlewood not only looks fantastic in its natural form (as seen in the new Oregon Series Companion guitar below), but also comes alive with various color applications.
The New USA-Made Companion Acoustic Travel-Sized Guitars
Breedlove’s striking myrtlewood finishes have made plenty of waves in the acoustic guitar industry. The tradition continues with the release of our brand-new stormy night finish on the Oregon Series. This elegant and alluring finish has quickly become a favorite with everyone who has seen it first-hand. It draws its inspiration from a tempestuous night sky in Arizona, rocked by a lightning storm that only a desert can produce.
Breedlove Concert Stormy Night CE Myrtlewood Acoustic Guitar Demo
Along similarly colorful lines, the TB Vintage Edition Blues Orange Concertina M1 is a re-imagining of Breedlove owner Tom Bedell’s personal custom acoustic guitar. Part of the TB Vintage Edition lineup, it draws inspiration from the allure of exotic tonewoods, while being enriched by Tom’s life journey. Crafted using figured myrtlewood, of course, the TB Vintage Edition Blues Orange Concertina M1 is a fun example of what happens when figured myrtlewood is hit with vibrant colorwork! And, of course, the myrtlewood imparts all the tonal warmth, detail, and precise midrange articulation that one would expect.
Breedlove Blues Orange Concertina M1 Acoustic Guitar
Myrtlewood for Every Player
While Breedlove uses myrtlewood on Custom Shop and various USA-made acoustics, it is also incorporated in many of the more affordably priced models in the ECO Collection and Organic Pro Collection.
Breedlove Organic Pro Artista Pro Guitar Series with Designer Angela Christensen
Although myrtlewood already delivers surprising energy and extraordinary tonal balance, we paired it with European spruce on these models, for a more responsive, powerful projection. This professional-grade, all-solid model packs a tremendous amount of value into a more affordable acoustic guitar.
BREEDLOVE ECO COLLECTION: PURSUIT EXOTIC S SERIES
The Pursuit Exotic S Series—featuring TUSQ nuts and saddles and Breedlove’s Earth-conscious, sonically superior EcoTonewood technology—allows you to affordably experience the pure, nuanced sound and striking visual beauty of exotically alluring myrtlewood.
Alex LIfeson, Victor
Victor, originally released on January 9, 1996, marks Alex Lifeson’s solo debut. Lifeson took on the roles of songwriter, producer, and mixer for this album. For the first time, Victor will be available on vinyl, featuring a complete remix by Lifeson himself to enhance the audio quality. The fourth side of the album includes four instrumental tracks previously exclusive to Lifeson’s website. Guest artists include lead vocalist Edwin from I Mother Earth, Primus bassist Les Claypool, and Canadian powerhouse vocalist Lisa Dalbello. The 15-song collection is paired with striking 2024 reimagined artwork by Fantoons Animation Studios.
As a Rush Backstage exclusive, Alex Lifeson will personally autograph 1,000 lithographs to be included with the Ruby Translucent 2LPs, which are available only through the Rush Backstage web store.
Geddy Lee, My Favorite Headache
My Favourite Headache, Geddy Lee’s only solo album to date, was initially released on November 14, 2000. This reissue marks its first vinyl pressing since a limited-edition Record Store Day exclusive in 2019. The fourth side of the album features two instrumental mixes. Produced by Lee, Ben Mink, and David Leonard, the album includes contributions from Mink and drummers Matt Cameron (Soundgarden/Pearl Jam) and Jeremy Taggart (Our Lady Peace).
For more details on the Geddy Lee reissue and to preorder, visit: https://lnk.to/MyFavouriteHeadache.
Rush — bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist/vocalist Alex Lifeson, and the late, great drummer/lyricist Neil Peart — maintains a massive and uniquely passionate worldwide fanbase that acknowledges and respects the band’s singular, bold, and perpetually exploratory songcraft that combines sterling musicianship, complex compositions, and distinctive lyrical flair. Rush has sold more than 30 million albums in Canada and the U.S. alone, with worldwide sales estimated at 45 million (and counting). Between Music Canada and the RIAA, Rush has been awarded 50 Gold, 30 Platinum, and 9 Multi-Platinum album distinctions (and counting). Rush has also had 5 Top 10 Billboard Canada Albums, received 7 Grammy nominations, 10 Juno Award wins with 41 Nominations, and earned an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Additionally, Lee, Lifeson, and Peart were made Officers of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996.
For more information, visit: https://www.rush.com
George Benson’s Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnonwas recorded in 1989. The collaboration came about after Quincy Jones told the guitarist that Farnon was “the greatest arranger in all the world.”
On that recommendation,Benson tapped Farnon for a 1989 recording project encompassing the jazz standards “My Romance” and “At Last” next to mid-century pop chestnut “My Prayer,” the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” and Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” among others.
Across the album, Benson’s voice is the main attraction, enveloped by Farnon’s luxuriant big-band and string arrangements that give each track a warm, velveteen sheen. His guitar playing is, of course, in top form, and often sounds as timeless as the tunes they undertake: On “Autumn Leaves,” you could pluck the stem of the guitar solo and seat it neatly into an organ-combo reading of the tune, harkening back to the guitarist’s earlier days. But as great as any George Benson solo is bound to be, on Dreams Do Come True, each is relatively short and supportive. At this phase of his career, as on 1989’s Tenderlyand 1990’s Count Basie Orchestra-backed Big Boss Band, Benson was going through a jazz-singer period. If there’s something that sets the ballad-centric Dreams Do Come Trueapart, it’s that those other records take a slightly more varied approach to material and arranging.
When it was finished, the Benson/Farnon collaboration was shelved, and it stayed that way for 35 years. Now released, it provides a deeper revelation into this brief phase of Benson’s career. In 1993, he followed up Big Boss Man with an updated take on the smooth, slick pop that brought him blockbuster fame in the previous two decades and delivered Love Remembers.
Love is Blue (feat. The Robert Farnon Orchestra)
This kind of stylistic jumping around, of musical discovery, is a thread through Benson’s legendary career. From his days as a young child busking in Pittsburgh, where his favorite song to play was “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” he evolved through backing Brother Jack McDuff and leading his own organ combo, into his soulful and funky CTI Records phase, where he proved himself one of the most agile and adroit players in the jazz-guitar game. He eventually did the most improbable—and in anyone else’s hands thus far, impossible—feat and launched into pop superstardom with 1976’s Breezin’ and stayed there for years to come, racking up No. 1 hits and a host of Grammy awards.
At this moment, deep into his career at 81 years old, Benson continues to dive into new settings. While anyone observing from the sidelines might conclude that Benson has already excelled in more varied musical situations than any other instrumentalist, he somehow continues to discover new sides to his musicality. In 2018, he joined the Gorillaz on their technicolor indie-pop single “Humility,” and in 2020 he tracked his guitar onBootsy Collins’ “The Power of the One.” Benson assures me that not only are there more recordings in the archive that he’s waiting to reveal, but there are more wide-ranging collaborations to come.
On Dreams Do Come True, Benson covers classic jazz repertoire, plus he revisits the Beatles—whose work he covered on 1970’s The Other Side of Abbey Road—and Leon Russell, whose “This Masquerade” brought Benson a 1976 Grammy award for Record of the Year.
PG: The range of songs that you’ve played throughout your career, from your jazz records to 1970’s The Other Side ofAbbey Road or 1972’s White Rabbit album to 2019’s Chuck Berry and Fats Domino tribute, Walking to New Orleans, is so broad. Of course, now I’m thinking about the songs on Dreams Do Come True. How do you know when a song is a good fit?
George Benson: Well, you can’t get rid of it. It stays with you all the time. They keep popping up in your memory.
All the stuff that Sinatra did, and Nat King Cole did, and Dean Martin, that’s the stuff I grew up on. I grew up in a multinational neighborhood. There were only 30 African Americans in my school, and they had 1,400 students, but it was a vocational school.
I remember all that stuff like yesterday because it’s essential to who I am today. I learned a lot from that. You would think that would be a super negative thing. Some things about it were negative—you know, the very fact that there were 1,400 students and only 30 African Americans. But what I learned in school was how to deal with people from all different parts of the world.
After my father made my first electric guitar. I made my second one….
You made your second guitar?
Benson: Yeah, I designed it. My school built it for me. I gave them the designs, sent it down to the shop, they cut it out, I sent it to the electric department, and then I had to put on the strings myself. I brought my amplifier to school and plugged it in. Nobody believed it would work, first of all. When I plugged it in, my whole class, they couldn’t believe that it actually worked. So, that became my thing, man. “Little Georgie Benson—you should hear that guitar he made.”“I can let my mind go free and play how I feel.”
George Benson's Gear
The Benson-designed Ibanez GB10 was first introduced in 1977.
Photo by Matt Furman
Strings & Picks
- Ibanez George Benson Signature pick
- Thomastik-Infeld George Benson Jazz Strings
Accessories
- Radial JDI Passive Direct Box
So, your environment informed the type of music you were listening to and playing from a young age.
Benson: No doubt about it, man. Because remember, rock ’n’ roll was not big. When the guitar started playing with the rock bands, if you didn’t have a guitar in your band, you weren’t really a rock band. But that was later, though. It started with those young groups and all that hip doo-wop music.
I was known in Pittsburgh as Little Georgie Benson, singer. Occasionally, I would have the ukulele or guitar when the guitar started to get popular.
What’s your playing routine like these days? Do you play the guitar every day, and what do you play?
Benson: Not like I used to. Out of seven days, I probably play it four or five days.
I used to play virtually every day. It was just a natural thing for me to pick up. I had guitars strategically placed all over my house. As soon as I see one, my brain said, “Pick that up.” So, I would pick it up and start playing with new ideas. I don’t like going over the same thing over and over again because it makes you boring. I would always try to find something fresh to play. That’s not easy to do, but it is possible.
I’m looking for harmony. I’m trying to connect things together. How do I take this sound or this set of chord changes and play it differently? I don’t want to play it so everybody knows where I’m going before I even get there, you know?
“I wasn’t trying to sound loud. I was trying to sound good.”
How did you develop your guitar tone, and what is important about a guitar tone?
Benson: Years ago, the guitar was an accompaniment or background instrument, usually accompanying somebody or even accompanying yourself. But it was not the lead instrument necessarily. If they gave you a solo, you got a chance to make some noise.
As it got serious later on, I started looking for a great sound. I thought it was in the size of the guitar. So, I went out and bought this tremendously expensive guitar, big instrument. And I found that, yeah, that had a big sound, but that was not it. I couldn’t make it do what I wanted it to do. I found that it comes from my phrasing, the way I phrase things and the way I set up my guitar, and how I work with the amplifier. I wasn’t trying to sound loud. I was trying to sound good.
George Benson at Carnegie Hall in New York City on September 23,1981. The previous year, he received Grammy awards for “Give Me the Night,” “Off Broadway,” and “Moody’s Mood.”
Photo by Ebet Roberts
When I think about your playing, I’m automatically thinking about your lead playing so much of the time. But I think that your rhythm playing is just as iconic. What do you think is the most important thing about rhythm guitar parts, comping, and grooving?
Benson: That word comp, I finally found out what it really represents. I worked with a man called Jack McDuff, who took me out of Pittsburgh when I was 19 years old. He used to get mad at me all the time. “Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? I can’t hear what you’re playing because you play so low”—because I used to be scared. I didn’t want people to hear what I was playing because then they would realize I didn’t know what I was doing, you know? I would play very mousy. He said, “Man, I don’t know if you play good or bad because I can’t hear you. Man, play out. People don’t know what you’re playing. They’ll accept whatever it is you do; they’ll think you meant to do it. Either it’s good or bad.”
So I started playing out and I found there’s a great truth in what he said. When you play out, you sound like you know what you’re doing. People say, “Oh wow, this cat is a monster.” It either feels good and sounds good or it doesn’t. So, I learned how to make those beeps and bops and things sound good and feel good.
The word comp comes from complementing. Whoever’s coming in to solo is out front. I gotta make them sound good. And that’s why people call me today. I had a record with a group called the Gorillaz. That’s the reason why they called me is because they realized that I knew what to do when I come to complement somebody. I did not have a lead role in that song. But I loved playing it once I found the space for me. I said, “Man, I don’t wanna just play it on an album. I wanna mean something.”
I did something with Bootsy Collins, who is a monster. I said, “Why is he calling me? I’m not a monster, man.” But he heard something in me he wanted on his record, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I said, “No, I don’t think I can do it, man. I don’t think I can do you any good.” He said, “Try something, man. Try anything.” So I did. I didn’t think I could do that, but it came out good. Now I’m getting calls from George Clinton.
You worked on something with George Clinton?
Benson: Not yet, but that’s what I’m working on now, because he called me and said, “Man, do something with me.”
That’s not going to be easy. You know, I gotta find something that fits his personality, and where I can enhance it, not just throw something together, because that wouldn’t be right for the public. We want something musical, something that lasts for a long time.
“I can let my mind go free and play how I feel.”
In the liner notes for Dreams Do Come True, you say that there’s always more to be discovered. You just mentioned the Gorillaz, then Bootsy Collins and George Clinton. You have such a wide, open exploration of music. How has discovery and exploration guided your career?
Benson: Well, this is the thing that we didn’t have available a few years ago. Now, we can play anything. You couldn’t cross over from one music to another without causing some damage to your career, causing an uproar in the industry.
When Wes Montgomery did “Going Out of My Head” and Jimmy Smith did “Walk on the Wild Side,” it caused waves in the music industry, because radio was not set up for that. You were either country or jazz or pop or blues or whatever it was. You weren’t crossing over because there was no way to get that played. Now there is.
Because I’ve had something to do with most of those things I just mentioned, my mind goes back to when I was thinking, “What if I played it like this? No, people won’t like that. What if I played it like this? Now, they won’t like that either.” Now, I can let my mind go free and play how I feel, and they will find some way to get it played on the air.
YouTube It
George Benson digs into the Dave Brubeck-penned standard “Take Five” at the height of the ’80s, showing his unique ability to turn any tune into a deeply grooving blaze-fest.