Breedlove ECO Discovery S Companion Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The Companion can be a good fit for beginners and beyond, with a really full tone, especially considering the smaller size. It's particularly good when plugged in and amplified.
The ECO Discovery S Companion is priced as an economy guitar by Breedlove, but it still gives you Fishman electronics and a solid Cedar top. I'm a big fan of Cedar acoustics, and it's a nice change of pace from the Myrtlewood we've seen in a lot of the other Breedlove models.
For this review I played the Companion both unplugged and plugged into a Boss Katana 50 acoustic amp model.
The Cedar top really warms up the tone and gives it a lot of sustain for a guitar its size, which is closer to a 3/4 body size guitar. They call it the "Companion" body shape, hence the name.
So I liked the fact that it was smooth and full, more so than most other acoustic guitars I've tested of this size.
It's still a good lead acoustic, but more versatile than I expected.
Comparison Table
This table compares some of the other Breedlove acoustics we've reviewed.
Guitar | Model | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breedlove ECO Discover Companion | 85.8 | |
 | Breedlove Organic Artista Pro Concertina CE | 93.8 | |
 | Breedlove Organic Performer Pro | 93.3 | |
 | Breedlove Eco Pursuit 12-String | 88.3 |
Compare More Acoustic Guitars
If you want to add more acoustic guitars to compare, you can search our database here. We don't have all of 'em, but we have a lot.
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It plays smooth with a surprisingly warm tone, given the smaller "Companion" size.
Review Card
IDEAL FOR: Very smooth playing feel, warm tone, and good for lead acoustic styles.
TONE
87
VERSATILITY
89
CONTROL
85
COST/VALUE
92
- Really great playing feel. Easy to hold and neck plays fast.
- Warm and full
- Sounds exceptionally good when amplified
- Solid Cedar top
- Great for beginners and beyond
- Lead acoustic runs sound and feel great
- Tuning hardware isn't the sturdiest
- Chords can sound a little weak
Breedlove ECO Discovery Companion Price Guide
Prices updated Mon, September 25th, 2023.
Sweetwater Pricing
Price Alert
Price History
Price History for Breedlove ECO Discovery S Companion Acoustic Guitar - Red Cedar/African Mahogany
Statistics
| Current Price | $449.00 | September 22, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $449.00 | July 7, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $449.00 | July 7, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $449.00 | July 7, 2023 |
Tone and Playing Feel
There's some briskness for sure, but the smoothness of the playing feel helps to balance that out a lot. It's a very sweet and gentle sound, great for subtle lead and fingerpicking arpeggios.
This guitar comes with .053 D'Addario strings, which are the standard for a lot of acoustics. I'm used to Elixirs, but these strings were surprisingly slick, handling slides and bending pretty well.
I don't think they're coated, but on this guitar they feel great.
Plug it in if you can.
Chords are not as naturally full as a regular sized guitar, but that's to be expected. I should add, when I ran it through the Fishman preamp, it sounded really full.
When plugged in, I truly could not tell (from audio alone) that it was a smaller guitar.
The Fishman preamp does a great job getting as much out of this guitar as possible. I thought it sounded better amped up than in open air.
For this one, I unfortunately did not have time to do a recording.
Features and Construction
As mentioned, we have the solid Cedar top, which I'm a huge fan of. African Mahogany is used for the back and sides, which is common for Breedlove guitars, though I'm assuming it's layered and not solid wood.
Scalloped X-bracing is used inside the body of the guitar, which is fairly standard.
The Fishman PreSys I has a built-in tuner, along with phase and contour buttons. Of course, you can control volume from there as well.
I got a really balanced and natural-sounding tone with the contour button engaged.
Tuning hardware is stock, I'm assuming, and they don't feel as smooth as something like Gotoh tuners.
I'm a big fan of Red Cedar, which is in a lot of classical guitars. You can tell the solid Cedar top brings some softness to the Companion.
Price and Value
Check the price guide above, but at the time of publishing this review, the Breedlove ECO Discovery S Companion was around $550. This is an excellent price for an acoustic with solid Cedar and a Fishman Preamp.
At the time we published this review, the Companion was pretty affordable. If the price changes, it'll be relative to the overall market.
Is it a good beginner acoustic?
This is a great fit for a beginner acoustic guitar, perhaps at the higher end of the beginner stage. It's kind of the "second guitar" you get when you know a beginner is committed to the instrument.
I'm a big believer in getting beginner guitars that make for a good playing experience, so low quality doesn't discourage the player.
The balance of price and quality is perfect for that.
Review Summary
Here are my takeaways from my Breedlove ECO Discovery Companion review:
- It's great for beginners and beyond
- Tone is surprisingly warm and balanced
- Excels when it's plugged in/amplified
- Easy to hold with a great playing feel
Definitely keep the amplification side in mind. If you're not going to plug it in, the Fishman preamp is kind of a waste. Plus, I thought one of this guitar's strongest selling points was the quality of sound I got when plugging it in.
Some acoustic players don't love that, but I usually prefer plugging in an acoustic guitar and enjoying the added flexibility.
Anyways, take all this into account.
If you have questions, hit me up in the comments section below.
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