Where would our world be without "men of ideas" like Kim Breedlove? We would certainly be without his exquisite, custom-made, acoustic string instruments, that's for sure. And where would we be without the Breedlove Atlas series? We'd live in a world where only the most selfish and self-serving multi-millionaires, swaddled in the spoils of hands-off regulation and golden parachutes were able to afford the luxury of a Breedlove instrument, and that, my friends, is a world I simply don't want to live in.

Luckily for me, Breedlove has not only preserved, but revamped its Atlas series, expanding it to offer four new models in celebration of the series' five-year anniversary. All the new Atlas models feature the new L.R.Baggs Stage Pro Element transducer system, developed in conjunction with Kim Breedlove.

The four new purpose-designed models are designated Solo, Stage, Studio and Retro. The intended applications of the first three are obvious, but the Retro model is not -- as I'd first assumed -- capable of projecting the player backwards through time, at least, not literally. Being that the Retro is based on the "pre-war" Dreadnought design, playing it will be transportative.*

The Stage model features reduced weight and increased volume and projection to cut through a loud live mix. Th finish is a high-gloss designed to reduce glare from stage lights -- thoughtful!

The Studio model features the exact-same structural design of the Stage model, but with understated aesthetic appointments that make the uncompromised sound and performance of the Atlas guitars even more affordable.

The Solo model is even more affordable, and features the unique side-positioned "monitoring" sound hole; this design projects a clearer sonic picture back to the player of their performance, and makes the guitar perfect for solo singer-songwriter-types:

*this is not a word, I know; it's just so USEFUL, sometimes.