There’s some big news regarding one of the best-kept secrets in Bend. A legendary, low profile company that has been making acoustic guitars by hand since 1990 now has a Nashville connection.
Two Old Hippies Guitars, LLC, the parent company of Breedlove and Bedell Guitars, has announced the completed sale of the company to Nashville-based artists and music industry advocates Pete Mroz and Shannon Pollard. Mroz has been an artist with Breedlove for the past five years, releasing several albums and playing the guitars “all over the world.” He was also a former standout on NBC’s “The Voice.” Mroz says he was first approached by Tom Bedell last December with an offer to become a national sales manager, but he politely declined because the time just wasn’t right. Bedell then called back in February with a restructured offer for Mroz to purchase the company.
“It’s a helluva story, man! I never thought I’d be at this stage of my life where I own a guitar company. I’m dreaming, so don’t reach through the phone and pinch me,” Mroz said during a recent phone conversation, during which he was sitting in a truck in the Nashville rain.
Mroz said he could not refuse the offer and immediately wanted to bring in a partner, Pollard, with whom he had worked before. Pollard is the grandson of country music icon Eddy Arnold and the founder of Plowboy Records. “We feel a deep sense of responsibility and are honored to help shape the future of these brands,” Pollard said in a press release. “This isn’t just a business venture—it’s a personal and passionate commitment to ensuring Breedlove and Bedell continue to inspire and serve players around the world.”
Breedlove had humble beginnings in Tumalo before moving its operations to Bend, where everything will remain; the only thing moving to Nashville is the ownership, which plans to spend considerable time in Bend. Breedlove currently has a payroll that covers 38 full-time jobs, from craftspeople to sales and publicity, to housekeeping. Asked if that number might change, Mroz said it depends on what the market does. The company’s entry level guitars are imported and cost between $400-$1,200. Its made-in-Bend guitars can range from $2,500 up to $25,000.
“Every precise detail, everything has a purpose; we want to naturally and organically grow.”
The company has long flown under the radar, but Mroz and Pollard want to change that. “No secrets,” Mroz declares. “We’re making amazing instruments here.” After Covid, he says he noticed a lack of engagement with the community. To change that around, Mroz says they want to start factory tours up again, reopen the gift shop and do a little facelift. “Even though we don’t live there, we understand the power of community.”
Mroz also said the company strives for “sustainability,” starting with its guidelines on how the company buys wood for its guitars. “No clear cut,” he demands. “We want to be the best stewards of the resources we have.”
Mroz says the guitar makers work with probably 25 different types of wood, with about four going into each guitar and comprising the main components—the top, back and sides. He says Breedlove currently makes about 70 different guitar models and strives to produce something unique that hasn’t been done already, made right here in Oregon.
Breedlove
61573 American Loop, Bend
877-800-4848
This article appears in Source Weekly July 17, 2025.
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