Are you an acoustic guitar connoisseur? If so, you’ll have most definitely heard of Bourgeois guitars, and know that they are amongst the most highly respected American guitar builders in the business. Bourgeois has a rich heritage that stretches back to the 1970s, and I want to make sure you know all about them!
Today, I’ll look a little into the background of this brand, and check out just why Bourgeois guitars is such good news for players across the world.
Contents
- Who are Bourgeois Guitars?
- What Makes Bourgeois Guitars Different?
- The Bourgeois Ranges
- Bourgeois Professional
- Bourgeois Heirloom
- Bourgeois Legacy
- Bourgeois Touchstone
- Bourgeois Downeast Series
- Who Plays a Bourgeois Guitar?
- Incredible Performance
Who are Bourgeois Guitars?
Bourgeois guitars are from Maine in the United States. The company is headed up by master luthier Dana Bourgeois, who has been building guitars for over 50 years.
Dana’s early college days were filled with his first guitar builds. From his Bowdoin College dorm desk, he studied an old copy of Classical Guitar Construction by Irving Sloan, and got to work. After college, he set up shop in Brunswick, Maine, connecting himself to the growing bluegrass scene and carrying out repairs and builds.
Years of practice and exploration brought Dana to several revelations about the importance of clarity and balance in his builds, and this developed into his practice of tap-tuning that he continues today.
He and a small team of twenty artisans hand build just 400 guitars a year, working inside a converted pre-Civil war cotton mill from the 1850s.
(Pic Courtesy of Bourgeois Guitars)
Part of Dana’s backstory is that he brought his hand-built dreadnought guitars along to bluegrass legend Tony Rice’s gigs, putting the guitars in his hands and taking onboard the musician’s feedback. This is integral part of the learning process, and one which arguably isn't done enough in the world of guitars!
The guitars that come from this setting have been blowing us away ever since we first took on the brand. Undoubtedly Martin-like in their superficial design (indeed, Bourgeois have actually collaborated with Martin on a certain OM model a few years back), Bourgeois’ vintage inspired OM and dreadnought models are subtly modified for tonal balance, headroom, response and articulation.
(Pic Courtesy of Bourgeois Guitars)
What Makes Bourgeois Guitars Different?
Bourgeois guitars apply a number of subtle innovations in each build, which helps them to stand apart in a crowded market. These include the following:
- Tap Tuning: this is Dana Bourgeois’ famous technique for seeking out a guitar top’s optimum resonant frequencies by tapping the timber with his finger after the initial bracing is attached and listening to the sound. The bracing will then be sculpted and modified by hand in accordance with how the wood reacted to each tap. The goal is to enliven the top and allow as much movement/vibration as possible by adjusting the bracing in all the right places.This technique is applied to all body styles and timber choices.
(Pic Courtesy of Bourgeois Guitars)
- Torrefaction: many of you will nowadays understand the artificial ageing through heat treatment that is torrefaction, but Bourgeois were early adopters of this procedure. Torrefaction involves subjecting the wood to high temperatures, in an oxygen-free environment. The timber not only dries out, but is also fundamentally changed at a molecular level. For guitarists, this means a better blend of stiffness and movement, and a strident, clear tone that matches Pre-War heirloom instruments. Basically, it’s the sound that everybody wants!
- Unique bolt-on neck join: This enables the neck to be adjusted or removed without the hassles associated with steaming, drilling or cutting into the instrument.
- Adirondack Spruce: Bourgeois were significant in the reintroduction of this timber as an instrument tonewood. They use ood-growth examples from Maine, so the wood is responsibly sourced.
The Bourgeois Ranges
The Bourgeois brand features a number of ranges, so let me take the briefest skip through these for an at-a-glance reference:
Bourgeois Professional
Bourgeois Professional is the brand’s top-tier range of instruments. Crafted entirely in the USA, they are described by Bourgeois as ‘built without shortcuts’. These are all entirely handcrafted in Lewiston, Maine, by the small team at Bourgeois guitars.
Each guitar is hand voiced for optimum balance, projection and tone. Tap-tuning is carried out on the tops, bracing is modified by hand, and timbers are carefully matched to enhance what is there and focus the frequencies. It’s all about human precision and dedicated hand-crafting here.
Bourgeois’ trademark bolted-on neck is used on every guitar for longevity and a consistent sound. Some models are available with torrefied Sitka Spruce tops as an upgrade, and certain of these can be had with a satin finish.
Several styles are available in the Bourgeois Professional Series, including the Vintage (square shoulder dreadnought), Hog Top (OM-style), the Natural (slop-shouldered dreadnought) and more.
Bourgeois Heirloom
The Bourgeois Heirloom series is more directly influenced by significant guitar models throughout history. These can be thought of like a reverential nod to the most notable 'Pre-War' acoustic guitars of the early 20th century. This was probably the most influential period of acoustic guitar building that has ever existed, and it befits a maker like Bourgeois - who are something of a 'modern tradition' brand - to pay tribute to that. You’ll find some very highly decorated instruments here, with pearl and abalone inlay work and more.
Bourgeois Legacy
The Bourgeois Legacy Series is more about Dana Bourgeois’ own preferences in terms of styles, features and decorations. These are highly personalised takes on familiar - and less familiar- guitar designs, with unique features all reimagined by Dana himself.
Bourgeois Touchstone
So, the Touchstone range is where things are a little different. The other ranges are all entirely built in Maine. With these guitars, the tops are handmade and voiced in Maine (via the tap-tone techniques discussed earlier), and then sent off to Eastman’s facility in China. Eastman are expert guitar makers in their own right (we love these guitars and stock them too), and so their expertise is built into each Touchstone guitar too.
(Pic Courtesy of Bourgeois Guitars)
These aren’t Eastman guitars, though: they are built to Bourgeois’ specifics, and to pretty exacting quality levels. As Bourgeois themselves put it:
‘A select group of Eastman’s finest luthiers, carefully trained in Bourgeois’ tonal philosophy and construction methodology integrate the tops into Dana’s designs, bringing each guitar to life.’
There are three variations in spec for the Touchstone range - the Signature, the Country Boy and the Vintage - all of which are available as dreadnoughts or OM models. Before I highlight the differences between these three specs, let me first round up what remains the same throughout:
- Alaskan Sitka spruce top
- Adirondack spruce binding
- Ebony fingerboard
- 14 fret Mahogany neck
- High Gloss finish
- 1 23/32” bone nut
- 25.5” scale length
And now, here’s what separates each of the models within the Touchstone range…
Country Boy: the simplest in terms of decoration, the Country Boy is made with mahogany for the back & sides.
Vintage: The Vintage carries more decorative elements such as multiple binding on the body, and is made with Indian Rosewood back & sides.
Signature: This has the most decoration (ziricote binding on the body, fretboard & headstock, pearl inlays and a tricolour herringbone border around the top), and also features a torrefied Sitka spruce top.
Bourgeois Downeast Series
The Bourgeouis Downeast series is designed and overseen by Bourgeois, but is built in Eastman's Beijing facility. This way, players can have all of the know-how and precise knowledge of 50 years' worth of Bourgeois building, mixed with the affordabliltiy and accessibility of an instrument crafted by Eastman in China.
Several models are available in the Downeast Series, including a grand auditorium, a Blues model and a slope shouldered dreadnought, all created with a wide variety of tonewoods.
Who Plays a Bourgeois Guitar?
Currently, Bourgeois guitars are played by a number of highly respencited artists, including:
- Luke Bryan
- Bryan Sutton
- Andy Falco
- Natalie Maines.
Incredible Performance
These are some of the loveliest acoustic guitars I’ve had my hands on in quite a while. It’s easy to become quite blase about yet another classic American set of acoustics making their way across the pond, but a quick strum form both a dreadnought and an OM told me that Bourgeois have really zoned in on what makes these instruments tick.
Each sounded significantly different, with the dreadnought displaying a considerable amount of low-end in its strident sound. It was never muddy though, and indeed both rang out with natural sustain that really impressed me.
It seems that the whole concept of collaborating with Eastman is a good one. The guitars easily compete with some of the best in the world, and the prices - though not cheap - are closer to the earth than some other boutique brands.
I invite all acoustic aficionados to have a good long shot of these, particularly the types of player/buyer who’d normally right off anything that’s fully fully made in the US of A. Put it this way: you do you, but if you pass on these guitars, it’s only you who is missing out on some quite lovely experiences.
