For almost fifty years, Dana Bourgeois has been crafting some of the finest acoustic instruments on the planet.
Putting older legacy brands to shame with their stunning degree of quality, unparalleled sound and incredible beauty, there are many who believe when it comes to high-end acoustic guitars, Bourgeois are the best in the business. Bourgeois lovingly craft around four hundred guitars a year at their workshop in Lewiston, Maine, a dedicated team of twenty master luthiers pouring their heart and soul into making each of their creations absolutely perfect. Led by Dana, this team of craftspeople are intent on creating the best possible instruments from the best possible materials, resulting in truly exquisite guitars fit to become a prized family heirloom.
Aside from sheer mastery of their craft and utter dedication to making the finest guitars around, there are a handful of things that really set Bourgeois Guitars apart from other boutique luthiers. Firstly, Bourgeois have developed a unique x-bracing system that scallops only the bass side braces, while the treble braces are shaped and tapered. This greatly enhances bass-to-treble balance in a large guitar like a dreadnought and is a big reason as to why Bourgeois guitars sound so powerful across lows, mids and highs alike.
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Secondly, Bourgeois use only the finest premium tonewoods, including unique woods to the Maine area like Adirondack Spruce, which produces an unbelievably rich sound. Thirdly, Dana and his team use a renowned method of tap-tuning each of their finely crafted tops, finding their optimum sound at proper flexibility. Bourgeois also utilise a unique bolt-on neck design that allows the neck to be removed without drilling, cutting or steaming, which they pair with a fully adjustable truss rod. This design mimics the tonal response of the steel t-bar neck reinforcement found in vintage instruments, with more flexibility.
Finally, Bourgeois put into practice a Finnish method of heat-treating raw timber called torrefaction. This cures their tonewoods, essentially artificially ageing them for a more lived in, vintage tone. They say for the first fifty years of its life, a guitar still thinks it’s a tree. Not so with a Bourgeois guitar.
Everybody knows that worn-in, vintage acoustics always sound better than a brand new one of the same type, but Bourgeois guitars are an exception. Thanks to Bourgeois’ uncompromising build quality, these instruments come out of the box sounding like a masterfully built vintage instrument, the kind that normally costs people more than a house. Dana’s techniques give his guitars that magic vintage feeling that even the most expensive new guitars always seem to lack. It’s that magic that truly sets Bourgeois apart from the rest.
The result of these innovations and techniques are acoustic guitars that project incredibly well and have an extremely balanced frequency response. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing a couple of these fine instruments in person and it felt very much like the moment in The Wizard of Oz when everything turns from black and white to colour. I’ve played and heard some excellent, very expensive acoustics in my time including some very old ones, but nothing has compared to the sheer power and projection of a Bourgeois guitar. They are incredibly loud, but nuanced at the same time, with deep lows, rich mids and shimmering highs all coming through with equal power. Truly balanced, extremely articulate and most importantly, loud as hell. In the hands of a great player, it really is an astonishing thing to hear.
Take the Custom OM model for example. It has a beautiful, tight grained European Spruce top and is otherwise constructed from the holy grail of tonewoods, Brazilian Rosewood. Tastefully adorned, it features a lovely ebony pyramid bridge, classy tortoiseshell binding and an immaculately crafted rosette. A minimalist aesthetic to be sure, but a perfect one.
The OM is one of the centrepiece models in the Bourgeois catalogue. The OM is versatile, appealing to both fingerstyle players and flatpickers alike. Featuring a 14-Fret neck and a familiar 25.5” scale length, the Bourgeois OM are slightly smaller than a Dreadnought, reminiscent of a 00 parlor-style guitar, and have an unparalleled combination of balance, presence, power and comfortable playability.
Dreadnought
On the other hand, take this Legacy Series DB Signature Dreadnought. Elegant, understated and yet exotic, this high end model is constructed with an Adirondack Spruce Top known for its superior stiffness to weight ratio, delivering an extraordinarily clear and resonant tone. Complete with beautiful Madagascar Rosewood back and sides, this guitar is hand-voiced through precise carving and tap tuning, ensuring a rich, articulate sound.
The DB Signature Dreadnought also features a stunning figured Koa binding, bone slotted diamond fretboard inlays and truly unique gold tuners with Snakewood buttons. With a thunderous bottom end, a complex, vocal midrange and glassy shimmering highs, it’s everything you want in a dreadnought but elevated to the nth degree. No expense spared, no shortcuts, just pure magic.
Both of these guitars are fine examples of what make Bourgeois instruments so special. The unique construction, the unmatched projection, the attention to detail and the sheer natural beauty of premium materials. The radiance of these guitars is plain to see, but there’s nothing I can write here that will fully encapsulate how incredible they truly sound. You’ll just have to go find out for yourself.
Bourgeois guitars are a premium instrument, straddling boutique quality with the experience of decades of guitar building, playing and refining. A Bourgeois is haute couture for the guitar world.
The goal here is to make the best brand new acoustic guitars in the world, capturing the essence of vintage pieces inaccessible to even the wealthy and perhaps even improving upon them with precise engineering and sought after materials. In the high-end, boutique world of luxury guitars, Bourgeois Guitars stand tall as instruments that earn their price tag.
So if you’re in the market for a truly divine hand-crafted acoustic guitar, one that will never let you down and will never stop inspiring you, you don’t have to sell your house to buy one built in the 1930s. Bourgeois Guitars are contain everything we’ve learnt from centuries of guitar making, combining the best of a vintage instrument with modern build quality.
For local Bourgeois enquiries, visit Gladesville Guitar Factory.
