Thoughts on Bourgeois guitars.

Taylor007 · #1 09-24-2004, 07:11 AM

ANybody own one of these?
Can you share some insight?
I'm gonna test drive an OM cutway this weekend.

Jake · #2 09-24-2004, 07:27 AM

Dana Bourgeois is master luthier, a tonal technician and a respected artist in tonewoods. I've had a couple of his guitars and would put them up there with anyone else's. He built the original Schoenberg OM's for Martin, so he definitely knows something about small bodies (for some background read http://www.om28.com/schgtrs/AGart.html). I've been lusting for an OMC to go with my Slope-D for a while, but I have a great OM already so I'm just waiting on the right deal.

If you want to get a feel for what Dana knows about building guitars, go to www.bourgeoisguitars.com and read the stuff under "Dana In Print". The man knows his woods.

BTW, he's still building with Pantheon today, and the guitars coming out of there are as good as what he was making when he was running his own shop - some may even be better - so don't shy away from them.

Taylor007 · #3 09-24-2004, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake

Dana Bourgeois is master luthier, a tonal technician and a respected artist in tonewoods. I've had a couple of his guitars and would put them up there with anyone else's. He built the original Schoenberg OM's for Martin, so he definitely knows something about small bodies (for some background read http://www.om28.com/schgtrs/AGart.html). I've been lusting for an OMC to go with my Slope-D for a while, but I have a great OM already so I'm just waiting on the right deal.

If you want to get a feel for what Dana knows about building guitars, go to www.bourgeoisguitars.com and read the stuff under "Dana In Print". The man knows his woods.

BTW, he's still building with Pantheon today, and the guitars coming out of there are as good as what he was making when he was running his own shop - some may even be better - so don't shy away from them.

Thanks for the links Jake!

Scott Maxwell · #4 09-24-2004, 08:23 AM

I recently acquired a used Borg Vintage OM. Here are some pics:

http://bevelsnob.wartsnagley.com/vompics/vom.html

Excellent adirondack top (although I could easily live without the toner/stain that was applied to it.) Indian RW back/sides,ivoroid binding. Chrome waverly tuners.

Very fun to play, great tone (brighter than I expected), pretty decent sustain. Overall a pretty good value for the buck. I prefer this OM to the many Collings OM's I've played. Fit/finish/build quality seems comparable to Collings.

Used Borg Om's can be had at a good price....so keep your eyes open.

Taylor007 · #5 09-24-2004, 08:33 AM

Scott -
That looks like an excellent guitar.
Great looking soundboard. I'd love to hear
that adi in motion! How did it compare to the
Collings Om's you played?

Scott Maxwell · #6 09-24-2004, 08:48 AM

Collings makes a great guitar. But to my ears, the Collings tone always sounded too dark for my tastes....and on some Collings I've played, the best word to describe it would be "muddy."

But that's just my subjective opinion, and I have no doubt others find that tone to be superior.

The Borg tone was much brighter and clearer than I was expecting. I'm very pleased with it.

"resistance is futile"

hamlet · #7 09-24-2004, 09:27 AM

I have a Bourgeois Jumbo OM (JOM) from 1994... very early serial number.

http://rockfish.cs.unc.edu/bourgeoisJOM/

(pics are big... be patient or be warned)

It is a sweet voiced instrument. Louder than I expected, but then the JOM body shape (a Dana Bourgeois design) is dred depth and OM shape. It can be heard when flatpicking in a small jam. Great sustain, really rings with new strings. Easy action, also has the Bourgeois middle-ground nut spacing (something like 1 23/32").

One thing many Bourgeois owners say is that Dana finds and uses some of the finest woods of any maker. My JOM fits that... the mahogany is near perfect, and the spruce is simply beautiful.

Taylor007 · #8 09-24-2004, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamlet

I have a Bourgeois Jumbo OM (JOM) from 1994... very early serial number.

http://rockfish.cs.unc.edu/bourgeoisJOM/

(pics are big... be patient or be warned)

It is a sweet voiced instrument. Louder than I expected, but then the JOM body shape (a Dana Bourgeois design) is dred depth and OM shape. It can be heard when flatpicking in a small jam. Great sustain, really rings with new strings. Easy action, also has the Bourgeois middle-ground nut spacing (something like 1 23/32").

One thing many Bourgeois owners say is that Dana finds and uses some of the finest woods of any maker. My JOM fits that... the mahogany is near perfect, and the spruce is simply beautiful.

Cool looking guitar.
I'll let you know how the OMC sounds.

dodge · #9 09-24-2004, 12:36 PM

I played a slope -D recently in a guitar store in Fairbanks Alaska of all places. It had adirondak top and mahogany B/S sounded amazing, great Bass, loud but good for strumming, fingerstyle and blues, I would have bought it, but it was a bit too expensive. They are very well made and worth the money in my opinion.

ronmac · #10 09-26-2004, 06:12 AM

Taylor007,

I own a 1997 (pre-Pantheon) JOMC DLX with Bearclaw Sitka top and Wlanut B/S. http://www.ronmacnutt.com/Bourgeois.htm The build quality, aesthetics and playability are right up there with the best of them.

I highly recommend that anyone that has even the slightest curiosity about how guitars are made take the time to review the sites quoted in the messages above. Dana does offer definitive statements on many tonewood subjects.

If you get the chance, play as many Bourgeois as you can!

Ron

Taylor007 · #11 09-26-2004, 07:42 PM

Well i had the chance to play a very pretty OMC custom this weekend.
It was built like a work of art. Great Adi top, AAA indian rosewood B&S.
But, it wasn't for me. The string tension was very tight. I do alot of lead
work so...that pretty much ruled it out. Oh well. I really thought I would love this guitar. Thanks for all the input guys.

Jake · #12 09-27-2004, 03:12 AM

String tension can often be a function of how the guitar is set up, but more times than not I find it's a function of the strings themselves. If you really liked the tone you may want to head back and ask if they'll put on a set of your strings and see how the feel is (maybe you'd want to call first, explain the situation and then head over if they're cool with it). I can go from brand to brand and type to type with the same gauge string on my guitars and they'll feel and sound very different. It could be set up tight as a bluegrass picker for a reason, who knows?

Don't remember if Dana's OM's are the shorter Martin 000 scale or 25 1/2" like most OM's, but that would also lend something to it if you're used to a shorter scale.