Bourgeois vs. Larrivee

[Aragorn04]

Originally Posted by Andood

Hi All,

I want to spend between 2,000 to 3,000 on a used guitar. I've been seeing a lot of great options on Reverb.com but I don't know what to choose!

Andood

Just a word of caution. I haven't seen any used Bourgeois in that price range (if USD). And while very nice guitars a TS Touchstone is not quite the same as a true Bourgeois.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Aragorn04

Just a word of caution. I haven't seen any used Bourgeois in that price range (if USD). And while very nice guitars a TS Touchstone is not quite the same as a true Bourgeois.

I agree 100%! You might could find a Generation series, but the Vintage, Heirloom, etc. series are running closer to $4k, at the bottom-end of the price range, in the used market.

[Lillis]

Originally Posted by 247hoopsfan

Totally agree with this. I have a Goodall, much more expensive than my Larrivees, and they don’t give anything away to the Goodall.
And Jean Larrivee gets absolutely the best wood as he has been traveling the world for over 50 years doing it.
Someone just sold a 2021 Larrivee D 40 rosewood with Moonwood spruce top for less than $1500 on this forum. Right now there is a Larrivee SD40 mahogany 12 fret for $1400. Those are ridiculous values. Since you say you probably can’t play them first, you might want to keep your eyes out for something like these. Way less than your budget, and you can always get most if not all of it back if you sell.

Actually the Sd40 is now $1300.00!

[Zissou Intern]

At one point I owned a Sitka topped Bourgeois CB and a German topped CB. They were excellent flat picking guitars, quite warm and rich sounding. I also owned a Larrivee SD40M a few years ago. That was also a very nice guitar. It was quite loud and powerful, if not as tonally nuanced and sophisticated as a CB. The Larrivee 40 Series is also about half the price of a CB.

[JustGlyphs]

A used Bourgeois Country Boy dread is about twice as expensive as a used Larrivee D-60 from what I can see. I think Larrivees are some of the best value guitars around, even after the recent price increases, but they're sort of different tiers of instruments.

Bourgeois is a small custom shop that hand voices their guitars while Larrivee is a larger production company that makes about twice as many guitars per year. I'd personally try to buy a sub-$2000 used D-60.

I like my own Larrivee L tremendously but it's not quite a fair comparison. And for bluegrass and blues the Bourgeois might suit your needs better.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Andood

Hi All,

I am thinking about purchasing a used Bourgeois D Country Boy or a Larrivee D-60 Traditional Series. I live in a part of the country where there are no guitar shops for hours so I am basing my purchase on mainly research and reviews. Has anyone had any experience with these two guitars? Or does anyone have any recommendations for a singer/songwriter who likes to play bluegrass/blues style, I want to spend between 2,000 to 3,000 on a used guitar. I've been seeing a lot of great options on Reverb.com but I don't know what to choose!

Thanks,

Andood

Please read my review that's linked below of my new Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass JCL Special. It's reasonably priced and is a cannon. Larrivee is a mainstream builder along with Martin, Taylor, and Gibson that all make great guitars but makes such as Huss & Dalton, Bourgeois, Santa Cruze are boutique brands that are supposedly better because they cost more and more care and mojo has supposedly gone into making them. I like my Huss & Dalton TD-R but I also like my new Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass JCL Special that cost me about $2275.00 USD or about one-half the Huss & Dalton's price. https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=662220

[musicman1951]

They are both fine guitars, but if you can find a used Bourgeois D Country Boy for 3K grab it and run.