Completely overwhelmed by a guitar last night.....

[hairpuller]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Dang! Cutaway.

I’m out....

Ha! Me too.
scott

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by Mr.Woody

Ok, videos are uploaded. They are long. I left the shop after playing the guitar and called my wife to tell her about it. She said "well, did you make a video of it so i can see?" So i went back in and made these videos. For some reason the second one cut out and restarted, so there are 3 videos.

In posting these videos, i'm very aware of these things:

1. There's nothing in my playing that "deserves" such a nice guitar
2. The quality of a phone recording will never do the experience justice
3. My singing in these videos is weak and terrible sounding. I am a good vocalist, but trying to sing quietly in a shop is never a good idea lol

I believe your playing is well deserving of this guitar especially in the first video where you were playing fingerstyle.

Nothing wrong with owning a guitar that is inspirational. That is priceless.

[DukeX]

I did a quick Internet check. $15k might actually be a great price on that guitar. I saw mostly $19k +

[Br1ck]

I've happily lived by the rule, don't play what you can't afford. Figure out what you can afford. If that is $3000, don't play anything over $4000. Pay special attention to that old beat up Gibson. It could be a 39 J 35. Once burned, I didn't play the $12,000 40 J 35 Gryphon had recently. Not into grief and regret.

[Mr.Woody]

Originally Posted by DukeX

I did a quick Internet check. $15k might actually be a great price on that guitar. I saw mostly $19k +

Sorry, it is the $19k one. I put "over $15k" in the original post because i didn't want to give too many details

[dwh]

I usually look at price tags first; just so I don’t pick something up to play that will coerce me to take a second mortgage.

[mivaldes]

I kind of laughed when I went to Carter's Vintage Guitars in Nashville. They have $6k+guitars sitting on cheap *** stands EVERYWHERE. What other stores have locked up are just waiting to be tripped over. THAT is a dangerous store to fall in love with a super expensive guitar.

Marcus

[Mr Bojangles]

I just got back home from a 6,000 mile "guitar safari". We hit Nashville and many other places. Carter's had some great stuff, and so did Gruhn's.

I always find it therapeutic to try out expensive guitars because I usually leave satisfied with what I already have at home. My collection consists of mostly Martin's worth up to $3500 and an old Gibson Hummingbird. While I enjoy the sound and feel of super expensive guitars, I've never played one that made me want to sell mine to be able to afford it. Maybe I'm just a cheap date.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Mr.Woody

Ok, videos are uploaded. They are long. I left the shop after playing the guitar and called my wife to tell her about it. She said "well, did you make a video of it so i can see?" So i went back in and made these videos. For some reason the second one cut out and restarted, so there are 3 videos.

In posting these videos, i'm very aware of these things:

1. There's nothing in my playing that "deserves" such a nice guitar
2. The quality of a phone recording will never do the experience justice
3. My singing in these videos is weak and terrible sounding. I am a good vocalist, but trying to sing quietly in a shop is never a good idea lol

Phone microphone aside, you can still get a sense of the resonance and sustain. I'm glad I can't try it out.

[mivaldes]

You don't have to "deserve" a guitar based on playing ability. You just have to be able to pay the bill haha!

Marcus

[Robin, Wales]

I think that this is a really interesting thread. Am I the only one thinking that this guitar would be the wrong choice for them? If it was lined up with others and they all had a $500 ticket on them, then I'm not sure it would be the one that I'd choose - that's just based on what I'm hearing in the videos (using reference headphones and standard headphones). I think that I would have trouble keeping that Bourgeois under control with a flatpick, it just has too many overtones for me. And I expect that with my playing style and basic skill level the guitar would just sound a total mess.

I don't think that that has anything to do with the price? A vintage guitar perhaps like an early 1930s OM-18 Martin of a similar price I think would suit me better in terms of usable tone compared to this Bourgeois, which sounds like just way too much guitar for me. Still, I'll actually never have to make that decision without a lottery win!!!!

The Bourgeois is obviously going to be the perfect guitar for some players, Mr Woody being one (and thank you for posting the videos, your playing and voice are great!) but perhaps it is really not a good instrument at all for others. If I won it in a raffle then I expect that I would sell it and buy something else - even if it was $500 not $19,000

[Mr.Woody]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I think that this is a really interesting thread. Am I the only one thinking that this guitar would be the wrong choice for them?....... I think that I would have trouble keeping that Bourgeois under control with a flatpick, it just has too many overtones for me.......The Bourgeois is obviously going to be the perfect guitar for some players, Mr Woody being one

Thanks for that perspective! You make a really good point about the overtones and whether the guitar would fit an individual's particular use or not. I had convinced myself that I needed a very dry fundamental tone for my guitar (don't remember why), which led me to my j45. In many ways, for my playing and singing, it fits very well. That being said, there are many things that I have stopped playing because they are difficult to play on my j45, but they were more than easy to play on the Bourgeois. It could be that, in a band context, the Bourgeois would feel mushy and undefined, where the Gibson might fit just right. I bet the Bourgeois shines as a solo guitar more so than the Gibson would.

Also, thanks for the kind words regarding my playing/singing. I wish I could go back and make some full-volume/ unrestrained videos and see how it handles fuller strumming and how it would sound with my voice in a normal volume

[blindboyjimi]

You got some heat here not telling us the guitar, but that’s very smart. I’ve seen countless people here post a “should I buy this amazing guitar” post only to have it suddenly sold when it sat on the shelf in some little town for 2 years. Remember that 20-100 people normally read each thread when only a few post. Over 3,100 people have read this thread and a lot are here to get ideas about what they should purchase.

Anyway, look here. No affiliation but a nice brand new Bourgeois in Dana’s favorite wood combination for under $5,000.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=615302

Finally, you deserve any level of guitar that you could easily afford. Someone here posted to “charge it”, and I cannot disagree more. Get the best guitar that causes no distress to you wallet, but if you see something you love, there are many people here that have $20,000 guitars and $5,000 cars, or live in a small condo in order to do what you love. It’s all priorities, but seriously, look at the used market and buy off someone that you trust. There are a lot of amazing Brazilian guitars here that may in fact be equal or better than that one. I sold one of my mint German/Brazilian Franklin OMs that was close to $20,000 new for about $8,000 to another AGF’er.

[ascotia]

Your noodling and self-described "terrible singing" sound great. I left the video running while I was reading other posts and I rather enjoyed listening to it in the background.

The guitar lives up to the hype IMO. If I were to spend big bucks on a boutique guitar, I would need to have a cutaway. I really like the cutaway shape with the overall body silhouette, and the sound port is more tastefully implemented than other examples I've seen. That rosette is also a nice unique twist. I think I come down on the side of liking the rosette even if it's slightly distracting from the overall aesthetic. I have mixed feelings about the 'standard' Bourgeois headstocks, but the slight curvature on the the top of this guitar is a nice touch as well.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by Mr.Woody

Stopped by a local store and played a super expensive guitar (over $15k) before looking at the price tag. It stopped me dead in my tracks.......I never knew a guitar could play so easily and so clearly. I've played tons of guitars, but this one seriously left me speechless. It was the most perfect guitar I've ever played. I don't know what I'm going to do now.... Man.

If I sold all my guitar stuff, I'd still be $12k short....

I've never been affected by a guitar in that way.

Anyone else?

I had that experience playing a Monteleone flattop at Scott Chinery's house. And I played it back to back (several times) with a pre-war D45. I don't think $15 would have paid for the inlay. LOL.