Is anyone else as excited about the Bourgeois/Eastman partnership as I am?

[jgottsman11]

After recently getting a Bourgeois OM, and having tried or owned most of the "common" popular boutique brand guitars, I can't mute my excitement about what Bourgeois and Eastman have the potential of doing for the "high-end" guitar community.

I'm assuming we'll be getting the classic shapes, 0, 00, OM, D, etc. With Bourgeois still voicing the tops of the guitars and enforcing their construction methods, I believe we are in for a treat with some well priced, superb instruments with the help of Eastman. I'm doing my best to hold off on any guitar purchases until these guitars hit the market.

If I could make a request... It would be for a Bourgeois/Eastman collab Soloist model. An affordable version with all solid construction of an incredibly elegant guitar like that would be right up my alley.

[TomB'sox]

That is great you feel that way and I am sure that is what they were hoping to achieve, unfortunately I think the general sentiment is not so positive. Time will tell.

[Matt G]

I'm looking forward to hearing how they sound. Acoustic Music, in Salt Lake City, says they'll be getting some of the new guitars in late 2020. I've never played a Bourgeois, but I love how they sound in recordings.

I have played a few Eastmans, and they don't have the tone I'm looking for, so I'm curious to hear how these new ones sound.

I don't expect to buy one (I hope to get a harp guitar within the next few years). I'm mostly just curious.

[Edbuff]

I have played both Bourgeois and Eastmans. To my thinking Bourgeois are very traditional as are the Eastmans. I will follow this with interest. I have owned several Eastmans and I think that there strength is in guitars that are not mainstream like their Archtops. I have a couple of their Archtops and they are great. Especially the 804 oval hole. Bourgeois makes a very good hi-end guitar and maybe they are looking to break into a more medium range market.

[brencat]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

After recently getting a Bourgeois OM, and having tried or owned most of the "common" popular boutique brand guitars, I can't mute my excitement about what Bourgeois and Eastman have the potential of doing for the "high-end" guitar community.

I'm assuming we'll be getting the classic shapes, 0, 00, OM, D, etc. With Bourgeois still voicing the tops of the guitars and enforcing their construction methods, I believe we are in for a treat with some well priced, superb instruments with the help of Eastman. I'm doing my best to hold off on any guitar purchases until these guitars hit the market.

I love your enthusiasm but I think you should realize that this partnership/ownership stake by Eastman is Dana’s exit strategy. He’s in his late 60s, right? Probably has 3 - 5 more years before stepping out of the day to day, doing the consulting thing etc, then retirement.

Let’s see where this goes.

[gr81dorn]

THe real question is what we should call them - Bourgman or Eastgeois? I like Eastgeois.

[RP]

Bourgeois and Eastman are both Grade A brands IMO, and I hope it will turn out to be a good partnership; but that's not to say that I'm excited as the OP...

[SprintBob]

I have to believe Eastman fans might look to this with positive anticipation more than Bourgeois fans! I own both an Eastman archtop and mandolin and for the money, both are quite the value.

[gr81dorn]

Originally Posted by brencat

I love your enthusiasm but I think you should realize that this partnership/ownership stake by Eastman is Dana’s exit strategy. He’s in his late 60s, right? Probably has 3 - 5 more years before stepping out of the day to day, doing the consulting thing etc, then retirement.

Let’s see where this goes.

I thought Dana didn't even own Bourgeois guitars and hasn't for like 20 years. He's overseeing production and has been all that time, but shut down in the late 90s and a holding company owns the company...right?

If that's still the case, what's in it for him to have an exit strategy? The company can and likely will keep going after he's done and gone like Collings has done just fine. I'd guess the owners want a more viable ongoing model of income and that's what I assumed this partnership was really all about - steady work and income.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Edbuff

...I have owned several Eastmans and I think that there strength is in guitars that are not mainstream, like their archtops. I have a couple of their archtops and they are great....

I'd personally love to see some Bourgeois-designed Eastman archtops as an upscale addition to the lineup; collaborations of this type have worked out favorably in the past (D'Aquisto/Fender, Benedetto/Guild, Triggs/Gibson), fully-carved instruments in the $4-5K range would be strong competition to the laminated Gibson jazzboxes (as well as those from Sadowsky and Benedetto), and other than Mark Campellone nobody is producing a comparable product in this bracket (yeah, I know all about the Waterloo - and I'll reserve my opinion regarding what you're getting/not getting for the $4500 price of admission) - could be a real contender for serious jazz players on a budget or students looking to step up from a laminated instrument...

[Tony Burns]

Im sure its real purpose was to keep from going broke -
having instruments in all price points looks good for the bottom line -
a stead flow of cash . Im not fond of guitars as whole that come from the orient
they cut the prices low to make a sale - and their quality is not typically
as good as most US made products -their just cheap .
to make a point most have a low resale used.

[zmf]

The return of this topic makes me wonder how we'd judge whether this merger was successful.

Currently, what's the difference between equivalent Eastmans and Bourgeois'? If Bourgeois' are better than Eastmans, how are they better? Tone, touch, playability, build quality? I've played both, and think Bourgeois guitars have something that Eastmans don't. And I'm pretty sure it's more than a psychological bias created by the name on the headstock. At the same time, I think Eastmans are fine guitars.

Maybe members who own both and play them regularly might comment.

How much better would the hybrid have to be than an Eastman, or how close would it have to be to a Bourgeois, to be a successful product?

[mr. beaumont]

How do you pronounce Bourgeois anyway?

I hadn't heard this, so the idea is that Bourgeois will have a model/line designed by Bourgeois but manufactured by Eastman?

That could be really cool.

[backdoc]

I've never played a Bourgeois, but I have three Eastman guitars (E6D, E20OM, E20OOss). I really cannot imagine anything that could improve on them. I have a couple of Gibsons and a couple of Martin standard series and the Eastman guitars are every bit as nice. Fit, finish, playability and tone are all top notch.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by backdoc

I've never played a Bourgeois, but I have three Eastman guitars (E6D, E20OM, E20OOss). I really cannot imagine anything that could improve on them.

I think that's the crux of the matter.
Now you've got to play a couple of Bourgeois' and tell us if you think there's any significant difference.