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Old 03-24-2024, 01:55 PM
fingerstyle_me fingerstyle_me is offline
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Default Bourgeois Touchstone OM Country Boy vs Martin 000-18

For fingerstyle and strumming with fingers, how do the Bourgeois and Martin compare in term of tone and playability ?
Which one has the most enjoyable sound ?
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Old 03-24-2024, 02:22 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
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Answers should be so subjective as to be meaningless, but I have a Martin bias as well as a made in USA bias and so without ever touching a Touchstone, would go in that direction. The also pretty worthless YouTube videos show the Touchstone to be uninspiring compared to a US Bourgeois, but you would expect that.

If you can't play them, buy the Martin on resale alone. Sorry to be no help. Buy the Touchstone only if after playing one, you like it better. I'm not going to argue that.
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Old 03-24-2024, 02:30 PM
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I agree with Brick, with perhaps a tad more experience as far as finishes are concerned (maybe). I don’t think I’ve ever played a bad 000-18. The redesigned ones since 2014 have forward shifted 1/4” bracing, and I think that combination with short scale is magic. They also have nitro finishes.

I’ve never played the other model. I do know it is designed here, made in China, and shipped back to be fine tuned and inspected here. And it has this True Tone finish which is poly, and I’m not a fan.

Ironically, I’ve owned quite a few Eastmans - with the nitro finish … and I have tried twice to own the same models with the new True Tone finish that came after the merger. Instead of upping the Eastman sound with this high end merger, I feel they ended up making a once woody tone thin and brittle.

So, as Brick says, if you play one, and prefer the sound over the Martin, then go for it. But otherwise, carefully choose a good Martin 000-18. Preferably one with a tall saddle (proper neck set) and with the binding looking fine.
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Old 03-24-2024, 07:51 PM
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I played a Bourgeois Touchstone OM Country Boy at the Eastman booth at Wintergrass. It was a really great sounding and playing guitar. As good as any Martin I've played, better than some. And they were offering it for $2500. Pretty tempting, but I'm not looking to buy anything currently.
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Old 03-25-2024, 01:21 AM
fingerstyle_me fingerstyle_me is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandobart View Post
I played a Bourgeois Touchstone OM Country Boy at the Eastman booth at Wintergrass. It was a really great sounding and playing guitar. As good as any Martin I've played, better than some. And they were offering it for $2500. Pretty tempting, but I'm not looking to buy anything currently.
What about the sound ? Was it on the dry / woody side or more on the modern / bright side ?
Did you feel the nut width a bit small compared to 1 3/4 width ?
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Last edited by fingerstyle_me; 03-25-2024 at 02:38 AM.
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Old 03-25-2024, 11:37 AM
Tnfiddler Tnfiddler is offline
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I've played a few of the Touchstone guitars and played them back to back with my Lewiston made Vintage D. The Touchstone guitars I played were loud, but don't have the clarity and tone of mine and I prefer the US made one. That being said, I have a Martin D41 and the Bourgeois dread and while they both sound AMAZING, they're different animals and to me, fill different spaces in my musical life. My D41 is my plugged-in and unplugged Praise Team and solo acoustic gigging guitar, because it just has a warmth to the tone, that it sounds phenomenal as an accompaniment to my vocals, whereas the Bourgeois is a Bluegrass monster and band guitar. It's, LOUD, projects extremely well and has so much clarity and note separation that it doesn't get lost behind a banjo or mandolin and is able to be heard while we're moving and playing around a condenser Mic, which is our preferred way of playing as a band. I'd try to find the models you're inquiring about and let them speak to you. You'll know when you've found your guitar!
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Old 03-25-2024, 12:14 PM
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The new signature series D and OM (torrefied Sitka and Madagascar rosewood) sound really lovely, and are a bargain around $3.5K.

To our ears, they are VERY similar to the same from Bourgeois, tonally, which is somewhat removed from the Martin sound. The mids aren't nearly as scooped, they have more of a balance, not as bass-forward as a Martin.

As everyone says, you'll only truly know if you play one, but objectively, the Touchstone guitars are very well made instruments.
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Old 03-25-2024, 12:40 PM
Mandobart Mandobart is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fingerstyle_me View Post
What about the sound ? Was it on the dry / woody side or more on the modern / bright side ?
Did you feel the nut width a bit small compared to 1 3/4 width ?

Understanding that so many of the adjectives we use here are imprecise and subjective.....

The sound was full and resonant. Similar to the sound of my 2017 HD28 when strung with round core phosphor bronze strings (I have round core monel on it currently). The strings on the Country Boy were likely 80/20 or phosphor bronze.

I'm a caveman when it comes to nut widths. They all feel the same to me. I've got 2 violins, 3 violas, 4 mandolins, 1 mandola, 2 octave mandolins, a mandocello, 8 guitars and an upright bass playing in regular rotation. I can't get all bunched up over nut widths, string spacing, scale length, etc.
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Old 03-25-2024, 08:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tnfiddler View Post
I've played a few of the Touchstone guitars and played them back to back with my Lewiston made Vintage D. The Touchstone guitars I played were loud, but don't have the clarity and tone of mine and I prefer the US made one.
Apparently the Touchstone guitar tops are still created by Bourgeois, so this kind of assessment makes you wonder whether they're putting in less effort on the Touchstones than their US guitars.
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Old 03-26-2024, 04:53 AM
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If resale is of any consideration to you, run - don’t walk - from the touchstone. They’re very hard to move - just in case you don’t bond with the guitar. Martins will always have a better market and hold their value well.

My limited experience with touchstones is that they have a great build quality and offer a little less bass and more mids than the Martin sound. I believe Raymond (AMW) post above highlights that.

I don’t find much allure with the touchstones but all in all they’re nice guitars for the money. Maybe seek out a used one if you’re unsure. Likely will get a sweet deal
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Old 03-26-2024, 08:01 AM
Tnfiddler Tnfiddler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biosphere View Post
Apparently the Touchstone guitar tops are still created by Bourgeois, so this kind of assessment makes you wonder whether they're putting in less effort on the Touchstones than their US guitars.
I don't know if that would be the case, because mine has the torrefied Banjo Killer double scalloped bracing and that DOES make a difference in the how mine sounds.
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