Bourgeois Guitars has a repute for making among the highest high quality devices in the marketplace. The boutique firm handcrafts roughly 500 guitars a 12 months, retailing for a mean of round $7,500 every. That’s why gamers will probably be excited to be taught in regards to the new Bourgeois Touchstone collection, made up of two fashions—a dreadnought and an OM—which can be priced at lower than half that quantity. 5 further fashions will probably be launched in 2023, and finally there will probably be a full line.

The Touchstone collection is the results of a collaboration between Bourgeois and Eastman Music that started within the fall of 2019, when the 2 firms determined to create some new fashions collectively, with every collaborating within the constructing course of. The guitars’ tops are constructed and voiced on the Bourgeois workshop in Lewiston, Maine, then despatched to Eastman’s manufacturing unit in China, the place luthiers full the devices to Bourgeois’ specs. The completed guitars are then despatched again to Bourgeois and arrange alongside the corporate’s common manufacturing fashions.

Having checked out a Touchstone OM Classic/TS, I can say that this collaborative course of has resulted in a wonderful tradition-inspired guitar with a comparatively inexpensive value. 

Classic-Impressed Specs

The Touchstone OM Classic/TS ideas its hat to the prototypical orchestra mannequin that C.F. Martin launched in 1929—that firm’s first steel-string with a 14-fret neck joint. The Touchstone’s all-solid building consists of an old-growth Alaskan Sitka spruce prime with Adirondack spruce bracing, together with Indian rosewood again and sides. The guitar sports activities basic appointments like herringbone purfling, a black-and-white stripe rosette, and ivoroid bridge pins. 

Whereas the Touchstone OM has a normal scale size of 25.5 inches, the nut width is 1-23/32 inches, barely narrower than the usual 1.75-inch width. The trendy-feeling neck has a slim profile and a satin end, making it simple to grip and slide up and down freely whereas taking part in. The assessment mannequin got here arrange with medium motion, which I discovered to be very comfy.

As could be anticipated from Bourgeois, the general construct high quality of the Touchstone is superb. The guitar is comparatively light-weight and has nice intonation, and the Schaller GrandTune tuners are easy and responsive. The fretwork is ideal, with no sharp edges alongside the perimeters of the fingerboard, and the physique’s fantastically utilized gloss urethane end contributes to the guitar’s elegant look and high-quality really feel.

In depth Vary

Like all good OMs, the Touchstone has a good steadiness from string to string, and powerful projection; for a smaller-bodied guitar, it has nice quantity, with out being overpowering. The bass response is extra spectacular than that of among the dreadnoughts I’ve performed not too long ago, and the low finish helps to supply layers of heat, resonant tones when strummed. 

This spectacular responsiveness extends itself previous the low finish and mids to the excessive finish, which rings out amidst the opposite ranges whether or not you’re strumming, flatpicking melodies, or fingerpicking. When strummed, the guitar’s completely different frequencies complement one another fantastically—an impact that was particularly noticeable when taking part in folkish tunes like Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” or the jazzier “Coyote” by Joni Mitchell. 

One among my favourite flatpicking riffs is the principle lick from Tommy Emmanuel’s “Flatt Did It,” and once I performed it on the Touchstone, I used to be in a position to produce a strongly voiced melody that projected boldly with out a lot effort. When it comes to fingerpicking, the decrease strings are bolstered by that very same highly effective low-end voice that’s apparent when strumming. That is significantly useful when taking part in songs like Mississippi John Harm’s “Avalon Blues.” 

Currently, I’ve been writing in alternate and open tunings, and the Touchstone OM resonates gorgeously in response to them. I attempted the guitar in drop D, double drop D, DADGAD, and my favourite, C G C F C E. All these tunings sounded simply as wealthy as once I performed the guitar in normal tuning, because of its ebullient overtones, and there was no murkiness once I dropped the underside 4 strings to C, G, C, and F. 

The Backside Line

The Bourgeois Touchstone OM Classic/TS, which streets at just below $3,000, is a traditional-style orchestra mannequin that provides gamers entry to a wonderful classic tone with glorious projection and tonal steadiness. Between its highly effective voice, elegant look, and relative affordability, the Touchstone is a major alternative for any guitarist searching for an OM that can make a robust impression on listeners.

Specs 

BODY Alaskan Sitka spruce prime; Adirondack spruce bracing; Indian rosewood again and sides; 2.2″ bone saddle; ebony bridge; ivoroid bridge pins; high-gloss urethane end

NECK 14-fret mahogany; ebony fretboard; 25.5″ scale size; 1-23/32″ bone nut; Schaller GrandTune nickel tuners; satin urethane end

OTHER Hardshell case; D’Addario EXP16 Coated Phosphor Bronze Gentle strings (.012–.053)

PRICE $2,969 avenue

MADE IN USA and China

bourgeoisguitars.com

This text initially appeared within the March/April 2023 concern of Acoustic Guitar journal.