Bourgeois D - Rosewood/Spruce

Mine is a Vintage D with the Adirondack Top, Indian Rosewood back and sides. It is not ornate - similar in appearance to a Martin HD28, HD28V but overall I think is a little prettier with the perloid inlay manufacturer name on the headstock. Bone nut and bridge - the pins are artificial - but not cheap plastic.

Dreadnought shape/size - no electronics - an acoustic guitar - that's it. Mine has not had the end pin installed yet - it is in the case if i need to strap it on. Does not have a strap button at the neck end - for that I deduct one point - I might have to add this at some stage - and am not keen on having to do this myself.


To be fair though it has all the features I was looking for.

I bought this guitar sight unseen (eBay) but got to strum it when I picked it up before handing over the cash...

One strum told me a lot. I was looking for even volume across the strings - and lots of harmonics/aftertones. It has them in spades. Not sure that it is a banjo killer volume wise - and will never get to check out that aspect but it certainly drowns our my mates 1967 J45. It was playing the J45 that made me decide to move up from my Takamine which was lifeless compared to the Gibson. My friend was amazed that a 2 year old guitar killed his old machine for overtones and character. It is 'brighter' than the mahogany Gibson.

My other reference guitars were a D28/ HD28V - i did not get to A/B but my memory is that the HD28V has more bells than the D28 - without the definition of the 28. I think my Bourgeois has both..

At heavy strumming it gets a bit muddy but will not be using it for that..Currently set up with 11s.

Finish - perfection. No visible glue spots inside. Neck attachment v clean - way better than the HD28V in my local store which had white glue on one side of the neck-body join.

The Adirondack top has very wide even grain - with bear claw everywhere...looks awesome...

Action - as I received it seems fine - no string buzz. Happy with neck / string width - which seems OK for both flat picking and fingers. I might consider shaving down the bridge to drop the action a bit - but hate the thought of harming it in any way - maybe after it gets a ding or two...

? too early to say

?

I have limited experience with acoustics - only having owned cheap machines in the past. In shops I have played the Gibson range - no shivers up my spine and a few Martins (couple of D28s and three HD28V).

I cannot imagine how I could be any happier with a guitar - electric or acoustic - I open the case and it makes me smile. Same when I play it. Can't imagine how it could be any better.

For the same price as a HD28/ HD28V you get Marquis specs - it is fantastic value...

This "D" features indian rosewood back and sides along with a very beautiful quater sewn adirondack top. Very nice binding around the body but no binding for the neck, which I actually desire. The fretboard and bridge are ebony. The neck is mahogany. It has all the features I could possibly want for studio and jamming.

My vintage D can take all that I can give it, it dosent bottom out under pressure in a jam session, especially a Bluegrass jam. I play it in every musical style. It responds so well to fingerstyle at low volumes and at balls-to-the-wall rhythm and flat-picking. It responds best with medium strings using a real tortoise pick.

There are absolutely no concerns with any of this. Newer Bourgeois guitars as this one is need to be re-adjusted on the action, this is only because the wood is settling.

If I treat this guitar as I should, It will give a lifetime of solid rock performance.

I have not personally dealt with the customer service at Bourgeois but the first owner did. He was very pleased with their service.

I am 21 years old and I have been around guitars since I was old enough to hold one. I had plenty of time to get to know this guitar before I bought it and I could not ask for anything more in an acoustic guitar. I call it the "acoustic cannon" because I have to back off when playing in a jam. Banjos, mandolins, Martin D-28s, and Taylors dont even measure up. I say this with alot of experience with dozens of all that I listed. I mean what I say!! Bourgeois has it going on in the studio and on the stage and under the stars back behind the stage.

Very good guitar indeed. But be sure to check and tighten the six screws that hold the neck to body. As all B. guitars four screws connects guitar to soundboard and should be checked now and then as they tend to loosen up after a while. Otherwise excellent guitar
for most purposes. It sure sounds best using medium strings (013-056).
Guitar is stable solid built and loud clear sounnd. Exc. playability. Recommended. Better then Martin.

Extremely solid.

Very nice, they answer questions on e-mail.

Normally I do not rate this high. But these guitars seem to last a long time and produce a sound the way it is supposed to. Very well.

As with all Bourgeois guitars, a selection of perfectly matched quality woods coupled with the highest level of craftsmanship and finish. This is an understated yet stunningly beautiful guitar.

A unique combinatioon of range, clarity, punch and richness. One of Dana Bourgeois' signatures is that he tunes each guitar, and the balance is unique. From first picking it up it is the most appealing and enriching sounding guitar I have played. While I still love my Martin (D-35), the Bourgeois Vintage D is in a very special class by itself.

The guitar was purchased second hand from a musician who has ordered a custom guitar from Bourgeois, and the combination of medium-low set-up and strings (D'Addario light)works excellently. Fit and finish are perfect, not a blemish.

Time will tell, but has a solid feel and excellent heritage for reliability.

I had a few initial questions and the folks at Pantheon were accessible and very helpful. I have heard that Dana Bourgeois is very open and accomodating in working with owners and newe customers.

I played quite a bit when I was younger and after a 20 year hiatus I began playing again in earnest (more earnest than skill, but making me very happy). I have tried many guitars over time and the Bourgeois is easily the most compelling, beautiful, and capable guitar I have had the privilege to play. There is rinchess, range and incredible clarity of tone -- it can be rode hard, or can whisper and seduce. My Martin is loved but feeling neglected, and no nostalgic talk of exotic aged Brazilian woods and pre-war unique sound will deter me from knowing what I found is as good as it gets, and better.

This full size dreadnaught guitar was custom made for the first owner in 1993. I bought it second had a couple years ago. It was made in the Bourgeois shop in Maine. 14-frets free on the neck, no cutaway. Solid spruce top with nice "bearclaw" figure. The top appears to be carved, since there's definitely a curvature to it which is visible when you view the guitar from the side. This appears to be a design feature, since the curvature is too perfect and the action too good for it to be a warp related to string pull. Solid rosewood back and sides with nice bookmatched grain. Ebony bridge and fingerboard. "Modern" bourgeois headstock which provides almost straight string pull from the nut to the tuners. I think the bridge is what is called a "belly" bridge, though I'm not sure what that means. Several plies of ivoroid binding around the body, bound neck and headstock. Herringbone design down the back. Open-machine nickel waverly tuners.

It came without a pickup but I installed a Baggs Double Barrel recently and have been satisfied with the results (see my harmony central review).

Semi-Gloss finish on the body and neck, and what feels like an oiled finish on the ebony fretboard.

Frets are smallish but very well dressed and smooth. Fretboard radius maybe a little flatter than your standard Martin D28, but not by much.

This guitar is a very dynamic guitar that responds very well to harder and softer playing. Plenty of sustain. I play lead guitar in an acoustic folk/songwriter combo so I need to be able to "jump forward" in the mix at will. I find this is no problem with the "D". Agree with earlier poster who finds different tones depending on flat- or finger- picking and strength of attack. Would add that a variety of tone colors exist depending on right hand picking positions.

Sound is very punchy and present, not at all shrill. Lots of volume in all registers with good balance register to register, terrific dynamic range when you "dig" a little, a generally warm tone, and terrific focused midrange when you capo it up. great chime, jangle and harmonic overtones when capo'd up above the 5th fret.

The action is a little heavy but that's a matter of choice for me. I usually string with mediums (.12 hi e). This guitar rewards accurate playing but given sensitivity of the top you can also hear clams very clearly!

Fit and finish was perfect even though I bought it used. No glue inside, all the binding perfect, etc. Guitar stays in tune very well and generally intonates well up and down the fretboard. I traded up from a $500 dreadnaught and you can definitely tell the difference on the intonation alone.

i think amplifying this guitar in a louder setting (e.g. rock combo) will be very difficult because the hand-tuned top is so vibration sensitive -- but unamplified or at lower amplified volume settings the top "sings" very nicely when picked with authority. You can hit a note and make it sustain with vibrato, almost like an electric.

I use this guitar as my main gig axe and it's stood up well. The worst damage done was when my piano teacher's cat jumped on the top and dug her claws in when I was showing it off to her.

I have gigged without a backup on this guitar, but of course would never gig without spare strings and a backup amplification method.

n/a

Have been playing 25 years. This is my only acoustic guitar right now though I have played a wide variety of steel- and nylon- string acoustics over the years. Also play electric and have a US Hamer Artist Ultimate and a G&L Legacy. Ultrasound acoustic amp, Matchless Clubman 35 tube head with 4x10 cabinet, and a Line 6 Axsys 212.

I spent a lot of time getting the acoustic amplification rig just right (see my ratings on the baggs dbl barrel and the Ultrasound AG30) and am very happy with the end results.

If this guitar were lost I'd by another handmade dreadnaught and would certainly look at bourgeois. When I bought this one it was after looking at Santa Cruz, Martin, Collings, Taylor, Webber, and others. I think that when you get into the high-end of the market subjective issues come into play, because all of these guitars are of the hightest quality and a delight to play. To be honest I bought the "D" off ebay bcs the price was right, and because Bourgeois had such a good reputation, and I haven't been disappointed. Now that I have the guitar I most appreciate it for its dynamic response and clear, clean tone.

And did I mention it's loud? At will I can always drown out my bandmate's D18, which he fingerpicks, and his singing, which I occasionally step on :-)

1993 Rosewood/Sitka Dreadnought
Specs: - Body: Solid Rosewood B&S. - Top: Solid Sitka Spruce - Neck: 1-pc Mahogany; Width: 1-23/32"; Scale: 25-1/2". --- Contour: Not fat, but not thin like a Taylor. --- Frets: Medium. --- Fingerboard: Ebony w/Pearl Dot Inlays. - Bridge: Ebony; Bridgepins: Ebony. - Binding: Ivoroid Body, Fingerboard, & Headstock. - Headstock: Bourgeois-style. - Bracing: Bourgeois-style assymetrical... --- Forward shifted 'x'; Scalloped Bass; Non-Scalloped Treble. - Tuners: Waverly, Chrome
Case: Hardshell Geib-style archtop.
Designed to sound like a pre-war Martin HD-28.
Rating: "7" because its features surpass a D-28, but not as ornate as a D-45 (or Taylor 900/Presentation series, or...).

Note: This is essentially the same guitar Brian Sutton & Ricky Skaggs demo'd prior to the endorsement deal of the Ricky Skaggs model.
Trebles: Bell-like, particularly good for a 'D'. - Very "round" when flatpicked; not piercing, but present. - Surprisingly capable in the fingerstyle genre. Excellent overtones.
Mids: As with all 'D's, the lower-mids are definitive. - "Throaty", yet extremely musical, when flatpicked. - Warm when fingerpicked.
Bass: Strong & projecting, but not boomy. - Loud, strong, & room-filling when flatpicked. - Piano-like when fingerpicked.
Overall: Remarkably versatile - great for flatpicking, but fingerpicking is extremely pleasant as well (think Michael Hedges-tone). Useful in ANY situation. Its amazingly responsive to the touch; it sings. For a ONE-guitar guy, this is about as good as it gets! I compared it side-by-side to over 50 guitars (Collings, Goodall, Santa Cruz, Martin, Larrivee, Taylor, etc.) and always came back to this one. Since purchasing, I've A-B'd it to numerous others (probably another 100 'boutique' guitars) and I'm still convinced this is the creme-of-the-crop.
Rating: 10 - When you're comparing great guitars, it becomes difficult to objectively differentiate. Bottomline, this is a great one!

Action has been set very low on this instrument. Even when played aggressively, buzzing is minimal.
Dana's attention to detail is outstanding - right down to the turned ebony bridge pins individually numbered for each string hole. All glue joints are clean - no glue smears or blobs. Finish is fantastic. Bookmatching is superb. Saddle fit is tight. Bone nut is cut well and nicely polished.
Bolt neck is sturdy, strong, and worry free - I don't suspect the tone is compromised in the least by the neck joint design.

Live, the guitar's been super. It sounds great and stays in tune. Even in varying environments (humidity/temp), it's very stable.
I've used it without a backup and feel it's very dependable. However, it's still wise to have a backup, so I do. In truth, about the only time I use my backup is to introduce a different voice to the set. The Bourgeois is a solid, great-sounding workhorse.

Warranty leaves something to be desired at 5 yrs. Martin has set the standard for a lifetime warranty, so Bourgeois' comes up short. However, Goodall's are 5 yrs, too, so Bourgeois is not alone in the warranty decision. Nevertheless, my guess is that they'd fix a guitar out of warranty if it really proved to be their mistake. Incidently, I believe Bourgeois now offers a lifetime warranty for their newer instruments.
In general , they're really good folks to work with - very helpful. However, when I called recently to check on some dates, they told me they lost much of their info on their very early guitars ('93-94) through SN 200(?). Seemed like a critical blunder to me, hence the rating of 6.

Overall, it's the best in my book for versatility - it can do it all very well. I'm basically a 'few guitars kinda guy' due to the fact that I also play electric & bass and need a few different types of those guitars, too.
If it were lost or stolen, I'd certainly check out Bourgeois 'D's first. I'm definitely sold on the tone, workmanship, and reliability of their guitars, or at least the one I own and the half dozen that I've demo'd.