Bourgeois JR-A

Spruce/Rosewood, 1 & 23/32 nut I think - kind of a compromise between a flatpicking and fingerstyle neck width. Big OM model basically. No electronics. Made in '99. Very little info on this guitar as it was manufactured a short time before Bourgeois went to Pantheon. This is a very simply appointed, but very well-made guitar.

This is big guitar body that manages to retain the crisp, sweet tones of smaller fingerstyle instruments. It lacks the hollow, airy tone of many jumbos - and I like that aboout this instrument. Also, it has a very impressive dynamic range and can be played very softly while retaining its tone. It has plenty of volume. It is one of the nicest sounding instruments I've ever played.

Very well made. Perfect except that I prefer a 1 & 3/4 inch . I also own a Martin 00-C16DBRE which I've reviewed here. That is my favorite guitar over this one, but maybe only because I prefer that neck. I bet this guitar would be a great instrument for a flatpicker who wanted to try fingerstyle. It's simply appointed. No fancy inlays and stuff. I like that. It isn't a showy guitar.

So far so good. I bought it from Dave - another guy who reviewed it here - his review is right on the money. He took good care of it and so do I. I don't gig much with it, but I was just telling my wife that I think I'll start. It deserves to get our of the house a little. :-) No worries here.

No problems here so far.

I also own the above mentioned Martin 00-C16DBRE and a Larrivee OM-03. This and the Martin are awesome instruments - I like the Larrivee a lot too. These Bourgois JR-A guitars are pretty rare. I saw its value listed in a guitar price guide at about $1000. I also see Exceptional Guitars is trying to sell one online for 2K. I paid 1450 and am very, very happy with what I got for that price. If I could change anything I'd make the neck a touch wider so it matched my Martin and Larrivee guitars. But this is still a very nice fingerstyle guitar. The large sound is the best feature because I've yet to run across another guitar with such an incredible combination of volume and tone. Basically this is the JOM model without the fancy herringbone inlay and all that. If it were lost or stolen I probably wouldn't be able to find many more of these. It would be hard to replace. I'm keeping mine.

this is bourgeois' economical version of his j-om that he made for a little while i think in '00 '01. made in maine i think, 20 frets i believe, solid spruce top, rosewood back/sides, mahog neck, rose fretboard. no electronics. a very light finish that you have to watch out for because your sweat starts to wear it down. it is like a dread size with a om shape. it doesnt have any fancy anything, but it just has a soul to it...i feel kin to it when i am playing.

such a great fingerstyle guitar!!! can facilitate contemporary, celtic, blues, cascading harmonics, anything...and at a good enough volume. i use it to sketch stuff on and to just enjoy playing...as apposed to playing live or recording. not much else to say except that it sounds so good!

i bought this new, but it looked like it had been a bit neglected. strings were tarnished, action high, dusty etc. i just had a feeling about it though, and when i had it set up by the shops luthier a few days later, it just hasnt stopped shinning since. it plays so well and is just a joy to pick on.

like i said about the finish, it starts to fade if you are a sweater. the guitar itself is solid. i have had it for 3 years i think and as long as i take care of it, it takes care of me. any high end acoustic needs tlc to stay at its best. i plan on still playing this thing when im old and grey.

never dealt

this isnt a $3000+ super high end acoustic, and i havent given it 10s across the board, but i love this thing so much. it is my most sentimental and favorite guitar out of 6 electrics and 2 other acoustics. (am dlx strat, am tele, gibson cs 356 & les paul florentine, musicman silhouette spc, langejans, legend om) im pretty sure that these arent very abundant...in fact i would be supprised if i ever saw another one, but bourgeois is worth taking a look at in general...over santa cruz, collings, etc and definitely martin and taylors! electrics can get away with it, but when it comes to high end acoustics....dont believe the hype!!! only small shops putting out their finest will give you the best playing experience!

This is a premium acoustic guitar built by Maine luthier Dana Bourgoise and his crew. It's size is similar to a Martin jumbo guitar; shaped similar to an OM guitar but bigger. It's air volume is probably similar to a dreadnought but its tighter waist and more graceful lines make it sit more comfortably on the lap and seem to refine the tonal qualities as well.
This guitar's body is crafted from solid Indian rosewood for the back and sides and solid sitka spruce for the top. Although the body wood is nice, the spruce top is especially choice, with narrow uniform grain with nice silking, indicating good quarter sawn qualities. The inside work is very clean and the braces are high and narrow, coming to a sharp point. The sides are reinforced with wooden strips to help prevent warpage and to help prevent splits. The rosette is a simple concentric pattern of wooden purfling and the body binding is ivaroid. The body is finished with an extremely well done high gloss lacquer finish. Since this guitar is part of the Artisan series the bridge is rosewood instead of ebony, but I prefer that for a fingerpicking guitar anyway. The bridge is similar to a Martin shape, but smaller and more elegant. The saddle is compensated bone.
The neck is solid mahogany and the peghead is in the Martin square shape. The fretboard is a rich dark rosewood bound with black plastic. The twenty frets are highly polished and extremely well done. The fretboard features very small plastic microdots which contribute to the restrained elegance of the instrument. Tuners look to be Shaller with small buttons. The nut is bone. The neck is finished in satin.
The guitar is supplied with an arched top Canadian hardshell case with red "fur".

I use this guitar for a combination of flatpicking and fingerpicking and amplify it with a mic and PA system. It's tone is extremely rich and refined with good volume and overall balance. After playing a guitar like this you know what the difference is between high end production instruments like Martin and Taylor and the essentially hand made instruments like Goodall, Lowden, and Bourgeois (and perhaps Santa Cruz). Although this guitar is no more expensive than an off the shelf D-28, it's clear that the maker spent lots of time in the construction of this guitar's innards. Perhaps that's contributed to the company's recent bankrupty. Simply put, this guitar has it all sonically; refinment, richness, balance, volume - everything you could want. And this is comparing it to my Martin D-41, |Taylor 410R, and Larrivee OM-9 (although the Larrivee comes close).

I'm really picky. Although this guitar is near perfect, I noted that the 3rd string nut slot was too narrow, causing the string to bind. The nut slots for string numbers 6 and 2 were not as deep as the other slots, created a heavy feel on those strings. I also had to adjust the neck slightly, as the neck was "too" straight, causing some fret buzzing. But almost all guitars, no matter how expensive, require some tweaking, and the corrections only take a few minutes.

As a very experienced player who has owned and played many guitars over the years, I think this guitar is rock solid and looks like it will stand up to the test of time. I like the fact that the neck is a bolt-on system which facilitates easy neck resetting if it ever needs it. All materials, finishes, and hardware seem absolutely first rate.
I certainly think this guitar could serve as my only axe, but I always take two different guitars because I use several different tunings.

Since the Bourgeois company recently went broke and Dana's luthiery future appears cloudy, I don't know if I can get future service. But I like the guitar so much and since the dealer gave me a good deal, I couldn't pass it up. I might never get a guitar like this again.

Bourgeois belongs to the "upper echelon" of guitar builders, in my opinion; in the company of such makers as Lowden, Goodall, Santa Cruz etc. These instruments are simply more painstakingly assembled than most of the production instruments you will see and their tone is testimony of the care that goes into them.
I have owned many guitars over the years, most of them very good guitars. I've had guitars that were prettier and two Santa Cruz guitars which were as nicely made, but because they were dreadnoughts they didn't suit my playing as well as this does.
What I like about this guitar is the sound. It has what I need to produce my music, my art, to reveal my soul.
If this guitar were lost or stolen I would have to search for another which would do what this guitar does for me, whoever the maker might be.
I keep thinking that someday I will find the perfect guitar. I fear sometimes I've become addicted to that search. But I keep getting closer. My Larrivee OM-9 has some of the qualities of a perfect guitar. I think this guitar does as well.