Bourgeois OM

My OM was made in the late '90s. It has a solid spruce top (Englemann, I believe)and solid Brazilian rosewood back and sides. There are no pickups or other electronics. A hardshell case was included with the OM.

This is the finest sounding guitar I have owned, and among the very best I have played. It is simultaneously rich and bright, with well-defined mids. Given the small body, the low-end is not very pronounced. Overall, the tone is balanced and the instrument is very responsive to touch / attack. This is not a guitar that sounds very good strummed with a flat pick. However, for fingerpicking, it excels.

The fit and finish is flawless, especially the Brazilian rosewood back. The styling of the OM is simple; it has small dots as fret markers, and the soundhole inlay is minimalist in design, and, other than the maker's name, there is no headstock inlay.

The set-up is also flawless. The action is perfect and has never required adjustment.

My OM has never been subjected to live playing. It is not an exceptionally loud instrument.

I have never dealt with the maker.

I have been playing for 15 years, and also own and play two Taylor GA-MCs and a Gibson LP Custom. As noted above, this is the finest guitar I have ever owned, and the one I play most regularly. When I purchased it, I also considered comparable models from Lowden, Collings, and Breedlove. I chose the OM based on tone and playability.

Made 1998. Beautiful straight grained Sitka Spruce top with overall silking, Mahogany back and sides and neck. A simply appointed instrument however all the woods in this guitar are the finest AAA quality. Ebony bridge and fingerboard. Nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It has a bolt on neck with two bolts in the heel and four under the fretboard. Simple dot inlay on fingerboard. Nickel butter bean tuners. Bone saddle and nut.

I have had this guitar for about 6 years and it has opened up quite a bit. It was very bright at first and it has mellowed to a substantially fuller sound especially in the lower register. The sustain and overtone harmonics have bloomed and the bottom end has gotten much deeper. I use it for live performance and especially like it for studio recording. Has excellent projection and note to note separation with quick response. Can be played as softly as one would like as well as being driven hard. It has always maintained a exceptionally even well balanced articulate voice. Perfect intonation.

I am a fine furniture restorer as well as professional musician and I am always a truly surprised at every Bourgeois guitar I have encountered. Flawless workmanship inside and out. It takes an extraordinary attention to detail to build a guitar to these standards. The frets are dressed beautifully.
I primarily play finger style guitar and owned a 1931 Martin OM-18 which I sold. This is the closest I could find to that guitar. This one is built perhaps a little heavier at least in terms of the top being thicker, as far as I can tell, but overall a very lightly built guitar. The 1931 Martin was paper thin and the construction was becoming unstable; after all it was a very old instrument. As wonderful a guitar as it was I am happy to not have to be concerned with its fragile nature. The action and feel of this 1.75" neck fits my style very well. Very comfortable to play.

When I bought this guitar I needed to tighten the neck bolts. Other than that the guitar is extremely well built and I can not see any reason why it would experience any unusual malfunction.

When I spoke with Dana Bourgeois he told me this guitar was made from exact measurements of 1930 Om's of which he had extensive experience. Very friendly and helpful.

I have been playing for about 40 years. 30 as a musician, writing, performing, recording including work as a studio musician. This guitar is great as an acoustic recording instrument and I prefer it to my others for that purpose. I find myself with this guitar when creating new compositions or exploring evolving ideas. I own a vintage Guild D40NT, Santa Cruz OM-E, Larrivee 00-09, vintage Gibson electric 335TDC.

This is a Custom OM-150 model made by Dana Bourgeois and Pantheon in Maine. Gorgeous premium straight-grained, quarter sawn, old growth Brazilian rosewood back and sides; clear premium Adirondack top with absolutely NO grain runout; one piece mahogany neck; mammoth ivory pyramid bridge, saddle (compensated), nut, bridge pins and end pin. Gold plated Waverly tuners; ebony fingerboard and peghead veneer. Paua abalone rosette, diamond and square fretboard markers, logo inlay in peghead; grained ivoroid binding (body front and back, fingerboard, peghead).

Balanced -- full but not overpowering bass, rich midrange, chimey trebles with just the right amount of sparkle. Ideal for elegant finger style, but stands up to firm, agressive strumming as well -- seems to be able to handle it all!

Typical of Dana Bourgeois' reputation, flawless fit and finish throughout, and the selection of woods are truly museum quality! The set-up, as delivered, is ideal -- no buzzing or unexpected noises anywhere up the neck, regardless of type of playing. Very impressive workmanship!

It looks, feels and sounds well made without being overbuilt -- time will tell.

n/a

I am a musician, and have been playing guitar for about 40 years. This is my first Bourgeois, although I own numerous Martins. Not an inexpensive instrument, but as a professional musician I am willing to pay for fine quality instruments. Its tone, playability, quality woods and workmanship make this a world class instrument -- and considering the price, a real bargain.

2004 OM cutaway rosewood back and sides, Aderondack sprice top.

The soud of this guitar is very similar to the Martin rosewood OMC 28 I had. Nice harmonics, very clear note articulation, except the Bougeois is more well balanced. The lows and highs are very well matched. What is great about that is it works well for both finger and moderate flat pick. Not as loud as some, but sweeter than most, and before I bought it I A/B'd it against some Collings, Goodall (definitely the most responsive "fullest" sound- but not as articulated), Huss and Dalton, Martins.

This is what sold me on the guitar. It was hands down the best playing of any I tried. The action is spot on- no buzzes any where on the neck and like butter. Bar cords high on the neck, spread out fingering, you name it- this guitar makes me sound like a better- cleaner-player than I am! The comment below about Bougeios having higher string tension than Martin or Collings is just plain BUNCK! All of these use the same 25.5" scale lengths so they have precisely the same tension. ( Santa Cruz uses a 25 and 3/8" so those will be a bit looser). The rest of the guitar is really well made too. Saddle is already ramped from the factory, nut is compesated, frets are true and well dressed- basically what a custom guitar should be.

No problems, so I don't know. Lifetime warranty.

No contact

My favorite guitar. I also have two Martins, but this is the one I always pick up. Even my electrics have been feeling a little jealous lately too. If you are going to spend this kind of money on a smaller body guitar- you owe it to yourself to try one out before you buy.

2003 model, nice clean work, attractive guitar with sitka top and rosewood back and sides. Really a Pantheon guitar ... since that is who actually makes them.

These OMs are dogs ... the rave reviews here are not from players, I can tell you that. Living room strummers and weekend finger pickers may be happy with these guitars, but for their high prices they just do not cut it. They are a very stiff guitar, meaning the tension is higher than Martin/Collings at standard tuning. Most non-pros would lower the action until it is pre-buzzing, but that is unacceptable for a person who gigs several times a week. The tone severely lacks in the mids, which is what you need live to be heard. These appeal to showroom pluckers ... treble and bass overtones, but no meat at ALL. Kumbaya, anybody?

Excellent attention to detail in every respect. Extreme high quality craftsmanship.

These are stiff and seem like they would take forever to break in ... but, they also feel substancial even with their lighter OM weight.

N.O.

I have played for 30 and gigged for 27 years. There is a difference between a real player guitar and a showroon guitar. These guitars just do not pop the correct tones out there ... however, if you strum and sing, or fingerpick at a beginning level, then these guitars with extremely low action will suit you just fine. If you play hard, and play with other musicians, look to Collings, Walker, or even Santa Cruz pre-war models for the correct punch and volume.

All the tonewoods are gorgous. Best mahogany I've ever seen all around. Clover tuners are delightful. As many features as a purist would want. Very plain, but therein lies a much vaunted feature indeed.

I've heard a lot of hand built jobs, this thing blows them away. Almost as loud as a dreadnought when finger picking. Incredible tone in both color and balance. Each note sounds perfect and individual. There is no mud here, and no typical mahogany guitar "brightness". It's tone is delicious. I've had it for 6 months now and I haven't played any of my other guitars since, although I am playing much more now. The sound of this guitar will redeem you if you are a lost guitarist.

Utterly the best I've ever encountered in every respect.

This guitar seems solid enough, and if it is built as well as it looks, plays, sounds etc. then I think it will be around for a long time. Hard to imagine dropping one of these, for any reason. So far so good.

Good company. They have promised me full warranty support even though I bought it during thier trouble times. Lifetime limited.

I've been playing for 35 years now and this is by far the best guitar I've ever played. Period. The only one that comes close that I've played was a J. Olson, but this one sounds better, the Olson was slightly easier to play. I paid $1,100 for it but honestly would not sell it for $11,000. I got a deal, list was $2,800 but the distributor dropped the price. I am elated, of course.

This is a follow up to my review. I insinuated in my review below that my guitar was up for sale. Not true, it is a keeper for Life. I highly recommend(obviously) that you all explore this particular model Dana Bourgeois makes in his Maine shop. Truly wicked instruments. Take care.

As many of you know the OM, or Orchestra Model, was originally made by C.F. Martin for a limited time from 1929-1933. It was their first 14-fret, steel string guitar. They had the same body size as the 14-fret 000 but with a dreadnought scale on the neck. This allowed for greater string tension which meant more volume than the 000's. Actually they shortened the neck a bit in 1933 and renamed the OM the 000. They are considered by many to be the ultimate finger-style guitar, but can also be flatpicked better than a 000.

For those of you who don't know, Dana Bourgeois is the original maker of the Schoenberg soloist guitars (Martin OM's made to exacting pre-war specs). He is world famous for his luthiery as well as for the lectures and articles he has provided over the years on selecting tone woods and voicing tops, etc.

After the initial special agreement with Martin & Co. and guitarist, Eric Schoenberg, Bourgeois went into business for himself. He recently closed down his 10-person factory due to contractual problems with his international distributor and now is only taking high-end orders at www.danabourgeois.com. In fact this particular model is not being offered except through custom order, and would cost more than twice what I am asking for mine. Email him and ask him what he would charge for a "pre-war" mahogany OM these days! (I believe his "list quote" is around $3,600)

This is the Luthier Series (i.e. not made by factory drones) mahogany, orchestra model. So is about as close to a 1930 Martin OM-18 in terms of tone and feel that is made today. Only it has some modern improvements like closed, clover head tuners, modern , compensated saddle and his own unique neck joint and truss rod set up. Dana told me himself that he based the neck shape on a '30 OM he used to own, and it is surprisingly easier to play than the current Martin "vintage" necks.

Here are the Specs:

Very high grade, Sitka spruce top, quarter sawn Mahogany back, sides, and neck that have a more attractive
grain pattern then most Mahogany I have seen. The stain is either light or transparent so you really see the wood, as opposed to the heavy cherry red stuff you see on some other brands. It has tortoise style binding on the body as well as a beveled, tortoise style, teardrop pickguard, that is actually brown, as opposed to the typical red "pizza" tortoise stuff most people use. This works very well with the burnt brown color of the Mahogany and makes it look very unique. I personally find Mahogany superior to Rosewood tone-wise, as you hear the separation of each string more clearly when you play a chord or double stop, etc . It records without the extra mud in the bottom end, and also allows you to have an identifiable sound when playing with other people on stage. A Mahogany OM may not sound as loud as a D-28 when you are 2 feet away, but their tighter tonal range and mid-range punch really make them carry out into a room, and cut right through the mix of a band.

Bourgeois personally does top "voicing" on all his guitars and uses hand-scalloped, Adirondack "red", spruce braces. He also goes to South America himself to select his tone woods. This guitar also has an ebony fingerboard/bridge, ebony bridge pins with pearl dots, 25.5" scale, pearl logo/inlays; and an attention to detail you only get from small-batch makers. For example, the bridge pins were made for THIS guitar and are each numbered to match its particular hole! As he likes to say, his guitars are "made to sound great today and to sound even better for your grandchildren in 30 years."

You always hear about OM's being more balanced in string volume across the full tonal spectrum. Well this
particular instrument is the most perfectly balanced guitar I have ever heard, ever! Every string is the exact same volume when played open. It would be ideal for someone who wants a great fingerstyle a

This guitar has a Soul. I'm using it for Bluesy stuff and it is like it was made in Spades for this. I love it. Limited headroom with a pick and playing hard, but I'd get a Ricky Skaggs for that style, forsure.

Everything perfect. I find myself smiling everytime I open the case.

This OM is light and wicked responsive. I really feel the Vibes on the neck when I play. It's like it has always been my best friend and part of my Life.

I bought this during the financial troubles of Dana Bourgeois, and he assured me he would honor the warrantees issues(if any) as long as I had the store sales receipt. Nice to see honorable Luthiers stand tall in today's times.

I've had it half a year now and still love it dearly. In fact, I am probably gonna sell off the electric gear since those items now collect dust. If I want to play guitar, I naturally reach for the Bourgeois OM 99.5% of the time.