Bourgeois Guitars has debuted a new series of instruments designed to replicate the tone and response of the great vintage guitars, the holy grail of every modern builder. These new guitars are being billed as the Aged Tone series, crafted with two special processes in their Lewiston, Maine shop.
The first step is what they describe as the Aged Tone tops. These sound boards, made from Adirondack spruce, are thermo cured to resemble wood that has been air dried for decades. According to luthier Dana Bourgeois, these “roasted” tops are much lighter in weight than new lumber, having had the water driven out in the process. As a result, they exhibit increased stiffness-to-weight ratio, which leads to greater vibrational energy transmitted across the top. Read more volume.
Then these guitar bodies are sprayed with a newly-developed Aged Tone finish, designed to offer the sonic and visual characteristics of cured nitrocellulose or French polish, with the superior protection of modern lacquers.
Dana says that he’s found that these new guitars require almost no break-in time, with a big, dry sound right from the start.
“An Aged Tone guitar isn’t a substitute for a great vintage instrument, nor will it make people stop playing new guitars with untreated tops. It’s entirely new, yet partially old, totally different and overwhelmingly musical.
I can’t wait to hear what different players do with these guitars!”
Aged Tone guitars are available in three body styles (dreadnaught, orchestra model, and sloped shoulder dreadnaught), in either mahogany or rosewood. All feature premium tonewoods, Adirondack braces, hide glue construction and traditional-style bridges, inlays, pickguards and bindings.
The six Aged Tone models start at $5995.
