Bourgeois Guitars, noted for years for their uncompromising quality and workmanship, plus the playability and tonal excellence of their professional acoustic guitars, has announced a new line of more budget friendly models through their association with the Eastman Music Company.
Called the Touchstone series, the first two to be introduced are rosewood OM and dreadnaught models, assembled in Bazhou, China by select Eastman luthiers trained by Dana Bourgeois. The tops are chosen, cut, and voiced at the Bourgeois shop in Lewiston, ME, and then shipped to the Eastman facility in Bazhou for final assembly. All of the Touchstone guitars are inspected and set up at the Bourgeois shop before shipping to dealers, to ensure that they are worthy of the legendary name.
Dana Bourgeois, designer and CEO of Bourgeois Guitars, says that working with Eastman makes it possible to offer his guitar designs to far more players.
“Eastman has been able to help us offer a broader range of instruments, allowing us to make our guitars available to a much wider audience. This is something we have always wanted to do for guitar players, but frankly would not have been able to provide at any meaningful volume without this partnership.”
Both the dreadnaught (D Vintage/TS) and the orchestra model (OM Vintage/TS) are made with old growth Alaskan Sitka spruce tops, with Adirondack spruce bracing. Backs and sides are of Indian rosewood. Either model is available for only $3,299, substantially below the asking price of the US-made guitars.
The first batch of Bourgeois Touchstone guitars have been shipped to dealers, and we are assured that another batch is on the way from overseas. Visit the company web site for a list of dealers in the US.
