Just over a week ago, I went down to Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas where I spent a couple of hours playing and listening to a variety of Collings, Martins, CAs, and others. After a lot of careful listening, I ended up with a [u]Bourgeois “Country Boy”[/u]. The name may be a bit hokey, but the sound is impressive.
This model is nicknamed “the Banjo Killer” for its volume. It has mahogany back and sides, and mine has an Adirondack spruce top, which is an option in this model. The sound is quite different from my Martin D-35. It’s quite bright, and the notes tend to stand out individually, even at very high picking speeds, where the Martin starts to blend.
Where the Martin is very boomy and warm, making it a great rhythm guitar, the Bourgeois is clear and penetrating, making it perfect for lead in a Bluegrass context. I hope to take it to its first jam session this coming Sunday. I may have some learning to do in order to use it for rhythm.
What’s even more important to me than being heard against an array of banjos and mandolins is that it doesn’t conceal my mistakes, making it much easier for me to tell when I’m skating over the hard parts. Every note stands out nice and clear. I think this new guitar will help me improve my playing. It’s already inspired me to play more guitar–at the expense of my whistles.
It does put WhOA in perspective, doesn’t it? Still, it’s a lot cheaper than the D-150 ($6,695) or the Vintage ($3,495) among the dreadnoughts. I tried those, too, and would have spent the money, except for the fact that I actually preferred the sound of the Country Boy for my purposes. So I lucked out by preferring the “cheap” one.
There are lots of custom options that can jack up the price, too. Take a look at the $10,000 [u]Presentation Limited Edition[/u]. It’s a bit fancy for my taste.
Congratulations on your new baby! There’s nothing like a quality instrument, dollars or not. I picked out a David Webber maple-bodied dreadnaught over a decade ago not to sound over banjo, but to sound each finger-picked note crisply and distinctly. Its responded crisply since the git-go and years of seasoning have added more depth and sweetness to its sound. A good guitar will get even better as you go along with it.
Thanks, Carol. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately for y’all), I still haven’t found my microphone. We have about 150 boxes left to unpack that are waiting for us to finish building a set of bookshelves and cabinets in my office.
Agreed - price is most certainly relative, and if you enjoyed the sound, then it’s surely worth the price paid, and no doubt you’ll enjoy it. Good for you!
I tried to visit that website with the $10,000 guitar… but it led me to a page that said, “Ha! You can’t even AFFORD to be looking at these guitars!”
I guess knowing the meaning of ‘bourgeois’ doesn’t help, but that name has ‘hobby farm’ written all over it.
I’ve often seen these guitars praised but never seen or heard one. Sounds really nice actually. I find my D28 a bit boomy too so I went for a 00028 to get better balance. Sounds like you might have solved the problem without sacrificing volume.
The maker (as I’m sure you know) is Dana Bourgeois. According to the Web site, the “Country Boy” name was suggested by Ricky Skaggs. Elsewhere on the site, it’s mentioned that everyone in Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder, plays Bourgeois. Of course, I got mine because I knew that it would make me play like Bryan Sutton.
I’ve often seen these guitars praised but never seen or heard one. Sounds really nice actually. I find my D28 a bit boomy too so I went for a 00028 to get better balance. Sounds like you might have solved the problem without sacrificing volume.
I actually had my heart set on a Collings D2H, but Charley’s didn’t have one in stock, so I decided to listen to some other makes. For solo playing, I’d be very tempted by any of the others, including the Martin CW (Clarence White model), which was quite impressive.
What’s funny is that I went to a Bluegrass festival a few days later, and I noticed a guy playing a CW. When I commented on it, it turned out that he had bought the one I had been looking at–probably the day after I got the Bourgeois. I didn’t take the Bourgeois to the festival, not being familiar with the setup and worrying that I might have to leave it cooking in my car. As it turned out, I probably should have taken it, but I ended up playing mostly rhythm, so the D-35 worked out pretty well.
I’m sure you’ll really enjoy it, Mike.
No doubt about it. It’s also made me appreciate the D-35 more. I guess I had gotten a bit burned out over the past 29 years with it. With the clarity of the Bourgeois pushing me to be more careful and precise, the D-35 already sounds better, too. I’m going to work at giving them equal time–but probably on different kinds of material.
Congrats on the new guitar, Mike! It sounds like you are very excited about it. I know that you’ll be playing just as good, if not better, than Bryan Sutton in no time
I’ll bet you had a blast at the bluegrass festival. I’m very jealous!
The maker (as I’m sure you know) is Dana Bourgeois. According to the Web site, the “Country Boy” name was suggested by Ricky Skaggs. Elsewhere on the site, it’s mentioned that everyone in Skaggs’ band, Kentucky Thunder, plays Bourgeois. Of course, I got mine because I knew that it would make me play like Bryan Sutton. 