The Touchstone Series from Bourgeois is a revolutionary collaboration that delivers the tone, feel, and character of boutique, handmade guitars at more accessible prices.
These days, small boutique builders face economic realities that discourage high-quality guitars that can be sold at affordable prices. Each builder can only produce a limited number of a guitars in a year, so to make it work, many must focus on the higher-dollar spec sheets. Even though they could build incredible guitars at lower prices, they just can't justify it.
In 2020, Eastman became Dana Bourgeois' financial partner, and that laid the groundwork for the Touchstone Series collaboration. Eastman is a massive company with high volume and plenty of resources. Combined with Dana's hands-on approach, the Touchstone Series brings the legendary Bourgeois tone and build quality to a wider range of players than ever before.
Each Touchstone guitar starts in Lewiston, Maine, with a hand-selected Old-Growth Alaskan Sitka Spruce top. Dana and the Bourgeois crew then tune and voice the top by hand using solid Adirondack Spruce braces. Each top is adjusted individually to optimize its potential and bring out its own unique character.
After that, the braced and voiced top is shipped to Eastman where it is assembled to Dana's uncompromising D Country Boy specs. Thanks to Dana's guidance, the level of workmanship is absolutely on par with everything you'd expect from Bourgeois. The completed guitar then returns to Maine for final setup and inspection. The results are impressive.
- Body Size: 14-Fret Dreadnought
- Top: Old-Growth Alaskan Sitka Spruce
- Back & Sides: Mahogany
- Neck: Mahogany
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Scale Length: 25.5"
- Nut Width: 1-23/32" Bone
- Saddle Spacing: 2.2" Bone
- Tuners: Schaller Grand Tune Nickel
- Bridge: Ebony w/ Ebony Pins
- Finish: High Gloss
- Bracing: Hand-Voiced Adirondack Spruce
This D Country Boy/TS packs powerful dreadnought tone that is steeped in the subtlety and nuances of a hand-voiced boutique guitar. It's everything you could ask a mahogany dreadnought to be, and the price tag seems a few thousand dollars lower than it should be. The simple Country Boy appointments are elegant but understated, and this Bourgeois produces rich, mahogany tone. The hype is well deserved.