Sponsored by
“Carries the legacy forward by putting professional-grade guitars back within reach of the musicians they were always meant to serve”: Dana Bourgeois celebrates 50 years of guitar making by reimagining the ever-popular Professional Series
Bourgeois Guitars has always been about surpassing the expectations of the upper echelons of guitar making and innovating, while paying homage to tradition.
And with their newly imagined Professional Series, the brand continues to honor the ethos of crafting high-end acoustic guitars that benefit from carefully selected tonewoods, hand-voicing, and a refined neck design – with a twist, that is.
While the well-loved flagship models are still available, Bourgeois Guitars has introduced a more affordable tier. This strategic move opens the brand up to a wider pool of players – particularly poetic as it coincides with founder Dana Bourgeois' 50th anniversary of guitar making.
“What’s new is how it addresses modern players’ needs in terms of affordability via subtle refinements: specifically, the choice of an ultra-thin satin nitro finish without compromising our boutique approach to guitar building,” explains Bourgeois.
“These new guitars return to the company’s founding mission: building world-class instruments that serve serious musicians,” he adds. “From the start, I sought to craft guitars that combined boutique craftsmanship, tonal excellence, and playability in service of working players.”
As the man behind the name aptly puts it, “This series carries that legacy forward by putting professional-grade guitars back within reach of the musicians they were always meant to serve.”
What’s the concept behind the Professional Series?
“The idea for the series came toward the end of the pandemic, when supply chain interruptions and labor shortages sent manufacturing costs and product prices through the roof. Before that period, the original Professional Series was a popular product line for us. We recognized the growing need for new offerings in our old price category, and we set out to meet it.”
You recently introduced two tiers within this series. What are the main differences between the two?
“One tier represents the original Professional Series. These are the same guitars our players have always loved, with a few key upgrades – like a gloss finish, torrefied top, and Waverly tuners.
“Though pricing is higher than it was pre-pandemic, these guitars are still competitively priced, and a market still exists for guitars having these features. The second tier features our new nitrocellulose satin finish, Schaller tuners, and natural tops, and these guitars carry noticeably lower prices.
“It’s the new satin finish process we developed that turned out to be the real key to lower pricing, as it reduces the labor demanded of our finish team significantly. An added benefit to satin is that these guitars sound already broken-in, because satin can be applied much thinner than a finish that needs to be sanded level and buffed.”
What were some of the biggest challenges in developing and innovating the series?
“It took a while to develop our satin finish. When the process is executed correctly, it represents significant labor savings but because you forego the sanding and buffing processes required for gloss finishes, you have to get it right on the first pass.
“Any issues at all in its application mean you have to strip it back and respray, which adds time and cost. Fortunately, our finish guys are very good, but we still had to go through a few variations before arriving at the look we wanted.”
What do each of the five different models – namely, the Natural, the Bourgeois Blues, the Hog Top, the Vintage, and the Country Boy – represent?
“The five different models represent the most popular body and trim styles of our original Professional Series. We simply kept what was most popular for the upper tier and produced variations of the same five models for the satin tier.”
We’re lucky in that we have been able to build a team of incredible luthiers here in Maine, each of whom plays a part in building these new guitars.
How important is it for Bourgeois Guitars to keep all manufacturing local?
“We’re lucky in that we have been able to build a team of incredible luthiers here in Maine, each of whom plays a part in building these new guitars. However, sometimes keeping all manufacturing local is not the best strategy. I’ll give you a good example.
“Our Touchstone Series is made in collaboration with Eastman. These guitars are priced below the new Professional Series. If we could build them entirely in-house profitably, we would certainly do so, but US manufacturing costs are not favorable for smaller companies that rely more heavily on skilled labor than on automation.
“Instead, we put our energy into building and voicing tops we would be proud to use on the guitars we build in Maine, and we spent years training the luthiers at the Bourgeois workshop in Eastman’s facility to turn those tops into finished guitars built to our specifications and under our brand.
“Though we only make parts of these guitars, this arrangement allows us to provide players with boutique quality guitars at previously inaccessible price points.”
Looking back at the journey of the brand, what would you say have been some of the highlights so far?
“I can point to three innovations that helped shape the identity of the Bourgeois brand. First of all, I am probably best known for introducing individually hand-voiced tops to a manufacturing process.
“I was probably the first to introduce the detachable neck, a feature that greatly facilitates neck resetting, which any guitar will eventually need if it is built lightly enough to sound good.
“Bourgeois Guitars was also the first manufacturer to introduce torrefied woods to the acoustic guitar market. I look at torrefaction as artificial aging, a tremendous benefit to any guitar hoping to emulate the elusive pre-war sound.”
Given today’s economic climate and the shifts in the guitar industry, what do you see as the most critical factor for a brand like yours to not only survive but thrive?
“Innovation is important because you always want the guitars you produce today to be more advanced and better sounding than a used guitar of your own brand. Well-played guitars naturally sound better than new, unplayed ones, so constant innovation, even if focused on very small details, is the key to constant improvement.”
- Find out more at Bourgeois Guitars.
