“Stands at the crossroads of utility and elegance”: Bourgeois Guitars collabs with Eastman for the Touchstone Signature – a historically-styled model that pays homage to prewar acoustics

Bourgeois Guitars has announced its brand new Signature model, the latest addition to its Touchstone range of acoustic guitars. 

Available in both dreadnought and OM body shapes, it pairs its torrefied Alaskan Sitka spruce tonewood top with Madagascan rosewood back and sides. 

Writing on the firm's website, founder Dana Bourgeois explains how the torrefaction process “alters the wood’s cellular structure”, which ultimately ages the appearance of the wood and enhances the sound it produces to impart a distinctly dry, vintage tone.

Elsewhere, the guitar utilizes Adirondack spruce for its bracing, with historically inspired marqueteries and inlays upon its ebony fretboard adding a touch of class to the build. 

The 25.5" scale length acoustic also features a couple of smart ebony touches across its spec: it benefits from gold Schaller Grand tuners, with ebony buttons to match its ebony bridges, complete with ivoroid pins. 

Notably, the Touchstone Series is a collaboration between the Maine-based guitar makers and Eastman Guitars. 

That collaboration sees the Signature tops get constructed and hand-voiced in the heart of the Bourgeois workshop. Afterward, they are paired with bodies brought into existence at Eastman's premises in China.

Bourgeois works alongside a team of around 20 craftspeople out of a historic 1850s mill. While it was in operation, the mill produced wool during World War II, with the luthier's legacy very much focused on builds that would belong in the pre-war era of guitar making.

Of the new guitar, Bourgeois says: “Contemporary aesthetic treatments are not always compatible with time-honored classics, so I opted for understated wood bindings and historically inspired marqueteries and inlays. 

“Though we’ll never know for sure, I’d like to think that, had it been around during the prewar era, my Signature model would have looked right at home.

“I’ve always thought of us not as just guitar-makers, but as partners in the creative journey of those who play our instruments,” added brand CEO Christopher Fleming. “Dana’s Signature design stands at the crossroads of utility and elegance, and I believe this guitar embodies the essence of what it means to provide real value to an artist. 

“I’m so excited to see this guitar join the Touchstone lineup because I have seen its tone and beauty inspire the talented folks bringing catharsis and art into the world.  And when that happens, we all win.”

The new guitars expand the ever-growing Touchstone Series, which was bolstered back in September with the arrival of the Country Boy acoustic.

Both the OM Signature/TS and the D Signature/TS cost $3,999 each.

For more information, head to Bourgeois Guitars.