The new Touchstone Series from Bourgeois is a revolutionary collaboration that delivers the tone, feel, and character of boutique, handmade guitars. These days, small-shop boutique builders face economic realities that discourage building high-quality guitars that remain affordable. Each builder can only produce a limited number of guitars in a year, so there's a tendency to focus on the higher-dollar spec sheets. 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 Vintage specs. Thanks to Dana's guidance, the level of workmanship is absolutely on par with what 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: Indian Rosewood 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/ Ivoroid Pins Finish: High Gloss Bracing: Hand-Voiced Adirondack Spruce This D Vintage/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 from a rosewood dreadnought to be, and the price tag seems a few thousand dollars lower than it should be. The hype is well deserved.
