Bourgeois Guitars

jellyroll

They vary.  I had an OMC - beautiful sweet tone...but no projection. 

stuartryanmusic

^ This is very true, I've played some that I thought would be absolute canons and then turned out to be almost whisper quiet. Another thing to consider is what you are going to play on it so do you want a modern, brighter tone or something warmer/softer more vintage. Play as many as you can and you'll start getting used to the 'house sound' of each of these builders. I had a Collings OM2H for years that I loved for a while then started to find it a bit 'hard' sounding then finally decided the nut width was too narrow. Don't discount nut widths too - what feels okay in a shop for 30 mins may become a real hassle down the line. Find out the nut width before you start playing something then decide if it's right, too narrow or too wide

dean111music

stuartryanmusic said:

^ This is very true, I've played some that I thought would be absolute canons and then turned out to be almost whisper quiet. Another thing to consider is what you are going to play on it so do you want a modern, brighter tone or something warmer/softer more vintage. Play as many as you can and you'll start getting used to the 'house sound' of each of these builders. I had a Collings OM2H for years that I loved for a while then started to find it a bit 'hard' sounding then finally decided the nut width was too narrow. Don't discount nut widths too - what feels okay in a shop for 30 mins may become a real hassle down the line. Find out the nut width before you start playing something then decide if it's right, too narrow or too wide

My Maton is 44mm nut and I think any less would be really hard to play. 

45mm I would think will be easier still.

dean111music

M

Ben_McCarthy

I did play a Madagascan RW/Adi OM custom which was absolutely superb, but as many have commented some miss the mark for me. Unfortunately I couldnt justify £6k at the time. I think like any brand/luthier it’s just finding the right one for you. I would echo @stuartryanmusic go used and play as many as you can. If you’re happy to spend 7k then it’s worth wasting a few trips on the motorway for a second hand bargain.

tomajoha

I had a slope D, their version of a J45. It was stiff and dull. If was looking at this end of the market my money would go on a Santa Cruz - sublime guitars

earwighoney

Ben_McCarthy said:

I did play a Madagascan RW/Adi OM custom which was absolutely superb, but as many have commented some miss the mark for me. Unfortunately I couldnt justify £6k at the time. I think like any brand/luthier it’s just finding the right one for you. I would echo @stuartryanmusic go used and play as many as you can. If you’re happy to spend 7k then it’s worth wasting a few trips on the motorway for a second hand bargain.

Was that the one which was in Ivor Mairant's?

I played it as well.

A majestic instrument if ever. 

Ben_McCarthy

earwighoney said:

Ben_McCarthy said:

I did play a Madagascan RW/Adi OM custom which was absolutely superb, but as many have commented some miss the mark for me. Unfortunately I couldnt justify £6k at the time. I think like any brand/luthier it’s just finding the right one for you. I would echo @stuartryanmusic go used and play as many as you can. If you’re happy to spend 7k then it’s worth wasting a few trips on the motorway for a second hand bargain.

Was that the one which was in Ivor Mairant's?

I played it as well.

A majestic instrument if ever. 

It was in Guitarguitar in Epsom probably 3-4 years ago. I often think about that one but there really was no way of getting that kind of money together at the time.

I think there may have been a little run of them about because I haven’t seen any since. It also had Koa binding which was very classy.