NGD: Ren Ferguson does know what he's doing!

danishbacon

I'm not sure how I came to find out about Ren Ferguson and his impact on production line guitars (both at Gibson and later at Guild, now with his own brand that has just launched), but I've since been interested in trying out instruments that may have been influenced by his head-of-shop decision making. I like his approach toward efficiency and striking a balance with profitability and quality. He seems to be able to save on production costs effectively whilst still delivering high quality instruments and (at least in his videos) shows a deep understanding of production processes and technologies. I'm sure that there are plenty of highly qualified production engineers who could run a guitar operation but I think it's in the passion for making great, efficiently, that his talents might lie. Of course, I think the old adage, that there are good and bad factory guitars always holds so YMMV.

Although I have a lot of appreciation for low-volume builders and luthiers and have tried some superb instruments over the years, I think a great factory built flat-top can have its own charm, excellent tone and playability. 

This interview series is quite interesting, where Ren explains his transition from Gibson to Guild:


This is a nice factory tour video of the facilities in Bozeman back in 2007:


So, on a search for a 'keeper' acoustic, I've landed on an unlikely subject, and my first Bozeman acoustic, a 2007 Gibson Songwriter Deluxe EC Ovangkol

It has a couple of things I really like, namely an ebony fretboard, tuner buttons and bridge. A cutaway which is convenient and increasingly finding that I prefer it to a non cutaway. A beautiful top. Interesting in between tone - it seems to have the mid/highs of mahogany with a rich bass that you tend to get with rosewood. It's not a super light instrument and has a fine pickup system installed. I also like that it has a much more pared down look compared to some of the other classic Gibsons including some of the other variations of Songwriter's.

CountryDave

That’s nice.
I recall watching something with him talking about walking around the Gibson factory, checking on the work being done. He reckoned he could stick his fingers through the soundhole, check a couple of braces and know if the work was how he wanted it and also if he had had his hands on it.
Clearly wanted things done ‘right’.

tomjax

Congrats on the great new Gibson. Was this the one on Gumtree in South Wales? If so, you got it for an amazing price! 

danishbacon

tomjax said:

Congrats on the great new Gibson. Was this the one on Gumtree in South Wales? If so, you got it for an amazing price! 

cheers Tom, I linked up with the seller on Facebook marketplace, but am assuming it must have been the same one if it was also advertised on gumtree. Yes it was a nice deal and the seller was lovely, spent a good couple of hours chatting guitars and music!

Mellish

Lovely pictures  

tomjax

I've been trying to track one down for a while too, thanks for the review, good to hear they live up to their great reputation.