Bourgeois OM

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shotzy
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:21 pm

Bourgeois OM

Post: # 3709Post shotzy
Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:38 pm

Anyone have any experience with how Bourgeois OM’s compare to their Collings counterparts in terms of tone, EQ, feel, etc?
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Collings OM1AT
Santa Cruz OM Grand (German / EIR)

My youtube guitar channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj1rzB ... 3l6XeRMktQ

Frank Sanns
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:38 pm
Real Name: Frank Sanns
Location: Pittsburgh

Re: Bourgeois OM

Post: # 3711Post Frank Sanns
Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:20 am

Dana makes some really fine guitars. The woods and details are about as good as it gets.

The tone of his guitars are more like the Traditional series Collings than the original. Not the same but more like. He uses a non symmetrical X-brace which gives a unique "feel" and sound to the lowest notes. The mids and highs are not affected.

Bourgeois highs can have a nice sparkle to them. Collings has a little more boost in the mid range, at least the original.

They are both easy to play but with more than one Bourgeois, including a stunning one that I owned, the high E string was cut a little close to the edge of the fretboard and I would occasionally roll off the side. I have never had this happen on any other guitar and only on two Bourgeois that I have played. I play wide neck classical guitars often and maybe that may make me more sensitive to it because I have not hear anybody else make that observation. It literally was probably 5 thousandths of an inch but sometimes in a complex piece, it would catch me off guard. My guess is 99.9% of the people would never notice it.

It is a tough call on choice. For me personally, I like the Collings original best by a very tiny margin (mostly because of the string close to the edge on the fretboard) with the Bourgeois OM next and the Collings Traditional last. That is just me and I am sure the gang on here will have their own thoughts. In the end, it really comes down to your own preferences. You really can't go wrong with any of the three.

BAR
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2018 12:45 pm

Re: Bourgeois OM

Post: # 3712Post BAR
Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:42 am

The new torrified ones are supposed to be spectacular. I've never played one myself. I have played older Bourgeouis OMs and I'd rather have a Collings OM Traditional.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

kh1967
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 12:54 am

Re: Bourgeois OM

Post: # 3819Post kh1967
Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:33 am

Dana builds great guitars, but they can be heavy. They do sound more like the Collings Traditional line than the standard line, and fit/finish/woods are excellent.

I would happily own a Bourgeois OM, and have, but this time around I would look at mahogany and baked Sitka.

User avatar
motskoman
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:35 pm
Location: Columbia, MD

Re: Bourgeois OM

Post: # 3839Post motskoman
Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:47 pm

Frank Sanns wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 2:20 am Dana makes some really fine guitars. The woods and details are about as good as it gets.

The tone of his guitars are more like the Traditional series Collings than the original. Not the same but more like. He uses a non symmetrical X-brace which gives a unique "feel" and sound to the lowest notes. The mids and highs are not affected.

Bourgeois highs can have a nice sparkle to them. Collings has a little more boost in the mid range, at least the original.

They are both easy to play but with more than one Bourgeois, including a stunning one that I owned, the high E string was cut a little close to the edge of the fretboard and I would occasionally roll off the side. I have never had this happen on any other guitar and only on two Bourgeois that I have played. I play wide neck classical guitars often and maybe that may make me more sensitive to it because I have not hear anybody else make that observation. It literally was probably 5 thousandths of an inch but sometimes in a complex piece, it would catch me off guard. My guess is 99.9% of the people would never notice it.

It is a tough call on choice. For me personally, I like the Collings original best by a very tiny margin (mostly because of the string close to the edge on the fretboard) with the Bourgeois OM next and the Collings Traditional last. That is just me and I am sure the gang on here will have their own thoughts. In the end, it really comes down to your own preferences. You really can't go wrong with any of the three.
Frank - The asymetrical X bracing Dana uses is found in the dreadnaughts . He scallops the bottom of both X braces on OMs.

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