The alliance between Eastman and Bourgeois might mean that a great percentage of Touchstone construction is done in China, but it’s carried out under Dana Bourgeois’ strict supervision. Furthermore, his team in Maine is responsible for selecting, carving and generally engineering the guitars’ tops and carrying out the final setup when the completed guitars are returned to the Bourgeois workshop. We ask Dana how this arrangement works in a practical sense, beginning with the forming of the tops.
What role does the top play on an acoustic guitar?
“Well, in a nutshell, the way a guitar works is that we excite the strings of the guitar with the pick or fingers, the strings move the bridge, the bridge moves the top, and the top essentially pumps air that disturbs our eardrums, and that’s how we hear music. A common description of a fine guitar is that it has a piano-like tone. Well, what does that mean? It has a complex tone. And that means that the top is actually able to vibrate in all the different ways that strings are able to vibrate. And if it can’t, then it actually acts as a filter. The worst thing would be a top that vibrated at one frequency – then we would have the equivalent of a tuning fork, which is a very sterile musical instrument.
Denne historien er fra Summer 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Summer 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms