Bourgeois OM Signature/TS

A great Orchestra Model built with Madagascar rosewood and torrefied Sitka spruce.

May 1, 2024

Although Bourgeois Guitars is perhaps most famous for its dreadnoughts, company founder Dana Bourgeois is also an undisputed authority on the Orchestra Model (OM), which was originally built by Martin from 1929 to 1934. Going back to his collaboration with Eric Schoenberg in the 1980s (check out our demo of the Soloist 30th Commemorative LE), Dana was among the first contemporary builders to study and re-create the OM, and over the years, he has refined his own version of the design, making it an integral part of Bourgeois’s line. So it makes sense that when Bourgeois introduced its Touchstone line in 2022, each style was offered in dreadnought and OM versions. Built in collaboration with Eastman Guitars, Touchstones are constructed both in Bourgeois’s shop in Lewiston, Maine, where the tops are selected, braced, and hand-voiced, and Eastman’s factory in China, where the guitars are constructed according to Dana’s design, essentially the same way a Bourgeois would be built in the US. We were impressed with the Touchstone Vintage OM/TS, and recently had a chance to check out both the dreadnought and OM versions of the latest Touchstone model, called the Signature. We already reviewed the dreadnought, and in this video, I demo the OM with the help of San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Jim Nunally.

Touchstone Signatures are built with Madagascar rosewood back and sides and torrefied Alaskan Sitka spruce tops. As with the dreadnought, the woods used on the OM Signature/TS are gorgeous. It would be nearly impossible to distinguish the guitar from a completely US-built Bourgeois based on the quality of materials and craftsmanship. This is top-notch stuff all around. Madagascar rosewood is generally considered to be one of the premier alternatives to Brazilian rosewood, and until now, torrefied tops have been reserved for US-made Bourgeois guitars, making the Signatures the most high-end Touchstone models yet. The guitar’s appointments include Bourgeois’ original colored-herringbone purfling, a multi-ring rosette, and a mother-of-pearl fingerboard inlay pattern previously used only on a run of limited editions but now has been resurrected for the Signatures.

The OM Signature/TS delivers pretty much everything I look for in an OM. It’s a great fingerstyle guitar, offering the tonal balance, volume, dynamics, and playability that have made OMs a favorite for those who play with the fingers. Our demo guitar is on the brighter side of the OM spectrum, but it has the richness and tonal complexity that often comes with rosewood back and sides, and I enjoyed playing it immensely in both standard and alternate tunings. Jim Nunally also took a spin on the guitar with a flatpick. Dana Bourgeois has long maintained that his OMs should be considered by flatpickers looking for a smaller instrument, and this was confirmed by Jim’s playing on the OM Signature/TS, which offered enough headroom for digging in and excelled with its smooth overall character.

The OM Signature/TS continues the excellent impression made by all the Touchstones we’ve had a chance to play. The Signatures are the most high-end of the Bourgeois/Eastman collaboration yet, and while the more exclusive woods push the price up from previous models, they’re still a bargain compared with completely US-made Bourgeois instruments, and are a great value overall.