| It's not often that a particular guitar's
reputation precedes its delivery to our store. In the case of this
magnificent instrument, a customer emailed me to say that he had
contacted Bonni at Bourgeois directly about guitars ... and she gave him
the heads-up that a BK Slope with exceptionally figured tonewoods was about
to ship to our store. "Exceptional" would be the operative word in
that sentence ... have you ever seen such bearclaw in spruce and that flamed
mahogany is just to die for!
After playing this guitar, it 's not
difficult to imagine why players of the stature of Bryan Sutton tour and
record extensively with the Bourgeois BK Slope. This instrument reacts
so well to such a wide variety of right hand attacks, has such incredible
head room with an aggressive attack but a surprisingly smooth finish ...
it really simply does not get any better than this in the round shouldered
dreadnought category!
Excerpts from "Tapping Tonewoods, by Dana Bourgeois
How the Selection of Species Helps Define the Sound of Your Guitar"
from Acoustic Guitar Magazine |
"When evaluating tonewoods, luthiers must take
into account a wide variety of factors, some of which can be inscrutably
subtle, and most of which are likely to vary in priority from one luthier
to another. I tend to place a good deal of importance on a couple of elements
that, when viewed together, illuminate much of my own understanding of
tonewoods."
"These days the most commonly used species is
Sitka, due to its availability and to the high yield from its characteristically
large-diameter logs. Quartersawn Sitka is quite stiff along and across
the grain; high stiffness, combined with the relatively light weight characteristics
of most softwoods, is a recipe for high velocity of sound. A strong fundamental-to-overtone
ratio gives Sitka a powerful, direct tone that is capable of retaining
its clarity when played forcefully. Sitka is an excellent choice of topwood,
then, for players whose style demands a wide dynamic response and a robust,
meaty tone. On the other side of the balance sheet, the lack of a strong
overtone component can result in a "thin" tone when played with a relatively
light touch-depending, of course, upon the design of the guitar and the
other woods used in its construction. The break-in period for a new Sitka
guitar can also be longer than that of other spruces."
"Before leaving the spruces, I should mention
bearclaw figure, or hazelficte-a delightful pattern in the grain occasionally
occurring in all species of spruce. Bearclaw, like the curl in curly maple,
is a rippling of the longitudinal fibers, which divides the surface of
the wood into shimmering patterns. Unlike the even waves that usually occur
in maple, bearclaw usually appears on asymmetrical or randomly broken patterns.
This phenomenon almost always occurs in older trees that have dense, stiff
grain structure and high sound velocity. Thus bearclaw is usually a reliable
indicator of the better examples of tonewoods within any given species
of spruce."
"Mahogany has a high velocitie of sound
when considered as material for backs and sides and thus contributes much
to overtone coloration. Where rosewood guitars can be thought of
as having a "metallic" sound, mahogany guitars are better described as
sounding "woody, although the harder, more dense examples of this wood
can take on some of the characteristics of the rosewoods."
"It is important to remember that wood, when considered
generically, can be responsible only for certain aspects of the tone of
any guitar. Equally important are the design of the guitar, the skill of
the maker, and the quality of the individual pieces of wood from which
the guitar is made. Species selection can, however, be a determining factor
in the creation of a very special guitar or a guitar designed for a specific
purpose." |
