Coming in with a body length of 18”, the "Piccolo" Parlor is our smallest body offering. With an experience driven, detail oriented voicing process, the "Piccolo" Parlor is a short scale guitar with an exquisitely full and balanced voice that you would expect to find in larger offerings. A smaller air cavity provides unique characteristics to the tone that will provide new inspiration to your next arrangement. See for yourself, it’s bigger than it looks.

Sizes O, OO, OOO/OM and JOM/GA represent progressively larger versions of a familiar, narrow-waisted 14 fret body style. Larger than the Piccolo Parlor and with a 25” scale neck, the Style O guitar represents the smallest body size in this classic progression, offering “bring-it-anywhere” comfort paired with 14 fret playability. Don’t let its diminutive size fool you. Style O is voiced to emphasize surprising balance and presence, perhaps more familiar to players of our medium-sized guitars.

The L-DBO is larger than a 00, slightly smaller than the 000/OM, and designed with a 25” scale neck. It’s relatively narrow upper bout imparts a distinctive wedge-shaped appearance, setting it apart from the 0/00/000 “gene pool”. As significantly, the L-DBO conceals two secret weapons: An unusually large soundhole for its size, and narrow, 1/4” top bracing which combine to produce unusual power and presence in such a small package.

“After a lifetime of playing Dreadnoughts, the L-DBO has become my go-to guitar”, says founder Dana Bourgeois. “Close your eyes and listen to Sierra Hull or Courtney Hartman work an L-DBO on a mic. You’re forgiven for thinking that’s a much larger guitar.”

The L-DBO is our only body size that offers multiple options of 12 fret, 14 fret, or the sweet compromise of a 13 fret neck joint. All versions are also available in a deep body option. 

The OOO is identical in body size to the 14 fret OM, though with a short scale, 25” neck and a narrower, 1 23/32” width nut. A short scale length brings the nut a little closer to the player, slightly reduces string tension and improves ease of playability, though at the expense of modestly reduced single-note power and presence. Why do we offer such seemingly minute variations on a similar theme? Because the 14 fret OOO has been favored for generations as a go-to instrument for vocal accompaniment. 

The OM guitar is the third largest 14 fret body size in the 0/00/000-OM/JOM-GA progression, and differentiates from the 000 by its 25.5” long scale neck.

Our most popular body size - and probably the second-most popular acoustic guitar worldwide - it’s no coincidence that the “Orchestra Model” appeals equally to fingerstyle players and flatpickers, thanks to its unparalleled combination of balance, presence, power and comfortable playability. It wasn’t always that way. Once relegated to the history books, the OM began a slow resurgence in the mid 1980s after Schoenberg Guitars, co-founded by Dana, teamed up with C.F. Martin to introduce the first production-made OM since the 1930s.

Available with our OM-innovative Large Soundhole option for increased flatpicking performance, and with cutaway and arm bevel options for additional playability and comfort.

The Grand Auditorium is a shallow-bodied version of the Jumbo OM, featuring a 25.5” scale and a top outline that’s sized between OM and Dreadnought. First introduced as an optional variation, the Grand Auditorium has since earned a separate model designation. The Grand Auditorium is easily adaptable to a variety of playing styles. Its ratio of top surface to air cavity area creates a uniquely performance-friendly instrument, suitable for a full range of expression with reduced susceptibility to feedback.

Like the JOM, the Grand Auditorium is also available with optional cutaway and/or Large Soundhole.

More than thirty years ago, Dana was engaged by a major American manufacturer to design a guitar sized between the OM and Dreadnought. The result, later christened the Jumbo OM, was prototyped and widely displayed in the late 1980s though not produced for a few years, until the founding of Bourgeois Guitars.

The 25.5” scale JOM guitar from Bourgeois Guitars represents the largest body style in the 0/00/000-OM/JOM sequence. Following the same profile as our Grand Auditorium, the JOM features a deeper side depth, bringing its overall air cavity closer to the realm of a Dreadnought. The JOM boasts a voice big enough to tackle just about any assignment and is also available with an optional cutaway and Large Soundhole.

Here’s Dana’s take: “When the right combination of scale length, soundboard area and air cavity come together, magic happens. The 14 fret OO is one of those guitars.”

Featuring an exceptionally full tone in a body size that’s still extraordinarily comfortable to sling your arm around, the 00 style guitar maintains the same shape, body depth and 25” scale length as Size O, while boasting a longer and wider soundboard. If you’re looking for the familiar tone and versatility of an OM in a smaller package, the OO is here for you.

In the late 1920s, 12 fret, slotted head guitars began their historic transformation into the still-dominant designs of the 1930s. Left behind, however, were larger upper bouts, longer air cavities and optimal bridge placement at the center of the widest part of the lower bout. The OMS combines these throwback features with a slotted headstock and a 25.5” scale neck to recreate a design still coveted by fingerstylists - and not a few flatpickers. 

What happens when you put a 12 fret neck on a 14 fret body? The nut becomes easier to reach and the bridge finds itself located in widest section of the lower bout. The practical result? When the body is small to begin with, playability approaches effortlessness. And no matter how small the body, bottom end, quickness of response and “openness” all receive a boost whenever a top is driven from its most mechanically efficient location. Add an optional cutaway and you’ll never sacrifice access to the upper register.

Over the last eighty years, the Dreadnought became firmly established as the world’s most popular acoustic guitar. It’s easy to see why. Its deep body, wide upper and lower bouts, exceptionally large air cavity and long, 25.5” scale length combine to set the standard for exceptional projection and low end presence.

Decades ago Dana noticed that during the first few years of a large guitar’s life under string tension, guitar tops “relax” until stretched to their limit, then later “harden” as a result of permanent distortion. During relaxation, bass is boosted and high frequency response dies off, often beyond desirable limits; balance is not restored for years, until hardening occurs. In the 1990s Dana modified the traditional Dreadnought bracing system by scalloping only the bass side of the X brace and lightening it’s tone bars. The result successfully counteracted a Dreadnought’s tendency to “unbalance”, and over the years has attracted scores of Dreadnought players including Bryan Sutton, Josh Williams, Andy Falco, Courtney Hartman and many others.

Add in contemporary options such as a cutaway or arm bevel to find exceptional comfort in this monster of a well-balanced guitar. Also available in large soundhole configuration.

Slope Shouldered and “square shouldered” Dreadnoughts co-evolved from divergent lines of guitar DNA. Curvier and ever so slightly wider and deeper than its counterpart, the Slope D’s most important structural distinction lies in its short, 25” scale length. Long favored by country musicians - and additionally popular with a variety of American roots stylists - the Slope D is widely regarded as a superb choice for vocal accompaniment. And while also a fine flatpicking guitar, the Slope Shouldered species is usually considered a fingerpickers’ Dreadnought-of-choice.

Our SD is also offered in versions featuring 25.5” scale for enhanced flatpicking capability. Additionally available with optional cutaway and arm bevel.

The DS pairs our standard Slope D body outline and side depth with a 25.5” scale 12 fret neck.

Shortening a neck from 14 to 12 frets necessarily moves the bridge closer to the tailblock, by a distance exactly equal to the length by which the neck is shortened. This configuration places the bridge at the center of the widest part of the lower bout, the most efficient location from which to drive a top. In such a large guitar, the result is an uncommonly full, rich and bold voice that is unique among all our body style offerings. If you’re missing those extra two frets, the DS is now available with an optional Venetian-style cutaway.

Rounding out the spectrum of our large bodied guitars is the DBJ, a full blown jumbo with an unapologetically massive sound to match. Fine tune the DBJ with options such as short (25”) and long (25.5”) scale lengths, and a cutaway for ease of access to the upper register. If jumbo describes your sound, than look no further than the DBJ.

The Small Jumbo acoustic guitar is a scaled-back version of our curvy, full sized DBJ with a short, 25” scale. It’s body is about the same length as an OM, though with a much wider lower bout.

Prized for its ability to blend warmly with diverse ensembles, the Small Jumbo acoustic guitar became a rhythm guitar of choice for many makers of hit recordings the ‘50s and ‘60s. Our small Jumbo still fills that role with style and grace, especially versions built with maple back and sides and Adirondack tops. Other wood combinations, however, open previously unimagined tonal vistas. Looking for some additional spice in your midrange? We’re happy to recommend the Bourgeois Small Jumbo.