That’s some nice looking wood. How do you like it compared to your Marquis?
So I walk into the guitar store
I think it’s pretty subjective and everybody likes different things but, for me, I haven’t played anything yet that can touch the Marquis.
I can’t play the Marquis or the Slope D in the bathroom without my ears ringing. 
Sweeeeeeet!!! :mrgreen: Just played a Bourgeois in Eugene today at McKenzie River Music Co. and it was a slope D, used but like new, I think the Bourgeois are the best craftsmanship I have seen,it was mahog as well but I just can’t warm up to the hogs though still have a warm spot for Rosewood. They had the same guitar in Rosewood but at the new price, my car wasn’t worth enough in trade…
Hey Jerry,
I hear ya on the price. I went and played a new one in the store before I bought mine to make sure it was what I wanted. They are not cheap and there’s no way I could/would buy a new one. I got lucky and found a mint used one through a private seller and saved a lot of dough.
I agree on the craftsmanship too. This thing is screwed together flawlessly. 
Is bear claw sitka extreme silking or are they not the same?
Don’t take my word for this, as I am not an expert on bearclaw or silking, but I think they are related but different. Silking is what you see that runs perpendicular to the grain. I think those lines are called medullary rays. You won’t see them on all sitka due to the way it is cut (quartersawn yields many ray patterns) and the qualities of the original chunk of wood. Bearclaw looks to me like a result of figuring where the grain and rays do not run as straight. As a result, a bearclawed top is figured in what appears to be a semi-random variations in the figuring. It seems similar to curly (or tiger-stripe or flame) figuring with a more random appearance. Another feature of bearclaw is that the variations do not run real deep, so bookmatched pieces don’t generally show a perfect mirroring of the figure.
So if you have a highly silked top, it will show much of the rays that run perendicular to the grain. If you have a bearclawed top, it will show waviness in the grain (and ray) lines. If you have a highly silked and bearclawed top, it will look highly figured (and quite saucy like Shawn’s banjo killer).
Again, take all of that with a grain of salt.
I don’t care how they cut it or who cut it, or who’s tree it was ,it’s freaking beautiful! Your right on about the quarter saw thing though Mike.
A kind of funny story about walking into a guitar store… I might have talked about it previously, but the discussion of figure reminds me so I’ll tell it again. I generally swing by Guitar Center every once in a while to check for super deals on strings or whatever. I had bought 3 or 4 guitars in the previous year, so as we are walking in, my wife say’s “Alright now… no new guitars.” I said “Fine, I’m looking for strings.” We get in there and I am talking to a buddy that works in the acoustic room. I hear my wife playing off in the corner, and it sounds pretty good. I walk over there and she has a guitar that I don’t even know what it is… a Taylor BR-IV. It’s gorgeous, it sounds great and she seems to really like it. It’s a used guitar, so the price is fixed. I told her if she wanted it, get it, we have thirty days to think about it if we do, but it may not be here if we come back. She gets all giddy and says “I’m gonna get it!” I’ll never let her live that down… “No new guitars”
A funny side note… as we were checking out she said “It’s not a Martin, is that going to bother you?”
Here’s some pictures of it. It’s all curly Koa with some groovy fretboard inlay work. It has some nice figure to it.
[attachment=1]CarolynBRIV.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]BR-IVback.jpg[/attachment]
Mike,
What she said was no new guitars! - What she meant was no new guitars for Mike. seems so clear to me. What were you thinking?
Looks like a beautiful guitar. Congrats. And she looks so happy holding it. That’s worth what ever you paid for it.
ExFiddler
That is a beautiful guitar Mike! I like me some koa. My 414 had Koa back and sides, but it didn’t look like that. 
That’s cool that your wife plays! Have you got her playing any Bluegrass yet?
I’m going to confess my ignorance when it comes to flamed/figured wood. I actually thought the wood was somehow flamed or figured manually by the luthier. If I understand correctly, that is the natural wood. Am I wrong?
Good explanation on the silking and bearclaw Mike. I love learning everything I can about 'em. One thing I have heard about bearclaw is that it can make the wood stiffer, generally. I thought I could tell the difference between an Adirondack top and a Sitka top from the sound. This guitar has proven me wrong (once again). It has a clarity, bite and volume that I thought I only heard from Adi.
Thanks for the compliments. I think it is great that my wife plays. It’s not one of her top hobbies and she doesn’t play often enough to really take off. But she enjoys it when she does it, so I don’t push it… I just enjoy it for what it is. She has worked on BG strumming a little bit, but she generally prefers straight chord strumming.
You are right, all that cool figuring on your new guitar is the natural wood. If you saw the wood after it was cut, the figure isn’t nearly as stark, but when you put a finish on it, it really comes out. I used to make furniture, and when I would go look for wood I would bring a little water and a paper towel. The figure doesn’t look as good as when finished, but the water makes it easier to see the potential.
I have also heard that bearclaw makes wood stiffer and allows a thinner top (thus more responsive). I am not sure if that is generally accepted, but it sounds like your new guitar makes a good argument for it.
— Begin quote from "exfiddler"
What she said was no new guitars! - What she meant was no new guitars for Mike. seems so clear to me. What were you thinking?
— End quote
You are right. I should have understood perfectly well what she meant
Don’t listen to what I say, listen to what I mean!
I have recording fright or something. 
As soon as I hit record, I get tense.
I tried to record some Gold Rush with the Slpoe D and I was going to record the same thing with the D-28 to compare. I just don’t think you can get a real feel for how they sound without a decent mic. I don’t know, might still try.
Sorry about the metronome, the foam on my headphones is toast. I look like I have ants crawling all over the side of my head after using them. Scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it in the mirror!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOukQ8PUHu0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Here’s the 28. I screwed up the end. Oh well. 
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMdqQS6T6uI&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Shawn, I like both of them and the cool thing is they sound quite different, but both have a great sound. I am guessing most of the time I would prefer the bourgeois for recording and the 28 for playing and singing live. With that said, either one would work great for either use. Nice playing and nice instruments!
I love the ants on the face comment. It happens all the time with airplane headsets and it can make you look twice when you notice it.
They definately sound different in person and I think you can hear it pretty good even on my crappy setup. I think the Slope may sound better for recording, too. That thing is clear as a bell. Very focused yet it still sounds big.
Glad I’m not the only one with the ants on the head. No telling how much of that stuff is packed in my ear.
Thanks Mike!
Forgot to add that the 28 has medium martin sp lifespans (7200) and the slope has (what it shipped with) light martin sp (4100). Both are PB.
Hey Shawn nice playing, for me the Slope Hands Down, judging by what i hear over the speakers in my computer…Jerry
Thanks for posting that A/B comparison. Good playing too by the way. That Marquis has a great mellow tone. Nice. I have a Bourgeois Dread, and it’s very much like that banjo killer as far as crisp," up front" tone. I find that its bold tone really shines when I’m jamming with others. I feel like it has a little too much definition when I’m playing solo, but in a group it really cuts through. I hear you about not being able to play those guitars in the bathroom. My dread is so loud, I wear hearing protection if I plan on practicing for more than an hour.
Thanks guys!
Jerry- I may be a little bias, it’s going to take me a while to admit anything being better than the 28.
KGM- I agree on the definition, almost to the point of being too much. It only takes a light touch with the Slope to get it to sing. I don’t think it would have any trouble cutting through in a jam. I sure would like to get my hands on one of those Bourgeois dreads.
I also find that the Bourgeois tone is great for fingerpicking; however, sometimes I wish I had a Marquis for the strumming.
I have had a fight for the last few years about selling one of my babies a 1989 strat plus I need the money to buy a good flat top . I tend to want a Taylor but a Martin always comes to mind for some reason; I am in no hurry and may come across the money to buy one out right but my heart is with the flat top, Taylor and Martin would be my pick of guitars . I play a 1989 Takemine today and love the sound and the tone is great. But now you have two great guitars and I am jealous yes but congrats on obtaining two fine guitars. Enjoy them both.