Dana Bourgeois

Dana Bourgeois (born 1953) is a luthier, writer, lecturer and is considered one of the United States' top acoustic guitar makers. Bourgeois's innovations in design and voicing techniques have earned him worldwide acclaim for his acoustic guitars from professional players, hobbyists and collectors alike. Some notable musicians playing Bourgeois guitars include Ricky Skaggs, Bryan Smith, Ry Cooder, Scott Fore, Bryan Sutton, Vince Gill, Lee Roy Parnell, James Taylor and Guy Clark,

Background

Dana Bourgeois was born and raised in Westbrook, Maine. As a child, his interest in guitars developed after seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

Bourgeois attended Bowdoin College, where he studied art history, and graduated in 1975.

While at college, Bourgeois read a book called Classic Guitar Construction by Irving Stone, whose method in the book was, purportedly, "totally impossible." After that, Bourgeois, working from his room on campus and using a machine shop owned by his grandfather, made a guitar of his own. His father helped with the wood working.