Boucher Jumbo 12 String - The SG12-23-E
I recently wrote encouraging readers to think about the potential of an electric 12 string guitar. This time, I want to give you my impressions of a brand-new guitar, ordered last year, that I have just picked up. It is an acoustic 12 string from the amazing people at Boucher Guitars.
About Boucher Guitars
If you don’t know Boucher, you might want to learn about the company. They are a Canadian firm, based on the south short of the St. Lawrence River in the province of Quebec. The company is headed by Robin Boucher, a highly accomplished luthier. Boucher has a very clear selection of models, all built by hand and stocked by a limited number of retailers. Boucher is better known in Canada than elsewhere, which is a shame considering what you get for your investment. I see individual “boutique” makers selling guitars at three to four to six times the investment of a Boucher where the buyer gets a lot less in terms of craftspersonship, quality and longevity. I choose not to wander down the boutique maker mc marketing BS track because that makes me annoyed, so I will focus on a real guitar maker that is more about the quality of its guitars than its YouTube video replay count.
The Details
This 12 string is built on the Jumbo frame. I own a Boucher 12 string that is OM sized and it is great for recording because it is not boomy at all. I wanted something that had more volume and where it was easier to get the top moving. This is where jumbo acoustics come into their own.
The top on this guitar is AAAA Adirondack Spruce. While nothing is wrong with the common Sitka spruce, Adirondack tends to a wider wale grain pattern and to me sounds both more open and airier. I’m not alone in this view, and that is why custom high-end acoustics often replace Sitka spruce with Adirondack spruce. The body and sides are solid African Bubinga. For an acoustic’s back you want a solid vibrational reflecting model, hence the preference for solid wood backs as opposed to laminates, layers or whatever happy phrase one uses instead of plywood. The sides shouldn’t move at all, their job is to provide a solid foundation on which to attach the back and most importantly, the top. Bubinga is a dense hardwood, sometimes called African Rosewood but is a different species from the Dalbergia variants, however that name has resulted in decimation of Bubinga by demands for rosewoods out of China. Consequently, of the three Bubinga variants, two are now on the Red List as endangered and the final is listed as threatened. Bubinga can have clean straight grain to a more figured model. I am constantly grateful to the author at The Wood Database for what I learn there. The wood is medium light in colour, but many finishers work to make it look darker with some dyes. I am very pleased that Boucher chose not to add any dye. The light colouration on my instrument suggests a predominance of sapwood.
From a voice perspective, Bubinga has a slower attack and a longer decay than the Curly Maple on my Taylor jumbo body but is snappier than the Rosewood on the Gibson SJ-200 Rosewood guitar. I find that the response suits the tonal range of the 12 string very well, although I will have to mike it differently for recording or record a feed from the Pure Mini pickup into a really good preamp to control the bass. Played acoustically in a medium sized room, it sounds spectacular, larger and warmer than the OM Hybrid as one would expect and with a different voice from my Taylor all Koa 12 string. While still early days, I think that I like this one best for plain acoustic playing despite the larger body size.
The standard design jumbo 12 string comes in a dark sunburst with a Fishman Infinity pickup. While I have enormous respect for Boucher’s finish work, I didn’t like the look of the sunburst and I am really not a fan of Fishman acoustic pickups so when the order was placed, I made two special requests, no sunburst and a K&K Pure Mini pickup instead of the Fishman. The untoned Adirondack top looks spectacular and the K&K sounds like it is supposed to, without any of that nasal squawk that I hear from most piezos (spits on floor).
The neck is one piece South American mahogany and has the standard Studio Goose headstock design. Tuners are closed back units from Gotoh. From the factory it came strung with Elixir Nanoweb 10-47 strings. As I have mentioned previously, I used to dislike Elixirs because they would get furry, but that stopped happening with new strings about two years back. When it comes time to change the strings, I will probably go with D’Addario XS 10-47s because I already use them elsewhere but am in no hurry today to replace the Elixirs, a very different state from a few years ago.
The Playing
When I got the guitar home, I let it rest in its case to acclimate to the house fully before popping the case open. The cases are superb and really protect the guitar, but the cream coloured covering does attract dirt. Once out, I affixed a saddle leather strap that will wear in over the years. I have noticed that if a Boucher has a pickup installed, so to is the strap button at the neck heel. Good, I can do that but don’t like to.
A well set up 12 string should be no harder to play than a six string and this was no disappointment. Good to go out of the case, although I suspect that the fine people at The Arts Music Store checked it over when it came in. Fretting is easy, even barre chords, and like other Bouchers, I can be very aggressive in the position of a capo without the guitar turning into the audio equivalent of a tin can. In this case, I had ordered a G7th compensated capo designed specifically for 12 strings. Suffice to say it delivers on its promises and can be used one handed with variable tension.
I mentioned the use of the Pure Mini pickup instead of the default Fishman. The Fishman comes with in soundhole controls. The Pure Mini is just a pickup mounted inside the body with a wire going to the output jack. It is passive and has no volume or tone controls. The first time I used one I thought that might be a problem but so far it has been fine. I can control the output level at the amp input, the interface input, or if needs be put a good quality volume pedal in the chain.
The sound is spectacular. Tuning a 12 string is rarely quick and there is always going to be a scenario where each course is not perfectly attuned to its pair. In a questionable 12 string you hear the squonk right away, but with this one, I can be out 3-4 cents on a course, and it still sounds great, even a bit of a gentle flangey sound. The lower strings have great resounding response without being boomy, the mids stay in their lane and the highs don’t vanish. For a body this big, it is remarkably neutral.
I normally play with a very heavy pick in the 3mm range. I do not like picks that flex, they are a waste of energy and precision. Because of the tighter spacing, I dropped to a 1.5mm but gave up nothing in voice that I could hear. This is a big deal for me.
I can fingerpick on a 12 string. I am not a good finger style player on a 12 string. That said, the Boucher is articulate and comfortable, and I was not immediately all thumbs and chopsticks without a pick. If I compare this to my success with my Rickenbacker 12 string electric, the two are years apart.
A Boucher costs less than a Martin or Taylor custom shop and in my opinion is better than anything that I have played or owned from either. Delivery after ordering was about seven months, so perfectly livable. The most important thing is getting a good dealer. Over the years, I have now bought five Bouchers. Only the Bluegrass Goose Dreadnought and the OM Hybrid 12 string are standard guitars. I find the tonality, quality and attention to detail to be excellent, and part of that is the excellent relationship between my dealer of choice, The Arts Music Store and the fine people at Boucher. It is that solid relationship that gets custom orders made and silly questions answered and guitars shipped in a reasonable time. If you like acoustic guitars, you owe it to yourself to check out a Boucher and if you can, do so at The Arts Music Store.
Recording the Very Short Piece
I’m always reluctant to record because I have such a low opinion of my own ability. However, I could not think of a way to get across the incredible airy tone of this big 12 string. I ran a cable from the jack on the guitar straight to the Hi Z input on the Apollo Solo. I loaded a Century Tube channel strip into the Unison slot and kept it pretty flat, and added some gentle tube compression. That went direct to an audio track in Studio One, because that computer runs Windows 11. Once in Studio One, I added four separate bus channels mostly so I could experiment. I added an Abbey Road Plate reverb on bus 1 and then placed a Chris Lord Alge Guitar Master on bus 2. On bus 3 I loaded a Doubler and sent it to the back. The final bus has a really subtle flanger. If I did not tell you, you would not know, but I like a very light and subtle flanger on its own bus with a 12 string. By putting each on its own bus, I have control over where the sound appears in the stereo feel and I can control the contribution of each effect via its own dedicated slider. I don’t know that this is optimal, but it is working for me at present.
Once done I exported to MP3 and added it below.
Summary
At this point, Boucher Guitars can do no wrong from my perspective. Pricier than the name brand general solid wood models and built better and play better than all of them. I don’t feel like I am paying a nameplate tax and know that these guitars will outlast me. I cannot ask for more.
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