BOUCHER GUITARS
AVT SPRUCE
GOOSE 000
Abalone inlay
BY GAYLA DRAKE PAUL
L.R. Baggs iMix system
the bottom line is this guitar sounds unique
and is really versatile too.
Adirondack
spruce top,
back, and sides
Through thick and thin, the Boucher family has been building guitars in
Canada since 1968. The first incarnation
of the family company, Norman Guitars,
closed in 1988 after a fire destroyed the
workshop. And though founder Normand
Boucher passed away in 1997, his nephew
Robin (who's co-founder of the company's
present incarnation) runs it to this day.
Robin likes to use Adirondack spruce
in his guitars. And for good reason—many
guitarists consider it the finest top wood of
all. With the AVT Spruce Goose, however,
Boucher has taken his Adirondack fascinations a step further, building the top, back,
and sides entirely out of spruce. You might
consider this unusual—even radical—but
Adirondack Rocks
Like a lot of players, I love Adirondack
spruce (sometimes called red spruce) for
a top. Many luthiers consider it more
responsive than Engelmann, German, or
Sitka spruce. Bob Taylor has said using
Adirondack is like adding a cup of sugar
to your tone. At the very least, good
Adirondack tops will add a little glitter
and top-end bite to a guitar’s sound. And
the best ones will also add the strength
and elasticity to the bottom end that
makes a guitar sound very even. However,
it’s extremely unusual to encounter a guitar made with an Adirondack top, back,
and sides.
The Spruce Goose is sort of the guitar
equivalent of a blonde starlet—elegant
