Brand new Mistral ‘OM-C’ from Loïc Bortot of Bouchereau Guitars. This medium-sized fingerstyle dream comes to us with Cocobolo for the back and sides, along with Moonspruce for the top. We have witnessed several times at the shop what a magical combination these two woods can be, and this guitar is an excellent example of it. If you’ve ever wondered why Cocobolo is considered such a highly-regarded alternative to Brazilian Rosewood, this guitar shows you why. Incredible dynamism, effortless feel, and setup make this guitar truly a sweet addition to anyone’s arsenal of instruments.

Other keywords/misspellings: Luthier, lutherie, evo, visesnut, 031, canada, arm bevel, cutaway

The latest Mistral from Bouchereau  Guitars has stolen our hearts, or at least our ears. Not only is this Mistral a knockout in Quilted Sapele and salvaged Sitka, it’s got the voice to match. The sensation of the glossy Mahogany neck like running your hands through silk.

An excellent choice for fingerstyle, our 2017 Mistral has an extra dose of warm riches in its middle register, which pair sweetly with a treble response that’s prone to overtones and a subtle blooming effect after the initial attack. Dropping down into DADGAD or beyond, the setup remains responsive; but there’s so much going on just in Standard you might never want to go anywhere else. The Florentine Cutaway and elevated fingerboard will appeal to players who aren’t afraid of exploring the upper regions of the fretboard. The neck profile is a faintly flattened C shape and joins the body at the 14th fret. Lightweight Schertler tuners, magnetic truss rod cover, bone nut & saddle—like we said, this Bouchereau aces both the visual and acoustic tests with flying colors.

We’re quite excited for this Mistral OM as the start of our relationship with Canada-based builder Loïc Bortot of Bouchereau Guitars–one strum, and you’ll see why. This 2016 Mistral is a finely-honed machine capable of rendering your black-and-white arrangements in full technicolor. The voice is remarkable: profoundly clear, instantly responsive, a focused edge with flatpicks, enveloping and colorful with fingertips. With its wedge-shaped Ziricote-and-Lutz–Spruce body and slim neck for fast fretting, this Mistral is built with a smaller person in mind, but still effortless to play if you’re of a larger persuasion.

The setup is so glassy smooth it’s as though fretting notes were as easy as breathing. We put the Mistral through its paces in Standard, DADGAD, and Cadd9, and the result was consistently mesmerizing: the bass strings remained crisp and present, the string feel comfortable but not floppy. Honestly, this Mistral blew us away, from Bortot’s refreshing aesthetic (check out the relief carved into the heelblock where it meets the sides) to his effective voicing techniques.