Why I Like Parlour Guitars

LesbianWithAGun

They're small yet big....

They're great for lounging around on, yet their full sized necks make them great for practicing on and even writing on.

I'm not going to lie, before 2018, I never even heard of 'Parlor/Parlour guitars' and when on a GAS, I got 2 antique ones in a short time in early 2018 (one 1951 Stella Harmony H929, one Catania Carmelo from the early 1950's).

If I play on one of these for a night, coming back high end guitar like a Gibson VOS Les Paul or American Fender Deluxe, is great.

p90fool

They are great "sofa" guitars aren't they? Welcome back btw. 

proggy

I've got an Eastman E20P which is an amazing little guitar and I could never see myself parting with it.

Creed_Clicks

I just play my regular sized Martin on my sofa.............. ha

I am also intrigued by the parlour sized guitars. Was thinking of picking one up but am still considering a big baby taylor.....

BRISTOL86

I’m really going to miss my 12 Fret Taylor 322 but I just can’t justify keeping it when I play electric 95% of the time 

McSwaggerty

proggy said:

I've got an Eastman E20P which is an amazing little guitar and I could never see myself parting with it.


….and I've got an Eastman E10P which is an amazing little guitar and theres no way I will ever part with it .

GTC

I've got three parlours - an all-solid Mahogany Alvarez MPA66, An all solid spruce / rosewood Aria 19C guitar replica (both beautifully made despite the China origin) - and a recently acquired Mad Dog parlour which knocks the spots off a Taylor GS Mini. I've also just sold an all solid spruce / rosewood Washburn parlour on eBay which was very nice too.

All the above have been professionally converted to left-handed (bridge/saddle, nut and fretboard side dots) without any impact on the tone or playability.

drofluf

I went shopping for a parlour recently but ended up with a Baby Taylor - which I know is not a "true" parlour, but it was the one that work best for me. Was finding that my Dreadnought was giving me shoulder pain and the smaller body was more comfortable 

Creed_Clicks

Any of the "cheap" Tanglewoods I've played have been really nice.

Andy79

are people referring to parlours as anything up to 00 size? If so there’s a huge swathe of guitars covered. Not to be pedantic but parlour guitars are tiny 19th C affairs. 
Couldnt really call an L00 a parlour but people seem to have no problem calling a , for example Oscar Schmidt grand concert, one. 

drofluf

Andy79 said:

are people referring to parlours as anything up to 00 size? If so there’s a huge swathe of guitars covered. Not to be pedantic but parlour guitars are tiny 19th C affairs. 
Couldnt really call an L00 a parlour but people seem to have no problem calling a , for example Oscar Schmidt grand concert, one. 

When I was researching the one thing I found is that there is no agreed definition.... Wikipedia puts it anything smaller than 0 size.

Guess at the end of the day it will depend on what the marketing department think is the best niche to put it in.

earwighoney

Andy79 said:

are people referring to parlours as anything up to 00 size? If so there’s a huge swathe of guitars covered. Not to be pedantic but parlour guitars are tiny 19th C affairs. 
Couldnt really call an L00 a parlour but people seem to have no problem calling a , for example Oscar Schmidt grand concert, one. 

I was about to write something similar.  The term 'parlour' guitar has seemed to be used for any guitar which isn't a dreadnought or an OM!  Of course one can call whatever size they want but it used to be that a true 'parlour' guitar was something with a lower bout narrower than a 0 sized model.  

When it comes to lower bouts and widths, according the Martin sizing and models it's as follows

D/0000 - 16"
000/OM - 15"
00 - 14"
0 - 13"
Parlours - less than 13"

FWIW, I think there are a huge differences when it comes to playability and sound when it comes to models of different lower bout widths eg between an OM & 00 or a 00 & 0.

icu81b4

I have a Faith Trembesi Mercury parlour guitar which is really nice and sounds much louder than I thought it should do. 

GTC

Interesting - based on that definition only my Aria 19C guitar replica is a true parlour - the Alvarez is very nearly an 00 and the Mad Dog is an 0 despite both being described as parlours by the manufacturer.

GTC

Just had a quick look on the Parlor Guitar blog (What is a Parlor Guitar) https://parlor.guitars/blog/what-parlor-guitar . It says this:

Size

Since there was no legitimate standard for parlor guitar building, luthiers varied the size of their creations to a degree. Even when there is no standard size imposed, many consider having a lower bout that is smaller than 13.5", or smaller than Martin Guitar's "0" shape, to be the historically correct size for parlor guitars. However modern day production parlor guitars don't necessarily follow this size limitation and are much more varied, with some guitar manufacturers labeling even bigger "00" size guitars as parlor, including those with a lower bout of 14". It should be safe to say that "00" size and below are viable parlor style guitars.

merlin

LesbianWithAGun said:

If I play on one of these for a night, coming back high end guitar like a Gibson VOS Les Paul or American Fender Deluxe, is great.

I have a really good Larrivée Parlour guitar, sounds amazing and plays like a dream. Coming back to a high end guitar is the same. Get a good one! 

Andy79

I think if I could only have one guitar it may well would be a ladder braced 0 size strung with 12s tuned down a half or whole step (depending on scale length)
That just gives the best tone for me

zepp76

Creed_Clicks said:

Any of the "cheap" Tanglewoods I've played have been really nice.

I haven't tried their parlour sized guitars but I do have one of their flagship models the X15 NS and it is fantastic, not what I'd call cheap at £650 but worth every penny, great guitars.

Legionreturns

I have a relatively high end Takemine New Yorker, which is parlour sized and 12th fret joined. Absolutely lovely and I've gigged it comfortably because the electronics are fantastic. 

earwighoney

Legionreturns said:

I have a relatively high end Takemine New Yorker, which is parlour sized and 12th fret joined. Absolutely lovely and I've gigged it comfortably because the electronics are fantastic. 

I'd say it's not 'parlour' sized but a 00, as it has a 14" lower bout, which is the same as a classical guitar.  I have a couple of 00 sized guitars, one 12 fret and another 14 fret - it's my favourite body size for comfort and sound. 

munckee

Not a parlour but I tried a martin dreadnought junior which is 15/16ths of dreadnought size and I thought it was a lovely thing.