Downside of Parlour Guitars?

drofluf

I have a hankering for a parlour sized guitar. I prefer smaller bodies and 12 frets over 14.

Not concerned about the lack of volume as it’s for home use and it’ll be almost exclusively fingerstyle. 

So what are the downsides? 

TTony

drofluf said:

So what are the downsides? 

Not everyone has a parlour these days.

Modern houses

merlin

None. End of thread. 

Seriously though, I have a Larrivée P-01 that Ive gigged with other acoustic players and its fine for volume. It sound quiet when I play it but it projects really well and the sound is louder and more full a few feet away. I think you need to play facing a wall!

SlopeSoarer

Harder to put down! 

jca74

PRS SE20 here, and I haven't found a downside yet - better tonal balance for fingerpicking IMHO than a dread-style I used to use. I find the smaller size more comfortable playing seated as well. Can't actually say I've tried a 000 style to compare that though.

drofluf

You realise none of you are helping 

Winny_Pooh

Can sound middly, but lots of fun. 

DavidR

They’re just fun. So long as you’re not going to miss a boomy base I can’t think of any downsides. Dreads and Jumbos were developed for volume when electrics in acoustics were less of a thing. So if you don’t need that, the comfort and lovely musical tone of many parlour instruments can make them great. 

Every home should have one!   :-)

maltingsaudio

Dissenting voice here , never liked them, always sound to boxy for me. Great for 5 minutes then you miss the sound of moving larger volumes of air

earwighoney

maltingsaudio said:

Dissenting voice here , never liked them, always sound to boxy for me. Great for 5 minutes then you miss the sound of moving larger volumes of air

It depends really. a boxier sounding guitar works well for certain applications, slide guitar/blues fingerpicking being one and there's no need to have one guitar to do everything.  If I was going to have that, I would go for an OM but I like having a number of different sizes (I have one O, 2 OO's, 2 OOO's, and one OOOO). Different sizes/sounds for different applications.

ICBM

Lack of bottom end, but they’re for different sounds than a dreadnought...

I wouldn’t have one as my only acoustic, but it’s my second choice after a dread.

Stratavarious

Boxy,, I would not go smaller than a Taylor GS Mini..  but a small one will likely get more use at home, sitting on sofa, etc.   Good at gigs with small stages too.   Perfect for finger style.

sev112

I tried lots a few years back.  Was disappointed by the lot for finger picking.  Bought a Taylor GS Mini instead which had much stringer bassi and better volume .  I had my eyes on that PRS from earlier, but was so disappointed  

Epsilon

Everything has its place. I wouldn't use one for playing songs where you need to move some air strumming. 12 Fret small bodies are my guitar of choice for capo'd fingerpicked pieces.

Stuckfast

Pros: small, easy to play
Cons: no bass

Grampa

I'd just about given up on acoustic before trying a GS Mini. Small, fun to play, gets 50/50 time with the electrics.
Only downside, 1 in 1 out meant selling another guitar before being allowed to buy the Taylor.

Tannin

There is only one downside, which is the boxy tone. Some avoid that (my mate's Chinese cedar and rosewood one, the brand of which I can't remember at the moment is an example; it has full depth which he reckons makes the difference) but as to how you find the ones that do, I am out of clues. Short of traipsing all over the place and playing everything, of course. Which is undoubtedly the best answer.

BillDL

As @Tannin mentioned above, the "boxiness" of a normal depth body on a small bodied guitar has been addressed by Gary Levinson in his Sangamon range.  It has a deeper body to compensate.  While not really a parlour guitar, it's not far away from the body size of one (14th fret neck join though), but I've played one and it has a much fuller sound than a normal depth guitar of that size.
Levinson: LS-23 (levinsonguitars.com)

MartinB

The downside for me is ergonomics. If I sit on an ordinary chair with a 000 or dread sized guitar, the neck and strings are at a comfortable height for my hands without doing much. With a parlour, I have to either hunch down around it or raise one leg with something like a classical player.

stickyfiddle

Cheap ones are usually boxy with no bass and get farty if you strum them with any real force. 

Good ones don't do that though - Atkin 47 FTW! 

drofluf

Thanks for all the input. I’ve taken the plunge!

I normally play with a footrest so hopefully won’t be hunched. I’ve got a Furch travel guitar and find that comfortable to play and find myself reaching more often for smaller guitars.