Guitar Time

Acoustic Guitars - The Parlor Guitar

Jun 9, 2009 parlor guitar
Posted by freddy1955

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The parlor guitar emerged in the late 1800’s. It is a very small-bodied acoustic guitar. In the early days of the parlor guitar, it was played primarily by women to entertain their houseguests at tea time.

Like most acoustic guitars of the time, the early parlor guitars used gut strings, rather than steel strings.
In the 1930’s blues artists sometimes played parlor guitars, as they were less expensive than other acoustic guitars.

Parlor guitars are experiencing a resurgence today. Their small size is convenient to store and to play, and they are not as loud as the more conventional body sizes. In addition, students of acoustic blues music often want a small-bodied guitar, like those used on old blues recordings.

If you are shopping for a parlor guitar, be aware that some parlor guitars have the neck join the body at the 12^th fret (vintage style) and some have the neck join the body at the 14^th fret. Those parlor guitars where the neck joins at the 12^th fret have a different sound, and access to fewer frets while playing.

Here are some popular parlor acoustic guitars:

Baby Taylor

Introduced in 1996, the Baby Taylor acoustic guitar is a successful model. Marketed as a ¾ size travel guitar, the Baby is very small, and good sounding acoustic guitar in general. While rather plain looking, the Baby features a solid wood Spruce or Mahogany top and is surprisingly loud for its size. Playability is very good, and the Baby has a smooth ebony fret board. This guitar has the 14^th fret neck join. The Baby is made in USA its own plant in California.

The Baby came with a hard shell case until 1999, when a soft case was introduced. The Baby Taylor is inexpensive, at about $299.
 

Simon & Patrick Vintage Burst Parlor Cedar

Canadian manufacturer Simon & Patrick offers parlor guitars, including the Vintage Burst Parlor Cedar. This guitar not only plays great and sounds great, but it looks really cool too. I like the compensated saddle. The S&P Parlor Cedar is also affordable, if you can find one, at around $400. Case is extra.

Larrivee P-09 Parlor

The Larrivee P-09 Parlor features all solid wood construction (mahogany, rosewood, or maple body) and an ebony fret board. This guitar has the 12th fret neck join. The original models were very plain looking with satin finishes, and without binding.

Over the past several years, Larrivee has gradually introduced fancier (and more expensive) versions of this model. The current models are excellent guitars with gloss finishes; maple body binding; ebony bridge and fret board and an abalone rosette. These guitars are expensive, and start at around a street price of $1,500. Case is extra.

Martin

While the Martin Guitar Co. makes several models of parlor guitars, mere mortals cannot afford them. One possible exception is the Martin ‘Mini’ Parlor Guitar. The Mini Parlor is another very small parlor guitar. It features solid Indian rosewood back & sides, Sitka spruce top, ivoroid binding, herringbone top trim, abalone rosette, and an ebony fret board With its 21 3/8″ scale length, Martin recommends tuning this guitar to ‘A’.

These are expensive, if you can find one, at around $3,100. Yes, it somes with a case.

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