Why parlor guitar

The term parlor guitar encompasses 0, 00, and sometimes even body styles. However, all of these body styles are very small and have a similar response overall. An OM body style is the middle ground between a dreadnought and a parlor guitar. Basically, this is a guitar that sounds good both while strumming and while fingerpicking. The best example of this type of guitar would be the Martin OM Note the elongated upper and lower bouts and the relatively small waist.

The dreadnought is the most widely available acoustic guitar body style, and has the most volume and the highest amount of bass frequencies out of the three body styles.

Nylon string guitars have a much warmer sound than their steel string counterparts. Nylon string guitars also have much less string tension, which helps to facilitate the complicated passages commonly found in classical and fingerstyle guitar. Classical guitars are nylon stringed instruments generally used to play classical music.

These guitars generally have smaller dimensions than that of a dreadnought, being closer in size to that of a parlor guitar. The action on these instruments are also higher to help facilitate different techniques as well as provide a clear and glassy tone with plenty of volume. Classical guitars also have a wider nut width than steel string guitars, being between 0. Flamenco guitars are built to play flamenco music. These guitars generally have lower action than classical guitars, and are defined by their growly and passionate sound.

Like classical guitars they tend to have a significantly wider nut width than a standard steel string acoustic. While flamenco and classical guitars are the most commonly found type of nylon string guitar there are also a variety of others present. These guitars generally feature some aspect of classical guitars but are made to be more accessible to musicians coming from either an electric or acoustic steel string guitar.

A bigger instrument well have more volume and a higher representation of bass frequencies while a smaller instrument will be more focused but have less overall volume. An authentic parlor guitar will be smaller than a concert size and will have an elongated body. The long shape of the parlor guitar is specially designed by the makers to give some volume to the small guitars.

However a lot of modern parlor guitars don? Because parlor guitars have smaller bodies, they are good for tones emphasizing the midranges. The voice of a parlor guitar makes them a good choice for old school blues, folk and slide music. Parlor guitars have a very distinct tone which also has contributed immensely to the resurgence of this particular instrument in the market.

Regardless of the type of wood used in their design and their size, parlor guitars all have midrange tones because of their small bodies. A parlor guitar is great for acoustic recordings if you are looking for the distinct tone that they produce. They are also good for small intimate performances.

However, for larger venues you might need to amplify the guitar as the volume doesn? However if the performance is purely acoustic without any preamp systems then a parlor guitar would do amazingly for a smaller venue.

Parlor guitars are also great when one wants to play at an intimate gathering. Although they are small, parlor guitars have a very robust sound and for those singers who want to play soft music, these guitars are well suited for them too. Because of their smaller structure and shape, parlor guitars are an amazing learning tool for children and novices learning to play guitar. Children have small hands and their fingers can more easily play parlor guitars because the scale length is smaller meaning that the frets are closer together making them easier to reach.

Also parlor guitars have lower string tension which makes it easier for novices and children to learn to play. This way their fingers won? Parlor guitars, initially designed as small instruments for the wealthy as a way to entertain guests in their parlors, fell into relative obscurity for a few decades, but now they? The primary reason these little guitars are making a big comeback is that they? Folk giants such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez are among notable artists known to champion the parlor design.

Aspiring musicians are hearing parlor guitar music of the s they otherwise would have no exposure to and endeavoring to recreate the tonalities unique to the decade. Being a space-friendly, lightweight option for a budding musician on a budget to take on tour, it? But with variations using several other all-solid tonewoods—including Italian spruce, Indian rosewood, and genuine mahogany—the parlor also happens to be an excellent instrument for performing and recording.

At the other end of the spectrum, high-end independent luthiers and boutique makers have gotten in on the fun. I try to build it delicately, like the originals, but with structural integrity. Meanwhile, other luthiers are working to create something new with smaller body sizes. For the soundboard bracing, I used a traditional X with one tone bar. I also increased the depth of the guitar and use a domed braced soundboard, as well as a small oval sideport that really adds another dimension for the player.

But while those prices might be attractive to collectors, there are some obstacles in preparing the instruments for modern playability—especially considering that many of the guitars were originally built for nylon strings. For instance, not only is the typical s or earlys parlor guitar insufficiently sturdy to accommodate a medium-gauge or heavier set of steel strings, the footprint of its bridge is too small to house the slanted saddles needed for the spot-on intonation of steel strings.

But the guitars can be transformed into great players. People just assume that a small instrument will make a small sound—even though a Gibson mandolin, for instance, is incredibly loud. The nicest parlor guitars actually have a big, full sound—s Martins are some of the best-sounding steel guitars ever made. While there are debates as to the specific size and shape of parlor guitars, most will agree that it should be small and comfortable enough to play on your couch or your front porch.

Today, the term parlor guitar covers a wide spectrum of guitar styles, from traditional western designs to eclectic one-of-a-kind boutique builds.

The word "parlor" or "parlour" refers to old reception and commerce rooms, and since these compact guitars were regularly played in these small to mid sized venues, they were labeled as such - parlor guitars. Incidentally, the bigger "concert" guitar also got its name from the venue where it was usually played in.

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 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. An easier way of identifying parlor guitars is by looking at the body shape. If the guitar is smaller than Concert size and has an "elongated" body then it is a legitimate parlor guitar. This longer body is the result of guitar builders trying to increase the volume of small guitars. The luthiers that were building parlor guitars in the past found that by subtly elongating the body, they can increase the volume without expressly increasing the size of the instrument.

Scale and neck joint varies widely for parlor guitars, and as such they can not be used as good indicators.