Do I want a parlour and do I want it to be my only acoustic?

guitarjack66

shufflebeat said:

guitarjack66 said:

Just to clarify or jargon bust if you like, does top end mean higher pitched and bottom end more bass driven,if you like? Some of this stuff still confuses me as I don't spend any time around fellow musos.

Top would refer to the higher end of the audible spectrum (in Hz and kHz) rather than higher pitched, which might be described in note names (C6, Bb7, etc.).

The higher end of the guitar spectrum would manifest itself in pick/finger noise and percussive strumming while the lower end would be fuller and warmer sounding, although “warmer” can also mean less hi Hz, or just duller.

Also, both top and bottom can be pleasant and harmonious or badly defined and dischordant.

Fret buzz/rattle is hi Hz and awful, bad bass can be boomy or muddy.

Crikey! Just as I was thinking I understood a bit.

enjo

I'm a smaller guy and started out with a dread - too big.
Then GS mini - too small
Then went to a deep OM - too big
Then thinner OM - OKish
Then Parlour - too small
Now I have a GC/00 size and it fits just right. It's an older Taylor 322, bit beaten up but after a set up it plays great and doesn't sound boxy.

Smellyfingers

Obviously it might depend on what you use the acoustic for - but for extensive use at home I would prioritise comfort and ease of use as much as sound. I bought a wonderful sounding Irish 12 string, but it turned out to be a waste of my money because the neck is too thick for my hands.

Also I would not buy two cheaper acoustics versus one more expensive on. Generally I think the difference in sound quality between a £300 guitar and say a £700 one is very noticeable and stark. As you go up the scale from there, it becomes less discernible.

ToneControl

No and No

I've only very rarely found a good-sounding small guitar, and no good sounding parlour guitars ever
Jumbos for me, and a few dreads please

richman6100

I have an Auden Marlowe parlour which I really like. It's a 14-fret model, cedar top, rosewood back and sides and a deeper body than normal for an acoustic this size. I tried several parlours before getting it and, with the exception of a Martin CEO7 (which was three times the price), it was the only one that I actually enjoyed playing.

Parlour size varies depending on who you ask, but if the Marlowe qualifies, then it's a fine little guitar for the money. The extra body depth and rosewood makes it sound like a bigger guitar than it is. It's nice and small, really comfortable to play. For finger picking, it's great. The cedar seems to tame the highs that I've found harsh on cheaper spruce-topped parlours. Auden's Emily Rose has a wider nut though, so that may be a better option for some. I think that's a 12-fret model. The Marlowe may not be made any more, but they turn up second hand from time to time.

It's is not the most complex sounding guitar - my Furch G23-CRC definitely delivers more overtones - but it's very forgiving to play. At its price point, I think it's excellent. Would I have it as my only acoustic? Definitely not. While you can strum it, it really doesn't excel at this and I don't think any parlour would, even those from high-end/boutique companies. Personally, I gravitate towards dreads for strumming, but they're cumbersome for sure. If you want just one acoustic that does a bit of everything, then an OM or OOO would be more versatile than a parlour. I think that Paul Simon has played a number of OMs over the years. A grand auditorium may be worth considering too, but then you're getting into bigger guitars.

A parlour for finger picking, paired with a dread (or other bigger bodied acoustic) would cover a lot of bases.

Tannin

^ I agree with every word of that @richman6100 apart from one small thing I'll return to in a little while.

I have a friend with an Auden Marlowe in cedar and rosewood, with the deeper body. The only difference is that my friend's Marlowe is a 12-fret. While I was visiting earlier this year (I'm in Tasmania, so a bloody long way away from southern England where my friend lives) I had the pleasure, over a few days, of several hours playing his lovely little Marlowe. 

Absolutely it's a parlour size! And the extra depth just makes the instrument in my book, gives it body and tonal balance.

I played a few other parlours while I was in England (here in Oz they aren't really a thing, very rare to see one) and the deeper-bodied Auden was clearly the pick of the ones I tried. A deeper body on a small guitar just makes so much sense. Both of Australia's main manufacturers do exactly that as routine: Maton's well-known and popular 808 size is essentially a 00 with the depth of a dreadnought; their excellent new Trad size is an OM or 000 again with the depth of a dreadnought, while Cole Clark's small body models, the Angel series, are billed as Grand Auditoriums (even though they are the same length and width as a 00) but - you guessed it - as deep as a dreadnought.

And the small thing? The bit about having it as an only acoustic. I could live with an Auden Marlowe as my only guitar. It wouldn't be my first choice as an only instrument, but it would do at a pinch. (If I absolutely, positively had to pick just one guitar as an only instrument, I'd have .... but no. That question is worth its own thread. Later. Let's just say that it would be an 808 or something like one.)

Kilgore

Tannin said:

^ I agree with every word of that @richman6100 apart from one small thing I'll return to in a little while.

I have a friend with an Auden Marlowe in cedar and rosewood, with the deeper body. The only difference is that my friend's Marlowe is a 12-fret. While I was visiting earlier this year (I'm in Tasmania, so a bloody long way away from southern England where my friend lives) I had the pleasure, over a few days, of several hours playing his lovely little Marlowe. 

Absolutely it's a parlour size! And the extra depth just makes the instrument in my book, gives it body and tonal balance.

I played a few other parlours while I was in England (here in Oz they aren't really a thing, very rare to see one) and the deeper-bodied Auden was clearly the pick of the ones I tried. A deeper body on a small guitar just makes so much sense. Both of Australia's main manufacturers do exactly that as routine: Maton's well-known and popular 808 size is essentially a 00 with the depth of a dreadnought; their excellent new Trad size is an OM or 000 again with the depth of a dreadnought, while Cole Clark's small body models, the Angel series, are billed as Grand Auditoriums (even though they are the same length and width as a 00) but - you guessed it - as deep as a dreadnought.

And the small thing? The bit about having it as an only acoustic. I could live with an Auden Marlowe as my only guitar. It wouldn't be my first choice as an only instrument, but it would do at a pinch. 

I've not heard you so enthusiastic about a brand largely built in China before. Whatever next? 

Tannin

^ I wouldn't buy one, @Kilgore because I don't trust any Chinese company to source their timber ethically and sustainably. (As you know, China is by far the worst illegal logger on the planet, and there is usually no way for a Chinese company to know where their timber came from.)  And I wouldn't pick one up in a shop because I generally don't play anything I'm not interested in buying (other than by invitation). But, as chance had it, I had the opportunity to play this one at length and it was a lovely little thing. Eastman probably make some nice guitars too, but I stick to brands I know or reasonably suspect are ethically made.

Stratavarious

A 12 fret Taylor 312ce is the best.. ‘if I only had one’ I’ve encountered.   Compact, balanced and sweet, more intimate, more rootsy connection and no dreadnaught boominess/arm wrestling

thomasross20

Only makes sense if 12 frets (imo) and if the bridge is pushed back (some brands don't do this). Try a Larry mahogany parlour with its mid-range thrum which is accentuated with the lower bridge position - it is like heaven. And if you want a little more bass you can get an OO (which I've yet to try). I did think an OO with cutaway would be best of all worlds but every cutaway I've tried hasn't really been for me. What I'll say is that the Larrivee parlours, the short scale also adds a nice "thunk" to the sound and you just don't want to put the thing down, as this review states (5/5!)

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/larrive-p-02e

bertie

english_bob said:

Fishboy7 said:

What is a parlour size anyway? Smaller than an 0 I suppose?

This is a reasonable guide to the relative size and shape we're talking about:

in real terms

L-R  
Small Jumbo/ Parlor / OM 




 

WafflesOnHorseback

Never considered a parlour. I don't need one. Then I tried one and it was lovely and now I can't stop playing it. I think the moral of the story is you can't have too many guitars!

guitarjack66

I have merely three acoustics. A cheap old laminate Squier Jumbo inherited from my son who gave up when buying it at Uni. It plays remarkably well for a cheaper Chinese model. A Cort parlour and a Fender concert. I'd have to say that I love the concert size of guitar,but not so much the sound,very bass heavy and the parlour is fun too. But the Jumbo is the best sounding and cheapest of the lot. 

TimmyO

I have a 12-fret 00 - I was amazed at how much I preferred it vs the same model 14 fret (Martin 00-17S vs 00-17)