Which Parlour/OO Guitar for £500 or under?

Arktik83 · December 2020

So I have a budget of £500 and I'm in the market for a Parlour/OO guitar.

I'm looking for something that has that kind of "delta blues" style sound to it, something a bit boxy sounding I guess and is a bit more punchy in the mid range.

So looking around I saw the PRS SE P20/P20E and it looks like a good bet, sounds like my thing judging from the YouTube clips and then I stumbled across the Fender Paramount PM-2 which has a solid back and sides whereas the PRS has laminate, comes with a hardshell case whereas the PRS comes with a gigbag albeit the top quality PRS gigbags we all know and love.

They're both mahogany tops/back and sides but looking from the YouTube clips the PRS sounds more "bluesy" for want of a better word whereas the Fender sounds warmer and a bit more like a folk sound. Is this is just something as easy as a string choice because both have the same body shape and materials so how come there's such a significant difference in sound?

Any experience, advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

MrTee · December 2020

Probably falls more into the folk than blues side of your dilemma, but can highly recommend the Faith Mercury (nkd series)

Andy79 · December 2020

Faith for blues-no way
Fender Paramount-nope

PRS- Havnt tried one but sound good. Just put a bag over the headstock
Sigma L-00 copy is another good contender
Epiphone Zenith round hole arch top, bit left field but great tone for blues. Again, do the bag thing
Vintage Paul Brett Statesboro. All laminate but bloody marvellous (£99!)
Loar stuff, again, great
I have a 1930s Supertone 0 size if you fancy a chat over it

Gandalph · December 2020

The Alvarez AP66 is definitely worth a look.

Great guitars for the money.

The Art and Lutherie Roadhouse gets decent reviews too although I’ve never tried one.

Both are in your budget.

thermionic · December 2020

The Loar or Recording King have some good options. The Loar I have is really nicely made and nails that pre-war Gibson aesthetic.

Andy79 · December 2020

thermionic said:

The Loar or Recording King have some good options. The Loar I have is really nicely made and nails that pre-war Gibson aesthetic.

Good call. I have a Recording king Nick Lucas copy. The maple body looks and sounds great

Epsilon · December 2020

Guild M120 would fit the bill nicely. All solid woods and comes with a nice case.

Arktik83 · December 2020

There’s some great suggestions here and I really appreciate it! The loar sounds interesting especially as it has Adirondack top. I’ll check on the M120 too! Glad I asked you guys before I made a final decision

LPManic · December 2020

Would highly recommend the Yamaha CSF3M.

I got one of the first runs in 2018 but there have been other iterations since.

It is solid mahogany with a passive pick up. Great design. Incredibly comfortable. Nice neck. Great sound, especially for fingerpicking.

Here is a nice review video:

menamestom · December 2020

I’ve always liked the idea of a parlour size but never clicked with any when playing, including expensive ones like Collings.

That Yamaha sounds pretty good though!

Arktik83 · December 2020

Little update to this I plumped for the Loar LO-18 VS from Thomann and it took a week and a bit to turn up and left it 24hr in the box to acclimate to the house and opened it up and it sounded fab but the fret ends were sharp and there's a small dint in the top that shows up in a certain light. There's also there greyish scrape on the binding looks a bit like graphite.

I am gutted because I really liked the feel and tone of the Loar but I know those things will annoy me. What also annoyed me is that I bought a gigbag for it because it just came in a box and I thought Thomann would place the guitar in the gigbag but nope they just put the bag in with the guitar box.

Now I have a bit of a conundrum here because I really want that kind of OO pre-war Gibson style shape and Thomann have another Loar in stock so do I ask for a replacement and run the risk of it having issues or do I go for something else? I was looking at the Alvarez Delta OO but Alvarez seems to draw a lot of ire on here so I don't fancy buying a lemon.

Any advice would be appreciated!

DB1 · December 2020

I have been really very impressed with the little Tanglewood guitar that I have. The quality is excellent and the sound is lovely, not the boxy blues that the L-00 gives you, but certain a passable impression.

I'm a badge snob, and have an LG2 as well, or I think I'd end up keeping it.

bencowling81 · December 2020

If you want to save a few quid why not try the Gretsch Jim Dandy. You don’t need to spend a lot if you’re after a boxy sound. Don’t reckon those delta bluesmen would’ve been spending a lot on their guitars.

Andy79 · December 2020

If twur me it would put up with the ding and mark, after all, nobody else has one like yours now and wait for the humidity to sort the fret ends. That really is a nice guitar. Over years that red spruce will settle and change.

I have a maple 00 RK from years back and it’s changed into something pretty dear to me. So much so I’ve snapped the headstock off 3 times

Arktik83 · December 2020

Andy79 said:

If twur me it would put up with the ding and mark, after all, nobody else has one like yours now and wait for the humidity to sort the fret ends. That really is a nice guitar. Over years that red spruce will settle and change.

I have a maple 00 RK from years back and it’s changed into something pretty dear to me. So much so I’ve snapped the headstock off 3 times

Yeah I was uming and ahing about it because it sounded fab and was really resonant but by then I had flagged it for return. Tempted to contact Thomann to see if they can exchange it for the other one they have in stock.

Strangefan · December 2020

Sheeran by Lowden. They're pretty amazing

thermionic · December 2020

That’s exactly what happened when I bought my Loar from Thomann! As it was an acoustic and would be spending several days in the hands of couriers I forked out for a hard case (a nice Warwick one which was unbelivably only £36j. Two cardboard boxes arrived, guitar in one, empty case in the other!

Arktik83 · December 2020

thermionic said:

That’s exactly what happened when I bought my Loar from Thomann! As it was an acoustic and would be spending several days in the hands of couriers I forked out for a hard case (a nice Warwick one which was unbelivably only £36j. Two cardboard boxes arrived, guitar in one, empty case in the other!

I couldn't wait for the refund so I ordered the same bundle with the Loar and a gigbag and am dropping the other off at the post office tomorrow. I've left a note asking them to put the guitar in the actual gigbag this time so we'll see what happens!

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Which Parlour/OO Guitar for £500 or under?

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