Advice on Parlour Guitars Please!

Sammy · March 2021

Have been thinking about getting a Parlour style guitar, when I next change my acoustic, from my normal OM/000 size guitars, as quite like the smaller size and have seen some good video demos, but have never actually tried one, so would appreciate some advice, beforehand. Or should I stick with what I am use to!

So how does a reasonable quality Parlour guitar compare to an OM style guitar, besides size wise.

For instance being smaller, can they sound as loud, are they normally more brighter or can get a mellow sound, do you lose a lot of the bass end and are they easier or harder to play tension & action wise, due to being smaller, plus anything else. Also what gauge string would you normally use?

Many Thanks

earwighoney · March 2021

Sammy said:

Have been thinking about getting a Parlour style guitar, when I next change my acoustic, from my normal OM/000 size guitars, as quite like the smaller size and have seen some good video demos, but have never actually tried one, so would appreciate some advice, beforehand. Or should I stick with what I am use to!
So how does a reasonable quality Parlour guitar compare to an OM style guitar, besides size wise.
For instance being smaller, can they sound as loud, are they normally more brighter or can get a mellow sound, do you lose a lot of the bass end and are they easier or harder to play tension & action wise, due to being smaller, plus anything else. Also what gauge string would you normally use?
Many Thanks

The term 'parlour' guitar from what I have gathered is an umbrella term to describe any guitar smaller than an OM.

Here are common body sizes with the measurement of the lower bout in inches

Dreadnaught - 16"

OM - 15" or 15.25"

OO - 14.25" or so

O - 13.25 or so

There's some good info here

https://www.maurysmusic.com/Martin_by_Body_Size

IMO, a true 'parlour' guitar is one smaller than a O.

As for guitars smaller than an OM, I'd generally say they have less bass than larger guitars but there are too many variables to take into account.

As for being easier to play, most of the time smaller instruments are short scale but longer scale small bodied acoustics do exist, I have a Recording King O sized 12 fret with a long scale.

Are you looking for a true parlour guitar or a O/OO, 12 fret or 14 fret?

tomjax · March 2021

Sammy, I has similar thoughts a couple of years ago, and went on the hunt to try and find one. In the end, I decided that anything smaller than 00 size ended up being too much of a compromise for me with too few real benefits beyond a larger size body. I tried a few high-end ones including a beautiful Collings Baby H2, a Santa Cruz PJ, and the Wee Lowden - all wonderfully built and styled, and a few more wallet-friendly ones from the likes of Faith, Seagull, Alvarez, Larivee and Breedlove.

In general, what they offered me (with varying degrees of success) was a tight punchy mid-range, bright and clear highs and some of that vintage boxiness for a pre-war blues tone. The Collings/Lowden were ultimately the very best of the bunch, but with eye-watering prices for such a small guitar. But all of them lacked the warmth, depth and bass that I was of course used to from an OM size. They were all easy to play from a string tension point of view; they typically have lighter strings on (10s or 11s) and most, if not all, were short scale lengths.

The biggest surprise for me though, was that I could never quite shake the feeling I was playing a 'toy' guitar (despite the price tags) and I didn't find them that comfortable to hold and play! Because of the very shallow body they sit low in your lap and I had to hold them at an odd angle to get the fretboard up for comfortable playing. I decided the parlor shape wasn't for me.

The search did ultimately lead me to a beautiful used Brook Taw (about 00 size), which had all the attractions of being small and portable and comfy to sit and noodle with on the sofa, but still having the dynamic range and depth that made it hugely rewarding to play. I'll PM you separately about this guitar, given our other discussions.

Good luck with the search, there are quite a few around once you start looking.

BingMan · March 2021

check out @ghostownrambler on instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/ghostownrambler/?hl=en ) for some very nice parlour action

His is a Collings so it's going to be eye-wateringly expensive! but it does record very well and it doesn't hurt that he's also a very fine player!

I've only ever played an old parlour from the early 1920s, it was ladder braced and was built for gut strings, not steel, but it did have a fair bit of volume.
I reckon an X braced one would kick out some volume, it'll just be way more controlled and tighter than say an OM or a dred. I only owned it briefly as I bought it cheap on a whim off ebay and it looked pretty good... but it needed a neck set, refret and probably a new nut and saddle...so it would have meant sinking lots of money into it which I didn't want to do. Was very cool though.

malcolmkindness · March 2021

A 00 12 fret model is a very fine guitar, personally I wouldn't go any smaller unless you have several guitars and simply want variety.
On the other hand, it is often said that the OM is the best all round guitar ever designed.

Sammy · March 2021

earwighoney said:

Sammy said:

Have been thinking about getting a Parlour style guitar, when I next change my acoustic, from my normal OM/000 size guitars, as quite like the smaller size and have seen some good video demos, but have never actually tried one, so would appreciate some advice, beforehand. Or should I stick with what I am use to!
So how does a reasonable quality Parlour guitar compare to an OM style guitar, besides size wise.
For instance being smaller, can they sound as loud, are they normally more brighter or can get a mellow sound, do you lose a lot of the bass end and are they easier or harder to play tension & action wise, due to being smaller, plus anything else. Also what gauge string would you normally use?
Many Thanks

The term 'parlour' guitar from what I have gathered is an umbrella term to describe any guitar smaller than an OM.

Here are common body sizes with the measurement of the lower bout in inches

Dreadnaught - 16"
OM - 15" or 15.25"
OO - 14.25" or so
O - 13.25 or so

There's some good info here
https://www.maurysmusic.com/Martin_by_Body_Size

IMO, a true 'parlour' guitar is one smaller than a O.

As for guitars smaller than an OM, I'd generally say they have less bass than larger guitars but there are too many variables to take into account.

As for being easier to play, most of the time smaller instruments are short scale but longer scale small bodied acoustics do exist, I have a Recording King O sized 12 fret with a long scale.

Are you looking for a true parlour guitar or a O/OO, 12 fret or 14 fret?

Thanks for all your advice, it seems the 00 size it about the smallest I should go, as I normally have an OM type model, but was thinking something a bit smaller, that would give still give me a sweet sort of sound not too bright, that you can get with certian OM guitars. I had been looking at the Dowina's, which seem well built and quite reasonable, the BV (Bona Vida) range, which I thought was a parlour guitar, but there are no dimensions of this model or any other Dowinas in fact on the site!

So looking at the photos on their site, would the BV range fall into the parlour category or OO? As whilst this appears to be the smallest guitar they make, they don't seem to do a middle range like an OM, they goe straight to what I call a GA size!

richman6100 · March 2021

I have an Auden parlour guitar, the Marlow, which isn't currently in production, but they do turn up pre-owned now and then. Might be worth checking out. It's a 14 fret parlour with a slightly deeper body than most parlours which does give it a bigger/deeper sound than I expected from an acoustic this size. It's more versatile than the majority of sub £1200 parlour models I tried from other manufacturers. It takes strumming surprisingly well for such a small bodied guitar, but its real strength is inevitably with finger picking. Auden also do a 12 fret parlour called the Emily Rose (in production), which is excellent, but felt too short to me and it had a wider nut than the Marlow when I tried both. At the time, I wanted an acoustic with a fast neck, more like my electrics. I have other, more upmarket acoustic guitars, but the Marlow gets played most. Also smaller than OM in the Auden range is the Julia (00) model. I've only played one briefly, but I did like it a lot. My son has a Faith Venus OM that I used to own. It's nice, but I prefer the Audens I've tried.

There are so many great acoustic guitar manufacturers out there covering all price points. I was very impressed with a Martin CEO7 I tried (probably should have bought it), but it was pricey. I've also been pleasantly surprised with offerings at much lower price points too, but these tended to be larger bodied guitars. Some cheap parlours I tried before getting the Auden, were so boxy and stiff sounding that I nearly gave up looking at the model size completely. With small body acoustics in general, I'd definitely try before buying (when that's possible), or at least ensure you can return your purchase if it turns out not to be what you want. The OM body size is a wonderful all-rounder, so you may well be giving up something if you go for the convenience/comfort of something smaller.

tomjax · March 2021

Sorry, I meant Brook Torridge not Taw. The Taw is slightly larger, closer to OM. You'd think I'd remember which I have!

Andy79 · March 2021

Try a Martin 0-18, they really do know how to put a decent guitar together

malcolmkindness · March 2021

Sammy said:

earwighoney said:

Sammy said:

Have been thinking about getting a Parlour style guitar, when I next change my acoustic, from my normal OM/000 size guitars, as quite like the smaller size and have seen some good video demos, but have never actually tried one, so would appreciate some advice, beforehand. Or should I stick with what I am use to!
So how does a reasonable quality Parlour guitar compare to an OM style guitar, besides size wise.
For instance being smaller, can they sound as loud, are they normally more brighter or can get a mellow sound, do you lose a lot of the bass end and are they easier or harder to play tension & action wise, due to being smaller, plus anything else. Also what gauge string would you normally use?
Many Thanks

The term 'parlour' guitar from what I have gathered is an umbrella term to describe any guitar smaller than an OM.

Here are common body sizes with the measurement of the lower bout in inches

Dreadnaught - 16"
OM - 15" or 15.25"
OO - 14.25" or so
O - 13.25 or so

There's some good info here
https://www.maurysmusic.com/Martin_by_Body_Size

IMO, a true 'parlour' guitar is one smaller than a O.

As for guitars smaller than an OM, I'd generally say they have less bass than larger guitars but there are too many variables to take into account.

As for being easier to play, most of the time smaller instruments are short scale but longer scale small bodied acoustics do exist, I have a Recording King O sized 12 fret with a long scale.

Are you looking for a true parlour guitar or a O/OO, 12 fret or 14 fret?

Thanks for all your advice, it seems the 00 size it about the smallest I should go, as I normally have an OM type model, but was thinking something a bit smaller, that would give still give me a sweet sort of sound not too bright, that you can get with certian OM guitars. I had been looking at the Dowina's, which seem well built and quite reasonable, the BV (Bona Vida) range, which I thought was a parlour guitar, but there are no dimensions of this model or any other Dowinas in fact on the site!
So looking at the photos on their site, would the BV range fall into the parlour category or OO? As whilst this appears to be the smallest guitar they make, they don't seem to do a middle range like an OM, they goe straight to what I call a GA size!

Dowina guitars have an excellent reputation and represent very good value for money, Steve Cooney has a couple.
Moloney music in Galway is an agent and Ciaran Moloney should be able to tell you all you want to know about their specs.

Sammy · March 2021

malcolmkindness said:

Dowina guitars have an excellent reputation and represent very good value for money, Steve Cooney has a couple.
Moloney music in Galway is an agent and Ciaran Moloney should be able to tell you all you want to know about their specs.

Thanks Malcom have contacted them by email to see what the specs are on the BV models. On the photos of the BV's they do look larger than a standard sort of Parlour, but photos can be deceiving!

earwighoney · March 2021

Sammy said:

malcolmkindness said:

Dowina guitars have an excellent reputation and represent very good value for money, Steve Cooney has a couple.
Moloney music in Galway is an agent and Ciaran Moloney should be able to tell you all you want to know about their specs.

Thanks Malcom have contacted them by email to see what the specs are on the BV models. On the photos of the BV's they do look larger than a standard sort of Parlour, but photos can be deceiving!

I'm not sure if I made this up but I think the smallest Dowina guitar has a 12" inch lower bout.

Btw, this a good video of 3 Martins 0-18, 00-18, 000-18

Sammy · March 2021

Good video thanks, pity he didn't do some more comparisons just playing chords. Whilst you can hear a difference, individual notes are a bit harder to really asscertain the real differences in the three.

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Advice on Parlour Guitars Please!

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