Parlor (Parlour?) Guitars + Soundhole Pickup

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

Hi all, hoping to sell my electric archtop this year and will revisit the soundhole pickup in acoustic idea. I do like the sound of an acoustic plugged into an amp, with some effects etc, that dirty blues sound with open tunings. I am not a slide player, but could be tempted with this kind of a set up. (Boss Blues Driver, reverb, some tremolo/vibrato)

I would prefer to fit an aftermarket pickup. I already have a Dearmond toneboss soundhole pickup which isn't bad, but might look at the Gretsch Deltoluxe or something else. (any ideas?)

I had been looking at a Tanglewood (Jave I think the model is), simply because they are reliable old things. The Gretsch Jim Dandy is cheap, but way too cheap? Bad quality? A used Tanglewood might be a good bet, or a used Washburn?

I think I would stay away from a wood resonator, cool and all as they sound. At the cheaper end of the scale, there are a lot of options... Tanglewood, Gretsch etc

bertie · August 2022

if you're asking for advice on guitar and/or pick up, I have a TW73 (the all solid sunburst one) and its pretty amazing for the size. If you can pick up a good one second hand, (I got mine for a steal - bankrupt stock - at an auction, £275 all in) sounds amazing and superb build

I had a Java (the one with the three piece back ?? only has a solid top) before and the TW73 is 20 leagues better in unplugged sound

I think some of them now may have on-board p/ups - mine hasnt, dont like em, dont use em

One of the key (if not THE key) factors for me was, it has a C neck profile, a lot of parlors have V or soft Vs which I really dont like

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

@bertie something like that model without the pickup would do me. There is a TW3, a mahogany one, with a basic finish, which is a nice little thing as well.

DartmoorHedgehog · August 2022

I've also got a Tanglewood parlour. TW133ASM I think it is - they used to be really cheap (I'm sure I paid under £200 new for mine a few years ago, apparently "shop marked" but I never found anything) but I think they're £350 ish now - still hardly expensive. Solid mahogany and sounds really good to me. No pickup, but I've diy electrified mine using a transducer from a cheap (£3) clip-on violin pickup glued to the back of the bridge plate and wired to an endpin jack socket. With an external preamp and EQ it sounds really quite good. Bit more prone to feedback howl than an under-saddle pickup though.

camf · August 2022

I’ve got half a dozen different sound hole pickups and I reckon the Toneboss is right up there with any of them. Never seems to need much EQ to round decent and rejects feedback pretty well.

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

camf said:

I’ve got half a dozen different sound hole pickups and I reckon the Toneboss is right up there with any of them. Never seems to need much EQ to round decent and rejects feedback pretty well.

I will try mine out in a parlor and see how it goes. I am more angling towards an acoustic that doesn't sound like an acoustic when amped.

redwedge · August 2022

Try a Gretsch Gin Rickey. It's exactly what you need

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

redwedge said:

Try a Gretsch Gin Rickey. It's exactly what you need

Might be yeah, and I like that this model doesn't have any pegs in the bridge

stufisher · August 2022

Might not be on your radar but I took a punt on one of these recently and I am so pleased I did.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_gs_travel_e_spruce.htm

No exaggeration ... it's fantastic ... punches way above its weight ... I play it every day.

The sound through an amp is way better than it should be at this price point ... when you consider how good the gig bag is, IMHO the VFM is untouchable.

I actually got mine via Fleabay for £70 so they are out there for peanuts.

Good luck with your quest.

McSwaggerty · August 2022

I use a Gretsch Jim Dandy with a Fishman soundhole pick up for Slide....both as cheap as chips, but Ideal for a dirty blues sound when going through an Iridium or blues driver....

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

McSwaggerty said:

I use a Gretsch Jim Dandy with a Fishman soundhole pick up for Slide....both as cheap as chips, but Ideal for a dirty blues sound when going through an Iridium or blues driver....

Which fishman out of curiosity?

McSwaggerty · August 2022

Creed_Clicks said:

McSwaggerty said:

I use a Gretsch Jim Dandy with a Fishman soundhole pick up for Slide....both as cheap as chips, but Ideal for a dirty blues sound when going through an Iridium or blues driver....

Which fishman out of curiosity?

Its the cheapest one...think its called NeoD.. However, l think the Gretsch Deltalux might sound better if you are looking for that overdriven sound.... Reckon they around £75

Creed_Clicks · August 2022

I wonder if I stuck a Dano lipstick pickup in the sound hole but then I’d probably have to use electric guitar strings …. and with the scale length etc it might feel and sound awful.

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Parlor (Parlour?) Guitars + Soundhole Pickup

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