parlour guitars !

[toomuchfun]

Sorry my fault its a BP 500 EM

Thanks, and sorry I missed your photo in the 2nd post.

I like to refer to them as couch sitters since I don't have a parlor but do have a couch (davenport?).Being from Pennsylvania I have a fondness for Martin's, the state most are made in.. A little salty in price but life is short. And you can argue, but for me nothing rings like a good Martin in any size.

Here are my 12 fretters:
'23 0-18, 2012 0-18VS, 2016 00-17S

And here are my 14 fretters:
'40 R-18, '51 0-18, 2012 0-15M

Can you tell I sit a lot?

 

[LowCaster]

My Ibanez has two strap buttons, but it is so comfortable to play while sitting...

 

[bender66]

Had a Yamaha FG75 once, along with the 5-6 other FG's of various sizes. I sold it to a girl wanting to learn & regrettably didn't buy it back when she moved away. It was such a handy little thing to have out, sounded great, & had a nice neck for a little thing.

 

[LGOberean]

I thought to share this for the OP's sake, but since he's from the UK, I'm not sure how useful this information will be. Still, in hopes that it will benefit someone, I want to mention Steve Chipman of Vintage Parlor Guitars. I have no connection to him. I'm not even a customer (yet?). But I can attest to the fact that he is knowledgeable, helpful and generous with his time.

A few years ago I was trying to ascertain what guitars my Dad and Granddad played before I was born. All I had to go on was two black & white photographs, one taken of my Granddad and his brother around 1920, the other taken of my Dad and his twin brother, taken some time in the late 1940s. Steve was willing to correspond with me (he lives in Vermont, BTW) and share what his impressions of what the guitar might have been, given the dates of the photographs as well as the images themselves.

 

[Tonetele]

No offense inteded but it sounds like your not happy with a parlour size.
I prefer an OM . Martin and Taylor make good ones, Yamaha too. Depends on your budget.
My best mate has an Epiphone parlour and a Martin Om and we both like the all Mahogany Martin.
Sounds like you want a change.

 

[mally]

No offense inteded but it sounds like your not happy with a parlour size.
I prefer an OM . Martin and Taylor make good ones, Yamaha too. Depends on your budget.
My best mate has an Epiphone parlour and a Martin Om and we both like the all Mahogany Martin.
Sounds like you want a change.

Ha ha No mate When I said "upgrading" I meant to a Classier Parlour Guitar Thats why I said its perfect but I Wanna Change it !! I have other Bodied guitars but the parlour style seems perfect (to me )

 

[Freeman Keller]

I just looked back and realized that I hadn't posted anything on this thread. How can that be, I love parlor guitar. First my boilerplate picture of my single, double and triple oughts - I consider the single well in the "parlor" definition, some will say the double (I think that is marginal) and the 000 definitely not, but the comparison is interesting

As far at the single oughts, I built the first one for my daughter - it is a girly guitar with lots of bling. Her spirit animal is the blue darner dragon fly so I did that as the inlay.

I liked it so much that I made two more, one for a friend's daughter and one to keep

One of them (mine) is Mad rose, the other is Brazilian, my daughter's is EIR. All are Lutz on top which lets me have an interesting comparison of tone woods. I can't hear a difference...

One other guitar that recently came into my quiver is a 1932 Stella. When compared to the single ought it is a bit bigger - probably more like the double.

Parlor guitars are just a delight to play. They sit nicely on my lap, they have a warm balanced sound that I find really good for finger picking, and at least in my case, they are amazingly loud. Recommended

 

[Flaneur]

I gave my A&L Ami to a very good friend, three Christmases ago. It was my favourite acoustic at the time, especially for couch composition and for noodling through sports games, on TV.

My friend is a very petite person and the guitar is a great fit for her- but she never plays it. It's a shame- but part of life. I need another parlour, in the worst way!

 

[popthree]

i was at a songwriter meet-up deal, and one of the guys had this washburn. it sounded really nice. i asked him about it and he said he loved it. i didn't play it but it sure made an impression on me.

 

[Buckocaster51]

Guys,

Traditionally, the term Parlor Guitar has applied to something smaller than a Martin 0 size.

Phooey on Tradition.

Post Away!

 

[otterhound]

I must side with tradition on this . Unless it is in the Terz sizing , it ain't a parlor guitar . I love the smaller bodied boxes because I fit them . Bigger isn't always better , but it's always bigger .

 

[JeffBlue]

I love parlor guitars. Mine is a Recording King Dirty Thirties.

 

[Count]

Artist Guitars Parlour Guitar, Australian design but made in China, solid Spruce top, Rosewood sides and back, Mahogany neck. Mellow tone and very loud, it did not sound so good with the original strings but after some experimenting found that EB Rock and Blues 10 -52 strings made it sing. I've always had problems with Dreadnought sized guitars, always ended up with arm pain from stretcing my arm over the body. Just love the this parlour though, comfortable to use and great for finger picking. Only down side is that certain uneducated and ignorant members of audiences think it is a six string ukulele.

 

[El Marin]

Loving mine

When I got this one (Martin 0-28VS Sigma copy) I sold my old loved Gibson Dread as I knew I was never going to play it again

 

[P Thought]

Mine's new around here, a Takamine F-312 just brought to new life. It's going to be my camp/travel guitar, but the "parlour" thing applies, too. It's very comfortable to play, and a Tak-nut's equivalent of a classic automobile (made in 1978; anyone know which Martin this knocks off?)

Its finish was good when the guitar arrived, but I'm new at repairs, and my steam-iron method of removing the lifting bridge caused a big, nasty stain, and I tore the plies a bit above the bridge. Relic, has character.

 

[P Thought]

Phooey on Tradition

band name alert

 

[mrbdxmpl]

Small body guitars? Two words: Santa Cruz!

 

[LGOberean]

Mine's new around here, a Takamine F-312 just brought to new life. It's going to be my camp/travel guitar, but the "parlour" thing applies, too. It's very comfortable to play, and a Tak-nut's equivalent of a classic automobile (made in 1978; anyone know which Martin this knocks off?)

Its finish was good when the guitar arrived, but I'm new at repairs, and my steam-iron method of removing the lifting bridge caused a big, nasty stain, and I tore the plies a bit above the bridge. Relic, has character.

View attachment 674156

Cool! The old lawsuits appeal to me, because of my younger brother's Tak. I'll bet it'll be a great camping "parlor" guitar. I've taken my Gretsch Jim Dandy camping. Very convenient and fun player.

A quick search yielded a couple of threads where a few years ago guys were selling a F-312 and a F-312S (one on Ovation Fan Club and the other on Acoustic Guitar Forum), and both sellers claimed it was a copy of a New York Martin style model designated 0-16NY. I don't know where they got their information. Here is a pic of a Martin 0-16NY...

 

[P Thought]

@LGOberean, that's a dead ringer from the top. In the photo I can't tell whether that says Martin or Takamine, but I recognize the writing. . . Mahogany back I bet? Thanks for that information.

 

[swampyankee]

Several years ago I picked up a Morgan Monroe M-OO-TBV as a cheap version of a Blues King. It was cheap and cheerful, and fun to play. I traded it for a set of truck racks that I needed for a construction project.

I'd pick up another one if I found the right deal.