What Parlor Guitars Louder?

[rokdog49]

Unfamiliar ground. I am assuming there are no 14 fret joined at the neck??
What might make one parlor have better projection vs. another?

[RossM]

First off I am completely unqualified to answer this question...
I was in the local Git Shop and they had one of these:
USA Concert Moon Light Sitka-Mahogany
I know it is a Concert and not a Parlor, but it was about the loudest little thing I've ever heard.
Anyway....

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, the term "parlour guitar" is frequently wrongly applied.

The Martin size "O" was designed to be adequate for a "concert" - perhaps a medium sized withdrawing room.
The "OO" for a "Grand concert" - perhaps for a small theatre.
The "OOO" for use in an Auditorium - such as a larger theatre, or concert hall ........... and all without amplification.

All were 12 fret guitars designed primarily for fingerstyle.

The 14 fret changes introduced in the late '20s were when guitars were redesigned to be part of the rhythm section of Jazz/dance bands and with narrow and longer shaped fretboards to accommodate tenor banjo players.

The projection of (what we may now consider) smaller guitars is less a matter of size, as to build quality and the player's skills.

N.b. Long ago I went to a Victorian built theatre (maybe 500 plus seats) to see Stefan Grossman. for unexplained reasons there was no sound system available. SG (armed with a 00 and an 000) said that as they were designed for such as venue before microphones, he would play if we were willing. No-one left. He played the whole concert and we all heard every note and every word.

Gibson made the L-00 etc with 14 frets, but it has the thinner rhythm neck.

[devellis]

It might help if you explained exactly what you consider a parlor guitar to be. The term wasn't used back in the era when small-bodied guitars were the norm. What we now call parlor guitars were referred to as "standard" guitars, and then, only after "concert" guitars (what we now refer to as 0-sized guitars) were introduced.

People building modern guitars and labeling them as parlors are fairly inconsistent.

If you want a 14-fret, small-bodied guitar with excellent projection, there are several options in various price ranges. The Waterloos are good examples. Their original 14-fret designs in both X-brace and ladder-brace configurations project like crazy. There are a bunch of other guitars that more or less copy the Gibson L-00 that are also excellent guitars and give they buyer the ability to choose either a somewhat more strident (e.g., Waterloo), mellow, (e.g., Martin CEO-7), or in-between (e.g., Huss & Dalton Crossroads) tone. Many won't consider any of these to be parlor guitars but the definition is so vague that without further information, it's hard to say what is or isn't a parlor. They're all certainly relatively small guitars but not as small as, say, a late 1800's "standard" guitar.

There are also guitars not based on early Gibson designs, like the newer Waterloo Stellas and guitars by builders like How and Fraulini, that are small-body, vintage-inspired instruments of very high quality. These can perhaps be called "parlor" guitars with fewer objections.

Not a lot of the guitars I mentioned (the CEO-7 might be the exception) are easy to find in a typical guitar store. So they can be hard to actually play before you decide to buy. Waterloos are easier to find than the ones by individual luthiers but still not like finding a Taylor or a Martin.

Tell us more about what aspect of "parlor" guitars appeal to you and we may be able to direct you more effectively. Also, what sort of price range are you in?

[1Charlie]

For a full-scale, 14-fret, loud concert-sized guitar, it would be pretty hard to beat a Guild F-20 for volume and value. Sitka over mahogany. Lots of them out there on the used market. The sweetest and lightest were made in Hoboken, NJ (1954-68) and the early ones from Westerly, RI (1969-73).

The more recent ones out of New Hartford, CT (2009-14) are nothing to sneeze at, either.

[countryblues75]

Take a look at Blueridge br341 (mahogany b/s) and br361 (rosewood b/s): they're all solid spruce topped parlor guitars with warm tone and volume in tu spades. I bought my br341 six months ago and use it mainly for country blues fingerpicking: i couldn't be happier, it is definitely a keeper
One thing: they have 1 7/8 inches nut width and wide string spacing at saddle, i find it just great for fingerpicking, but others might think it is too much.
Good hunt!

[dneal]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Unfamiliar ground. I am assuming there are no 14 fret joined at the neck??
What might make one parlor have better projection vs. another?

"Parlor guitar" doesn't mean anything specific anymore. If you consider an 0 size a parlor, then you can get a 14 fret. Froggy Bottom makes a 14 fret parlor, and I'd be surprised to find something with more loudness/projection in that size.

For "what makes one have better projection"... It's the builder.

[stephenT]

Waterloo calls the WL-12 a parlor, seems closer to a OO but whatever size it is, mine is surprisingly loud.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by countryblues75

Take a look at Blueridge br341 (mahogany b/s) and br361 (rosewood b/s): they're all solid spruce topped parlor guitars with warm tone and volume in tu spades. I bought my br341 six months ago and use it mainly for country blues fingerpicking: i couldn't be happier, it is definitely a keeper
One thing: they have 1 7/8 inches nut width and wide string spacing at saddle, i find it just great for fingerpicking, but others might think it is too much.
Good hunt!

As a matter of fact, this is one of the guitars I am looking at. At the moment I am waiting to hear from Maury's Music as to any difference between the 361 and the 371 other than the purfling, fret inlays and soundhole trim.
I assume the Sitka Spruce is the same quality.

For those who are trying to help me, if you go here, you can get an idea of what I am interested in. It doesn't have to be a Blueridge, but they are pretty nice.

http://www.maurysmusic.com/blueridge_by_body_size

[Bc3]

My Froggy P-12 is the LOUDEST Small body ive encountered

but it does require Newtone Double Wounds to push it that way

Also had a L-00 Legend that was nice and loud (14 fret)

with parlors though, loud isnt the only criterion


Its asking a lot for the smaller bodies to be loud, but it can be done

[countryblues75]

You might also want to consider Eastman parlors (adi top and 1 3/4 nut) and Alvarez Masterworks parlor (mpa70, sitka top, rosewood b/s, all solid).
Anyway, I never tried the Alvarez guitar, but had the chance to play the Eastman parlor with mahogany b/s and have to say that it is a very nice guitar, better than Blueridge as for finish.
On the other hand, I believe that Blueridge BIG voice is the best you can get at this price point. JMHO.

[Puerto Player]

My Goodall Parlor is as loud as any of my other guitars, and louder than most of them. 14 fret. Absolutely love it.

[00Buck]

I have a BR341 and a BR371 (same as the 361 but more bling). They are much louder than a slew of other 0's/parlors that I have tried. Both are 12 frets. I like them both but my preference goes to the RW version (371). The balance on both of them leans to the bass which is my preference. I've owned both Eastman parlors (E10P and E20P). Got rid of them after a couple of months.

My two cents on the 371 was spent in this thread: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=410712

[SprintBob]

If you are one willing to go outside the box, check out the Rainsong P-12 and P-14 models. The projection and clarity of my P-12 is not far off my higher end and more expensive Taylors and even my Collings OM1A.

[riverrummed]

That Breedlove Moon Light that RossM mentions sure is the direction I'd like to see more builders go. Three and a half pounds! That takes some guts to put that out there. I wish there was one close to me to try out as I really like light guitars. All the ones I've ever encountered, no matter the builder, have impressed me. There's a fourteen fretter for you rokdog49.