What's a loud small body acoustic?

[cpeehler7]

Originally Posted by Long Jon

Ok. I'll be the first to say it : GS Mini.

You didn't mention your budget,,,, so I thought I'd start with a low-ball to kick off.

I would agree, but will say that I thought the Mahogany GS mini was much louder/ enjoyable to play for me. It was a big like my Guild M120E, very similar guitars, both are louder than a lot of low end dreads for sure. I was surprised how big the M120E and GS Mini sound considering that they're concert sized guitars.

[fitness1]

loudest, smallest guitar I've ever owned was probably a tie between an 1897 Washburn parlor guitar and a Goodall Parlor in Engelmann and Madagascar.

Man, I wish I'd kept that Washburn, but it was just SO fragile!

[dweezil]

Originally Posted by luigib

Anyone ever played one that was surprisingly loud compared to a dred?

My Beneteau OO.

[lamboy1]

My 00-18 Tim O'Brien Martin not just loud but drenched in tone

[Bruce Sexauer]

Here is a link to a video of the closest I 've ever seen to a dread conquering single 0. Still, no 0 can move the amount of air a dread can, and so it may get volume, but it cannot match the power.

A loud cheapo? The Fender CP-100 parlor with medium action, EJ16s or EXP16s and played with a decent pick.

[Misifus]

Originally Posted by picassov7

Give a Froggy Bottom Parlor a day in court and see what you think. It is uncanny the amount of sound that comes from those little amphibians!

I'd add a vote for a Froggy H-12. Not quite as small as the parlour, but still a small-body.

[swiftz07]

A goodall parlor would be a good option. its really loud for a small body and can even be strummed without breaking up. James got it right there

[riverrummed]

I own a little Eastman that is a clone of a Gibson LG-2 and it blows me away at how loud I can play it and maintain clarity. The difference, and I bet there are a lot of great smaller guitars, the difference is Adirondack spruce. It just adds tons of headroom. If you want a smaller guitar that you wouldn't feel overwhelmed sitting in with bigger boys if you found yourself in such a situation I'd advise you to go for Adi as a primary criteria. Other tonal considerations can then be evaluated I think. You can get even more volume by keeping the action on the higher side (a la gypsy jazz guys, but not as radical as they do) and messing around with strings and picks. Just some things that came to mind reading your question.

[Methos1979]

This Ivon Schmukler parlor is very small and VERY loud with a great amount of sustain. People are shocked when the play it.

[billder99]

Originally Posted by verbs4us

I once A:B'd a Taran Meilein with a Froggy H12--not a fair test, since the Froggy is a bigger body. The Taran was comparable in tone, sustain and volume. Perhaps a tad softer on the bass and cooler (a maple instrument), but very impressive for a small body. Both have flawless craftsmanship. Both by remarkable gentleman. A notable feature on the Taran is the inside of the body has a satin finish.

+1 Taran... great guitars!

[K-vegas]

Originally Posted by Opa John

I played a GS mini for the first time about a week ago. I was thoroughly impressed with how much sound comes out of such a small guitar. It wasn't quite a loud as a dreadnought, but it didn't miss it by much.

Same here. Played thru the Taylor rack at Owens Music in Myrtle Beach this week. The volume from the mini was a bit surprising. Tone was nice on the hog top. I've always rolled my eyes at the online gushing over the mini but I've had a reset on that. It's on my Christmas list

[AJGorman]

John McQuarrie (Northwood Guitars) builds an incredible deep bodied OO that defies the smaller body size. It is incredibly loud, resonant, and sustains forever. It's as loud as many dreads.

[darylcrisp]

Goodall TR000 in sitka/EIR or adi/EIR (easily within Dread reach)

the Martin 0028VS is no slouch either, especially for its small size(at the back door knocking to come in.........on a Dread)

d

[gstar]

My vote is Lowden S size, which is basically 00. Very loud for the small body size.