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Old 02-17-2010, 05:04 AM
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Default Most Desirable Wood(s) for a Parlor Guitar

My recent acquisition of a relatively inexpensive Art & Lutherie parlor guitar has piqued my interest in adding a nicer parlor as well. I'm curious as to what knowledgeable folks think are the ideal wood(s) to maximize the unique tone and size of parlor guitars.
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:24 AM
Michael Watts Michael Watts is offline
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It depends on the builder. Adirondack spruce/koa is a nice combo as is redwood/walnut. Cedar/rosewood can also be very special.
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:31 AM
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I prefer Cedar over Mahogany.
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:38 AM
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Mr. Watts mentioned Koa which sounds awfully tempting. I know you can't really generalize about the "sound of" a particular kind of wood but when I think of all the good sounding parlor guitars in my imagination and I think of the particular sound character that Koa seems to impart to even large-body guitars, the two "sounds of" seem very complimentary. I'd be tempted to look into that option closely.

That said, to be honest every time now someone mentioned "parlor guitar" the image that pops in my head is that beautiful one that Fliss commissioned a while back. I believe it had a Walnut body IIRC and it was a mighty fine instrument that just happened to be parlor sized. I am a proud member of the Look Don't Matter brigade but Fliss's parlor was an exception in my book...so just get one like that!
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:50 AM
cpabolting cpabolting is offline
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I always found Koa gutiars to be a bit thin but that is my opinion. Some of the old parlor guitars I have played were old Martins with Brazilian rosewood and I thought they sounded outstanding.
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Old 02-17-2010, 05:57 AM
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I'm going with German White Oak (if we can find the right set) and Sitka. But Adirondack is not off the table
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Old 02-17-2010, 06:04 AM
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Congratulations on seeing the light and appreciating the virtues of these wonderful little guitars

If you're going for a custom, I'd definitely recommend talking to the builder, with particular reference to what you want to use it for. And play as many as you can, to get a feel for what suits you. Not all parlours are equal, and there are also quite a few different sizes that get classed as parlours - I tend to think of up to around a 12 and a half inche lower bout as a parlour, but I have seen guitars with a lower bout up to 14 inches given that name; again, you'd need to be clear what you want, and what each builder means when they use the term.

I have two parlours (by different builders) one in redwood/walnut and one in spruce/yew. The redwood/walnut is my favourite; it has warmth and projection, while the spruce/yew combination has great clarity for fingerstyle, but is less versatile.

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Old 02-17-2010, 06:25 AM
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I'll post a sound clip of this one in a few weeks. It's Englemann/Koa. It's a true "parlor", not a bigger guitar called a parlor.
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Old 02-17-2010, 06:28 AM
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Wow, Woody, that's a little beauty

Fliss
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Old 02-23-2010, 09:37 AM
jimmy bookout jimmy bookout is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fliss View Post
Wow, Woody, that's a little beauty

Fliss
Hiya Fliss,
That's my Parlor that Woody is re-topping. The guitar had some fairly weird construction going on with the top and tonally, well, since I asked Woody to re-top it....

To the OP, I think Woody's comment is very correct about Parlors. Sadly, there is no size definition for a "Parlor" guitar like there is for a "Dreadnaught" so you end up with some people literally calling a 00 size guitar a "Parlor", I guess because Parlors are in vogue right now. I don't think I can give you a great wood recommendation but I can give you a construction recommendation. The tops on Parlors fall under 2 types of contruction, Ladder braced and X braced. Ladder braced guitars (which is just about any of those old parlors you see on ebay!) will be very bright and "zingy" (that's an official tone description!), usually not a great deal of sustain or warmth, but shocking amounts of volume for such a little box. Ladder guitars are great for blues and such, for straight ahead fingerstyle, IMO, they lack warmth (bass). My guitar that is being re-topped by Woody HAD a ladder braced top. X braced Parlors (like Larrivee's P series) tend to be sweeter tonally, with more bass response and more sustain. They (x braced) probably give up some volume, but the trade off in warmth of tone, IMO, is well worth it.

Please allow me to give a plug to Woody Brackett who is doing the work on my guitar. He is a wonderful builder who took on my re-top project when I'm sure he had better things (guitars) to do (supporting a fellow North Carolinian, I guess). If the re-top of my Parlor hasn't totally soured him on building a parlor, he would be a person to talk to!
http://brackettinstruments.com/

Also, John How is a great parlor guitar builder who makes both ladder braced and X braced Parlors. Check out his site:
http://www.johnhowguitars.com/

Jimmy
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Old 02-23-2010, 09:48 AM
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I'd recommend going to Rebecca Urlacher's website and listening to full length MP3 audio files of both Koa and East Indian Rosewood Parlor guitars...

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Old 02-23-2010, 09:51 AM
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For me (based on the guitars I've owned), sitka over mahogany.

I agree with the idea of talking to the builder if going with a custom. I think most of the good builders out there can build what you want using whatever wood combo you ask for.

Ed
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Old 02-23-2010, 01:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmy bookout View Post
Hiya Fliss,
That's my Parlor that Woody is re-topping. ...
You have excellent taste in guitars - it coincides closely with mine

Fliss
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Old 02-23-2010, 01:23 PM
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I owned a Kronbauer small body which although not a Parlor it was pretty close in size. Redwood top walnut back and sides, amazing volume and projection. I have an all mahogany larrivee P-05MT on the way right now, I have heard good things about them.
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Old 02-23-2010, 01:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpabolting View Post
I always found Koa gutiars to be a bit thin but that is my opinion.
I am going to completely agree with Fliss (as usual). It is the builder.

Here is my Baranik Koa / Colorado Blue Spruce true parlor. Everyone who has heard it has been amazed at the fullness of the tone. There is nothing thin about it. It is the very real deal. But, that is to be expected since Mike is the real deal as a builder.





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Last edited by El Conquistador; 02-23-2010 at 01:58 PM.
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