|
|
Parlour guitar is a term given to small-bodied steel string guitars in the style of late 19th and early 20th century American instruments. They usually have wide fingerboards, 12 frets to the body and slotted headstocks and tend to be good for fingerpicking rather than strumming. I make parlour guitars to Martin 00 and 0 size. This is probably slightly larger than what is traditionally thought of as a parlour size but I find the term well describes the features. These guitars have a real piano-like quality, with high string-to-string definition and are surprisingly loud for their size. There are 12 frets to the body and the ebony fingerboard can be flat or radiused. I normally use a nut width of 48mm (1 7/8"), giving plenty of room for the fingers, but this can be varied to suit individual taste. Other body sizes and scale lengths are available. I have recently been using a scale length of 645mm rather than 632mm, which is the traditional standard for this size of guitar. The longer scale which is more typical of 000 and dreadnought guitars gives more punch and projection to the instrument. The shorter scale will tend to give a sweeter sound. |
