Takamine is known for stage-ready yet reasonably priced acoustic-electric guitars, so when I saw the GY11ME at our local store, I immediately checked it out.

GY11ME headstock - click to expand

I was initially drawn to its classic aesthetics, especially its nice-looking square tapered slotted headstock, which matches its "New Yorker" parlor style body. This was a big deal to me because Takamine usually employs their regular headstock shape on their acoustics. The top, back, and sides are crafted from mahogany, wrapped in natural satin finish with lovely wood grain patterns.

Given its tonewood configuration and shape, it produces a warm midrange focused tone that suits my preferred styles of music, which include blues, gospel, rock, and the like.
Takamine equipped it with a TP-4T pickup and preamp system for plugging in. It has essential controls, including 3-band EQ and gain, and a nifty built-in tuner.

Another factor that made me decide to get this parlor sized guitar is its easy playability, thanks to its shorter scale length, flat fretboard radius, and narrow nut width. At the time, I was looking for an excellent pickup-equipped acoustic that was easy enough to play for my son, who I trained to play on a 3/4 size nylon string parlor guitar. So it made perfect sense to get the GY11ME, especially when considering that I had been hunting for a parlor guitar.

Thankfully, the transition into steel string went smoothly for my son, and I also ended up enjoying the GY11ME as a beater couch guitar. Fast forward to today, the GY11ME is still our go-to guitar at home, surviving hours and hours of practice, and it has seen action in many church services, school events, gigs, and home recordings.

Note that while this version of the GY11ME is still available, Takamine has a new version with sapele body, slightly different specs, and a not-slotted headstock. It looks more like a typical acoustic guitar.

The Takamine GY11ME scratched my parlor guitar itch with its classic appeal, smooth action, and bluesy tone. This is the best parlor guitar with built-in pickups in its price range. Highly recommended if you're into similar musical styles and guitar aesthetics.

Specifications

• Body Shape: New Yorker Parlor
• Top: Mahogany
• Back and Sides: Mahogany
• Finish: Natural Satin
• Bridge: Laurel
• Neck: Mahogany
• Neck Profile: Soft-C
• Fingerboard: Laurel
• Fingerboard Radius: 12"
• Number of Frets: 21
• Frets to Body: 14
• Scale Length: 24.8”
• Nut Width: 1.67"

Demo

The PN1MH is all that you'd expect a "blues box" should be, which is quite surprising for an affordable parlor guitar. It carries Ibanez's reputation for high quality and easy playability while being the cheapest among the best parlor guitars on our recommended list.

To get the price low, Ibanez utilizes cheaper and more sustainable alternatives to the usual guitar tonewoods, including sapele for the top and nyatoh for the back and sides.

Thankfully, they did not skimp on the tuners because this one stays in tune better than most entry-level acoustics. But at this price, expecting some minor cosmetic inconsistencies is normal. It features a retro-inspired, slim, sleek body design with old-school style appointments.

As expected from Ibanez, the neck is easy on the hands - very playable. This is for you if you're looking for a budget-friendly parlor guitar to be your primary portable and beater acoustic guitar.

Specifications

• Body Shape: Parlor
• Top: Sapele
• Back and Sides: Nyatoh
• Finish: Gloss Polyester
• Bridge: Nandu
• Neck: Mahogany
• Fingerboard: Nandu
• Fingerboard Radius: 9.8"
• Number of Frets: 18
• Frets to Body: 12
• Scale Length: 24.41”
• Nut Width: 1.653"

Demo

The Fender CP-60S is a step above other similarly priced parlor guitars when it comes to specs because it sports a solid spruce top, which is quite a steal for the price.

The guitar's solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides form its slim body, resembling blues boxes of the past both in terms of look and cost.

Thankfully, this one does not come with manufacturing issues of the past, rather the CP-60S' craftsmanship meets current build quality standards.

It also has better tuners and modern fretwork, to avoid the usual tuning and string setup problems that plague old parlor guitars.

It has a mahogany neck that joins the body at the 14th fret, and a walnut fingerboard with rolled edges. Note that it has a low action setup, which makes it easier to play, but can also cause fret buzz when strumming hard.

With its solid spruce top and big brand backing, the Fender CP-60S is definitely a great deal, it is a great entry way into the world of parlor guitars.

Specifications

• Body Shape: Parlor
• Top: Solid Spruce
• Back and Sides: Mahogany
• Finish: Gloss Natural / 3-Color Sunburst
• Bridge: Walnut
• Neck: Mahogany
• Neck Profile: Easy to Play Shape
• Fingerboard: Walnut
• Fingerboard Radius: 12"
• Number of Frets: 20
• Frets to Body: 14
• Scale Length: 24.75”
• Nut Width: 1.6875"

Demo

The Gretsch G9520E takes you back to the era of the "blues box" with its compact parlor body, while adding the option of having a gritty amplified tone thanks to its magnetic pickup.

The use of Gretsch' Deltoluxe magnetic soundhole pickup strays from the typical piezo and preamp system found in many acoustic-electric guitars.

With some tweaks on an amp, this gives it a distinct throaty tone that works great for blues, rock and similar styles.

Basswood is used for the top, back and sides, all of which follow the traditional parlor guitar shape with its small body size, resulting in warm tones that you won't get from regular sized acoustics. The resulting unplugged and plugged-in tone is quite fitting for slide playing.

Being small also means that the G9520 is easy to carry around, and ideal for couch guitar duties. Like the G9500, its reduced scale length gives it a noticeably more relaxed playing feel.

If you're looking for a "blues box" sounding couch guitar with a special stage sound, then the Gretsch G9520E is for you.

Specifications

• Body Shape: Gin Rickey Parlor
• Top: Basswood
• Back and Sides: Basswood
• Finish: Black Semi-Gloss
• Bridge: Walnut
• Neck: Nato
• Neck Profile: C Shape
• Fingerboard: Walnut
• Fingerboard Radius: 12"
• Number of Frets: 18
• Frets to Body: 12
• Scale Length: 24"
• Nut Width: 1.6875"
• Electronics: Gretsch Deltoluxe Acoustic Magnetic Soundhole Pickup (Passive)

Demo

The CSF-TA is part of Yamaha's TransAcoustic line of acoustic-electric guitars, combining old school parlor body with their modern System 70 TransAcoustic + SRT Piezo Pickup system - you can read more about Yamaha's pickup systems here.

This system lets you add reverb or chorus to the reverb on the guitar itself, without having to plug into an amp. This is achieved via a built-in actuator device, which transfers the effected sound to the body of the acoustic guitar as vibrations, essentially turning it into a speaker that can reproduce effected sounds.

Since it utilizes the body of the guitar, the effect blends in to the acoustic sound in a more natural way, resulting in great sounding tone that is impressive. The effect also works when plugged in via the preamp, and it comes with intuitive controls for tweaking.

The body shape is similar to a classical guitar, only smaller; the main difference being its use of steel strings. It comes with a solid sitka spruce top, paired with mahogany back and sides, a familiar tonewood combination that many manufacturers utilize.

Coming from Yamaha, this parlor guitar is meant to be student friendly, with a short 23.6" scale length, flat 16" radius fingerboard, and 1.6875 nut width. There's also no question when it comes to its quality.

If you're looking for a grab-and-go guitar with modern enhancements, then the CSF-TA with its TransAcoustic technology is a good buy.

Specifications

• Body Shape: CSF Parlor
• Top: Solid Sitka Spruce
• Back and Sides: Mahogany
• Finish: Vintage Gloss
• Bridge: Rosewood
• Neck: Nato
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Fingerboard Radius: 16"
• Number of Frets: 20
• Frets to Body: 14
• Scale Length: 23.6"
• Nut Width: 1.6875"

Demo

C.F. Martin & Co. continues to be a fixture in the acoustic guitar market, with a long list of iconic guitars and big name artists that keep the brand up top.

The 00-15M is an excellent example of why Martin guitars are well loved, and they didn't even need to add anything fancy to it, just good old premium craftsmanship resulting in a great instrument that retains near perfect ratings across major retailers.

The 00-15M comes with an all solid mahogany body, shaped into Martin's compact 00 style body design.

The resulting sound of this configuration prominently features the mids, giving it a warmer flavor while still retaining Martin's distinct woody tone.

It is worth noting that Martin's mahogany body acoustic guitars are getting much higher ratings compared to their spruce counterparts, and it's all thanks to their warm tone.

The neck is also crafted from mahogany, and joins the body at the 14 fret via a dovetail neck joint.

To give it a familiar playing feel, Martin did not stray from its usual neck/fingerboard specs, equipping this with a 20-fret, 25.4" scale rosewood fingerboard, with a nut width of 1.6875".

It's hard to go wrong with a Martin guitar, even more so with the Martin 00-15M.

Specifications

• Body Shape:00
• Top: Solid Mahogany
• Back and Sides: Solid Mahogany
• Finish: Natural
• Bridge: Rosewood
• Neck: Mahogany
• Neck Profile: Modified Low Oval / Standard Taper
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Fingerboard Radius: 16"
• Number of Frets: 20
• Frets to Body: 14
• Scale Length: 25.4”
• Nut Width: 1.6875"

Demo