Best Parlor Guitar – Budget, Mid & High End

What is a Parlor Guitar?

The label “parlor,” sometimes spelled “parlour,” is based on 19th-century Victorian-era reception rooms where guests were often received and entertained with musical instruments, which included parlour guitars.

In the 1930s, small-body guitars became more accessible, thanks to cheap “mail-order” guitars. These parlor guitars became widely used in early blues and folk music, earning the title “blues box”.

Fast forward to today, the parlor guitar is still very much in demand, especially among experienced musicians who appreciate the tone and convenience. Much of the old design is retained, but with improved reliability and better playability, thanks to modern production technology.

These days, you can choose from a wider variety of designs and shapes, depending on your allotted budget.

Size and Shape

Parlor guitars tend to be small and have a distinct shape. Since there are no set standards that manufacturers agree on, today’s parlor guitars come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and specs – the main limitation is that they should be smaller than regular full-sized acoustics like Dreadnought Guitars.

Generally speaking, the smaller the body size is, the less bottom end it will have, resulting in more midrange. This warm midrange tone is ideal for blues, folk, rock, and similar styles of music, and this distinct tone is often credited for the continued relevance of this old-school guitar design up to this day.

On the flip side, the bigger body of the dreadnought acoustic guitar gives it more bottom end and projection.

The shape also affects tone, specifically the size of the lower bout, which proportionally increases bass response. This is why some parlor guitar manufacturers opt for a bigger lower bout to give it a more balanced tonality. This balanced tone makes it viable for more musical styles, freeing it from the limitations commonly associated with parlor guitars.

Wood and Tone

In conjunction with its body shape, wood plays a significant role in shaping the tone of a parlor guitar. Solid wood is favored by many because it resonates better and improves with age, while laminate wood has the advantage of being more affordable and more resilient to environmental and humidity changes.

Different types of wood also affect the tone, and this difference may become more evident as your experience and playing skills grow.

Spruce is the most commonly used wood for the top, a solid spruce top guitar produces a balanced tone and has good projection.

Sapele is a common alternative to spruce, bearing many of the same characteristics as spruce, but is more affordable and environmentally friendly.

Mahogany is the favorite as the price tier goes up. It is well received because of how it further mellows the already midrange-heavy sound of small-bodied guitars.

There are also affordable and renewable alternatives to mahogany, like the nyatoh, which manufacturers use to decrease prices. In addition, other tonewood types are utilized in parlor guitars, like solid canadian cedar, solid koa, and more; each type of wood adds a distinct flavor to the instrument’s overall sound. You can read more about acoustic guitar tonewoods here.

Scale Length, Nut Width and Playability

Guitar Scale Length is the distance between the saddle and the nut, which proportionally affects string tension. The shorter the scale length, the looser the strings feel, which impacts playability and tone.

Many parlor guitars have shorter scale lengths than their regular-sized counterparts, and this lower string tension is why many consider parlor guitars easier to play. Still, some manufacturers stick to standard scale lengths. This is the right parlor guitar for guitarists who want their new parlor guitar to have a more uniform playing feel.

Nut width determines the spacing between strings at the nut. A narrower nut width makes it easier for smaller fingers to produce different chord patterns and is ideal for those used to electric guitars.

Wider nut widths allow for more room to position your fingers on the guitar frets, ideal for those who are used to more traditionally spec’ed acoustics and classical guitars. For a more in-depth look at the acoustic guitar neck and playability considerations, you can go here.

Pickups and Electronics

Some parlor guitars, like the Taylor GS-Mini come with built-in active electronics, and the most common configuration includes an under-saddle piezo pickup paired with a battery-powered preamp. This setup allows you to plug your instrument into an amp or direct it to PA systems with basic tone and volume control. This is an excellent feature to look out for, especially for those looking to perform on stage with a parlor guitar.

More premium guitars come with more complex pickup systems, some even adding a soundhole-mounted mic, which you can blend with the piezo pickup. Other manufacturers opt for passive pickups installed discretely because they do not have preamps.

This means there is no need to drill a hole in the guitar’s body to position the preamp. Note that while these can be directly plugged in, this configuration works best going through a preamp first, before going to an acoustic amp or PA system.

While less popular, magnetic pickups also work well with parlor guitars in specific styles, as exemplified by the Gretsch G9520E Gin Rickey. Its throaty and gritty amplified tone works great with blues and slide playing.

Interestingly, there are plenty of non-intrusive pickup and preamp systems that you can equip into parlor guitars without too many body modifications. These types of pickups usually have basic volume and tone controls that are mounted just under the soundhole.

If you want to add pickups to a guitar that doesn’t have them already installed, check out our guide to The Best Acoustic Guitar Pickups.

Are Parlor Guitars good for Beginners?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that the compact parlor style size makes it more comfortable. The shorter scale length is also generally easier to play, which makes it a very good starter instrument. This also makes it easier to Change Strings. The main downside is the need for some playing adjustments when switching to bigger acoustics.