Parlour Guitar roundup
Parlour Guitar: A Complete Buyer's Guide
No hype, just the checks that matter: here's what to look for before you buy a parlour guitar, and what you can safely skip.
Right, so you've decided you want a parlour guitar. Good choice — but "parlour" covers a lot of ground, from a £150 laminate box to a hand-built all-solid instrument costing several thousand. Before you hand over any money, here's what actually matters, in the order I'd check it, no sales pitch attached.
First: know what you're actually buying
A parlour guitar is a small-body acoustic — narrow waist, compact lower bout, usually smaller than a Martin 00. Beyond that rough shape, the term isn't tightly policed. Different manufacturers use "parlour" for genuinely different sized instruments, so don't assume two guitars called "parlour" are directly comparable. Get the actual dimensions and scale length before you compare anything else.
Solid top vs laminate — this is the big one
The single biggest factor in tone and long-term value is whether the top is solid wood or laminate (thin layers glued together).
- Laminate top: cheaper, more resistant to humidity changes, tone doesn't open up over time the way solid wood does. Fine for a first guitar or a beater you'll knock about.
- Solid top: resonates more freely, improves with age as the wood settles in, but needs proper humidity control to avoid cracking. Worth the extra cost if you're keeping the guitar long-term.
- All-solid (top, back and sides): the full package — best potential tone, highest price, most care required.
If the budget's tight, a solid top with laminate back and sides is the usual sweet spot: most of the tonal benefit, without the price jump of an all-solid build.
12-fret or 14-fret neck joint?
Traditional parlours join the neck to the body at the 12th fret, moving the bridge nearer the centre of the lower bout for a warmer, more balanced voice. Plenty of modern parlours instead use a 14-fret joint, which gives easier access to the higher frets but shifts the tonal balance slightly. Neither is "correct" — it comes down to what you'll actually play. Chords and open-position fingerstyle work well on a 12-fret; if you want to solo further up the neck, look at a 14-fret model.
Scale length and neck feel
Parlour scale lengths typically run shorter than the 25.4 inches common on full-size steel-strings — often somewhere around 24 to 25 inches. A shorter scale means:
- Slightly less string tension at the same tuning and gauge, which some players find easier on the fretting hand
- Frets set a touch closer together, which can help with reaching chord shapes
Don't stop at scale length, though. Nut width and neck profile vary hugely between models, and a small body doesn't automatically mean a slim, beginner-friendly neck. Play it before you buy if you possibly can, or at minimum check the exact nut width in the spec sheet.
What to check before you pay
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Top material (solid vs laminate) | Drives tone quality and how the guitar ages |
| Back and sides material | Shapes overtone complexity and bass extension |
| Neck joint (12- or 14-fret) | Affects tonal balance and upper-fret access |
| Bracing pattern | Has a bigger effect on projection than body size alone |
| Nut width and neck profile | Determines comfort, independent of body size |
| Factory setup and fretwork | Poor setup makes any guitar feel worse than it is |
| Electronics (if needed) | Undersaddle or soundhole pickup quality varies a lot at the budget end |
| Case or gig-bag fit | Parlour dimensions don't always match standard cases |
Don't buy on tone alone in a quiet shop
A parlour's whole character is a focused midrange and clean note separation rather than raw volume, so it's easy to be underwhelmed strumming one in a hushed shop next to a wall of dreadnoughts. That's the wrong comparison. Play it the way you'll actually use it — fingerpicked, close to your body, maybe recorded through a phone mic — and judge it on clarity and comfort, not how loud it is against a bigger guitar.
Set a realistic budget
Entry-level laminate parlours from the likes of Fender start at genuinely affordable prices and are a sensible way to try the format without committing serious money. Step up and you'll find solid-top models from Alvarez, Recording King, Cordoba and others, with all-solid instruments from specialist builders and premium brands sitting at the top of the market. There's no need to overspend on your first parlour — buy the best-built guitar you can afford at the level you're at, and reassess once you know whether the format suits you.
Once you've settled on a guitar, it's worth reading our piece on common parlour guitar mistakes to avoid — most of them are things that catch new owners out in the first few months, not buying errors. And if you want the fuller picture of where the format comes from and why it sounds the way it does, our ultimate guide to parlour guitars covers that ground.
The bottom line
Buying a parlour guitar comes down to matching build quality and neck feel to how you'll actually play — not to picking whichever one looks most vintage in the shop. Solid top over laminate where the budget allows, the right neck joint for your playing style, and a proper setup will get you further than any brand name will.
If you're completely new to guitar
If this is your first guitar full stop rather than an addition to a collection, our beginner's guide to parlour guitars covers the basics you'll want alongside this buying advice.
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