There’s a very specific sound that’s associated with parlor guitars. They tend to deal out the high midrange and will cut through a mix. Not to mention the smaller body size is usually rather comfortable. Here are 10 options for under a grand.
PRS SE P20E
A compact yet powerful guitar that features a solid mahogany top, mahogany back and sides, and a tobacco sunburst finish, and equipped with PRS electronics.
$499 street
Alvarez MPA66ESHB Masterworks A66
This model rocks a solid African mahogany top, mahogany back and sides, and a shadowburst finish. Under the hood, you can find L.R. Baggs electronics.
$829 street
Gretsch G5021E Rancher Penguin
The first thing your eye will notice on this parlor is its shiny accoutrements—whether the gold hardware, gold-sparkle binding, or an optional metallic finish on the solid spruce top.
$549 street
Yamaha CSF-TA
What sets this guitar apart is its TransAcoustic technology, which allows you to experience built-in reverb and chorus effects without the need for external amplification or effects.
$799 street
Takamine GY93E New Yorker
Designed around a grand auditorium body shape, this parlor has a solid spruce top and rosewood back and sides, and is equipped with Takamine’s TK-40D preamp system.
$799 street
Recording King Dirty 30s Series 9
This vintage-inspired design is built with a solid Sitka spruce top, whitewood back and sides, a 25"scale length, 20 frets, and an ovangkol fretboard.
$249 street
Fender PS-220E
This modern parlor comes with your choice of a solid spruce or solid mahogany top, with solid mahogany back and sides, and Fishman Sonitone Plus electronics.
$829 street
Journey FP412
Not only is the FP412 a rock-solid parlor guitar, but it also has a folding-neck design to make travel a breeze.
$749 street
Cordoba C9 Parlor
This parlor-sized classical guitar rocks a solid Western red cedar top and solid mahogany back and sides.
$989 street
Guild P-240 Memoir
This parlor features a solid Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and has a 19-fret mahogany C-shaped neck with a pau ferro fretboard.
$529 street
Last August, metalcore giants Poison the Well gave the world a gift: They announced they were working on their first studio album in 15 years. They unleashed the first taste, single “Trembling Level,” back in January, and set off on a spring North American tour during which they played their debut record, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, in full every night.
PG’s Perry Bean caught up with guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver, and bassist Noah Harmon, ahead of the band’s show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl for this new Rig Rundown.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Not-So-Quiet As a Mouse
Primack started his playing career on Telecasters, then switched to Les Pauls, but when his prized LPs were stolen, he jumped back to Teles, and now owns nine of them.
His No. 1 is this white one (left). Seymour Duncan made him a JB Model pickup in a single-coil size for the bridge position, while the neck is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Staggered. He ripped out all the electronics, added a Gibson-style toggle switch, flipped the control plate orientation thanks to an obsession with Danny Gatton, and included just one steel knob to control tone. Primack also installed string trees with foam to control extra noise.
This one has Ernie Ball Papa Het’s Hardwired strings, .011–.050.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Primack runs both a PRS Archon and a Bad Cat Lynx at the same time, covering both 6L6 and EL34 territories. The Lynx goes into a Friedman 4x12 cab that’s been rebadged in honor of its nickname, “Donkey,” while the Archon, which is like a “refined 5150,” runs through an Orange 4x12.
Ryan Primack’s Pedalboard
Primack’s board sports a Saturnworks True Bypass Multi Looper, plus two Saturnworks boost pedals. The rest includes a Boss TU-3w, DOD Bifet Boost 410, Caroline Electronics Hawaiian Pizza, Fortin ZUUL +, MXR Phase 100, JHS Series 3 Tremolo, Boss DM-2w, DOD Rubberneck, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Walrus Slo, and SolidGoldFX Surf Rider III.
Taver’s Teles
Vadim Taver’s go-to is this cherryburst Fender Telecaster, which he scored in the early 2000s and has been upgraded to Seymour Duncan pickups on Primack’s recommendation. His white Balaguer T-style has been treated to the same upgrade. The Balaguer is tuned to drop C, and the Fender stays in D standard. Both have D’Addario strings, with a slightly heavier gauge on the Balaguer.
Dual-Channel Chugger
Taver loves his 2-channel Orange Rockerverb 100s, one of which lives in a case made right in Nashville.
Vadim Taver’s Pedalboard
Taver’s board includes an MXR Joshua, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Empress Tremolo, Walrus ARP-87, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Reflector, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2w, and Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200, all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Big Duff
Harmon’s favorite these days is this Fender Duff McKagan Deluxe Precision Bass, which he’s outfitted with a Leo Quan Badass bridge. His backup is a Mexico-made Fender Classic Series ’70s Jazz Bass. This one also sports Primack-picked pickups.
Rental Rockers
Harmon rented this Orange AD200B MK III head, which runs through a 1x15 cab on top and a 4x10 on the bottom.
Noah Harmon’s Pedalboard
Harmon’s board carries a Boss TU-2, Boss ODB-3, MXR Dyna Comp, Darkglass Electronics Vintage Ultra, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. His signal from the Vintage Ultra runs right to the front-of-house, and Harmon estimates that that signal accounts for about half of what people hear on any given night.
