I've had a recent fascination with little acoustic guitars. My open-mic wingman, Dustin uses a really little guitar and it has the most interesting tone to it. It's not all big and bassy to be sure, but there's a purity to it that I really like.
I was discussing parlour guitars with a fellow songwriter during FAWM and it started to dawn on me that maybe there's something to this little guitar thing. Last night I watched a video about the Gas Can Amp that was famously used by Dave Grohl while recording the debut Foo Fighters album. In the video, the host hits the mark on what I'm thinking. There are no bad sounding guitars or amps - you just need to know where to use any given one.
All this to say, I've had this little Yamaha acoustic hanging around in my living room for years. Yeah of all places, the parlour. We bought it at a friend's garage sale for $5 thinking that one of the kids might pick up the family business. But they never did. It's very beat up, full of cracks and chips but it still sounds nice for a little guitar so I've taken it down from the shelf recently, dusted it off and tuned it up.
It's a great little guitar!
I don't know if it technically qualifies as a "parlour" guitar but it certainly fits in the same genre. It's got a great rich small sound and it's really easy and fun to play. Despite it's mangled presence, I'm looking for a little case or carry bag to put it in. I think I'll start taking it camping and stuff this summer.
I don't know if this is something I'll ever bring out at a show or performance. It has no electronics or pickups so it's not ideal for that and I have instruments that are better suited to the stage. But it might be fun to use in layering or as a textural change in a recording. And who knows, maybe I dig up my old acoustic pickup to pop in there and give this beat up old gem a new lease on life!
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