On the matter of guitar size:— around the turn of the century (which is to say, the last century, about a hundred years ago) a very popular instrument was the parlor guitar, sometimes referred to in hundred-year-old catalogs as a "ladies model." But not exclusively for ladies, because people of both genders played them. These guitars are not really that small. It's that most guitars made since then are really big. The guitar that Joan Baez played for many years (maybe still, I'm not sure) was a small-bodied, 12-fret Martin 0-45, made in 1929. This actually falls into the "parlor guitar" category, and if you've ever heard that guitar live, you have an idea of just how good it really is. It has certainly served her well.

I play a classic guitar, but the nicest sounding steel-string guitar I have ever heard was one that my Significant Other back in the Fifties was given by her grandmother, who no longer played. The guitar was a "New Model" made by George Washburn in 1898. In fact, I can show you the exact same model HERE. The only difference is that Claire's guitar didn't have a pick-guard. If you read through the text in this site, take particular note of the following comment:

"This configuration is said to be the optimum string to body length to produce a ringing tone and listening to this guitar would tend to verify that proposition in my mind. I have also read that this size and shape body produces the "perfect guitar sound" by no less an authority then Eric Schoenberg. The tone is rich and balanced with a lot of bass and mid-range, unsurpassed treble and is (amazingly!) the loudest acoustic guitar I own. This instrument is a finger-picker's dream."

Claire's Washburn was the first guitar I ever had my hands on, and her enthusiasm in teaching herself to play it sparked my initial interest in learning to play, which eventually changed the course of my life. Since then, I have never heard a steel-string guitar with as sweet a sound, or one that was as loud, including D-Models. I know that's heresy in some circles, but I've always felt that D-Model guitars are inordinately bass-heavy and thin in the trebles. Good if you're in a bluegrass group and are responsible for laying down an strong bass-line, but otherwise, not very versatile. Which is to say, size isn't everything!

Several companies are now making parlor guitars or guitars of a similar size (incidentally, as the above website mentions, the current Washburn guitars are not made by the same company as the ones made by George Washburn in the late 1800s). Do a google search on "parlor guitar" and you'll come up with a lot of information. Check 'em out. They are a nice size, easy to hold, and the good ones sound really good!

Don Firth