All rights reserved. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Bottom Line: As a gorgeous all-solid wood guitar, this parlor by Simon & Patrick will definitely make people say “wow” when they see it. I was lucky enough to track a new one down and buy it. A little bit smaller than Dreadnaught size. A cracking sub-$500 acoustic guitar based on Martin’s classic OM shape, Price: $369/£329 | Type: Orchestra | Top: Solid mahogany | Back and sides: Mahogany | Neck: Mahogany | Fretboard: Ovangkol | Scale length: 25.5” | Frets: 20 | Tuners: Chrome die-cast | Electronics: Fishman Presys II 301T preamp w/tuner | Left-handed: No. I also personally think the Jim dandy is crafted much better than the Fender and looks gorgeous and has a nice vintage look to it and you can tell a lot of effort when’t into the Jim Dandy. © They were called Lyon & Healy in mid 1800s. I love mine for a number of reasons: bang-for-the-buck, sounds great, plays great, looks great. 1 7/8″ nut. Solid sitka spruce top & laminate mahogany back & sides, Solid spruce top & solid Indian rosewood back & sides, Solid sitka spruce top & solid rosewood back & sides. So, the parlor guitar will fill that bill for me. These cheap acoustic guitars are ideal for everything from folk and indie guitar to blues and country. They are equisite and everything from the rosette to the binding to even the case look gorgeous. Tone-hounds may turn up their noses, but Martin’s LX1E features mahogany high-pressure laminate back and sides, plus a birch laminate neck. Complemented my voice perfectly and was decently loud unamplified, good range and tones. While parlor guitars are not known for a wide dynamic range, this use of rosewood will add a bit more bass than what you’ll find with other parlor guitars. I’m attracted to parlor guitars because I gather the bass-treble string balance is better than on dreadnoughts, which makes it a good tool for songwriting. Ace build considering its in the best acoustic guitars under $500 group, Price: $499/£499 | Type: Mini Grand Symphony | Top: Sitka Spruce | Back and sides: Laminated sapele | Neck: Sapele | Fretboard: West African Ebony | Scale length: 23.5” | Frets: 20 | Tuners: Die-cast chrome | Electronics: None | Left-handed: Yes. With faultless build quality and immaculate setup, the GS Mini outputs a big sound that belies its compact form. I’ve been playing for almost 30 years. Don’t forget to team your new acoustic with the best acoustic guitar strings or a cool new guitar strap, and make sure you stock up on the best guitar cables for your acoustic-electric six-string strummer. Really nice sounding guitar, impressive tonality for the reduced size, even works well with different tunings, and it costs $300. Look online for bundle deals with tuners, straps, strings, gigbags etc. “The smaller guitar is for kids” I’ve been told. The problem is I cannot go back to my Norman because with the Alvarez it is so easy to play and get great bluesy sound. the 5 best travel guitars that don’t suck, a few tips on how to test drive your guitar in store, 21 Serious Gifts for Guitar Players They’ll Actually Love | Guitar Adventures, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-dhUFA_SbA, FAQ – Frequently Asked Beginner Guitarist Questions. Top 5 Best Parlor Guitars (That Don’t Suck). I’ve never been as happy with a guitar as with this one. With that in mind, we’ve narrowed it down to this collection of the best acoustic guitars for under $500 that you can buy right now. I love it! Once you’ve given it some time, let me know what you think! Rather than my going on, I can’t understand how you could list all those small bodies ,and not a Washburn, which in effect will be as good or better than the priciest instruments you listed . The Washburn is actually a Guitar I travel with. making it spec wise a 57 ,and 64 P bass 57 maple neck frets filed off professionally. I have a Yamaha C40ii classical guitar that I bought to learn Spanish guitar music, but I discovered that you can’t bend nylon strings to play blues. The Shadow eSonic-2 preamp uses two pickups: a traditional undersaddle ‘NanoFlex’ piezo and a fingerboard positioned NanoMag allowing you to dial in warmth or attack - whatever’s your pleasure. Seagull still offers $1600US models, but they’ve definitely scaled back some of their offerings. The acoustic guitar market is awash with impressive instruments, which is great on one hand but tough if you’ve been trying to find the best acoustic guitars for under $500. The sound is exactly what a parlor should sound like. Receive news and offers from our other brands? Bottom Line: With a price of $499, I consider this one of the best values in this list of parlor guitars. All solid Sitka top and solid back and sides. Sounds fantastic!!! Do you have a parlor guitar? The main thing for me at least is how the strings are placed. The third travel acoustic guitar in our best acoustic guitars under $500 guide and our second instrument from Yamaha, this compact parlour guitar goes head-to-head with offerings from major players Taylor and Martin. The reviews price TERADAs at $300 upward, so it seems I got a bargain. Use the simple navigation menu below or scroll down to explore some of the interesting new parlor guitars that could become your next instrument. Based on the vintage Martin OM body shape, the orchestra style WLO12SE features sub-dreadnought dimensions with typically sparkling highs and a tight, controlled bottom end. I also take somen steps to tell the world about this guitars. The best acoustic guitar under $500 specifically for beginners, Price: $199/£160 | Type: Dreadnought | Top: Solid mahogany | Back and sides: Laminate mahogany | Neck: Mahogany | Fretboard: Rosewood | Scale length: 25.3” | Frets: 20 | Tuners: Chrome | Electronics: None | Left-handed: Spruce-top natural finish only. The solid top is a great improvement over the Fender CP-100 above, which has a laminate top. You might not even find the word in the product description. Blueridge Guitars have finishes so thick it defeats the tone of their Guitars . However its body split after it came into very light contact with a table, and then the headstock cracked during transport. Bottom Line: The Fender CP-100 is an excellent first step into parlor guitars or even as a gift for a child wanting to learn guitar for the first time. All the guitars on this list have something to offer for those with less than $500 in their pocket, but if you fancy something different, Epiphone’s EJ-200SCE jumbo acoustic guitar is all about its onboard electronics. ( I left out japan, as they make better instruments than most USA “ produces, most of which are Asian made anyway. Quality on these types of affordable acoustic guitars has been steadily improving, and now you can make choices based on body shape, finish, tonal character or the kind of preamp you need - and not just on price, either. The classical is similar sized as an OM, which is bigger that a parlor. Ordered a case the following day after I played it. Part of the reason for this popularity has to do with a number of mainstream folk singers using parlor guitars in their music, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mark Orton and many others. Great guitar that is surprisingly loud for its size. I’ve only had my preloved CP100 for two weeks but I love it, I’m a learner and the fact I can play it quietly is an absolute boon, but it’s also easy and fun to play and stays in tune and it only cost £45bgp.. at a reasonable price they are great guitars, I think.I will be glad to know what you think about jim dandy. In addition to the quality manufacturing and the good sound, you get a great deal with this guitar when you consider that it comes with onboard electronics (Fishman) and a gig bag. Next is to take it out and amplify it and see how she hums!! In other words, the smaller guitar wasn’t just a fad, it was the only kind of guitar in demand at the time. Martin’s are made in Mexico . Cordoba is best known as an excellent classical guitar maker and they definitely don’t disappoint when it comes to the Cordoba C10, the only nylon-string guitar on this list. Ebony fingerboard and pyramid bridge. I played fender cp 100 for a long time. There are no electronics and it doesn’t come with a gig bag, so factor at least a case purchase into your buying decision. Love the sound and feel. This picture doesn’t really do justice to how beautiful the guitar is when you’re holding it in your hands. Apparently they – whoever “they” are – haven’t been keeping up with modern guitar trends…particularly parlor guitars.