Four Parlor Guitar Comparison, Larson, Martin, Froggy Bottom & Larson

Here is Richard Saslow’s “Rag Picking” played on four different Parlor guitars that I’m fortunate to be the caretaker of. I love smaller bodied guitars. I don’t want to start a debate on what constitutes a parlor guitar, but the largest of these is a bit smaller than a Martin 00 size. I’ve put them in order of smallest to largest for no particular reason except that it seemed like a fun way to do it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the guitars. The first guitar is a Stetson branded Larson. It’s quite small - around the size of a Martin 2 - with a lower bout only 12 inches across and with a 24” scale. It’s rosewood bodied with a spruce top and is X-Braced. It’s a real lightweight at well under 3 lbs. I joke that I have to tie a string to it to keep it from floating away. It has pearl and abalone inlays and trim. It has seen a lot of use since it was born around 1910. The headstock was broken and solidly repaired a long time ago judging from the patina. My son thinks the guitar gives me credibility when I perform - sort of like Willie Nelson’s Trigger (not that I’m any Willie Nelson). I love the well balanced sound and volume from what some folks think is a toy guitar. Next up is a 1920 Martin 1-28. It was restored by Martin a few decades ago including cleating some cracks and a heavy overspray. The wonderful Eric Schoenberg thinned the finish out and fixed a few minor issues before selling it to me. Eric got me hooked on smaller bodies guitars when he sold me a 1929 Martin OM28 prototype. Now OM’s seem large to me. To my ears, this instrument has a very Martin sound and it’s a delight to play. It was once owned by the actor, Peter Coyote. Third in the set is the newest acoustic guitar in my corral, a 2014 Froggy Bottom L Deluxe with lovely Koa back and sides and a spruce top. It’s about the size of Martin’s 0 models - deeper bodied but not quite as wide across the lower bout. It’s a wonderful guitar to play and look at. The build craftsmanship is second to none. It has that magical Froggy quality that is hard to describe but you know it when you hear it. I think it fits in well with guitars built a century earlier. Lastly we have a Stahl branded Larson. At 13 3/4” across the lower bout, this one is slightly smaller than a 00 Martin and quite a bit thinner. It is Ladder or “Z” braced which gives it a unique sound that I find lovely. It’s in very nice original shape. The rosewood body is highly figured and has beautiful coloration and the pearl and abalone inlay and trim is intricate and lovely. Different experts have dated it from between 1910 and the 20’s. Recorded on 4th Gen iPad Pro Microphones: Royer R-121 Ribbon, RØDE NT1-A 1, Royer dBooster signal booster, Audio interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Video compiled on LumaFusion video editor I hope you enjoy this comparison and welcome your comments. If you enjoyed this, please hit the Like button and if you’re interesting in finger picking and parlor guitars I’ve been posting a number of videos lately so Subscribing will let you know when more content is added. Thanks very much, Bill