Lyon & Healy was originally formed to distribute the popular sheet music of Boston-based publisher the Oliver Dotson Company. It feels and looks like a guitar that still has stories to tell.Īt the time this guitar was made, Washburn was part of Lyon & Healy, a company that started in 1864 as a partnership of businessmen George Washburn Lyon and Patrick J. A few hairline cracks on the back and a center top seam crack have all been very professionally repaired. Its playability is exceptional and the instrument’s overall condition is really good considering its age. The 1921 Washburn 1915 model we’re eyeballing here is perhaps one of the most noteworthy of these early American parlor guitars. What I love about this guitar is that it has such a big, beautiful yet delicate sound despite its size. Thanks to their comfortable playability, affordability due to mass production, and a size that made them easy to travel with and easy to keep around the home-ostensibly in the parlor-they helped launch the popularity of guitar music in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were made mostly by European immigrants who’d come to the United States. (This one’s about 18 1/2" long, 4" deep, 13 1/8" at the lower bout, and 9 1/2" at the upper.) But the original parlor guitars are actually smaller. Now, when most guitarists think of parlor-size guitars, they typically picture the Gibson L-1 or Martin O-style instruments, which have been favored over the years by guitarists from blues legend Robert Johnson to folk virtuoso Norman Blake. I’m really glad that after 60 years of being sidelined from the limelight by dreadnought and jumbo-sized acoustics, they’re making a comeback. They’re very comfortable to play and, as a result, easy to fall in love with. I enjoy the sound and feel of parlor guitars. In all my decades of being involved in building, selling, and playing guitars, one type of 6-string that I’ve always gravitated to is the parlor guitar.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |