You Might Want A Parlour Guitar | Alvarez MPA66SHB

[@WhiskeyBiscuits23]

I just ordered this used for 600 shipped! I'm so excited to play it. Sounds beautiful

[@Paul-D]

Hope it turns up all good 🤘🤘

[@mpenxa]

Awesome review! You had me sold in less than 4 minutes.

[@Paul-D]

I still got it. It definitely doesn’t do the same job as a big dread etc if thats what your after thats the only little thing to consider

[@mortonwilson795]

That's a lovely guitar! I have 2 Parlour style guitars, S. Yairi 1978 & K. Yairi 2020. Both record beautifully (fingerstyle). For 'bigger' stuff I have a 'slimline' Ovation I bought in 1985 at the urging of Robert Fripp - he recommended it for the New Standard Tuning he was using - and then I bought a Taylor 'Dreadnought' size which I keep heavy gauge on for big, boomy stuff. The 2 Yairis are my personal faves.

[@Paul-D]

Very nice!

[@markodonnellguitar]

Nice sound man. I also have a parlour size acoustic and i love it. Always struggled with big acoustic guitar sizes. I got the parlour for playing slide and it's a lot of fun. Parlour is the way, ha ha.

[@JasonCone]

I've got basically the same guitar (an MPA66ESHB). Mine also needed a setup to adjust relief and lower the action, but after that it plays beautifully, and has become one of my favorite acoustics to pick up and play. It records well, too, with a nice focused mid-range projection. I'm not as impressed with the sound from the pickup, but I tend to hate the sound of acoustic piezo pickups anyway. I always mic up if I can.

[@Paul-D]

Totally, ive never heard a piezo i liked no matter the price haha

[@simondbarnes]

Nice looking /sounding guitar. Excellent sound demo as usual. Always like your choice of tunes. Nice bit of Fade into you on the outro 🙂

[@Paul-D]

Thank you :D love abit of mazzy star haha

[@simondbarnes]

@@Paul-D I had to give it a go myself!

[@Paul-D]

Its abit like wicked game you can noodle loads of different things over the progression for abit of fun practise haha

[@lhvent]

I have an Alvarez AD66SHB that I love. Did have a crown and fret done the beginning of the year. Alvarez makes some great guitars,

[@christopherquinn5899]

I bought this guitar a few days ago, and this was one of the videos that "sealed the deal" so to speak. I think it's a great guitar. It sounds, feels and plays superbly. I'm surprised at the depth of sound it produces and it compares very favourably to my old dreadnought. The tuning pegs are bad and I doubt they will last very long, although I have hardly had to use them because the guitar stays in tune so well. I expect that I will have to replace them eventually and I would really like a good recommendation for replacements.

[@Paul-D]

glad it seems you came to same conclusion as me having it in your hands :). I still have it and use it a fair bit - I still haven't changed the tuners partly because as bad as they feel.... mine also stays in tune most of the time haha. But I will 100% replace them and ill report back what I find to replace them with

[@maxhighstein]

I play electrics and I've been considering this guitar. But as someone who's basically still learning to play, the small scale of the neck would be a negative factor. It means that the time I put in practicing on it wouldn't be as productive as playing a full size acoustic. Since I want to play both acoustic and electric, I'm more inclined to stick with my grand auditorium size, even if it's harder to play in the beginning. On the other hand, life is short, so what's having just more little guitar in the grand scheme of things?

[@Paul-D]

I see where your coming from, but then you could use the same logic to say the time practicing on a les paul means you cant really play a strat… and thats not the case. Things you learn on a guitar thats easier to play will translate onto any other guitar. like on acoustic left hand timing etc is even more important. So i wouldnt say the time would be less productive 😃

[@TheBigmatt3485]

thanks mate just got one and delighted did you get round to changing the tuners as i am thinking the same

[@Paul-D]

Embarrassed to say haven't yet, I did restring it the other day and reminded myself I MUST replace these machine heads haha

[@paulmckeown5672]

Parlour guitars are nice pick up acoustics but they can sometimes sound a bit dead, so choice of wood is important and how it's braced

[@DonaldKHowatt]

Trains! Nice

[@markharwood7573]

I have the electro version of that model. It's a terrific box for fingerpicking. Never noticed any problems with the tuners.

[@Paul-D]

nice, maybe its just this one. They were proper nasty (but did hold tune..) but being used to decent machine heads this stuck out as very out of place haha

[@byroneism]

I agree put grovers on mine@@Paul-D

[@ashnpikachu]

Nice playing! may I know what is the song at @4:40

[@Paul-D]

Its a song called jack and dianne

[@charlesmelvin4661]

When are they going to make a left handed parlor guitar?

[@phillipbancroft7945]

Parlours are not really for strumming, they’re for picking. You can’t hear separation of notes when strumming chords. You didn’t say why it suits you as an electric player after all 12 frets to the body must feel quite limiting after easily accessing 22 frets on your strat?

[@StopFear]

Man, I just don’t understand how some people can say they are either an “electric guitar player” or an “acoustic guitar player”. As a guitarist you should like them both about the same.

[@Paul-D]

Because each is its own art and different skill set. And i say it because ive spent 90% plus of my 6 years so far playing electric so havent really developed much skill on acoustic haha

[@dynamn]

It advertises the neck is one-piece Mahogany, is this true for yours please?

[@Paul-D]

it is, unless you count the block on the bottom on the heal as a separate piece, but id imagine that would be standard otherwise the starting block of wood would be massive and hugeeee waste lol

[@dynamn]

Thanks. Have you got the tuners replaced, or what tuners are you going for?@@Paul-D

[@Paul-D]

I haven’t yet but thats only because i rarely play acoustic, every time i do play it - im instantly reminded i need to change them lol

[@anthonylong6403]

No fret markers on the board??

[@Paul-D]

Only on the side and 12th fret inlay

[@nostro1001]

I agree and disagree Pauly. 🤔 All of the Alvarez in that same Masterworks series are great value for money in the acoustic realm & really you'll not do 'better' without spending serious $$$. So, yup...agree it's a great choice for anybody, including electric guitar players. However, what you've not factored in, as you've not had this gift for much time, is that... Once you begin to take it out more frequently, like every night on the couch, then you'll start to think about what you're missing with having only a parlour sized guitar. Sure it sounds good like a good parlour sized guitar, but when you start to play attention to acoustic sounds, you'll start to realise what you're missing, especially in regards to the depth of tone when strumming. It's not that a parlour size is bad, but purely based on size you're not gonna get deep bass and strong projection. Whilst sometimes it's difficult to distinguish various electric guitars from each other, it's really obvious with acoustics. So, I've found myself now with a grand auditorium, parlour (Martin) and mini (Eastman all solid body). I probably play the smaller Acoustics the most, but if I had to pick just one size it would be the grand auditorium (Cole Clark) as it can pretty much do it all and if need be sounds even better plugged in. It was my first acoustic and probably could have been the last. Starting with only a parlour I think unless you love finger picking the most, then you'll want a larger bodied acoustic if not sooner, then surely later. Cheers. ***I can already hear you jamming out 'I could have lied'.

[@nostro1001]

Eh... That should have read 'pay' attention, not 'play' attention. 😊

[@Paul-D]

Whilst im not one for chasing the tones of other acoustic guitars i have played different body types and the differences are highly apparent as you say, no doubt. My stand on this though is that as someone who plays electric 99% of the time i have little interest in chasing those other flavours of acoustic so long as i have 1 thats as close to easy to play as what im used to with electric and still has something recognisable as a proper acoustic sound, and since i cant be alone there perhaps a parlour guitar is enough for them too. (not this model in particular it just happens to be the one i now have lol) Its a very niche point im trying to make here i admit haha. And you are also entirely correct about the rhcp track 😅

[@nostro1001]

@@Paul-D The model is bloody good, especially for non acoustic players. I still reckon you'll be playing the acoustic more than you think, now that it's yours. It may not happen overnight, but eventually you'll start to really love it. I'm totally with you regarding electrics as you know. I think I've surprised myself how much I play my acoustics mostly in bursts and then go back to electrics. I also take my mini into work and try to play every day even if it's just 10 mins. Whilst you may choose electric guitar tones, strangely enough acoustics still fall into the same bracket, cause just like electrics, acoustics still have a sound you really love in your mind. They'll be this time and it may not happen for a while, that'll you'll all of sudden just start loving the acoustic experience and you'll reach for it more and more, even if it starts purely for convenience. Then you'll start improvising some of your fav tracks on acoustic instead of electric. Of course you'll always be an electric player. I just reckon that the acoustic will be played more than you think right now, where it's all new and sort of a novelty for the moment. Happy playing mate!!!

[@phillipbancroft7945]

I agree that a parlour shines for picking but lacks separation when just strumming out chords. However 12 frets to the body places the bridge bang in the middle of the lower bout and gives loads of volume in a small guitar like this,

[@vasilmodev4081]

To be objective - next time don't color the sound with any post processing. I want to hear how actually sound the guitar !

[@Paul-D]

It was only reverb and the interface preamp colouring the sound. Plus. This video isnt a review of this guitar - its about what i said in the vid.