The Parlor Guitar (p??rl?r g?t??r) is a small bodied guitar that is typically wooden smaller than the average concert guitar. A parlor guitar creates sound through vibration of strings that are strummed or plucked using bare fingers or a pick. . Although the parlor guitar is significantly smaller than a regular guitar the volume of this instrument can be surprising and may even be amplified using modern amplification measures. Popular at the turn of the century, particularly the 1930s, the parlor guitar is often used by blues, folk, classical and opera musicians.

The Resonator Guitar (resonator gətɑ́r) is a type of acoustic guitar that amplifies the instruments natural sound through the use of “resonators,” which are aluminum cones built into the body of the guitar. A resonator cone resembles and functions like a bass speaker cone in a home stereo system.  The body of a resonator guitar […]

The Twelve (12) String Guitar (tw??lv str??? g?t??r) is a type of guitar with a regular course of 6 strings and an additional set of strings tuned in unison for the 1st and 2nd string and an octave higher for the remaining 3rd to 6th strings which creates a louder, fuller, more harmonic sound. The resulting sound is full of overtones and is popular primarily for ensemble playing.

Gibson, Martin, and later, Guild offered acoustic 12-strings in a range of body sizes. The 12-String guitar first gained prominence in the folk music revival of the 1950’s. The electric 12-string guitar was initially popularized by a Rickenbacker in the 1960’s by the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” and subsequent songs by the Byrds and the Jefferson Airplane. Electric 12-strings are often used for their chimey, chorused sound for effect, but rarely as the primary sound of a group.