A Parlor Guitar by Mark Swanson

[Mark Swanson]

This is one of three guitars that I just finished up. It's a small "parlor" size guitar. I used the dimensions from an old Washburn "New Model" guitar and just took it from there. It's got figured mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and an Adirondack top. The binding is koa, and I made the rope purfling from maple, osage orange and rosewood.

[Mark Swanson]

A few close ups....

[Mark Swanson]

The rosette is segmented rosewood.

[Mark Swanson]

The slotted peghead.

[Mark Swanson]

Here's a shot of the back...I found this wood in an old man's garage and he was good enough to sell it to me!

[Mark Swanson]

A side view....

[Mark Swanson]

This is the third guitar I've built in this style. I really like the little buggers, and it's amazing how others are drawn to them too.

[Greg Robinson]

Beautiful as always Mark!
I need to get around to making one of these little parlors, they really do draw you in!

[Chuck Tweedy]

Awesome!!

[Tom Harper]

Beautiful work (as usual), Mark! That's a splendid set of mahogany. I just finished up a restoration job on a 20's era Stromberg-Voisinet parlor guitar that really has me hot to build a copy. Wonderful little instrument with a definitive blues sound to it. It turned out to be a real work stopper in the shop for a while. I am now a proud member of the "moth drawn to the parlor guitar" club.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Mark, are the sides partly sapwood? Seems I can see it in one shot, but not the other.

[Mark Swanson]

Yes, before I thicknessed the wood it had it on each side but it disappeared when I sanded them....too bad.

[Wayne Brown]

Nice!

[Rodger Knox]

Nicely done, as usual! I've done a couple of parlor size, one steel and one nylon, and I really like them both.

[Thomas Dooher]

Very pretty...a sweet, little guitar....

[Douglas Ingram]

Dang.

Nice job, as always.

[Danny Seamon]

Mark, beautiful!! Do you put the purfling in a veneer section at a time or is there a way to make a long strip?

[Mark Swanson]

Thanks! I made long strips, and bent them in my side bender along with the binding.

[Warren May]

Great looking guitar, Mark. I especially like the 12th fret inlay and, of course, the back and sides.

[Beate Ritzert]

Wow...