19th Century Romantic Era Parlor Guitars
Louis Panormo inspired the guitar offered for sale and shown here offered at $1495 complete with case. (Exact instrument is shown). Louis Panormo was an Italian luthier who plied his craft during England's
industrial revolution of the early 1800s. His work was one of the known pre-cursors to the modern classical guitar and
was known for it's full sound and excellent projection.
This modern adaptation has the characteristic "peanut"
shaped body, fan bracing and a whole host of high end features normally found on much more expensive instruments.
The
guitar features include solid western big leaf tiger maple backs and sides, master grade sitka spruce top, Gabon ebony bridge,
bindings, head plate, cap and end patch, Macassar ebony fingerboard, tiger maple purflings and neck center stripe with mother
of pearl inlaid rosette, bridge and position dots. The strings are Aquila nylgut hard tension and the slotted head stock
sports Schaller gold Hauser 3 on a plate tuners with ebony knobs. Bone nut and compensated saddle. The Neck and tail blocks are Honduran
mahogany with Spanish cedar ribbon linings, spruce bracing, vertical stays of Indian rosewood with Brazilian rosewood
fingerboard support patch.
Specifications:
24.9 Scale; 12 Frets at the body; 19 Frets overall; 1 7/8" width at the nut; 2.3"
width at the body. Body length is 18"; Lower bout is 11 1/4"; Upper bout is 8 3/4"; Body depth is 4";
Top radius is 28' with back radius 15';Sound hole is 3 1/4" diameter. Length over all is 38 1/4".
The James Ashborn inspired Parlor Guitar.
James Ashborn was an American Luthier who made a popular line of parlor guitars between
1851 and 1856. Located in Wolcottville, Connecticut, Asborn’s factory produced a total
of approximately 1500 instruments in the years prior to the American Civil War. His characteristic
early instruments were noted for their fine tone and modest price. Ashborn was among the first luthiers
to make use of Brazilian rosewood veneers, which he believed provided the best in sound box reflectors
and also enabled the use of flat back panel design which resisted cracking very well. Ashborn also used
a patented style of violin tuners in a number of his instruments as well as open mechanical tuning machines in conjunction
with slotted head styling. Bridges were of walnut with a diamond rectangular style
and uncompensated brass saddles. Necks were multi-wood designs with characteristic ice
cream cone heels.
The Hanalei Moon version of Asborn’s parlor guitar offers the same size , shape and box depth,
but in most other ways is a thoroughly modern creation. The body is made of solid woods rather than
being veneered and the bridge is ebony with bone compensated saddle. The neck is a multi-wood
design with modern classical type heel. The soundboard incorporates a modified Torres style fan pattern
for bracing support and is arched with a 28’ radius. The back is also arched, necessitated by the
use of solid woods. The fingerboard is of ebony with paua abalone position dots. The
Bridge styling is the “moustache”, reminiscent of the earlier Baroque period and the head shape
is the famous European figure eight of Lacote and Fabricatore. Peg heads are violin style tuners,
but hidden inside is a very modern innovation, the planetary gear system with a 4:1 reduction. The neck
is a mortise and tenon bolt on design and uses a two way truss rod.
Vital Specifications:
Back and sides: Quarter sawn fiddleback Red Maple
Soundboard:
Sitka Spruce
Rosette and purflings: Honduras mahogany
Neck:
Mahogany with maple and ebony pin striping.
Length over all: 37”
Scale: 24.625”
Body Length:
17 ½”
Nut width: 1.906”
Box Depth:
3 ½”
Width at fret 12: 2 ¼”
Upper bout:
8 ¾”
19 Frets total
Waist :
7 ¼”
Binding and end graft: Ebony
Lower bout: 11”
Tuners: Pegheads 9mm Planetary
The Ashborn Parlor Guitar is produced on request
in 4-6 months, and is offered starting at $995 with case depending
on your choice of the
woods used for backs, sides, soundboard and veneers.
If interested, please drop us a line!
Here
is the same guitar done in Indian Rosewood with Koa purflings.
