1937 Parlour played by Tommy Emmanuel

[John R]

Went to see Tommy Emmanuel at the Philharmonic in Liverpool. A good way into his set he produced a 1937 (or was it a 34....) parlour, or parlor depending on which side of the pond you live I suppose. He told a touching story about the guitars history and how he came to own it. When he began to play it sounded good, but got better and better. After a few minutes good grief the sound was awesome. (No it wasnt the sound guy adjusting the sound I think it was the guitar getting into its stride) The guitar has had some major work done to damaged parts but still had the voice of an angel to quote TE. If you get the opportunity to see this guy, its worth it just to see him play the Gibson. Regards JR

[sfden1]

If you've not seen it, check out TE and Frank Vignola playing on Woodsongs: www.woodsongs.com. Go to the Archives page. He tells this story and plays that guitar. I really should go back and check myself, but it's late and I don't want to wake up the house. Iirc, it's a Kalamazoo KG-14 (may be a KG-11), a ladder braced flattop tmade by Gibson that's about 14.25 at the lower bout. The Kalamazoo equivalent of a 1930's L body (think L1, L-00), but ladder braced instead of X braced, and no truss rod. I always think of a parlour as 13.5 or so, so to me this isn't really a parlour, but it seems everyone has their own definition. In any case, I agree, great sounding guitar, and TE really does it justice.