7 Jul 2022

PRS SE P20 Parlour Guitar - REVIEW

Back on with the smaller than average guitars that may be of interest to ukulele players. This is the PRS SE P20 Parlour Guitar.

PRS SE P20 Parlour Guitar




Unlike some of the others I am going to feature in these mini reviews, this is very much more a 'regular' parlour in body size. That is to say that whilst it's a far cry from the size of a Dreadnought guitar it's still bigger than something like the diminutive Aria Mini Parlour I looked at last week. For reasons I have not fathomed it's also named as a 'Tonare' inside.

Still, despite the smaller body this one still has the same overall scale length of something like a dreadnought at about 24.7 inches. It also has a slightly wider nut than the Aria at 43mm yet that is something still narrower than most guitaleles. Yet there is something about it that makes it uber comfortable to sink into the corner of a sofa and play on your lap - something that is far more difficult than with a dreadnought. And that's really the point of a parlour.

This is a far higher end offering than the Aria with a solid mahogany top (laminate mahogany back and sides) and higher end appointments too such as ebony for the bridge and fingerboard, bone nut and saddle and PRS bird inlay position markers. It comes in three colours, a flat black, a plainer satin mahogany or this one, tobacco sunburst. They can be had for around £399 (though more for the option with a pickup), though both are regularly discounted.

As a player of a dreadnought acoustic guitar my views on playability are likely somewhat biased and not helpful for those ukulele players who haven't ever tried guitar. It needs to be borne in mind that scale wise this is really no different from a dreadnought, so if it is the long neck that puts you off as a ukulele player you may want to look elsewhere. Body size of course is smaller than a dreadnought, but this is still a fairly meaty parlour and there are smaller bodies out there.  But (my bias accepted) I don't think either of these things are negatives for a guitar curious uke player and the PRS P20 is an extremely playable, very nice sounding guitar that I'd highly recommend. 

Anyway - this is just the intro, have a look at my more detailed thoughts in the video below.

VIDEO REVIEW




GUITAR SPECS

Model: PRS SE P20
Shape: Parlour
Scale: 24.7 inch
Body: Solid mahogany top, laminate mahogany back and sides
Bridge: Ebony pin bridge
Saddle: Bone
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony with PRS bird position markers
Frets: 20, joined at 14th
Nut: Bone
Nut width: 43mm
Tuners: Kluson style vintage with keystone buttons in black
Strings: 12's (D'Addario)
Finish: Grain filled satin
Extras: Padded branded bag
Weight: 1.65kg
Country of origin: China
Price: Circa £399


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3 comments:

  1. Lovely tone Barry! I'm torn between this and the Jim Dandy so I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about it....

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  2. Tonare is the appellation PRS gives to the body shape of several models with ascending specs and prices. More narrow waste than a Jumbo, I think. Rounder lower bout than a Dreadnaut. I have a T60 sunburst that thunders. Very nice review (he said, as his own choices were validated in some strange way).

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  3. Just a thought Barry, but you might want to include one or two tenor guitars in your mini reviews of smaller guitars. I bought one recently from Thomann (CLT-20S NT) and it's pretty darned good I think. Although I've played 6 string for years, I've concentrated more on ukuleles in recent years so the switch back to full size & 6 strings is more of a challenge now. The tenor offers a shorter scale (around 23"), 4 strings and generally smaller body. For those used to baritone ukulele with Chicago tuning it's an easy option to tune a tenor the same way. I've also tried the Vintage Viaten Paul Brett model but found the body just too small to give a tone I liked. Good value, both of them though.

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