Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Talk about guitars, amplifiers, effects and other gear
Post Reply
User avatar
Blackhorse
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:32 pm

Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by Blackhorse »

First of all, hello again to anyone who remembers me, it's quite a while since I've been on here! Been very busy, mostly with work, but also with my band - coming along nicely thank you!

I like small-bodied acoustic guitars, and I recently spotted this in my local music store in Dublin;

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/ ... tic-guitar

Thought it might make a decent backup guitar,practice guitar, or something to bring along whenever I couldn't guarantee the safety of my no.1! Looked really nice, comfortable, and the price was very reasonable, somewhere around E250. Fender acoustic guitars used to have a poor reputation, but supposedly they have been improving (especially the budget end) since they acquired Guild, and presumably some acoustic expertise.

But when I picked it up to play, it sounded bad - lacking in any depth at all or the sweetness you expect from a small acoustic. I thought immediately it must be all laminate - but surely not? Why would anyone make any kind of acoustic guitar without at least a solid top? I quickly checked the internet, and yep - it's all laminate.

So, has anyone here tried one of these? Are they all bad, or did I just happen to find a turkey? Can an all-laminate guitar sound really good?
User avatar
VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by VikingBlues »

Well Hi there Blackhorse - it's been quite a while! :wave:

Certainly remember you - the man behind "The Man Behind the Mask" and "Dr Doom" amongst others. Hope you're having fun with your band and producing more memorable musical lines that stick in the listeners head.

I'm always pleased to see positive comments about small bodied acoustic guitars, a species that seem to be discarded as inferior by a lot of reviewers. Often because they're "not loud enough". As if that's all that matters in music!

I've not tried the Fender Ron Emery I'm afraid. But I recognise those symptoms of lacking any depth or sweetness. Which sometimes happen with much more expensive guitars too.

There seem to be a lot of differing opinions on-line on laminate v solid wood. There do seem quite a lot of all laminate guitars out there at the lower end of the price scale. I have found some of them sound pretty damn good (for their price). I notice Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars mentions being able to get good sounds from a laminate top, but he feels there is much less differences between the sounds of different types of wood when laminate - so they use solid tops.

But as with all factory made acoustic guitars it's a bit of pot luck whether you can find a good one or not. When such a variable material as wood is used in a highly mechanised manufacturing process where everything is made according to fixed measurements and where the factory will need to play safe the result seems to be a fairly low number of very good sounding guitars, a lot of OK guitars and a few that would be better off turned into furniture! On average, to be safe, they have to be over-built, which means they will be less responsive than is ideal.

My current #1 acoustic guitar is a Tanglewood TW73 and it's extra special in my judgement. I did try a TW73 in a shop just over a year ago (for comparison purposes) and it sounded very different to my own one and really brought it home to me how massive the variation can be between different guitars of the same model. So probably best not to write off a type of guitar as no good for sound on the basis of one only being tried.

I have one all laminate guitar in my acoustic collection - a Gretsch Jim Dandy (well under £150). It's my go to for acoustic blues.
Good enough for Eric Bibb! (he plays from 4:15 on the video link below)
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Sessions/ ... -Eric-Bibb
Wish I could play that well!
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
User avatar
12bar
Site Admin
Posts: 3273
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:05 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by 12bar »

Blackhorse wrote:Been very busy, mostly with work, ...
I know this too well.... :alright:

I have an acoustic Fender from the 90s, it was inexpensive but not cheap. It is painted black, and I've heard it sounds different than the standard finish. I don't know if this is true (there's still a lot of voodoo in the 'net), but surely true is that changing the strings (to Martin ones) had a big influence on the sound.
fenson
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by fenson »

Hi,
Give a try to Ibanez AVN1 (€349)... :cool: :D
Bought one 'bout a month ago (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3579). It seems YT link changed already,here it is now: https://youtu.be/S2fk86UKaaY
Been trying the Fender you're talking 'bout on that day... :naughty: If you can afford, give your dealer €100 more and you'll be satisfy :D

IF
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
User avatar
Blackhorse
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:32 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by Blackhorse »

Hi VB - you remembered some of my songs, I'm touched :-)

Good point about factory made guitars, I guess that's always the case. But then I won't be buying anything that's NOT factory made - too expensive! I haven't owned many acoustic guitars - a Yamaha 12-string that was pretty good back in the 90s that I sold after a few months, had no real need for 12-string. Fun for a while though! Also a Yamaha F310, pretty basic but well-made, good value for the money. And the lower-end Martin I have now, that's it. Been lucky enough play a couple of really nice guitars though, including a Gibson hummingird that I really liked, and played a fair bit. I'd love to have the money for a Gibson Keb Mo bluemaster, got to try one out once - very much type of guitar!

I'm not really looking to buy, but if I found something nice at the right price I'd be tempted. Really like the look of the Takamine New Yorker, and the Tanglewood Java 000-size. Both a little expensive for backup/second guitars, for me. But probably worth saving for. I wouldn't sell the Martin I have unless it was to trade up for a better Martin!

Fenson, that Ibanez looks nice, and sounds good too in the youtube clip - very bright and clean. If I see one in a shop here when I'm window-shopping ( a favourite pastime of mine!) I'll certainly try it out.

Good point about the strings, 12bar. It always amazes me when I find high-quality guitars in shops (E800 or more) with old, dead strings. They'd surely sell more if they kept decent strings on them, hard to fall in love with a guitar with old, dirty strings - unless it's that vintage thing ;-)
User avatar
VikingBlues
Posts: 4466
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:44 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by VikingBlues »

Blackhorse wrote:Hi VB - you remembered some of my songs, I'm touched :-)
Very memorable songs! :thumbsup:

I have to agree with you about factory made being the only option without reckless expense. I've been there once on handmade and don't think I'll go back as I think I need to be a better player to gain enough benefits from it to justify the extra cost.

And good point about the strings I agree - even if you chance upon one of the best made guitars in a shop if the strings on it are dead you've no chance of telling how good it is. Some shops seem much worse than others for letting nasty strings sit on guitars and for letting poorly set up guitars go on display. I've one local shop which has a few brands I tend to like but they often seem to have rusty feeling strings on guitars. In contrast my favourite local shop for acoustics almost always seem to have nice strings on - and I think they also check the setups and tweak where necessary before guitars go on display.

You mention the TW Java and I was lucky enough to snap up a Java recently at real bargain price on a special deal. A Java TW JPE which is "Parlour" size but smaller than my existing TW73 parlour. 2.5cm shorter in the body, 1 cm smaller at the waist and 2 cm smaller at the lower bout than my TW73. It really is a comfortable guitar and has a sweet round sound from the higher notes (cedar top) and a rather rich mid range. The bass response I have found to be fine although the smaller body obviously is not geared to produced big bass notes. For finger picking and gentler strumming it produces a very good overall sound for my needs and the natural balance of sound allows the melodic lines not to be swamped by the other notes without the need of the players skills having to control the guitar.

I had meant to give it a wee review here on the forum but haven't got round to it. But £230 well spent (normally retail at around £350 on line)!
A recording with the Java here on the forum using this link ----> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3566

Image
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
fenson
Posts: 372
Joined: Thu May 07, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: Fender Ron Emory Parlour guitar...

Post by fenson »

Blackhorse wrote: Fenson, that Ibanez looks nice, and sounds good too in the youtube clip - very bright and clean. If I see one in a shop here when I'm window-shopping ( a favourite pastime of mine!) I'll certainly try it out.
A sample for you to get better idea of what's the beast can sing... :D


Ibanez-AVN1-sample.mp3 - (6.06 MiB)

Just the guitar, absolutly no effect while recording or in post-prod (downgrade a copy from 96000 to 48000 to convert to mp3-320 using Audacity). Mic with Neumann KM 184 n°1 pointing to fretboard from a little above, Neumann KM 184 n°2 pointing to sound hole from a little behind. Both mics are about 16 inches far from the guitar.

Hope this helps :icon_whoknows:

:beer:
IF
"Don't be afraid by wrong notes, it doesn't exist" Miles Davis.
Post Reply