JARGON CRUNCHING

Parlour guitars: Back in the day (we’re talking late 19th century here), parlour guitars were almost exclusively owned and played by women. That partly explains the smaller body and lighter string tension. The other reason these guitars were so diminutive was volume. This wasn’t live at Budokan. When one was entertaining convivial company in one’s own parlour, shredding one’s way through Greensleeves or some such, volume was of little concern. Therefore there was no need for a larger model.