Why The Smallest Guitars Tell The Biggest Stories
Discover the Magic of Alvarez Parlour Guitars at Musicmaker
There is something wonderfully honest about a small acoustic guitar.
Long before stadium stages, towering PA systems and the booming authority of the dreadnought became the sound of modern acoustic music, songs were written in much quieter places. They lived in front rooms lit by fireplaces, on shaded porches as the evening cooled, in kitchens where friends gathered after supper, and in the parlours that gave one of the guitar world's most enduring body shapes its name.
These guitars were never designed to overpower an audience.
They were built to accompany a voice, to sit comfortably beneath the arm for hours at a time, to respond to the gentlest touch of the fingers and to become faithful companions to songwriters, storytellers and travelling musicians alike.
More than a century later, the parlour guitar remains one of the most expressive acoustic instruments ever created.
Few companies understand that tradition better than Alvarez Guitars.
At Musicmaker, we're proud to offer one of Ireland's finest selections of Alvarez parlour guitars, from the wonderfully roots-inspired Artist Blues Series to the refined elegance of the Artist, Masterworks and Laureate collections. Each one tells the same story in a different voice, celebrating craftsmanship, comfort and the enduring beauty of a guitar that was never meant to shout.
Because sometimes the smallest guitars tell the biggest stories.
Who Are Alvarez?
For nearly sixty years, Alvarez Guitars have quietly earned the respect of players who care more about sound than status.
Founded in 1965 through the vision of St. Louis Music, Alvarez quickly developed a reputation for doing something refreshingly different. Rather than chasing trends or building guitars to a price point alone, the company invested heavily in thoughtful design, meticulous engineering and partnerships with some of Japan's finest guitar builders, including the legendary Kazuo Yairi.
That philosophy continues today.
Every Alvarez guitar begins with a simple question.
"How can we make this instrument sound better?"
The answer is rarely found in extravagant decoration or unnecessary complexity. Instead, it lives inside the guitar itself—in carefully selected tonewoods, intelligently voiced tops, refined bracing patterns and countless small decisions that allow every instrument to respond naturally beneath the player's hands.
It's why so many musicians discover Alvarez almost by accident.
Then spend a lifetime recommending them.
The Lost Art Of The Parlour Guitar
The history of the acoustic guitar can almost be told through its changing body shapes.
The earliest parlour guitars were built for intimate spaces where projection mattered less than balance and responsiveness. As dance halls grew larger and ensembles became louder during the early twentieth century, builders introduced progressively bigger designs. The 00 offered more depth, the 000 expanded further, orchestral models followed, and eventually the mighty dreadnought arrived with enough volume to compete in bluegrass bands before microphones became commonplace.
Yet something fascinating happened. Even as larger guitars dominated stages, musicians quietly continued returning to smaller bodies.
Blues players loved their immediacy. Folk musicians cherished their balance. Songwriters discovered they sat perfectly beneath the voice. Recording engineers appreciated how naturally they occupied a mix without overwhelming everything around them.
Today, the parlour guitar is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance, proving that musicality has never been measured in inches.
Why Alvarez Parlours Feel Different
Every respected guitar builder eventually develops a personality.
Martin is celebrated for warmth and tradition.
Taylor became famous for remarkable precision and balance.
Lowden carved out a world of breathtaking harmonic complexity.
Alvarez occupies a wonderfully distinctive place within that conversation.
Rather than chasing sheer volume, Alvarez parlour guitars focus on responsiveness. Their carefully voiced tops, forward-thinking bracing systems and exceptional timber selection create instruments that feel alive beneath the fingers, responding effortlessly to changes in touch while maintaining remarkable clarity across every register.
It's a philosophy rooted in intelligent engineering. Every solid top is individually voiced. Bracing is carefully refined to allow the soundboard to move as freely as possible.
The company's acclaimed bi-level bridge helps optimise string energy transfer into the top, while premium components such as genuine bone nuts and saddles ensure vibration flows naturally throughout the instrument.
None of these details exist in isolation.
Together, they create the unmistakable Alvarez voice.
The Artist Blues Series
Guitars With Dust On Their Boots
There are guitars that sound polished.
Then there are guitars that sound like they've lived.
The Alvarez Artist Blues Series celebrates the instruments that helped shape Delta blues, ragtime, folk and early American roots music. Inspired by the compact 00 body shape, these guitars produce an immediate, punchy response with a wonderfully vocal midrange that seems perfectly suited to slide playing, fingerpicked blues and earthy open tunings.
The Alvarez Delta00 Artist Blues Double 0, the stage-ready Delta00E, and the wonderfully compact Delta DeLite each capture that spirit beautifully. Finished in rich vintage sunbursts and built to respond instantly beneath the fingers, they feel like instruments that belong on front porches, in intimate clubs and wherever songs are allowed to breathe.
They don't imitate vintage guitars. They understand why vintage guitars became beloved in the first place.
The Artist Series
Everyday Inspiration
If the Blues Series celebrates tradition, the Artist Series embraces versatility.
The AP66, AP66E and AP70E represent everything that has made Alvarez one of the world's most respected names in affordable premium acoustic guitars. Their comfortable parlour bodies, responsive solid tops and beautifully balanced voices make them ideal companions for singer-songwriters, fingerstyle players and anyone searching for an acoustic guitar that feels remarkably natural from the very first chord.
These are guitars that rarely stay in their cases. They become part of everyday life. The guitar waiting beside the sofa. The instrument that quietly steals another twenty minutes before bed.
Check the sweet Artist Parlours HERE.
Masterworks
When Great Timber Meets Great Patience
There is something undeniably special about an all-solid acoustic guitar. Not simply because of the specification itself, but because of what happens in the years that follow.
Solid tonewoods continue evolving through regular playing, gradually opening up as vibration allows the timber to resonate more freely. The result is an instrument that often becomes richer, warmer and more harmonically complex with time.
The Alvarez MP60E Masterworks All-Solid Parlour and the beautifully voiced MP66E Masterworks Solid Mahogany Parlour embody that philosophy perfectly.
These are guitars built not only for today, but for the decades ahead. The sort of instruments that quietly mature alongside the musician who owns them.
Browse the Masterworks Parlours HERE.
Laureate
Alvarez At Its Finest
Every manufacturer reaches a point where experience becomes confidence.
The Laureate Series feels like exactly that moment for Alvarez.
The LP60E Laureate Parlour combines everything the company has learned over decades of guitar building into an instrument that feels remarkably composed. Responsive, elegant and effortlessly expressive, it offers the refinement expected of boutique acoustic guitars while remaining unmistakably Alvarez in both philosophy and character.
Nothing feels exaggerated. Nothing feels unnecessary.
Every detail serves the music.
It's a beautiful thing, and it's HERE.
Why Your Next Guitar Might Be Smaller
Choosing an acoustic guitar has never been simply about finding the biggest sound.
It's about finding the right relationship.
For many players, a parlour guitar offers something larger instruments cannot. They encourage longer practice sessions through sheer comfort. They respond beautifully to fingerstyle playing. They sit naturally beneath the voice, making them exceptional songwriting companions. In recording studios they often require remarkably little equalisation, their focused response slipping effortlessly into a mix without overpowering other instruments.
Most of all, they invite you to play. Again. And again.
The finest guitars possess that rare quality.
They quietly become part of your daily routine until you wonder how you ever managed without them.
Discover Alvarez Parlour Guitars At Musicmaker
At Musicmaker, we've admired Alvarez Guitars for years because they consistently deliver something increasingly rare.
Thoughtfully designed acoustic guitars that place musicality ahead of marketing.
From the wonderfully roots-inspired Artist Blues Series, through the hugely popular Artist Series, the beautifully voiced Masterworks collection and the exceptional Laureate, our selection represents some of the finest parlour guitars available in Ireland.
Whether you're searching for a fingerstyle companion, a beautifully balanced songwriting guitar, a compact acoustic for travel or simply a different voice alongside a larger dreadnought, Alvarez proves that extraordinary guitars don't need extraordinary dimensions.
Some guitars fill a room. The finest parlour guitars fill an evening.
They're the instruments waiting beside the sofa after a long day. The guitar that travels on holiday. The companion that quietly encourages one more song before bed.
They never ask for attention. They simply become part of your life.
And that's exactly why we love them.
Explore the Alvarez Parlour Collection
Artist Blues Series
Alvarez Delta00 Artist Blues Double 0 – Sunburst
Alvarez Delta00E Artist Blues Double 0 – Sunburst
Alvarez Delta DeLite Artist Blues Little 00 – Sunburst
Artist Series
Alvarez AP66 Artist Series Solid Top Parlour – Shadowburst
Alvarez AP66E Artist Series Solid Top Parlour – Shadowburst
Alvarez AP70E Artist Series Solid Top Parlour
Masterworks Series
Alvarez MP60E Masterworks All-Solid Parlour – Shadowburst
Alvarez MP66E Masterworks Solid Mahogany Parlour – Shadowburst
Laureate Series
Alvarez LP60E Laureate Parlour Guitar – Sunset Gloss
Free Shipping Across Ireland
Musicmaker offers free shipping across Ireland on qualifying orders, making it easier than ever to discover the charm, craftsmanship and remarkable musicality of Alvarez parlour guitars.
From the Musicmaker Workshop
Since the early 1980s, Musicmaker has been helping Irish musicians find instruments worth falling in love with. Every guitar, piano, drum, ukulele and piece of gear we stock is carefully chosen by people who genuinely play, gig, teach and obsess over music. We believe every instrument has a story. Our job is simply to help you find yours.
