The Revival Of The Size 5 Parlor Guitar
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January 28, 1999C.F. Martin & Co. first catalogued a Size 5 Martin guitar in 1898. The
"parlor guitar", as the popular instrument was known, was played primarily
by women to entertain their houseguests at tea time. When the Company slowed
production of this fashionable instrument thirty years later (at the time of
the Great Depression), more than 8,500 had been sold. One of Martin's great
historic designs, the Size 5, came to be known as the "terz" guitar
because the instrument was invariably tuned to a minor third (3 half notes)
above standard guitar tuning: G, C, F, Bb, d, g.
Michael Hedges, Will Ackerman, Marty Robbins, Little Jimmy Dickens, Dolly Parton,
and many other celebrities have played and recorded with Size 5 Martin guitars
and recently in a flattering gesture, several guitar manufacturers have copied
the basic shape and scale of Martin's parlor guitars.
Martin's Artist Relations Manager Dick Boak has collected and built many small
guitars and has long been inspired by these unusual but highly playable instruments.
Historically, Boak compares the Size 5 guitars to "apprentice pieces",
much like the miniature violins that were required of
apprentice luthiers in centuries past. The difference is that aside from being
"really cute", these guitars are fun to play; and when "high
strung" in "Nashville tuning" (like the 6 octave strings of a
12-string set), the instrument produces a sweet and clear chime-like tone, almost
like the high strings of a harpsichord.
So Boak dusted off the old wooden templates and patterns and commissioned Martin
to make a Custom 5-41 model with mostly vintage features. That instrument turned
out to be so spectacular that it served as the prototype and inspiration for
the "MiniMartin": a pearl rosetted miniature version of Martin's legendary
pre-war herringbone 28.
The Mini-Martin is most similar to a Vintage 5-28, with East Indian rosewood
back and sides. The solid Sitka spruce soundboard is supported by delicate 1/4"
width scalloped braces and tinted with golden "vintage toner." The
body, bound in grained ivoroid with fine pattern herringbone top trim, is lacquered
and polished to a high gloss.
The 12-fret neck, carved from genuine mahogany with Martin's trademark hand
carved volute has purposefully been designed with a solid headstock to facilitate
easy string changes. The neck contour blends the traditional round shape with
a slight "V" for optimum comfort and speed. The genuine ebony fingerboard
is inlaid with vintage style abalone diamond and square position markers. The
unusual but comfortable 21 1/8" scale length is standard for size 5 instruments.
High ratio nickel-plated Waverly tuning machines with butterbean buttons adorn
the neck. The only non-style 28 appointment on this instrument is the inclusion
of an ornate pearl rosette, inlaid from select highly colorful abalone shell.
Each Mini Martin will bear an interior label personally signed by Artist Relations
Manager and Size 5 proponent, Dick Boak, and Martin Chairman and CEO, Chris
Martin IV.
Each instrument will be individually and sequentially numbered. Authorized
Martin dealers will begin to take orders (and of course consumers may place
orders) for the Mini-Martin immediately, though this edition will not begin
to appear in stores until the late part of the summer of 1999. For more information, visit Martin at http://www.mguitar.com/ | 
