Kala Solid Cedar Top Parlor Guitar - Natural Reviews

This is a good buy for anyone looking for a deal. The guitar is of good quality and plays well out of the box. I can feel the quality of holding and strumming the instrument. This is my go-to for playing live; it's just easy to move, and it sounds good. The guitar has a warm sound and is a good compliment for the tenor voice.

I had basically given up on playing guitar for the past 20 years due to left hand pain. I have recently heard that the short scale guitars with lighter tension could be easier on the hands. I didn't want to spend a lot of money since I didn't know if I'd be able to really play ANOTHER guitar, even if short scale, but price on the Kala Parlor was so low and reviews at Sweetwater and other online sites were so consistently positive that I bought the Kala.

I LOVED the Kala at first sight and first touch. The size is very comfortable, nice light weight, looser tension felt great, and the solid cedar top gave a surprisingly rich warm tone. I finger picked a little since that's what the 12 fret guitars are popular for, but then I jumped into some rusty flat picking. Being able to flat pick after all these years was amazing!

I'm playing a LOT, at least an hour each day, so my time on other instruments (fiddle, mandolin, claw hammer banjo) is suffering lol. My chops are slowly coming back, but they ARE coming back!

Complaints? One minor one - the back of the neck feels grainy and that bothered me at first. I'm pretty much not noticing that now. Also, I do like the look of a 12 fret guitar, but I do miss the easier reach to higher frets on a 14 fret guitar.

SO, I highly recommend the Kala Parlor. Even if you don't need lighter tension, the portability is nice (and the included gig bag is of better quality than I would have expected), and the low cost make it a great travel guitar and for situations in which you might not want to take your higher priced guitars.

Love it!

Bought this for my 40 something daughter who's learning how to play and wanted the size/compactness of a parlor guitar. I'm not a fan of parlor guitars due to previous bad experiences with tone and projection, however I have to say this little Kala was a pleasant surprise. Great sound and projection. Came with good strings that complemented the guitar. Fit, finish, and set up was flawless. Kala is a solid player in the Ukulele world and seems to be bringing their experience to small guitars. Good value if you're looking for a go anywhere parlor guitar.

I spent a lot of time searching for a small body guitar before purchasing this one and this guitar has exceeded my expectations. I wanted a small guitar for playing around campfires, patios, and higher risk gigs, etc... I was looking for a solid top for tone, laminate back and sides for a bit more durability, and it had to be gig worthy. I really wanted to try a slot-head, 12-fret guitar for that old timey vibe. Plus I wanted to stay under $! This guitar fit the bill perfectly and came with a very nice gig bag to boot. The quality, materials, finish, and set up are outstanding. It has a very sweet and pleasant voice well suited for the old time, bluegrass, and old country music I like to play. It records quite well and I used it for the first time today at a small nursing home gig with satisfying results. About 20-25 people in about a 300 sq. ft. room with low ceilings, carpet, and furniture. I used no sound reinforcement gear. No PA, mics, or amps. Just me, the guitar, and 20 people signing old hymns and country gospel songs. This guitar had plenty of volume and everyone could hear it just fine. As always, another great buying experience from Sweetwater! A big thanks to my sales engineer Zac Coleman for the assistance with making the decision and purchase!

If anyone had told me that I'd be purchasing a parlor guitar from a company I had never heard of I would have said pigs would fill the skies, but here I am. The Kala is my first full acoustic guitar in over a decade and my first parlor guitar ever. When I went shopping for a new acoustic guitar the last thing I was going to consider was a dreadnought. I'm 67 years old. I suffer back pain (If someone were to give me a Les Paul I'd sell it and get a Martin OM 28), and wanted something smaller bodied. Having said that, I didn't think I would go for a parlor but when I saw the Kala I was all in!

The largest drawing card for me for this guitar is the solid cedar top. The grain is very tight and the top should get darker over time. The finish is satin, which I prefer to the 'dipped in plastic' tone killer of other models. This is one of the most beautiful instruments I've ever owned. At first look you would think it 'blingless', but the instrument possesses a simple beauty (understated, classic) that is quite beguiling. Surrounding the top and the rosette is walnut herringbone trim, as well as walnut binding. The slotted peg head (my first) is mahogany and complements the satin cedar top beautifully. Taken together they give the Kala a kind of old world aesthetic. The back and sides are a mahogany laminate, also in satin, and you can visibly see the pores in the wood. The peg head has the company name Kala in some form of pearloid pearl / abalone. It all depends on how the light catches it. The ebony fingerboard and bridge and the bone nut and saddle all add to the aesthetics of the instrument. For its price point these are very nice appointments.
Because of the shorter scale length and the 12th fret neck join the action is tighter and you have to approach the Kala parlor differently than you would a normal scale guitar. It is a much more intimate instrument. If you're expecting the boom of a dreadnought this is definitely not the guitar you want. I don't fingerpick, but I do use a range of flatpicks. It is responsive, but you can't hit it too hard, as in strumming, or the sound will compress. It does possess an interesting dynamic range. But it's all in how you approach it. It responds to you as you respond to it (If that makes sense).

Essentially with this guitar you are getting a replica of an instrument from the 19th century. I think parlor guitars had their heyday in the 1870s through the 1890s, though they were around before the Civil War. Let that sink in for a minute. In that time period there was no radio, no recorded music. The only way you could hear music was to either make it yourself, hang with someone who played, or go to a live music venue. Families learned to play, and after dinner, they'd gather in the parlor and perform, for themselves and any guests present. With that said, the Kala parlor guitar is a relic of American music history.

The included gigbag is well padded and better than many I've had in the past. All in all, the Kala parlor is a very sweet guitar. If you're looking for an instrument that is easier to wield than a much larger guitar the Kala is made to order. For a shorter person or child it could be a godsend as a first instrument.

This parlor guitar is hands down one of my favorite guitars, not even just for the money, but over all. In my opinion, this guitar is in the same league as my Martin 0-18 (minus the solid back and sides and spruce vs cedar top). I receive a superb quality guitar with a solid cedar top, ebony fretboard and bridge, walnut binding and herringbone purfling, slotted headstock, great tuners, bone nut and saddle, and besides a slight nut filing, was set up as good as any high end guitar that I've purchased. This guitar is loud and warm and very dynamic to the touch, especially when switching from a pick to fingers. The tone retains an expected boxy-ish parlor sized tone, but has a great deep and warm sense to it.
I have been playing acoustics for around 30 years (20 professionally) and currently own a Martin HD-28, Gibson 50s original J-45, Martin D-15M, Martin 000-15M, Martin 0-18, and now this wonderful parlor.
I have owned (and sold) the following parlors and would choose this one over them every single time and my search for a parlor guitar is finally over. Gretsch Jim Dandy, Art & Lutherie Roadhouse, and a Recording King series 11 single 0. The Kala is a hidden gem and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The very few YouTube videos of this guitar show how versatile it is and although they sound great, don't do it justice.

Was hesitant to buy such a cheap guitar from a ukulele company that I knew nothing about, but after checking out some of the appointments on this instrument, I was intrigued. Ebony bridge and finger board with a bone nut is pretty impressive at this price point. Was looking for a cheap replacement during covid times and this fit the bill better than expected. I am currently using to teach a young family member guitar and it is perfect but would be more than content playing this myself.

This guitar is just a sweet little something, something with a nice musical voice. She likes to be tickled, so don't expect to get any big projection if u whack the strings with a pick. It's a good compact size for travel, convenience, and smaller players. I recommend this to the last person about to buy her!