Saunders parlour, natural gloss, made in Australia circa 2004. The north of Tasmania is a bit of a haven for craftspeople, and among them over the years has numbered a few guitar builders of considerable skill, including folks like Tarrant Guitars and J.Parsons today. A couple of decades ago, a gentleman named Paul Saunders was making guitars by hand from a workshop in East Devonport on the NW coast. He has since relocated to Melbourne and given up the game, but in the 90s and 00s, he was doing some very tidy work indeed, building guitars to order. This guitar came to us from the brother of the original owner, who sadly passed away several years ago, so it had been sitting idle for a while before coming to us. Our friendly neighborhood specialist luthier Paul Mineur, who also makes gorgeous acoustics, replaced the truss rod, as the several years of storage had seen the angles get a bit of order, so now this is in excellent playing shape with a nice low action. The timber used for this build is pretty incredible: extremely tight and consistent AAA sitka spruce for the top, a gorgeous bookmatched Indian rosewood back and sides, all bound with flame maple. The neck is lush Central American mahogany, with a dark ebony board and bridge... Paul obviously picked the pieces carefully, and they'd look at home on a Martin Custom or similar instruments worth many thousands of dollars. The body is a cute 0-size parlour, with a 12th fret join and a slightly wider neck than many modern steel strings. It's lightweight and very responsive in the hands. The tone is dry, wide and crisp, with a punchy rich midrange complemented by the weighty bass response of the rosewood and a sweet eloquence up top. It easily stacks up against guitars at 2-4 times the price in terms of tone and build quality, it's really quite something. There's not a lot of info around on the internet about Paul's work, and needless to say these don't come up often, so hey: if you like it, come and claim it.

Model: Paul Saunders Parlour
Made: Devonport Australia, 2004 approx
Serial: none
Finish: natural, gloss nitro
Body: solid sitka spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, 12th fret join 0 size
Neck: mahogany, ebony fretboard, 45mm nut, 25.25" scale, wide C shape
Weight: 1.910kg
Mods: truss rod replaced
Pickup: none
Accessories: non-original hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples and a dent on the end and some scuffs on the back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, rub wear and minor dimples on the back only. The back has scuffs near the neck join and back edge, as well as some standard minor rub wear around the whole body. The sides have dimples on both shoulders and some scuffs and surface scratches in the bottom corner. The front has some minor dents behind the bridge, dimples in the elbow area and bottom corner and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing Condition Notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only