Hey all,

So I'm selling this guitar to get funds together to either have Mr. Wishnevsky build me an archtop, or to purchase a Larrivee Parlor, so figured I'd post this in these forums.

The parlor has a SOLID spruce top, walnut back and sides, and purpleheart bridge, rosette, and fretboard (the wood is naturally purple). Plays beautifully and sounds incredible. The walnut gives it a very strong and distinct voice, not to mention it's absolutely gorgeous to look at, and you'll be incredibly hard-pressed to find another acoustic that uses walnut as a body wood.

If you're familiar with Steve Wishnevsky's work, then you know that each one of his guitars is unique, and he has a rather peculiar building style; completely devoid of decorations and focusing instead on sound and playability in its most basic form. His parlors are very reminiscent of the pre-war style of building, complete with neck-tilt adjustment that was used on pre-war era Martin parlors. There is a visible shim in the neck pocket and the guitar has a couple slight imperfections in the woods, but that is Wishnevsky's style. He uses mostly domestic woods, and creates one-of-a-kind works of art that sound and play better than most of the conventional brand names you'll find out there. There's a slight buzz on the low E string at the 12th fret, all the other strings and frets are fine (and really, who plays bass notes that high up on a parlor anyways?). The lacquer finish on it is extremely minimal, sort of rough, allowing the guitar to really respond to the player. The guitar is in the exact same condition it was in when I received it from him, except for a custom bone saddle installed and a fret dressing.

It has an extremely comfortable neck, and plays like a million bucks. It gives off a very sweet and clear tone that projects wonderfully. It's really a one of a kind guitar, and an amazing find.

These are definitely some of the greatest sounding instruments a modest amount of money can buy, and you won't find a more unique or better sounding one in this price range. Easily competes with guitars costing 2-3 times as much. Here's some pictures:

Wishnevsky parlor (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v242/skateboarderth/Wishnevsky%20purpleheart%20parlor/)

Asking $400 shipped. Let me know if you have any questions. My email is skateboarderth at sbcglobal.net

Thanks

Hi,  Some questions.

What wood is the neck made from?  Looks like Walnut?
Looks like the rosette is glued on top of the sounboard (not inlaid).  How thick is it?  And how thick is the soundboard, also?
What is nut width, scale length.
Is it my imagination, or is the neck not perfectly aligned with the body?  It appears that the Bass E is almost right off the edge of the fretboard at the last few frets.
Seems unusual for a new hand-made guitar to need a fret dressing?

Hey,

Yes, the neck is made from 3 piece ßWalnut
Rosette is glued to to the soundboard. Soundboard is ~4mm thick, rosette is ~2mm thick.
Low E to high e at nut (it has a 0 fret) = 1 15/32"
Scale length is 25 1/2"
The guitar itself is not symmetrical (none of his work is). The right side is shaped slightly different than the left. The seam line of the two pieces of the walnut back are actually on a slight angle. The bass side E is closer to the edge of the fretboard than the treble e. It doesn't pose a problem though; it has never slipped off the fretboard or fretted out while I've played it. Again, there is some slight buzzing on the low E but it's only at the 12th fret. When I first got the guitar, some of the frets were a little rough, so a dressing was called for.
Ha, this is all just kind of the way he does things. There's not any detail work put into the guitar, it's really just a guitar stripped down to the basics, and what you're left with is a unique and beautiful sounding instrument. He provides alternatives to 'boutique' custom guitars for people who can't quite afford it. Also, I know in the rules it says to not put up best offer, but I may be slightly flexible on the price if someone's interested and chose to discuss it through email  :blush:

I probably should've include a link to his website or more of his work for those that aren't familiar with it, so I'll do that now:
Wishnevsky (http://www.wishnevsky.com/home.html)

And here's a link to the basses he makes just to give you another look at the type of stuff he does:
Wishbass (http://www.wishbass.com/gallerypagetwo.html)

I will add some more photos to the photobucket link so hopefully that helps too.

Thanks a lot for your interest and hope this all helps

I've been following this luthier for awhile. I really like that his guitars are quirky and that he's doing his own thing. Haven't had the pleasure of playing one yet but have heard good things from others. If I was in buying mode I think this one would be headed my way. This is a great price. Good luck on your sale!