What's your favorite body size, and why?

[eded]

Larrivee P/PV or O size. After owning and playing just about every shape and size, the P is my absolute favorite.  Great sound, great size, great scale length, intimate ergonomics. 

Ed

[BlueBowman]

Larrivee P/PV or O size. After owning and playing just about every shape and size, the P is my absolute favorite.  Great sound, great size, great scale length, intimate ergonomics. 

Ed

I've been going smaller over these last few years. I'm in the "middle" at the moment, owning mostly 00-12, 000-12, and OM guitars, but I could see myself eventually trying out more parlors. I have played 0-size guitars that I really liked, but they are harder to find.

I think there's something so cool about picking up a "middle"-sized guitar and being blown away by the response and sound. The fast response and immediacy under the fingers. I really dig that. Big guitars can sound big, of course, but they seem to lack something the smaller guys have. Difficult to describe.  I am a fingerpicker, so the response matters greatly to me.

From a building standpoint, I know smaller guitars can be made thinner in the soundboard and bracing, so that may hint at one of the reasons. I also think our ears can adapt to the size we play, and then when we go up a size, the guitars sound big, but it's as if they're missing something. Again, hard to explain, but that's been my experience.

[William2]

I've been going smaller over these last few years. I'm in the "middle" at the moment, owning mostly 00-12, 000-12, and OM guitars, but I could see myself eventually trying out more parlors. I have played 0-size guitars that I really liked, but they are harder to find.

I think there's something so cool about picking up a "middle"-sized guitar and being blown away by the response and sound. The fast response and immediacy under the fingers. I really dig that. Big guitars can sound big, of course, but they seem to lack something the smaller guys have. Difficult to describe.  I am a fingerpicker, so the response matters greatly to me.

From a building standpoint, I know smaller guitars can be made thinner in the soundboard and bracing, so that may hint at one of the reasons. I also think our ears can adapt to the size we play, and then when we go up a size, the guitars sound big, but it's as if they're missing something. Again, hard to explain, but that's been my experience.

I find the 12-fret guitars have a quicker response like my SD-40R. And my SD seems to require little effort to get the sound out. So, for me it isn't the size of the instrument. With my 14-fret dreadnought's, my D-40 with the mahogany body requires the least effort and seems tom have the quickest response. It is also a very light instrument compared with the rosewood body instrument. But I prefer the punch or attack of a note I can get with a 14-fret instrument. I might consider a 000 in the future with a mahogany body and a standard scale. Right now, I have been fixated with all mahogany instruments. I recently saw a comment that said mahogany topped instruments are best on smaller bodied instruments. I wasn't aware smaller instruments could have thinner tops and bracing. I do think light instruments have that quicker effortless response.