0 and parlour guitars

The smallest of the standard sizes. Martin's 0 is thirteen and a half inches across the lower bout, and the parlour guitars of the nineteenth century were smaller still. They were the ordinary guitar before the dreadnought existed, and they have come back because they do things the big guitars cannot: they sit in a mix, they record without boom, and they fit on a knee for an evening.

In the shop: Martin's 0-18 and the mahogany 0-10E, Santa Cruz's Catfish Professional built for Catfish Keith, and David Benavides's remarkable 0-12 twelve-strings. All set up before they leave.