Every travel guitar on this site is solving the same basic problem: how do you get a full guitar-playing experience into something smaller. The Gretsch Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor starts from a different place entirely. It isn’t a shrunk-down dreadnought, a folding neck or a carbon fibre experiment. It’s a parlour guitar, a genuinely old body shape that was already this small a hundred years ago, built cheaply, and sold on Amazon UK for £219 with no electronics fitted at all.
I like it more than I expected to. If you want a second guitar for the house, the campsite or a short trip where you’re not gigging or plugging into anything, this is one of the more honest, characterful options at this price. It won’t out-tone a solid-top guitar and it won’t plug into a PA. It isn’t pretending to. The pinstripe purfling, the tortoiseshell pickguard, the 24in scale, all of it is built around being a small, old-fashioned guitar rather than a modern travel guitar wearing a costume. That’s the whole appeal, and it’s also exactly why it won’t suit everyone. If you want plugged-in flexibility or the fullest possible unplugged tone in a small body, look elsewhere on this site first.
How it compares to the Taylor GS Mini and Yamaha APXT2
Two guitars already on this site cover similar ground from different angles, and the gap between them and the Jim Dandy is worth knowing before you decide.
The Taylor GS Mini takes the opposite approach entirely. It’s a scaled-down version of Taylor’s own Grand Symphony body, deep enough that most owners say it sounds close to a full-size acoustic rather than a small one. It has no electronics on the base model either, but it sits well above this Gretsch on price, and UK Amazon stock for it is patchy enough that a specialist retailer is the more dependable buy, according to our own review. If you want the closest thing to a full-size voice in a smaller body and you’re happy to pay for it, the GS Mini is the better guitar. If you want something genuinely different and characterful for a fraction of the outlay, the Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor is the one to look at.
The Yamaha APXT2 solves a different problem again. It’s a modern 3/4-size acoustic-electric with a real pickup and preamp built in, aimed at someone who wants to plug into headphones or a small PA without any fuss. It’s priced close to this Gretsch, but the money buys something completely different, electronics and a standard nut width rather than vintage styling and parlour proportions. If you know you’ll want to plug in at some point, buy the Yamaha. If you’re after a home or campfire guitar you’ll never plug in, the Gretsch does its job for the same kind of money without paying for electronics you won’t use.
Specs that matter
- Body: laminated sapele, X-braced, semi-gloss black finish with tortoiseshell binding and matching pickguard
- Neck: nato, C-shape profile, walnut fingerboard, 18 frets (12 to the body)
- Scale length: 24in, on a genuine parlour body rather than a cut-down full-size shape
- Bridge and tuners: walnut bridge with a compensated saddle, Gretsch open-gear die-cast tuning machines
- Electronics: none on this listing (see the FAQ below on the version that does have a pickup)
- Case: not included
- Price: £219 on Amazon UK, sold and shipped by Amazon, checked 7 August 2026
- Amazon rating: 4.3 out of 5 from 12 reviews at the time of checking
The real downside
Two things are worth knowing before you buy.
First, the sound. MusicRadar’s Rob Laing reviewed the Deltoluxe family in 2024 and was blunt about where it sits: he’d played better all-round unplugged acoustics for similar money, naming Fender’s CD-60S specifically, and pointed to the laminated sapele top as part of the reason, a solid top gives the sound more to work with. That’s a fair trade for a guitar built to a budget and a specific vintage style, but don’t expect it to out-tone a similarly priced solid-top dreadnought. He also flagged a smaller, practical gripe worth knowing about: there’s no second strap button, so you’re tying a cord around the headstock if you want to play standing up. Read the full MusicRadar review of the Deltoluxe Parlor for the detail.
Second, and this won’t show up if you only read the Amazon listing: Gretsch sells more than one version of this guitar. There’s a pricier Deltoluxe with a magnetic soundhole pickup built in, a separate listing entirely, and the plain acoustic-only version covered here. At least one Amazon customer has already left a review after buying the wrong one by mistake. If you specifically want a built-in pickup, check the listing title and product details carefully before you buy, because this one doesn’t have it.
FAQ
Does the Gretsch Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor have a built-in pickup?
Not this version. This is the plain acoustic Deltoluxe Parlor, laminated sapele body, no electronics. Gretsch also sells a pricier Deltoluxe with a magnetic soundhole pickup built in, a different listing entirely, so check carefully if plugging in matters to you.
How is a parlour guitar different from a mini or 3/4-size travel guitar?
Most mini travel guitars are full-size guitars scaled down to travel better. A parlour guitar is a genuinely old body shape, popular from the late 1800s through the 1930s and 40s, that was always this small. It tends to have a boxier, more midrange-forward sound than a dreadnought or Grand Symphony shape, rather than sounding like a shrunken version of one.
Is the laminate body a problem?
Not for what this guitar is trying to do. Laminate keeps the price down and the body durable, which matters for something that’s going to get knocked around outside the house. Professional reviewers have noted it doesn’t project or resonate quite like a solid-top guitar at a similar price, so if unplugged volume and tone are your top priority, that’s worth knowing before you buy.
Does it come with a case?
No. Budget for a gig bag or hard case separately if you don’t already have one. Our guide to travel guitar cases covers the options.
Will it fit as hand luggage on a flight?
Its small parlour body gives it a reasonable chance, but no guitar has guaranteed cabin space on every airline. Check our guide to flying with a guitar in the UK before assuming it’ll fit.
Gretsch Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor or Taylor GS Mini, which should I buy?
Budget and priorities decide this one. The GS Mini sounds closer to a full-size acoustic and costs considerably more. The Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor is a cheaper, more characterful instrument that sounds like what it is, a small vintage-style parlour guitar. Neither has electronics on the base model.
Where to buy it
It’s in stock on Amazon UK for £219, sold and shipped by Amazon rather than a marketplace seller. Buy the Gretsch Jim Dandy Deltoluxe Parlor on Amazon UK.
