Po Sans "Wabi Sabi" Parlor 00 12 Fret
2025 Po Sans “Wabi Sabi” Parlor 00
This Parlor 00 from Po Sans Guitars is fresh from Fretboard Summit 2025. A unique guitar to say the least, with a top made of “Jindai Sugi” or ancient Japanese cedar, and an Uchida-inspired scoop 3D cutaway.
Specs / Measurements
2025
Ancient Japanese Cedar / European maple
Lattice bracing with vaulted X-brace
12 fret neck
Spanish cedar neck, with Tatsuta titanium truss rod
Ebony violin edge binding
Silver leaf on interior linings
Zeolite pattern on matching ancient cedar back strip
Blended arm bevel
Pinless ebony bridge
Uchida-inspired 3D Scoop cutaway, striped ebony
Multi-ring rosette with iridescent green Japanese tamamushi insect wing accent, and black MOP
Textured, split headstock
Very thin satin lacquer finish
~1.80” nut
~25.25” string length
~2.28” string spacing at saddle
~13.5” lower bout
Rubner tuners with black mother of pearl buttons and gear cover
Arched top TKL hard case
Condition / Setup Notes
New; The guitar has never been owned before, but it may display light handling wear from shows and photography. Very much with the theme, it has a delicate and very thin finish, which primarily serves its sound. Current string height about 6/64”-4/64’ from bass to treble and just a touch of relief. Playing nicely.
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For this guitar Po San went with a wabi sabi and Karensansui theme. Wabi sabi, in part, is a Japanese philosophy and aesthetic that finds beauty in impermanence and incompleteness, and in the natural processes that develop a patina over time. Karesansui is a gardening technique that uses sand, stones, and moss to represent flowing water and waterfalls without using water. In the West, this may have some familiarity as the style of a Zen rock garden. While these themes exist throughout the guitar, the most direct nod to Karensansui is in the backstrip patterns made from zeolite, and the textured headstock with the flowing designs in relief. That texture, by the way, is created with coffee grounds. And look at the way it is split, with ebony rods in between.
Aside from the overall theme, there are many unique details to note. The first may be in the top material itself, ancient cedar preserved in volcanic ash over thousands of years. The bracing is a lattice with a vaulted X-brace, which was added to accommodate the pinless bridge design. In the rosette, there’s a small pop of green that plays with the light. This comes from a brightly colored insect, the tamamushi, which is used in traditional Japanese crafts. Then there is the binding, which is an ebony violin edge binding. Typically on a violin edge guitar, the top and back plates over hang the sides. In this instance the binding itself is made to protrude, creating the edge. This edge gradually flattens flush in the arm bevel area to keep things comfortable, and makes for a beautiful detail. The violin edge binding also interacts with the scoop cutaway, and comes to a point where it creates the outline of a Florentine cutaway. And of course the scoop itself, done marvelously.
Inside the box there is more going on, a reward for those who spend some time looking inside. The linings are covered in silver leaf, while the matching ancient cedar back strip is decorated with patterns in zeolite. You can also see the interior construction of the scoop cutaway, and architectural beauty of the bracing. There is so much to talk about and look at with this guitar, but in the end it is simply an exquisitely made guitar that will delight the hands and ears.
$6750
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This instrument ships for free via UPS Ground.