Advice: Best Travel Guitar

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Permalink Reply by Walt Pilcher on August 14, 2009 at 6:57pm

Daniel,
Take a look at the Baby Taylor and Little Martin offerings. 3/4 size guitars with full size fretboards so they play just like a regular guitar. These two brands have the best sounds I found when I was trying out many different ones. Every one under $250 that I tested sounded too much like a ukulele (nothing wrong with a uke except it doesn't sound like a guitar). These cost $260-$300 new. The Little Martin LXM is basically made of formica so it is indestructible - no worries about temp and humidity changes or most knocks and bumps, but it sounds okay. The LX1, which is what I got, has a solid spruce top, so it sounds even better. $60 more if you get the E option, e.g., LX1E and want to plug in. All come with a very nice gig bag.
Good luck.
Walt

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Permalink Reply by Michael Zanger on August 14, 2009 at 11:02pm

A "really good", as in really good, small guitar is the Collings Baby.

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Foy on August 15, 2009 at 5:17am

I own both a Baby Taylor and a Traveler MK-II. Baby Taylor sounds pretty darned good acoustically, however a good thing about the Traveler is that the neck is full-scale. Also I can practice while on a 3 hour flight without people around me hearing.

Once I was practicing on my Baby Taylor while waiting for a plane. A couple come by with a small child who is enthralled by the guitar.. I start playing some children's songs... a half hour later I have about two dozen kids around me (parents apparently dropping 'em off then going to get coffee)... guy joins with a mandolin--having a grand time.

A big advantage of the Traveler is that TSA people can't make you perform for them at the airport security checkpoints...

raf

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Permalink Reply by Biggs on August 15, 2009 at 5:43am

Daniel
You may also want to take a look at the Godin line of parlor guitars which includes the Seagull Grand and the Simon and Patrick Ami. I don't know what your budget is, but of all the travel guitars I've tried, the Composite Acoustic Cargo suits my needs best. It's made of carbon fiber so heat and humidity have virtually no effect on the guitar. It plays and sounds like a much bigger guitar.

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Permalink Reply by Ship of fools on August 15, 2009 at 8:27am

A decent travel guitar that will not really disturb neighbours or sleeping room mates.
[IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4/ship123/105_9665.jpg[/IMG]
Fits very nicely in over head air line compartments and very easy to play.Ship
Its a Washburn Rover, as for exceptional sound, well good luck on that no travel guitar will give you that. You can just hope to get a decent sound out of most, mind you I have never tried a folding guitar so I can't say how they sound, but you can't store them in over head compartments either.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Nepper on August 15, 2009 at 11:49pm

Having owned a Baby Taylor and played a friends little Martin, I can't really give them high marks for tone or playablility. They are ok at first, but if you are going to have to be away for awhile, say a couple weeks, they fall short very quickly and will really kill your enthusiasm. I just got a Voyage Air about 3 weeks ago and am about to leave on a work trip for 2 weeks in Philadelphia. I plan on doing quite a bit of practice and trancription so will give it a good workout. If the last three weeks here at home are any indication, it should do the job nicely. For the price, it is surprisingly good and comes with a killer case! Hoping to enjoy my away trip evenings, Mike

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Permalink Reply by Staffan Svahn on August 16, 2009 at 2:06am

Hello!
I can personally recommend the Brunner Outdoor Guitar from Brunner Guitars. ( www.brunner-guitars.com ) It is an amazing little guitar that has a detachable neck and fits into a neat backpack. Although it is small in size it sounds better than most full-size guitars I have ever played. Listen to one of my latest videos and hear for yourself. It is a high-end hand built guitar made by a master builder called Lukas Brunner in Switzerland.
Best regards
Staffan

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