There are a number of
good travel guitars to choose from. Which is right for you
depends upon which features you feel are most important. Because
they are not full size, none of them will sound like your full size
guitar, but some do have an excellent sound all their own! Most
professional players insist on one key requirement: a full size
fretboard and good action so that their playing style isn't thrown off
by the smaller neck dimensions. They are willing to trade off
better sound for this. In fact, some players mount pickups to
their travel guitars and use them on stage because their small size
minimizes feedback problems.
Go-Guitars
"Go"
instruments are handcrafted from high quality solid woods. They
are built in the USA, and are made within the confines of limited
production. They pride themselves on taking the time to ensure
every guitar is better than what you expect.
Martin Backpacker
Martin
offers two different styles of
Backpacker Travel Guitar:
Nylon String
and
Steel String.
The Martin has a very small body size (giving it a weak guitar sound),
but it offers a full size neck with 15 frets and 24" scale
length. The steel string neck width is 1 11/16" (same
width as their dreadnoughts). Even though it doesn't advertise a
Spruce top, it uses all solid woods for the top, sides and back
(mahogany back, sides, and neck). Also, the neck and sides are
one continuous piece.
Martin
Guitars
Baby Taylor
One
of the best sounding of the travel guitars. Taylor offers
two
Baby Taylor
models: one has a solid mahogany top with a darker warm sound and
the other is a solid sitka spruce top with a brighter sound. In
both models, the back and sides are mahogany veneer and the back is
arched for additional strength. This guitar is built to a
22 3/4" scale with a mahogany neck and ebony fretboard.
The fretboard has 19 frets (14 to the body). It
comes with a molded Hard Shell Case. The list price is $398, but the
street price is usually well under that.
Little Bear Travel Guitar
This is a
handmade travel
guitar from Timm Guitars.
Why call it the Little
Bear? Because for such a small guitar body it has a big sound.
Its unique, clear voice is achieved by using a 25.4 scale length and
an all Koa body. It's called a traveling guitar (as opposed to a
backpacker) because it's just too nice to take the trails.
What you will find with this little guy is that it fits well with you
when you're kicking back and relaxing. It's nice to play when
slouching on the couch, riding in the car, or even laying in bed.
It's voice is so unique you find yourself exploring different sounds
and music. The Little Bear is also great for recording. A
small body provides a narrower range between bass and treble. The
result is better tonal control of your sound. Throw in the optional
Highlander pickup and look out! Warning: don't let your friends
play it - they won't give it back!
Tacoma Papoose
The
Tacoma Papoose
was not really designed to be
a travel guitar, but is frequently put into this category due to it's
small transportable size. It was actually designed to be a whole
new instrument in a category of its own. If you capo your full
size guitar at the 5th fret (A tuning), then you can hear what
the Tacoma Papoose will sound like and play like. This
guitar has a 19" scale length and has the frets sized to what you
would have at the 5th fret of a regular guitar, but still has 21 total
frets with 15 clearing the body. This unique design allows you
to play 6 semi-tones above a standard guitar. It has a solid
Cedar top and mahogany back and sides. The fretboard is rosewood
and the neck mahogany.
See other
Travel Guitars
from Musician's Friend
