Travel Guitar

[CES]

To muddy the waters further, yesterday I played a Takamine G series smaller bodied guitar that was pretty nice, and on sale at a GC type place for 299. Solid spruce top, 3 piece laminate back (hog/maple/hog). It was slightly larger than a parlor, maybe an ) or OO sized? Pretty comfortable, and had nice tone and volume.

I also played a "grand concert" cutaway model from our friends at Eastman...on sale for 399 (with onboard lower end (in their line) Fishman electronics)...pretty nice, and nice, big tone...

I also have heard good things about Great Divide guitars (Bedell's econo line), but haven't played any yet. They start w/in your budget as well...

Good luck!

[Loretta Callahan]

What awesome choices. Formica guitar, really, Allen? I gotta look that one up. Makes me wish I played guitar, but then I'd have to sell my car, lol.

[Brent Hutto]

Loretta,

Careful, when it comes to reading "the dots", guitar will mess you up!

I had my guitar out for the first time in a while the other night to play the cat's favorite song. While it was in my hands I tried reading through a couple of the things I'd been working on before switching to mandolin last summer. Not only was this slow, easy little South American song (albeit in D-minor, not my favorite reading key) impossible to read because I kept reaching for where the notes would be on my mandolin...after 45 minutes I went back to fiddle tunes and couldn't put my fingers on the right frets of the mandolin either.

[lespaul_79]

I say, skip the backpacker and "baby" guitars and get an O or OO.

This Recording King 000 is a littler bigger, but I heard these were awesome bang for the buck on Acoustic Guitar Forum (where there are tons of these similar threads....)

A little larger, but great reviews on the AG forum.
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-King.../dp/B002IC1DDQ

The A&L AMI was an OK little guitar.

[Markus]

One concern I have about the Backpackers is that I troll used music stores and pawnshops. I often see Backpackers available used but never a Little Martin. Most importantly, virtually every used Backpacker I've ever seen in a store has had some sort of issue - raised bridges, cracked tops etc. They just don't seem to be that durable, unlilke the Little Martins, which appear to be practically indestructible.

I don't know about the second part - as mine looks good as new 8 years old. Then again, it doesn't get so much use, but has been strung at tension with little attention paid to it.

As for finding them for sale, I just don't think they're that satisfying. Don't get me wrong - easy to bring anywhere, and backpacked into the north woods or camping on a sandbar of the river, it's a great guitar to have there. But the name is a hint ... it's not for travel, it's for backpacking where it's so absolutely quiet that such a mellow instrument is plenty loud.

But add anything beyond a small uke, and it's too quiet. Feels weird in my hands, kind of odd balance as the neck is so heavy in comparison with the rest. Not a terrible instrument, but I would not recommend for OP - great for camping, but not really `travel'.

Now that I think of it, it's time to get rid of mine as I rarely play guitar in the last year or two and have a much more portable instrument I much prefer

[allenhopkins]

...Formica guitar, really, Allen? I gotta look that one up...

"Spruce patterned HPL textured finish" is what Martin calls it. "HPL" is "high pressure laminate" I believe, and it's quite close to Formica. This is the Little Martin LXM, which is what I bought. The LXK2 is what others here have called "koa," but it's "Koa wood pattern HPL textured finish," so nary a koa tree was sacrificed in its construction.

Formica is a trademark name for a variety of high pressure laminate; resin-impregnated paper layers are heat-pressed to make a stiff, strong sheet. Not exactly what C F Martin used in 1833, but it works as a tone"wood," doesn't sound bad, is quite durable and attractive. The Little Martin LXM is a $275 guitar, including a high-quality gig bag, so we're not talking aged Adirondack spruce and East Indian rosewood, here. Banging around in a luggage compartment, facing temperature swings and the vicissitudes of travel, it works as a decent musical instrument. Part of me shivers when I see the Martin logo on a Formica guitar, but hey, the world is what it is, and I consider my $275 well-spent, overall.

[Loretta Callahan]

I’m definitely not planning on picking up a guitar in this lifetime, Brent. I have enough trying to keep the “dots” straight on my 3 mandolins, lol.

Agreed, LesPaul … the baby guitars are looking like the best choice.

Thanks, Allen. I was picturing a pink with golden flakes formica guitar and was wondering if it would be delightful or terrifying.

[Jim]

Some friends who live on the road in a camper had one of the little formica Martins and we jammed quite a bit last summer. The little martin was a great sounding guitar. Not just for a travel guitar but just plain nice sounding. I didn't measure but I would guess a 23in scale, Nice warm sound and much more bass than you'd expect from that little body. If I ever buy another travel guitar it will be one of these little Martins.

[Paul Hostetter]

The Voyage-Air is the only guitar I know of that will get on a plane without a squabble and fit in overhead. I've set up several for folks, they sound very nice. They also seem to ignore changes of climate way better than, say, Martin or other small wooden guitars, etc. One I know has been back and forth to Australia, Cambodia, south China, Thailand, Singapore, etc., numerous times. The ones with solid top and laminated sides and back are good, the folding neck joint is clever and substantial. 1-3/4" nut, 25.4" scale, either 000 or D body. Around $500, sometimes cheaper.

[Loretta Callahan]

Thanks, Jim! Wow, Paul ... that voyage air guitar is amazing~

My Daughter is very wowed by this thread. You all are great ... thanks so much!

[Kheath]

I logged many a mile with a martin or a washburn backpacker model lashed to the saddle, as long as you understand that it is what it is, you can have many many enjoyable campfires with one........Kevin

[Reid1]

I was cleaning out my garage yesterday and found a few things I didn't need anymore. Stopped by the local pawnshop to see what they would give me for them. As they were evaluating my stuff I checked out the guitars and they had a very nice little Applause (by Ovation) AE128 Super Shallow acoustic/electric guitar. After a little bargaining I swapped my stuff and a crisp $50 bill for the guitar, including tax and they threw in my choice of about 40 gigbags they had in the back LOL!
What a great little guitar! Sounds much better than any travel guitar I ever played and just as nice unplugged as my 80s Yamaha FG420, which I always thought was one of the better all-laminate guitars I had played. it's not as loud as the Yammie, but the tone is very similar and in some ways it sounds even better. I've been using the Yammie as my beach/travel guitar, but this little Applause is much smaller, lighter and acoustically has a much deeper tone than any of the true travel guitars I've ever tried.
And here's the bonus... it sounds amazing plugged in! Really nice realistic acoustic tone and no comparison to the Yammie or my Martin with a soundhole pickup.