Travel guitars

Jalapeno

Musicwolf said:

danishbacon said:

The Yamaha silent guitar can be had used around £300 i think

This is what I have, and I think that I did pay around £300 secondhand.

After BA in Geneva forced me to pay for an extra seat for a Yamaha Silent (on a nearly empty flight), I decided to go down the folding route.

BillDL

@stufisher  ; I am not sure whether it is something you might consider, but it might be worth keeping in mind:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/229431/ngd-parlour-guitar

stufisher

Thanks all for good insights and suggestions. As I'm not hurrying this decision I am researching properly and making a shortlist.

Contenders

1.  Hofner HCT Shorty Deluxe which I'm prepared to mod (thanks for ideas @BillDL )

2.  Yamaha APX T2 

3.  Vintage Paul Brett Statesboro whisky sour (V880WK) electro-acoustic parlour guitar

4.  Pignose PGG259 deluxe

In terms of a portable amp (if I need one) I'd go for a Blackstar Fly 3 Bluetooth (maybe even the stereo pack)

My current thinking is to get both 1 and 2 and the amp ... however, trying to respect budget constraints I'm wondering if 4 might be the simplest and most affordable solution.

I'm wary of YT reviews espousing how great something is and then it sounds dreadful for whatever reason so if anyone has/plays a Pignose PGG XXX then I'd welcome some detailed insights or reviews of the experience.

What does the 1W speaker really sound like? how playable/versatile is the guitar? what's not good about it? how portable is it really? what mods/tweaks have you made to improve it? Anything that is really worth knowing about from your own experience of the guitar would be very useful.

Thanks.

Stu

bertie

serious question,  if you want a travel acoustic,  not sure why would you need an amp ?  

stufisher

Because I'd be buying the Hofner Shorty also

bertie

stufisher said:

Because I'd be buying the Hofner Shorty also

ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa     

drofluf

stufisher said:

Thanks all for good insights and suggestions. As I'm not hurrying this decision I am researching properly and making a shortlist.

Contenders

1.  Hofner HCT Shorty Deluxe which I'm prepared to mod (thanks for ideas @BillDL )

2.  Yamaha APX T2 

3.  Vintage Paul Brett Statesboro whisky sour (V880WK) electro-acoustic parlour guitar

4.  Pignose PGG259 deluxe

In terms of a portable amp (if I need one) I'd go for a Blackstar Fly 3 Bluetooth (maybe even the stereo pack)

My current thinking is to get both 1 and 2 and the amp ... however, trying to respect budget constraints I'm wondering if 4 might be the simplest and most affordable solution.

I'm wary of YT reviews espousing how great something is and then it sounds dreadful for whatever reason so if anyone has/plays a Pignose PGG XXX then I'd welcome some detailed insights or reviews of the experience.

What does the 1W speaker really sound like? how playable/versatile is the guitar? what's not good about it? how portable is it really? what mods/tweaks have you made to improve it? Anything that is really worth knowing about from your own experience of the guitar would be very useful.

Thanks.

Stu

I’ve got the 12 string version of the Paul Brett and couldn’t be more happy with it. Great balanced tone (or as much as a 12 string can be ) and comfortable to play. 

Jalapeno

One day .... I'll mod a cheap Tele so that the neck uses bolts rather than screws. Be interested if anyone's heard of a kit, or offers to do it as a service. You do NOT want to be at the whim of check-in staff as they (and the airlines) are so inconsistent.

Jalapeno

... well looky here --> https://www.montysguitars.com/products/montys-neck-bolt-insert-kit

only downside is that you couldn't take the necessary screwdriver in your hand luggage.

drofluf

Jalapeno said:

... well looky here --> https://www.montysguitars.com/products/montys-neck-bolt-insert-kit

only downside is that you couldn't take the necessary screwdriver in your hand luggage.

Didn't know whether to wiz or lol (at the irony) but could you replace the bolts with Allen headed ones as an Allen key "may" be more acceptable to airport security.

danowens

I have a Yamaha Silent, a Yamaha Guitarlele and a Vintage Viator (Paul Brett thing). I like them all but the Yamaha Silent is a great practice instrument rather than a 'campfire' guitar. The Guitarlele is a fourth above standard tuning and the small frets make it play more like a mandolin than a guitar. My Viator is tuned as a Terz (a minor third above standard) and has a beautiful chimey quality. I've got some high tension 12s that I'm going to put on it and see at standard for a bit. 

The only guitar I'd add to this menagerie would be a SnapDragon folding guitar. 

stufisher

So, with great delight I bring my search for a travel guitar to an end    Thanks to y'all for recommendations and insights, as usual they have helped to get me where I needed to be.

Also, it closes off a couple of other threads about Yamaha APXT-1 and Fazley electro-acoustics.

I've actually bought two guitars and managed to stay under £250 as originally budgeted ... totally chuffed I am!

Today a new Vox SDC-1 (white) arrived from BAX as scheduled ... discounted to £110  and last Monday a pre-loved Harley Benton GS Travel E Spruce electro-acoustic arrived following a £70 deal done on Fleabay.

The HB is superb, considering the quality gig bag ... sounds way fuller than it should but the spruce top keeps it bright. Easy to play both chords and lead ... way better than I'd hoped.

The Vox is tiny and takes a wee while to get your brain around but I played it for an hour this eve, hooked it up via WiFi to an NUX Mighty Air and noodled with a few effects. It needs a very light touch so that's new to me but bending, sliding, hammering/pulling all easy. Fretboard needs a tad of lemon oil but no scratchy frets or dead spots anywhere. Even the volume/tone controls have decent gradation. I'll tinker with relief/action/intonation over the next few days but it doesn't need much really.

Importantly, both guitars fit snugly in my campervan and the Vox is less than 80cm long so should be able to stow in a plane O/H locker as cabin baggage without incurring cost.

If anyone's contemplating budget travel guitars then I can recommend both as serious considerationns. Here's a couple of links that might help:

BillDL

They both look like great little guitars Stu, and bargains too.  The Vox looks to be pretty well made and I like the recessed neck screws/bolts, the split-post tuning heads with mini buttons, the cute little mini humbucker, and the fact that they haven't squeezed the nut width down below 42mm.

The HB acoustic looks to be a really good guitar for the money, even at the current RRP.  I looked at that model a lot when I was recently looking for a small guitar.