Travel Blog Travel Guide - Beginners Guide to Independent Travel

Travel Guitars

Quite a few people travel with guitars. The cheapest way to travel with a guitar is not to take one, and buy a cheap second-hand guitar at each point that you'll be not using air travel for a while. It's pretty easy taking guitars on buses, but carrying a full size guitar on a plane is a hassle. There are other options: a range of guitars specifically designed for travel are available:


Martin Co, The Backpacker Guitar: an acoustic guitar designed for being as easy to travel with as possible. It looks more like a lute than a guitar to the untrained eye, consisting of a full size neck with 15 frets, and a small narrow bell-shaped body, of about 70cm by 15cm. Considering the size, its tone is great, but compared to a 'real' guitar it's tinny. Needs a strap to be played whist sitting down, because the body is not shaped in a way that nestles on the thigh.

Not specifically designed for travel but a real alternative:
Hohner G3T, inspired by the Steinberger guitars, is an electric guitar, shaped somewhat like a cricket bat which is ideal for the traveller who cannot be parted from his axe. It's also a cracking electric guitar in its own right. The humbucker pickups give the full range of tones expected, the Stienberger tuning system stays in tune almost indefinitely once the strings are settled, and includes a whammy bar. The Hohner G3T, plus a small effects pedal with headphone output, would be the travelling electric guitar afficionado's ideal choice.



Next: How To Pack