Travel Guitar: Defining and Finding the Right One for You

• November 28, 2016
• Guitar

There are plenty of reasons to own a travel guitar. Maybe you're a business person whose job requires you to travel all over or you just want to have a spare guitar that you can leave at a friend’s house.

No matter what your schedule is like, if you’re a guitarist, every chance you get to play is a win. You gotta keep those calluses on your fingertips tough and you certainly have to be ready for that next guitar lesson or gig. The purpose of a travel guitar is to carry a guitar that is compact and gives you a fair performance compared to your main ax back at home.

What’s a Travel Guitar?

Travel guitars have been around a long while, perhaps even for many centuries. If you consider the small parlor guitars of the 1800’s, some of them would be a contender for a travel size guitar today. Basically, a guitar you can put in a backpack or tote fits the bill. If it can go in your check-in luggage, even better. A ukulele just won’t cover it. You need a six string guitar with a fretboard that is to scale. Because the travel guitar has to be small as possible, volume gets sacrificed as the rest of the guitar has to go, so a small amp may also be necessary. If it’s an acoustic, you get what you get.

Guitar Minis

Just about all the big guitar manufacturers make a mini version of their iconic models. There are Stratocaster Minis, Les Paul Minis, and more. Although the neck scale may be smaller to match the length of the guitar, some of these minis are the best travel guitars you can hope for. Bring a small practice amp or a software on your laptop with a small interface and you can practice and sound like a pro. With a good set up, a guitar mini is a viable option if you’re looking for a travel guitar.

Fender Stratocaster Mini

Features

• Small-scale neck (22-3/4")
• Three single-coil electronic pickups
• Master volume and tone controls
• Maple C-shaped neck
• Rosewood fretboard 20 medium frets
• Hard-tail 6-saddle bridge

Everything is there like any other stratocaster minus a few frets and the neck scale. These small guitars are used for student guitars. Small hands can handle these mini guitars just fine and they make great travel guitars.

Gibson Les Paul Mini

Features

• Body: mahogany
• Neck: mahogany, bolt-on
• Neck Profile: “D”
• Scale: 19”
• Fingerboard: rosewood with dot inlays
• Radius: 14”
• Frets: 21 medium-jumbo

Epiphone is the maker of these Les Paul Minis. Still they are built well and pack a mean humbucker punch. It’s a 19-inch scale neck, but everything else is pretty much a Les Paul in a miniature size. Hey, they weigh a lot less too. If electric guitar is your thing, these are great travel guitars.

Acoustic vs. Electric Travel Guitar

Both acoustic and electric guitars are made in mini form. Obviously, an acoustic guitar has a louder presence in the hotel room without needing an amp. Your electric mini will need an amp or some sort of preamp and/or interface and headphones. An acoustic travel guitar is the most simple and efficient way to go, but the challenge might be finding one that is easy to play and sounds halfway decent. Not all travel guitars are equal for sure. Some are downright tacky and almost impossible to play unless you're a slide player.

If you’re a shredder, it’s a given. You want an electric mini like the Zakk Wylde Epiphone Pee Wee and an effects processor that has a headphone jack. It simply means you’re gonna carry a short cable and headphones. In the 80’s Steinberger made a killer full neck guitar with a small blocked body and no headstock. These are expensive if you can find one on ebay, but you’ll be glad you got yourself one if you want a killer guitar built for travel.

Acoustic Travel Guitars

There’s an assortment of small acoustic guitars from all the top makers that may suit your travel needs. One of the smallest and most unique is the Martin’s Backpacker Guitar. It is a travel guitar that has good bracing and chrome tuners. However, finding one that the string height will adjust and get comfortably close to the fretboard might be a challenge.

Many of the small acoustic guitars are not very accurate and some just aren’t built very well. You’ll need to put your hands on a few before you find the one that seems to have the sound and structure you’re looking for.

The Baby Taylor

The ¾-size Baby Taylor firmly established the travel guitar category years ago and today is more popular than ever. At the heart of it all is an authentic guitar sound and inviting playing experience. Featuring a layered sapele back and sides and a top of solid Sitka spruce, you can add a capo, high-string it, tune it down, play it around the campfire, etc. However you use it, it’s always fun to have one within reach.

These Baby Taylors are the creme of the crop in small, travel-size acoustic guitars. They are built very well and sound pretty amazing. The structure and intonation of these little gems are always spot on. Yes, you’ll pay a little bit more than you will for some of these others, but they’re worth it if you’re wanting a real player’s vibe.

The Washburn Rover Travel Guitar

Features

• Full size 24" scale Solid spruce top
• Mahogany body and neck
• Rosewood fingerboard
• Quality geared tuners
• Professional binding and inlay
• Sized to fit airline overhead storage
• Includes case

This little guitar is a sweet-looking travel guitar with vibe. It has a full-size neck and fits all airline overhead storages. Priced at around $160, it’d be a great choice in travel guitars.

Finally, you can pick up a Luna or some other 3/4 or small student model and they’d likely fit your need for a travel guitar. The main thing you’re looking for is a full scale neck if you can get it and a guitar that stays in tune and has a decent volume to it.

Everybody needs a small guitar to throw in the car and hit the road or take camping or just bang around on. As handy as a travel guitar can be, the guys at Pro Lessons also know that guitar lessons are one of the main keys to becoming a better guitar player. Combined with the discipline of practice, guitar lessons help us figure out difficult moves and other obstacles standing in our path to rock stardom.

To find out how our professional instructors can help you at an affordable rate, click on the link below.