Travel guitars
Discussion
I have a Traveller Ultralight and Strandberg Boden Essential.
The Traveller is very cleverly done and super portable, but there are compromises. It’s difficult to play seated and tuning stability isn’t great.
The Strandberg is noticeably bigger (but still small). However it’s a much better guitar and the ergonomics are brilliant; easy to play seated or standing.
If you want a guitar optimised for travel, the Traveller is a solid choice. If you want a guitar you can easily travel with but also use as a ‘proper’ guitar, get the Strandberg.
As an alternative, the Hils guitars might be worth considering. Most of the benefits of the Strandberg but at a price comparable to the Traveller.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/Hils-HN3-Headless-Guit...
The Traveller is very cleverly done and super portable, but there are compromises. It’s difficult to play seated and tuning stability isn’t great.
The Strandberg is noticeably bigger (but still small). However it’s a much better guitar and the ergonomics are brilliant; easy to play seated or standing.
If you want a guitar optimised for travel, the Traveller is a solid choice. If you want a guitar you can easily travel with but also use as a ‘proper’ guitar, get the Strandberg.
As an alternative, the Hils guitars might be worth considering. Most of the benefits of the Strandberg but at a price comparable to the Traveller.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/Hils-HN3-Headless-Guit...
As you can see, the Traveller is extremely small (especially when packed); it's a very clever design, albeit one that prioritises small form factor over everything. If you need to put a guitar into an airline overhead bin etc. then it's ideal. Throw a mini pocket multi effects like a Sonicake Pocketmaster into the pocket of the case, along with a cable and some earbuds and you're good to go. It plays surprisingly well.
The Strandberg is definitely bigger, including when packed (although still small in general guitar terms and very portable) but better made and feels like (is!) a real guitar. I could (and do) play it as an everyday guitar because it's so ergonomic, whereas in contrast I rarely play the Traveller (and only ever when I'm away) because it's not that comfortable; now I have both I'll probably end up selling the Traveller as I rarely fly for work these days.
Overall they are both great options and ultimately it depends on your use case. If you are flying a lot and want something you can easily take with you for a day or two then the Traveller is absolutely perfect. Conversely, if you want a guitar that you can travel with (throw in the back of the car for a week in Cornwall) but also want to be able to play as an everyday guitar too, I'd go for a Strandberg, Hils, Solar or other 'proper' headless guitar.
Edited by chemistry on Thursday 12th February 14:58
Final thoughts...a cheap option would be the Strandberg-style headless guitar from Gear 4 Music, for £149...half the price of a Traveller, Hils, etc. I haven't tried one, but there's a review here:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Harlem-...
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Harlem-...
chemistry said:
As you can see, the Traveller is extremely small (especially when packed); it's a very clever design, albeit one that prioritises small form factor over everything. If you need to put a guitar into an airline overhead bin etc. then it's ideal. Throw a mini pocket multi effects like a Sonicake Pocketmaster into the pocket of the case, along with a cable and some earbuds and you're good to go. It plays surprisingly well.
The Strandberg is definitely bigger, including when packed (although still small in general guitar terms and very portable) but better made and feels like (is!) a real guitar. I could (and do) play it as an everyday guitar because it's so ergonomic, whereas in contrast I rarely play the Traveller (and only ever when I'm away) because it's not that comfortable; now I have both I'll probably end up selling the Traveller as I rarely fly for work these days.
Overall they are both great options and ultimately it depends on your use case. If you are flying a lot and want something you can easily take with you for a day or two then the Traveller is absolutely perfect. Conversely, if you want a guitar that you can travel with (throw in the back of the car for a week in Cornwall) but also want to be able to play as an everyday guitar too, I'd go for a Strandberg, Hils, Solar or other 'proper' headless guitar.
Edited by chemistry on Thursday 12th February 14:58
Apologies if I've posted this on here before, but I once built a travel guitar. I bought a Strat copy (I wasn't going to cut up a real one!), took everything off except the scratchplate, drew round it, gave the body to a man with a band saw and got him to cut along the line. Not as simple as that of course, had to leave some of the body intact or there would have been nowhere to mount the trem or neck. The jack socket and strap buttons also had to be repositioned. I got him to shorten the head as well, the tuners are now 4+2 as opposed to 6 in line.
Finally I bought a clear scratchplate for it, so I can now put anything I like behind it, and that becomes the colour scheme. Since then I've upgraded a few of the components and am about to convert it to Brian May wiring. Total cost including the original guitar and labour, £161. Do need to upgrade the tuners though as they're a bit cheap and nasty. Have some Klusons from a Les Paul in the spares box, they might look nice.
As you can gather, I took these photos at Christmas!
Close up of the body, note the moved strap buttons. Jack socket is round the back.
One of my inserts that I can place behind the clear plate. This one's useful if anyone asks me where I'm from, I just point at the guitar!
Finally I bought a clear scratchplate for it, so I can now put anything I like behind it, and that becomes the colour scheme. Since then I've upgraded a few of the components and am about to convert it to Brian May wiring. Total cost including the original guitar and labour, £161. Do need to upgrade the tuners though as they're a bit cheap and nasty. Have some Klusons from a Les Paul in the spares box, they might look nice.
As you can gather, I took these photos at Christmas!
Close up of the body, note the moved strap buttons. Jack socket is round the back.
One of my inserts that I can place behind the clear plate. This one's useful if anyone asks me where I'm from, I just point at the guitar!
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