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Taking your guitar with you on a trip or road trip can turn an ordinary vacation into a memorable experience. Who hasn't dreamed of playing their best guitar solo to their friends on a camping trip in the middle of a mountain? But what do we know about the best travel guitars?
Our guitar would be at home even in the most unusual places, but unfortunately, although we often associate it with travel, transporting it on our expeditions can be a real journey in itself.
To make life easier for nomadic guitarists, guitar manufacturers and luthiers, including us, have designed increasingly innovative acoustic, electro-acoustic and electric travel guitars.
In short, the questions are manifold, and as a new player in the field, we wanted to propose an article to pass on the knowledge we've gained over the last 4 years of research and development required to create our Mogi One. We're going to take a look at the current state of the art in travel guitars, developing the strengths and weaknesses of each. At the end of your reading, you'll be able to determine which are the best travel guitars for your needs.
In addition to carrying your folk in its padded case, you'll also need to carry your travel gear. Clothes, computer, water bottle, backpacker's guide, etc... These are all personal effects that won't fit in the guitar case, and which you'll need to carry in one or more additional pieces of luggage (suitcase or backpack).
You'll instantly become more encumbered and say goodbye to pleasant strolls on foot, bike, scooter or other means of individual locomotion. While this may not seem "serious" at first glance, we can assure you that the comfort experienced during your escapades and excursions will not be the same if you're loaded like a mule.
You'll have the choice of putting your guitar in the hold or in the cabin, and will naturally opt for the cabin. However, since the dimensions of your guitar exceed the size of the authorized cabin format, you'll have to pay full price for oversized hand luggage. Depending on the airline, you may even have to pay for an extra seat!
Your vacation budget will take the equivalent of a Mike Tyson uppercut, and you'll be able to forget about mojitos at the hotel bar.
A luthier's guitar broken during a flight with Air Canada
The nomad musician's greatest fear: breaking his instrument...
Even with the greatest care, your wooden guitar will inevitably suffer shocks during your journey. In the worst cases, these shocks can even affect the structure of the instrument.
This is what happens during the loading and unloading of airliners. Airline employees simply toss luggage around. Even with a flight case, you may find your stringed instrument destroyed on landing.
A completely sunken soundboard, or a decapitated headstock and tuning machines...
Between two ports of call, you'll be left with nothing but tears in your eyes for damage your luthier won't be able to repair.
You should also be aware of variations in humidity and temperature which, depending on certain geographical and meteorological conditions, can seriously deform your instrument:
As wood is made up of cells that swell and compress in response to changes in humidity levels, quality solid wood guitars (mahogany, rosewood, ebony, red cedar) are particularly vulnerable.
As you can see, even if you're not a globetrotter, transporting your traditional wooden guitar (acoustic, electro-acoustic or electric with amplification) is likely to restrict the excursions planned during your next trip.
Fortunately for you, a number of travel-friendly guitars have emerged in recent years. And that's what we're discovering now!
When we discover them, we tend to ask ourselves:
The Mogi One and its transport backpack, which can hold your travel gear
Let's start with our own model: the Mogi One.
The fruit of 4 years of research and development, the Mogi One is the world's first guitar that can be carried in a compact backpack along with your travel gear.
No need to carry several pieces of luggage and be encumbered: everything fits in a single backpack.
How is this possible?
As you may have noticed, the Mogi One features a very practical invention: a removable bottom panel.
Removing the back panel when disassembling the guitar allows the sound box to be stored in the carrying bag, by "fitting" it over a compartment containing travel gear.
In this way, the guitar takes up no space in the bag, as if we were reclaiming the empty space of the soundbox, normally lost, to transform it into storage space for belongings.
MOGI One handle and strings stored in carry bag
Thanks to the removable tailpiece and EVA divider, ropes are kept tidy and protected during your journey.
Available for pre-orders starting at 649€, and manufactured within a 700km radius of the Pays de la Loire region of France, our beloved Mogi One democratizes access to travel guitars and is a true innovation in nomadic music.
Available in a wide range of colors and materials, Journey Instruments offers dozens of models, right down to the travel bass.
As the travel bags are available in a wheeled suitcase version, you don't have to carry your guitar all the time, and can simply pull it along with the fold-out handle. Very practical when you're waiting to board your plane.
The bags have a small pocket for storing small items (passport, Michelin guide, pick, capodastre).
The price range is wide, but beware of entry-level products which are sometimes reported to have poor finishes (marked wood, double-drilled holes) and malfunctions with the handle clamping system.
In fact, the screw holding the release knob tends to unscrew over time. You find yourself stuck with a handle that you can no longer dismantle... a situation that can prove embarrassing when you don't have a hexagonal wrench at hand.
We recommend the models in its category Overhead Collapsible Carbon Fiber Travel Guitars more expensive, better-finished and sturdier carbon models, available at around $1399, a substantial budget suited to a clientele mainly located in North America.
Easy assembly, variety of instruments, bag or case container, available in nylon or steel strings, long pitch (650mm), bass version (4 strings), full 4/4 size.
Furchthe Czech manufacturer, which has become one of the leading guitar brands in recent years (Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Martin, Harley Benton and Taylor) offers this iconic little model, the the Little Jane.
Voyage Air Guitar is an American company offering folding wooden guitars, most of them varnished, with good finishing (fretwork in particular) and acoustic properties.
Very expensive, you'll need to spend around $2600 (guitar + cover) plus postage and customs before you can boast of touring with your Voyage Air Guitar.
You can find a nice review from MrGalagoMusic here.
Klos Guitar screws and tape before disassembly
The P90 ascender from Ciari Guitars is an absolutely stunning folding electric guitar. Its three-part folding neck linkage and internal string tensioning system have a killer look and a sublime finish.
Available in a range of colors from $1599 (with travel backpack), the Ascendeur is a revolution in portable electric guitar design. Several bag formats are available, while the most suitable travel bags will be sold separately (from $150).
The fretted ebony fingerboard with PLEK provides a pleasant, fluid action, making this a precise guitar.
Silent guitars are a completely different type of travel guitar, because as their name suggests, they are silent.
What's more, they'll never cease to amaze you once they're back in the studio or on stage. Equipped with a piezo coil pickup and built-in preamp, you can connect them to your other equipment (synth, effects pedal, etc.).
Work on your riffs, take advantage of distortion and vibrato effects to play all styles of music, from heavy metal to funk.
Its sound power is slightly greater than that of an electric guitar (unamplified), so you can practice in public places without disturbing those around you (by plugging in your headphones), or play to the sound of the guitar in a quiet room.
Now equipped with the high-performance SRT (Studio Response Technology) system, the SLG200 range offers incredible acoustic performance.
Its large number of frets is easily accessible thanks to the notch in the low hoop, which gives access to the highest frets and frets.
The hoop, which acts as a splint, can be folded away, reducing the width of the guitar case for transport.
Available from Woodbrass at a price of around €819, the Yamaha Silent is a real success, and we invite you to read the test and review by Acoustic Guitar Universe
Weighing 1.4 kg and measuring 71 cm in length, this mini guitar has the astonishing ability to offer a standard pitch (629 mm ) for a miniature size, without disassembling.
It's a far cry from a stratoscaster, but for a purchase price starting at €422 incl. VAT (cover included) on the Thomann websiteyou're ready to practice your favorite Jimi Hendrix tunes and chords, in silence...
Commonly referred to as "guitalélé, guilele, guitarlele, guitaralele, guitar-ukulele or guitarrita", they are smaller in size, but some offer quite respectable acoustic performance for their small size.
Generally affordable, these are instruments you won't be afraid to carry around, especially on adventurous explorations where you risk damaging them.
Although they're smaller, they're still bulky, so we don't recommend them for a round-the-world trip. On the other hand, they will easily fit into a van or caravan for a road trip.
Although not really a guitar, the Ukulele (with four strings) is very popular for touring (festivals, camping, hiking) thanks to its miniature size.
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