Hi moms, I am a novice and love to play guitar as a hobby, I've been playing for 10 yrs now, my question is I am contemplating getting a backpacker travel guitar, do you own one and if so, is it great to have? I play acoustic steel guitar and this backpacker types (the narrow ones) looks so cute and easy to carry when travelling, pls give me your experience with this guitar, thanks so much!
Hubby says... "bad tone, very low volume, and diffucult to play b/c of the shape, but you can play it and it is easy to travel." He's been a guitarist for 15 years.
I got my husband a Breedlove acoustic guitar with padded/semiridgid backpack style case for when he was going to be kicking around europe for a few months with some college buddies several years ago. Guitar and gigbag were relatively cheap at $600.
Here's the link to the gigbag, looks like $100 to buy it alone. He's carried several guitars in it for local stuff as well, so it fits more than just Breedlove. (If he's carrying his Parker, or Fenders, however... he has to strap them in/ pad it so they don't jostle. It's designed for acoustics, but can be modified pretty simply for electrics).
http://breedlovemusic.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&am...
Anything that gets you playing more often is a good thing (coming from a teacher). That said, I find full-size acoustic guitars just as portable if you get a case with backpack straps. I've even ridden my bicycle with mine. Pawn shops are the best deal when you're looking to try out new instruments and they sell cases as well.
Kee
Hi G.T., I too play guitar for many years. I have a Washburn Rover, Yes it is cute. The sound is not as rich as the regular guitar and it does not always keep in tune. It is a great hobby to have and to pass on to your children. I believe my playing and singing to my children is part of the reason that all 4 of my sons are musicians. Grandma Mary
I don't play the guitar, but my son's in the school band and plays ukulele. He told me that one of his friends has a "mini guitar." From his description, it sounds like what you're talking about. He told me it's cute, but the sound quality just isn't there. He said his uke (ukulele) is louder and has a better tone. My son has a Lanikai acoustic/electric tenor uke, so it can be played with or without an amp. You might want to check out different types of ukuleles. They come in different sizes and are a little more portable than a full sized guitar. Just make sure you get a good brand like Kala or Lanikai. You don't want the suvenier kind. The traditional is the soprano/standard and has more of the sound we are all familar with coming from a uke. The tenor is the one that "Train" plays for "Soul Sister." The baritone sounds like a Spanish/classical guitar. You can get them in 4 or 6 strings. My son has a 4 string and is very proud of the warm sound. SamAsh and Amazon have reasonably priced ukes. The best part is you don't have to worry about losing your pick, since ukes don't really need one. The only problem you might have is that soprano and tenor ukes tune differently than a guitar. The baritone tunes exactly the same as a guitar. If you go to Ukulele Underground, you can see how great ukuleles can sound and how versitile and complex you can get with the music with them. My son makes his sound as if he has a drummer playing with him using a certain technique he learned from Aldrene at Ukulele Underground. http://www.ukuleleunderground.com
