Traveler Guitar Escape MK-II Nylon

This is a MK-II nylon-string Traveler guitar. Despite being made in China, the fit and finish appear to be very nice. Solid wood appears to have been used for the predominant construction. The guitar comes equipped with an LR Baggs "element hybrid" piezo-transducer pickup, with on-board volume, treble, and bass control sliders. There is a very nice little padded gig-bag for the guitar included, as well as some pretty cheap earphones so the player can hear the signal through the pickup.

Wow. I am surprised. I normally play a Yamaha nylon-string (cut-away) electro-acoustic guitar. I had an LR Baggs "Element/I-Beam" dual system installed in that Yamaha guitar, and I typically use an Ultrasound DI box into the PA. I brought this travel guitar to a band practice and swapped it in place of the Yamaha, and this little travel guitar sounded just great through the PA! Although both this travel guitar and my Yamaha have LR Baggs systems on-board, the Traveler had a different sound. It was a bit chime-ier, and almost sounded like there was a tiny touch of chorus in the mix. I can't explain why it sunded as it did, but it was very pleasant, and most surprisingly, on-par (sound quality-wise) through the PA with my Yamaha. This will be a great back-up guitar.

Thie guitar played great right out of the box. I was surprised that the action was as good as it was, considering the Chinese construction.

One criticism: the tuning pegs could use some attention. While the pegs themselves work okay, the strings tend to bind up a bit as they pass behind the bridge and around the body. The result of this is that one can easily "over-shoot" a tuning interval while bringing a string up-to-pitch; one must then drop back down (flat) and try to bring the string up again. This is not a huge issue, but it could be better.

This seems pretty robust, but I have not owned it for too long. It is pretty hard for a solid chunk of wood to fail. The most vulnerable issue would seem to be the electronics, but LR Baggs makes pretty good stuff, so I am not too worried about it. I have experienced no problems at all thus far. While I don't really intend for this to be a gigging guitar, I think I would trust it for a gig (and I may well bring it along as a back-up instrument).

I have had no interaction with the company.

I have been playing for a number of years, and the "gear owned" list would be long. I had previously tried one of those "open-frame" (folding frame) concepts of travel guitars I got for around $150 on eBay. It was horrible -- absolutely un-playable -- not worth the wood which was used to build it. I really did not want to spend a ton of money on a travel guitar, but I guess one gets what one pays for. After that negative experience, I decided to try one of these (much more pricey) options, I am very glad I took on chance on this MK-II, as it is a perfect fit for me. Although quite small, the body will sit on my knee and I can play my full repetoire; the guitar is fine with a strap as well, although the body took a little getting used to. Without any amplification, I can play the guitar while watching the TV (just barely hear it) and my wife (also watching TV) is not bothered by the sound of the guitar. The guitar will fit into my large suitcase (if I don't feel like carrying it on-board) with no problems. Totally playable, and great sound through a good PA. I would recommend some better earphone/headphones if someone is going to use that feature a lot. Cost-wise, this was pretty pricey, but worth it. If it were lost or stolen, I would immediately re-purchase another one.

Made in China, alder body with spruce lam top and white top binding, bolt-on maple 25.5" scale neck with rosewood fingerboard ("ebonized"? nah, just dark stained), zero fretboard radius, 1.9" nut width, .095 x .045 frets, nice backshape that's neither too deep nor too shallow, neck joins body at just past the 16th fret, 16:1 classical tuners, plastic nut and saddle, LR Baggs Element transducer and preamp. Includes a padded Sierra gig bag.

Unlike Traveler's previous use of a Shadow transducer and preamp, the MK-II is supplied with an LR Baggs Element transducer/preamp. The sound is much more acoustic-like, though it's not a pure classical nylon acoustic tone. I like it ... a lot.

No issues or concerns with materials or build - all is just perfect for what it is.

Built like a mini Panzer tank. No concerns or worries. Totally gig-worthy.

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I'm a guitar tech-luthier who's been playing guitars before the Strat was invented. I wanted a classical nylon travel guitar and the Traveler seemed like a good candidate and it's just faster/easier for me to buy than build. I took a chance on this guitar and have been pleasantly surprised at how well it plays and sounds. Never satisfied with most stock guitars, I replaced the plastic nut and saddle with vintage cow bone, and swapped out the jack for a stereo Switchcraft. I changed the supplied strings for a set or Savarez Corum Alliance normal tension and tweaked the truss rod for a low playing action. The only issue with the Traveler series of guitars is access to the tuner knobs - more so important with a nylon strung instrument since constant retuning is required due to the string stretch factor. However, once most of the slack it out it only takes 3 or 4 knob turns to get back to concert pitch. Other than that, the MK-II Nylon works well for me as both a travel and recording guitar. In terms of cost, IMHO it's overpriced by at least $100 street dollars. YMMV.