Product: Traveler Guitar Escape Nylon
Price Paid: US $349.00
Submitted
06/09/2005
at
11:20am
by
BK
Email: kpainta<at>aol dot com
Features
:
9
2005 traveler escape nylon guitar.made in china.
body is alder stained mahagony color.full scale classical bolt on maple headless neck,paduak fretboard,pearl side dots. almost 2''wide and a little slimer than a standard classical neck.VERY COMFY!adjustable truss rod for low,buzz free action.the neck pocket is the tightest i have ever seen.standard classical tuners stay in tune very well.has a headphone preamp[sounds kinda crappy to my ears.]but hears the good part- the shadow undersaddle pickup[more later]the intonation was great on all but one string which was way off[d string]
they may need to check this more closley or use a compensated saddle
Sound
:
10
like i said the headphone setting sounds kinda fake to me but the amplified shadow pre-amp/pickup sounds rich,full and natural,no piezo quack[at least on the nylon string model being reviewed]and can be played in a loud band with no feedback.honestly sounds much better than a epiphone chet atkins sst nylon that i use to use.the shdow preamp is very stipped don with vol,trebel,bass sliders.i'm using it through a fishman power mix pedal into a fender pa 135 tube head and it sounds amazing!sounds really good just straight into a pa also.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
the chinese are really putting out some incredibaly tight guitars and this escape is no exception.smooth finished frets,microscopic neck to body gap,the bridge saddle is even angled backward at 11 degrees as per shadows specs[this gives the strings maximum contact with the saddle and therefore maximum volume]speaking of volume the amplified stings are well balanced with no one string louder than the others.you've got to here this thing through a good amp!very natural,warm classical tone great for finger picking,strumming or soloing.if not for the intonation this guitar would get a solid 10!
Reliability/Durability
:
10
no issue here,very solid.changing strings looked like it would be a nightmare but really wasnt that bad.it comes from the factory with normal tension strings that are well applied so just put em on like they did.all hardware and screws are gold and classy looking.this thing is like a steinberger with a fat,wide classical neck!a real joy to plat and at a little over three pounds you wont know its strapped on.
Customer Support
:
10
haven't contacted them about the intonation but the answered my emails the same day about general questions.i'm hoping they'll send me a new saddle.i bought this guitar off ebay from travelersmusic[their seller id]since they threw in some really nice sennheiser headphones.andy is really quick to reply and shipping was fast and free!
Overall Rating
:
10
this thing really shines live in a band. has a really cool vibe and every night somone will ask you what it is.i play in a reggae/rock/soul band www.templeyard.com and if this guitar were stolen i'd save up and replace it in a heartbeat!
