Traveler Guitar Speedster 2

I can't tell exactly where it was made, but it has 22 frets, with single volume and tone controls and a raised cord jack. There is no body to speak of due to its unique design where the strings are brought in from the top of the neck through a special loom from which the neck can also be adjusted, go over a tune-o-matic style bridge, around the back over special plastic rollers and end on conventional-style tuners are situated right above (next to?) the single single-coil pickup. You have to see pictures to get this. The body is a one-piece carving from maple with a pao ferro fretboard with screwed in separate pieces that serve as guards for the tuners and a detachable arm rest. The neck is really fine--24 2/4 inch scale, but with a slimmer profile than a Gibson, closer to Fender Strat. Very nice design combo. soft case, instruction book (needed) and your very own pick.

Hard to determine the sound--I've played it through various amps and it takes on the character of the medium. However, it doesn't sound cheap by any means. This is a serious instrument. My purpose for this guitar is limited anyway--practice through a Pignose. And it's OK by far for that.

Wonderful action as set up by the factory--better than I have experienced (especially Gibson). Comes with light gauge Fender strings. I'd stick with those for awhile, and if I go with what I use on my other guitars (medium round wounds) I'd take it to my guitar tech first. The fit and finish was much better than I expected--again, this is a serious instrument. The pao ferro fretboard and frets was superbly finished and polished(!), and all that was needed was the tune-up(follow the instructions in the book).

Too early to tell--the hardware seems to be the same quality as what Fender and Gibson puts on their guitars. The finish does not seem to be thin, but it might be brittle. I forsee some chips occurring over time. The top strap button is solid--the brass thumbscrew that holds the detachable armrest doubles as the bottom strap button.
I do not plan to use this on a gig immediately, only for practice, but who knows? I'll have to get familiar with the Speedster first.

Haven't tried yet--however the vendor was great (did this in EBay) and has pledged his undying support.

I've been playing for over 40 years (on and off) and own Fender, Gibson, and Yahama guitars. If lost or stolen, I would seek out another exactly like this right away. The thing I like most about the Speedster is its extreme portability and convenience, yet it feels neck-wise like my full-size guitars. I compared the Speedster to the Steinberger Spirit, but the neck was not the same at all. I wish it had twin humbuckers--I need the warm jazzy sound (which I play).

Probably made in 2001... and probably in Mexico, although the new Traveler Pro Series is said to be made in China.. but most of Fender's plants are in Mexico....?? This could be made in China...]]\\

Full scale neck! (great!)

I chose this model after playing a few Pro Series. I'd thought I wanted a more acoustic feel, with the piezo's and all, but after playing the Speedster, I opted for this model.

This one's black laminate over their standard maple bodies they use for the Pro Series. I also checked out their metallice red.. kinda' cool but not quite my style.

The main differences between the Speedster and the Pro Series is the pickup configuration, control placement, attachable arm placement and adjustable bridge.

As noted in reviews on the Pro Series, the piezos in the Chinese made models sound much better and louder than those in the USA mades, however, the USA made Pro Series' that I tried had a nicer feel... the neck was smoother and the frets felt a little more refined..
Those differences right there made it really hard to choose between the USA and the Chinese models..

More than one of each USA/China model had fret buzz here or there, and with the fixed saddle/nut situation, I really did not want to go down the road of trying to setup a hybrid the way I would a normal acoustic. The intonation seemed fine, but I'd just finished setting-up all my acoustic guitars and didn't want to hassle with another quirky situation.

Then there's the stethaphone issue... okay, kinda cool, but basically way to uncomfortable for my ears.. and the location for were you "plug in" the hose couldn't have been worse - right were your strumming/picking arm wants to rest..creates noise, and the sound really isn't that loud or that pleasant. (not to suggest that other people are wrong in loving that little innovation...)

As for the Speedster, it looks like they took someone's advice and put the controls and 1/4 jack on a fixed spot below the strings and then they added an optional attachment that goes on the above the strings for an arm rest. MUCH more comfortable! Really transforms the design into a comfortable instrument to handle.

As for the pickup situation: I really wanted to go with the piezos in the Pro Series, but after giving a good listen to all the configurations (Piezo only, piezo/coil blends, and coil only) I found I wasn't getting anything near the piezo sound that I get with my Martin, or my 12-string, or my Epiphone acoustic electric..so I figured: why try and get a similar sound in my travel guitar and feel it's slightly less than perfect when I could get a more unique guitar for my overall setup: an electric that sounds alot like a Telecaster, but still plays just like the Pro Series.

So, after comparing the variety of sounds from the Pro to the variety of sounds from the Speedster, the Speedster won out: hotter coil, AND a tone control and the bridge is adjustable. I do kind of wish they'd figured out a way to include a piezo in this model... maybe I'll just add a Dean Markely Sweet Spot in there somehow... Read on....

I play mostly acoustic and acoustic/electric styles. I've got one electric guitar (G&L F100 Series II) and 6 acoustic guitars... so I kinda' needed another electric anyway.

I use this mostly for travel which I do alot of. (really tiny gig bag, fits in overhead compartment on airplanes.... like you didn't already know that :-) so I use this mainly with a Korg PX3B (yes, the bass model... just cuz I happen to play bass too and have the PX3B instead of the PX3 - sounds great).

I also play it through my Fender Twin. Sounds awesome.

As noted above, the variety of sounds is actually (in my opinion) wider than those of the Pro Series. With the Pro, you can't adjust the tone of the coil... With the Speedster, the tone control gives a really nice range, from super bright to a cool "underground" flat.

Coils tend to have a little hiss when you turn the volume all the way up, but who hears that when you're making notes ...? Turn the volume done just a tad and the sound is pretty clean.

Again, I wish they'd added in the piezo somehow.. but it's kind of tricky without a bridge/saddle configuration. I'm going to figure out a way to add one in. However, that's still a custom arrangement. This guitar sounds great as is.

The factory setup on this one is almost perfect. I had to raise the treble end of the pickup just a bit (with the screw adjustment intended for that purpose). I'll probably lower the action just a little- not that it's higher than any of my other guitars, but I like to see how low I can get it without buzzing, the bring it a bit from there.

No manufacturer defects... EXCEPT for their choice in the look of the plates that cover the pickup and control compartments: a circular brushed metal look. I think they were trying to make it look retro with a modern touch. Some migh like it, but I'm going to replace them with black when I get the time to do it.

I really like the black though... I was considerng getting a Hohner, Steinberger copy (small body thing) and now I've got this and don't need anything else. I have a couple of basses in this size (Headless, small bodied Steinberger style) and I just enjoy the light weight and comfort with this guitar alot.

For just over $300, I don't expect 2 gallons of paint... I noticed on the one red version I checked out that there was a small dent and the paint looked pretty thin. Dings are always sad anyway.

Actually, the 1/4 jack location is another reason I opted for the Speedster over the Pro Series: with the Pro, the 1/4 jack in a wierd spot, and right next to the cable that connects the removeable arm with the pickup... I felt like the plug didn't go in very easily, and that I was going to bend the other cable in bad ways and that if I hadn't screwed on the arm attachemnt really well that I'd bend the screw or something trying to jam the plug into the jack... my worries...

On the Speedster, the 1/4 jack comes right out the front of the guitar, and NOT on the attachable arm rest, so it's really secure.

We'll see... Though this guitar is being produced and distributed by Fender..I've heard that the original Traveler company (in Redland, California) is doing the warranty work...I'd give them a call if you're concerned.

I've been noodling around the guitar for about 20 years. I REALLY needed a guitar for business trips and even my smallest guitar needs to be checked on most airlines on busy flights. This is the IDEAL solution. AND, it plays so well and stands apart from my other guitars, now I have an addition to my setup when playing in bands.

Final word: if you're considering the Pro Series because it's "acoustic/electric", think twice (or 3 or 4 times) and give a good listen to the Pro Series in comparison the the Speedster.