Traveler Guitar Traveler

O.k., this amazing piece of work is travelling with me since 1998. It is US-made, all hard maple (incl. fretboard), and came originally with a Kent Armstrong SC and a Fishman Piezo. The main body has a two position Miniswitch for the PU's and a Stereo Output Jack. The detachable Legrest is featuring a Vol. Control, a tone blender and a switch to choose between blender order plain PU-selection.

Some years ago, I exchanged the SC by an SC-format humbucker, a, ULTRASONIC REF3 made by Bill Lawrence, and added an extra Miniswitch to select between parallel and serial coil configurations.

The maple finish is all natural oiled, the body style I'd descrivbe as "skeleton", very special and 3 Pounds lightweightish. The tuners are Gotoh-type no names with good action.

Because of the special shape and travel companion dedication,t eh original LEVY's Gigbag is highly appreciated.

I give it a 10 because you must compare this thing with a Martin Backpacker or a "silint guitar" rather than with a fully charged Steve Morse Axe!

I really use it as travel companion. It is min. 350.000 flight miles older since I bought it. I mostly use it with a cigarette pack size headphone amp (Korg Toneworks PX4 Pandora) and an MP3-player for playalongs! IT IS A GREAT, GREAT LIFE ENRICHER! Remember, the alernative is to hang around in a hotel without any chance to do something creative!

Compared to usual guitars, it certainly "sounds lighter", but the HB improved the versality a lot. I use it with the Rectifier or the High Gain Marshall model of the PX4 and it is good for Van Halen stuff like it is any way for clean and overdrive guitar lines. As I say, it is fun to play and no compromise because the neck is like a full size Gibson neck. Most of my other guitars are Paulas (original and copies) and I felt home playing this neck rightaway!

The variety is limited to the three PU settings since it has no tone controls, but I can easily live with it since I'm not a big tone poti user anyway.

To be fair to my fat Paulas as ref. It's a beautiful 8 rating!

Almost perfect! The die cast nut is positioned slightly out of center, but without influence on teh action, just a visual observation. It came with acoustic bronze strings which is certainly rubbih for a guitar that does its best job with the magnetic PU and not with the Piezo.

Yeah, it's good for live playing and it is lasting! I was worried after 2 year so becuase I had to adjust the truss rod twice in 6 month and I observed that the neck started to bend over towards the high e-string. However, this wood-ageing stopped and it has been o.k. for the past 4 years. The control domes come off no and then but I book it to the suitcase life in the cargo room of an airplane. Everything else: No problem, just play! It has "patina" as usual for an oiled only finish.

The 6 is for the neck torsion, but read it correctly: It's still above the average 5 rating.

Not very responsive. I contacted them first after years when I wanted to get rid of the SC-humming problem. and believe that they didn't respond because mine was bought from Fuller's (they were the guys featuring this baby at the Frankfurt fair in '96), but you don't find any reference to Fuller's no more. I guess the relation screwed up! Bad luck for the customer.

Well, I fixed it with the ULTRASONIC anyway.

I would go mad if it would break or would be stolen! No major travel without it! Would definitely get a new one and it would undergo the same customization effort!

I bought mine about 6 years ago. And as an early one I suppose that there was still time to fine tune the design. The tools and case are of good quality and the fret board on mine is in a light wood. The transparent finish is good although my fretboard needs a good clean now!

Sound through the Stethophones is ok - but I will tend to not use anything and play when the rest of the family are watching TV. When plugged in a trace Elliot Guitar Amp/Speaker - wonderful sound and the addition of an effect board give all the wonderful sound s you can imagine.

Well set up in the factory although I have replaced with extra light strings (9's).
Flaws - it required greater effort to restring the instrument and this can be a little fiddly - but the the use of a good pair of pliers and wire cutters is essential.

This Guitar comes with me everywhere when I am on holiday - Thailand,Bali,Greece,Holland and even the USA! I have had many enquiring and odd glances when the guitar comes out and have managed to play with some of the house bands in the hotels. They are intrigued by the shape and it's "back to front nature". The carry case looks like a guncase so be careful when you take into a country with armed guards at the airport!!Relaibilty - excellent

I registered with the company and have never had to make any futher contact. I was a little disappointed that the tuning pegs are made of pink plastic not chrome on mine.#
3 year warranty.

I've been playing for 37 years. - If stolen I would get another one.Works well in acoustic folk clubs and is good for fingerpicking!

Its main claim to fame is its really compact design that is actually playable. It has both acoustic and electric pickups as well as a clever stethoscope earpiece for a completely unplugged experience.

Sound is not what you buy a guitar like this for. Nonetheless it sounds OK when amplified. The stethoscope sound is a little thin, but that should be expected because it has no significant sound box to resonate with.

Excellent action without any setup. Very pleased.

One complaint I have is that the standard sized electric jack is placed in a fashion that demands a right-angle jack on the cord. It seems it would have been easy to mount it so that a straight-in plug could have been used.

There is a wooden faux-bout that can be reoriented so that the guitar can be placed on your knee. This is a great feature. Unfortunately there is no upper bout for resting your forearm.

The neck has an adjustment screw and the correct wrenches are included for it. Only drawback is that the switch that selects which pickup (piezo acoustic or regular electric) is very frail looking; could be broken off.

This is head and shoulders above a Martin Backpacker in every aspect except sound volume. The Backpacker, having a real sound box, is much louder, but the Martin is just a tough beast to actually play because of its odd shape and it also seems much less robust for stuffing into overhead compartments.

Solid maple neck-thru-body w/rosewood fretboard. Medium frets. Single coil pick-up plus transducer. 3-way switch (either or both), jack for amp cord, transducer connection for "Stethephones" provided with guitar. Volume knobs for both pickups. Padded gig bag with compartment for Stethephones and picks, etc. Full size neck and fretboard. Elegantly engineered (not I don't come from the company or know wnyone there), the strings are anchored at the nut, and routed around the end of the body to tuning pegs which sit just to the sides of the strings where you would be strumming. See it at www. travelerguitar.com

Very interesting sound. With my mini-marshall, I get a nice twangy sound with good sustain (surprisingly good for such a small guitar). With the stethophones, a nice bright acoustic-amplified sound. Very nice. Without phones or amp, it is very quiet, allowing me to play with my family while they are watching TV.

Body is not finished with any laquer or paint, but the wood is extrememly well fitted and finished. Hardware and components appear to be of highest quality. I make very little adjustment moving to this from my Strat. Action is great, very playable. lack of finish on the neck is a bit of a slowdown though.

This guitar is of the highest quality. I am very happy with the wood and all components. It appears it will last indefinitely.

N/A Bought at Guitar Showcase in San Jose CA. Good Place!!

A great little guitar - worth the price! Very versatile, and fun to get out and play in situations where larger acoustics or electrics would be a hassle. I have a Fender DG-27SCE and Fat strat also. I have been a "hobbyist" for several years off and on. I got this guitar to increase my practice and playing opportunites as I have a large family and need to grab time when and where I can. I was considering this guitar for several months before buying. I must admit it is everything I hoped for and more.