What is the most compact CF (travel) guitar ?

John D and others;

I have, in the past checked out Brunner guitars. But when I go to the address given on this thread my security guard (Kaspersky) denies me access because the site is infected by HEUR:Trojan.Script.Generic. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds like it might be a horse full of guitars.

[MikeB1]

Hi Fazool,

I see we are both in New York but you are in the beautiful "Upstate" area and I am in the beautiful NYC area.

I would be happy to let you try my Synergy. It is based on the X7 body.

The X7 is so ergonomic and Alistair, as said many times, is a genius.

The neck on my Synergy is the most comfortable I have ever played.

See you at Woodstock in October???

[Doubleneck]

Originally Posted by JohnDWilliams

Brunner will make the "compact" model in carbon.

http://brunner-guitars.com/en/b-c-models/

Somewhat expensive but they are much smaller than a Journey and truly fit under the seat in front with room to spare. Hard case or backpack.

In carbon I have a Journey and a Brunner. Both are good guitars and can go in an airplane cabin reliably.

The Brunner would be the most compact, it's a guitar that has always fasinated me. Journey really followed their basic design. Is the Brunner worth the price, you say you have both?

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

I was in the local GC yesterday and they had a used Rainsong Parlor 12 fret (at least in league with any of the travel CF guitars) and I compared it to a GS mini, which even at new is 1/3 the cost. The GS mini was louder and richer in tone (don't know the relative age and other details of the strings on either guitar).

I'm also a GSM fan having owned one for about a year. But it was replaced by my Rainsong P-12 and my experience is the complete opposite of the statement above. The GSM sounds great for its size but I find the P-12 is louder, brighter, and fuller. It is also better plugged in than my GSM was (I had the AE version). Perhaps the P-12 you played had old strings since it was used. I believe the P-12 is a step up in performance over the GSM.

[ac]

Originally Posted by EvanB

John D and others;

I have, in the past checked out Brunner guitars. But when I go to the address given on this thread my security guard (Kaspersky) denies me access because the site is infected by HEUR:Trojan.Script.Generic. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds like it might be a horse full of guitars.

Just checked Brunner's site: http://brunner-guitars.com/en/home/ and had no warnings or problems with the site.

Is this the same page you went to??

AC;

Yes. Perhaps my security system is over-cautious? Or, perhaps your security system is under-cautious? Hummmm???

[Earl49]

I just clicked on that link and got a security message too.

Earl;

I've tried various ways to get to the Brunner site and every attempt ends up blocked by a security warning. I would like to call Brunner and tell him that he's afflicted, but I haven't figured out a way to make contact. Interesting.

[JohnDWilliams]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

The Brunner would be the most compact, it's a guitar that has always fasinated me. Journey really followed their basic design. Is the Brunner worth the price, you say you have both?

For this discussion "travel" means airplane travel.

Journey: The OF660 represents good compromises for a travel guitar. Full scale length means I'd consider gigging with it (but have never tried). The size is slightly large for me but you probably have to put up with that size in order to get the scale length and playability. Sound is pretty good too.

Voyage Air: Had an all-solid OM that sounded wonderful but when folded the neck heel sticks out enough to make it slightly awkward for the overhead. It was my boat guitar for a while but replaced it with a Lucky 13 when I got a bigger boat and didn't need to save space.

Rainsong Parlor: This is the guitar I take, in a Calton case, checked as baggage, when I have to fly and play a gig. In fact I take the Rainsong to most acoustic gigs, even local. I don't really consider it a "travel" guitar since it's not all that much smaller than a "full size" guitar but it works well in the durable case.

Luck 13: Pretty decent guitar. Great tone but not small at all. Fits in the same Calton case as the Rainsong. Don't gig with it but no good reason why. The Rainsong is sunburst finish and is very nice looking. The all-black finish of the L13 is a little problematic for boat use when the sun is shining.

Brunner: I've had several Brunners. A full-size and two "Outdoor" guitars. The Outdoor guitars are now called "Compact" I think.

The full-size guitar, with the removable neck, is a very good-sounding guitar and compares well to other guitars in its price range ($2k+) - even those that don't have a removable neck. I used one to record an album's worth of music in a hotel room in Whistler, B.C. (not released yet) and I was very happy with the sound.

I had a wood Outdoor (compact) guitar that was great but sold it when I found a carbon model.

The compact Outdoor guitar in carbon is perfect to take along so that you have a guitar for yourself but don't need to play out or record. It easily goes under the seat in front even in small airplanes. It's in a hard case so you can rest your feet on it.

Is the Brunner worth it? That's hard to answer. It is smaller than many purses so you are almost guaranteed to be able to carry it aboard even a small airplane. I've carried mine on a Beaver float plane. It's almost inconsequential to bring it along. That's worth a lot to me. I lucked out and found mine used for under $1k. I don't know if I'd pay close to $2k for a new one.

[ac]

Originally Posted by EvanB

AC;

Yes. Perhaps my security system is over-cautious? Or, perhaps your security system is under-cautious? Hummmm???

I'll write him a note in a minute and let him know.

I'm assuming those of you who have gotten the warning messages are running Windows. Correct?

I use Mac and this type of issue simply has never been a problem for me over the years though I often hear such encounters from steady PC users. I have a PC also, but it's loaded with anti-virus software and I use it for only one dedicated purpose. Only seldom use it for the web.

Hopefully, Brunner will clean his site and it will be open again to PC users soon. His site looks great on my machine.

[ac]

Just received this from Lukas Brunner:
------------------------------
"Hey, good to hear from you, thanks a lot for the note! I’m not registered on the Acoustic Guitar Forum, can you please drop them a note that I’m not on it? I don’t have any problems either as I’m on a Mac with safari as well…

Hope to hear from my server support soon.

Would you mind letting the guys also know that I’m just finishing the four very last B-Compact Carbon models? I’ll be gone for three weeks now but they should be ready during June. I will show them on the website once they are ready… I will no longer offer the CF models as I don’t have the capacity anymore, will fully concentrate on wood which is sooo much nicer to work with

Thanks again! Hopefully I can send you good news soon

Luke"
-----------------------
So for those few who have one of his CF guitars, congratulations. For for anyone else who might have interest, this will be the last chance with these last four as they are being finished now. These will definitely be collector's items very soon.

I've never owned one, but I've held one and heard it played live for me. Amazing sound and quality for such a small guitar.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by ac

...I will no longer offer the CF models as I don’t have the capacity anymore, will fully concentrate on wood which is sooo much nicer to work with .

I bet it is.

[ac]

For those who tried to see Brunner's website, would you try again please? I just received the following from him:

"Hi,

can you please ask the guys on the forum who are using „Kaspersky“ if the problem is still there? My supporter from the server company is asking to check… They replaced a whole WP data base which is normally affected in such a case. It seems to run fine on the Windows and no other Spyware seems to give a warning so far…

Sorry for the hassle and thanks a lot!
Luke

Thanks"

This link should now work for you now:
http://brunner-guitars.com/en/home/

AC;

Got it! Thank you. I do not see any mention of CF instruments so it looks like the last few made may become collectors items.

[Earl49]

Just looked at the site and it opened fine. Windows 7 on a PC here, and the original error messages came via Microsoft security screening, FYI.