The journey to my NGD Kevin Michael travel guitar

[Blaker]

Howdy all! So after about 4 months of deliberating I finally pulled the trigger and got the Kevin Michael travel guitar. I'll have to add pictures another time, though I don't think they'll look any different than the sales and promo pics online.

I don't know how normal it is with KM products, but I purchased it at the price of one without electronics. Speaking of which, this guitar sounds great plugged in, I've been very pleased with that aspect. Also received about $100 worth gear (extra strings, capo, etc) thrown in. If anyone ever shops guitars in Seoul, I have a definite recommendation for a shop to visit.

When I first saw the promo for these guitars about a year ago, I was intrigued. I liked the idea of a little but smaller, very durable McPherson. When I finally got to see one, I was surprised both by its size and sound. The size put me off as I was expecting something about the size of a Taylor Big Baby, not quite that of a GS-mini. But the sound was pretty incredible--warm, bassy, LOTS of volume. The convenience of the durability and portability coupled with the sound and feel of the neck kept me coming back.

This guitar got me curious about carbon fiber guitars and was part of my joining this forum. In my carbon fiber search, I got to play this alongside Rainsong Parlor and APLE models. I know there are a number of other great options, but I could only find Rainsongs with local dealers and I liked these two models the best. Both were great guitars. I found the necks on both to be beefier feeling than what I'm used to. The Parlor's neck pushed the boundaries of comfort for me. The APLE neck was much more comfortable that the Parlor (less thick), but still noticeable compared to what I'm used to. The Parlor was loud but didn't have the warmth and bass I found with the KM. The APLE was the most evenly toned of all three of the guitars, very warm (and as the many different reviews say) a great finger style guitar. I liked the 12-fret setup and features like the gotoh tuners. I could not tell which produced more volume between the KM and APLE. I almost went with the APLE, but ultimately the comfort of the neck and convenience of the size of the KM won out for me.

It took about 5 visits over several months, but KM came out as the clear winner in my book. Each visit, there were new things I'd notice that I did or didn't like with the KM. Initially I didn't like its overall size, mostly because I was anticipating something larger. Then I felt the scale was too short for comfortable play. I'm a pretty big guy and that seemed to accentuate these two things. However as I tested it more I found it was more and more fun to play. On my last visit, it seemed the high E string sounded "tinney" or "twanged". I actually thought it might be the string buzzing on a fret. The shop had a few KMs, so I played others and found the same aspect. However this was not consistent throughout my playing the guitars and figured I could try some different strings and see the impact. Throughout the journey, I kept coming back to the warmth of the sound and the ideas of its durability (primarily its not reacting to humidity and temperature) and portability. After working through all these things, I increasingly realized its "fun factor" and comfort.

Since getting the guitar last Thursday, I've spent over 30 hours playing it and am loving it! The warmth and shorter scale has lended to me experimenting and playing with a lot of jazz progressions--a bit out of the norm for me. It's also been so easy and comfortable to play. I frequently fiddle (going through scales, chord progressions, finger staple patterns, etc) around on a guitar while my wife and I watch tv. This is SO comfortable for that! And the convenience for using wherever has been great. I used it as I led worship on Sunday and found the size/weight quite convenient as I switched between pastoral roles and leading worship.

The travel case is basic but efficient, very well meets my intent for it. While its carbon fiber hard case is small, the soft travel case does just fine. I've deployed with my Taylor 214ce a few times, the KM could fill that role much more conveniently and definitely would fill that role if I were to do so again.

All said, I'm a thankful and happy camper. This has been a good journey getting to explore and learn quite a bit, meeting some great folks at guitar shops and playing some really cool instruments. I like where I've landed and am hopeful this guitar will be a fun musical companion for many years to come

Thanks for reading and thanks to those that gave input in my other threads as I bounced ideas and questions around!

[Doubleneck]

Great review, well thought out and you were wise to spend your time with the guitars before choosing. I had a week with the KM and thought it was a great guitar. Like you I was a little put off by it small size. I have since purchased a wood guitar with about the same scale length. I too have found some joy in small after getting used to it. I thought the KM neck was about perfect as I remember.

I had the same impression of the neck on the Parlor, but I believe it is indentical to the APLE which you thought was more comfortable?

[Fixedgear60]

Have to agree with you. My KM is my only acoustic guitar these days. Could not pull the trigger on the Shorty, and owned just about all the other small to med size CF guitars (Rainsong, Emerald, Blackbird). It has all the compromises I need for a comfy guitar with a near perfect neck and no barn door (buzz) electronics. I have the one with pickup and it can be easily changed out if I ever want to improve it... which I doubt... without modifying the external of the guitar. The back and sides have the RT finish that everyone loved in the prior cargos a while ago ...so no worries about belt buckle marks ect. Also ... not many talk about the cut away that is near perfect that just gets out of the way and gives great access.

Just a well thought out and sounding guitar

[Blaker]

Originally Posted by Doubleneck

I had the same impression of the neck on the Parlor, but I believe it is indentical to the APLE which you thought was more comfortable?

Now that you mention it, I had to go check the specs. I failed to mention it was a 14-fret Parlor model that I played. Other than the 14- and 12-fret difference I guess they are the same necks. For some reason the APLE felt less beefy to me and generally more comfortable. Maybe the shorter scale length and better balance of the instrument played in to that feel?

[Neilson]

Hi,
am interesting on getting a durable CF guitar. is there a shop in Seoul that carry these product? pls share.

Btw, how close the CF guitar sound like wood guitar?

[Blaker]

Nielsen, PM sent. Good hunting to you!