The Journey OF660
 

I wanted to start a new thread as a lot of discussion started up on another thread!

Chirp in Journey owners! How do you like it? Have you traveled with it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCqJAc5guQc


Happy Playing!

I will repeat what I said in that thread. I had one...briefly. I loved the backpack and carbon fiber, it sounded fine too, but I found it didn’t pop back together that easily. I may have had a bad one, as I always saw them snap together easily online, but I always had to struggle with it, and one time a string snapped on me when I was putting it together. After having it a week or so, I returned it and bought the Emerald X7 instead. Again, no idea if mine was just a bad one as videos looked much simpler than mine was.

I've owned two now and loved both. In my opinion it's the very best of the true travel guitars and being CF is a bonus. Plus, it also amplifies extremely well if you run into an open mic on the road. Plus, plus, people (other guitarists not familiar with it) lose their minds when they see you putting it together.

I did an extensive NGD review on the second one I had where I basically blogged for a week on a trip where I really put it through its paces. If you haven't seen that one, it's the first one in the list down in my sig line in my review thread, and the the original OF660 I owned was reviewed I think fifth down the list. That one has a video as well.

Wicked,

I hate it when a string snaps at me. It's OK when Barbara snaps at me because she generally has a good reason for such snapage. But a snapping string is not acceptable. More to the point, I've owned several guitars with folding necks and while they all worked they required special care when reassembling.

Ted at LA Guitars and I have been corresponding. He is the largest Journey dealer in the US. He confirmed that these guitars have a very very warm sound...and yes, warmer than my Shorty FLE.

They have the RT660 which doesn't break down. This is on my short list. I want to play my Cargo side by side the RT660 as the Cargo is definitely warmer sounding than my Shorty FLE. It has a bigger bass response too.

The RT660 is apparently built lighter as well, so even more responsive than the OF660.

These guitars are definitely worth exploring!

Happy Playing!

I bought one from Ted and sent it back the day after it arrived. Ted as always was great. I really miss him from this forum.

For me the tone was too dull, the action was too high, details of its construction a bit too ugly, and getting the neck on/off highlighted small problems in its construction. As a recovering perfectionist it had to go.

For air travel I would put a RainSong CH-PA in a Gator 3/4 case and buy early boarding.

I bought one from Ted a few weeks ago and absolutely love mine. I've been traveling with a gs mini and the compactness and durability of the journey is a huge plus for me. I wish I had found this guitar sooner. I have no issues putting mine together and I sanded the saddle down a bit and turn the adjustment knob to the same place every time for perfect action. And I can make tiny adjustments if I need to. The fit and finish was rougher than I was expecting but I can live with it for the nice sound it puts out.

This is my first carbon fiber guitar and I'm hooked. Currently drooling over emeralds here and on their site but I have my eye on the rainsong shorty as well. I'm sure I'll be taking the plunge soon but I doubt I'll ever get rid of the journey.

In the review that Methos1979 did, he mentioned that it is a quiet guitar and excels better plugged in. My Shorty FLE has a tone of volume for such a small guitar!

My Cargo has a lot of volume for such a small guitar. Well, needless to say there are a lot of good options in CF out there!

I purchased an OF660 from Ted also, and found that I just didn't get on well with it. I am about 95% a finger-picker, and just couldn't coax the tone out of it I was looking for. I've seen others finger-pick them and sound quite good, but it just didn't work for me. It did sound good when strummed or flat-picked.

I ended up trading mine back to Ted for the Journey OF420, which is Solid Sitka Spruce over Pau Ferro Back and Sides. Like the OF660, it breaks down into the backpack case. I have not had issues putting it together, and the tone works well with my style. It's also a bonus that it comes with a factory installed pickup.

For my niece's wedding, I shipped a nice guitar in a shipping case, and then flew there with the Journey as my second guitar for alternate tuning. The primary guitar got lost in shipment, and the Journey ended up being my only rig. With amplification (which I would have used with either guitar), it saved the day, and I got lots of compliments on the tone.

Hope that helps,
Gary

Yet you said it...nice.

I'm very happy with my Journey OF660. I have the older design so I can't speak to the current design regarding sound. I've hear it's about the same but slightly improved in some ways.

On mine, the treble and bass are well balanced. I had an older version of the Emerald X7 and would say the bass is more prominent in the Journey. However, the older X7 had overall more volume than the Journey. The new deeper, wider X7 may have both better bass and volume--but haven't seen comparisons side-by-side yet.

For my needs, the Journey works well as I travel a bit. The intonation on mine is near perfect, but I'm not sure if all the OF660s are that way or if mine was made just right. The action is great and the saddle is just right for me--I just do fingers. Still need to learn how to use a pick. I might some day lower a couple of the strings at the nut, but not much. It's a minor thing.

The fit and finish on my OF660 is very, very good. No, it's not at Emerald standards by some distance (I think Emerald has redefined "perfect"), but mine is still good.

But recently I noticed that not all OF660s are like mine. I was at a store in Hong Kong about 9 months ago, and two of the Journey OF660s there surprised me because of visible fit and finish issues. I didn't play either of them as I ended up using my limited time inspecting them to see how they compared with my own OF660. Also, the quality issues I noticed were not the same from guitar to guitar.

THAT SAID . . . I still would not hesitate to recommend the OF660 as I think it is a great guitar in so many ways and it has become my main guitar. They have maxed out the ergonomics with the Manzer wedge and other bevels to make it super, super comfortable. The neck removal--at least on mine--is easy and works very well. Balanced sound, intonation great (on mine.)

I would be sure I ordered one from a dealer with a good return policy and check it over well when you get it. In the unlikely case you weren't satisfied, it would be good to know you have the option to exchange or return it.

I think Journey has a brilliant design. I think they likely need more progress in build consistency, fit and finish (and that maybe be addressed by now--don't know). I did contact Journey and told them what I had observed and how these compared with the OF660 I owned. I know from other correspondence with them that they are super responsive and have customer service next to none. They are still a young company. They are growing quickly and their product line is expanding and looking great.

Some may not recall that Emerald once took a short break many years ago just to focus on manufacturing and quality improvements. After they resumed production, new reviews began to appear on the web and forums. The words I noticed most consistently used were "perfection" or "flawless". From that time forward till now, that has been their theme on top of innovation, customization and super customer service.

I believe Journey is on the same path. Right now, if something happened to my OF660 (theft, loss, earthquake, tsunami . . . ) I'd get another one immediately without hesitation.

I had one for a while - took it to Hawaii, and the break-down and travel case made that easy. But I never really liked the tone. It was more mellow than other travel sized guitars - but that seemed to be at the expense of good balanced highs.

And aesthetically, the small headstock really bothered me - not just visually, but weight as well. I'm not sure which release version I had - it was early in their introduction.

Fit and finish were ok, but as I was seeking size and portability, playability and tone, I wasn't too concerned about perfect construction. It was certainly better than the early Rainsong dread I checked out. I do have an OM1100 Rainsong, and although it doesn't break down, it travels well in a padded gig bag.

I don't miss the OF660, but it was an interesting concept.

Phil

This is my exact plan. Now I just need to have a pickup installed.

When I mentioned that I liked the tone of the Journey, I failed to mention that Journey was designed first and foremost to be able to travel in an airline approved carry on size.

The body at it's max is only 12 inches across. In contrast, the current Emerald X7 is 14.25 inches across. The old X7 was 13.5 inches, I believe. Those are significant differences.

For what it is and for it's tiny size, I think the OF660 sounds much better than expected. But I am not expecting the sound volume and quality to match a full size guitar. It sound very, very good for what it is. For some time I owned an Olson SJ. Hearing those two together would be apples and oranges.

All that has to be kept in mind when people mention their experiences with this guitar. Expectations directly impact final satisfaction. In the end, satisfaction rules. It's all about satisfaction.

I personally am satisfied and happy with my OF660, even it is not perfect in every respect, but I can see where others, expecting more or different in one area or another, could be disappointed. That's why I stressed using a dealer with a good return or exchange policy.
-----------------
And a final note, changing the tuners to Gotoh really does bring a more balanced look to the overall guitar and the small head. It really pleased me.