new Klos travel guitar

[Tricia]

I received today the Klos travel guitar. It is what I expected: looks nice, has adequate sound for a very light weight guitar, and will serve my purposes well. My reasons to get it were 1. to travel without a hassle (it is very easy to put together and take apart) and to have a guitar that is more comfortable for me to hold for practicing at home. I have a lot of pain in arms, and find the body of my primary guitar, the Blackbird Rider, to be quite fat to reach the arm over, and the shape a bit awkward to hold for long. The Klos guitar will allow me to practice on a guitar that is thinner and easier to hold. The two guitars are about the same weight, and when I put them side by side, the Blackbird looks large ! Apart from size and weight, it is not really fair to compare the two - the Blackbird sound is beautiful and full, and the Klos is not in the same category. But it sounds quite decent and will do what I expected, so I am happy with it.

I got a good deal by buying a factory second for a discount (apparently this means it has a flaw on it, but it looks good to me) and got an additional discount for signing up for a mailing list. Adam and Kyle, the people I spoke with at Klos, provide excellent customer service by phone and email. And it took only one week to arrive here in Canada from the U.S.

I think there is a place in the market for a less expensive (partially) carbon fibre guitar that is accessible to a broader range of people, and I think this guitar fits that spot well. I was briefly tempted by the Journey collapsible guitar, but the heavier neck and overall weight difference dissuaded me. For many people this distinction is irrelevant, but for someone like me who cannot usually use a strap and who has a lot of pain in the arms, it is significant.

Here are two photos. I realize I should take one of it beside the Blackbird Rider so you can see the size comparison. Maybe tomorrow !

guitare demonté tricia photographe, sur Flickr

guitare klos tricia photographe, sur Flickr

[RedJoker]

Thanks for the info! I just came to the AGF to see if anyone had any reviews.

[Fixedgear60]

Thank you for sharing.... in some ways you can think of it as a fair sounding guitar or a great sounding baritone uke ;-). I realize they offer a uke as well :-).

Perhaps Evan this is your suitcase guitar realized so many years ago....

[jricc]

Cool, thanks for sharing!

Fixed;

I appreciate the thought. However, I don't think the Klos comes in nylon. And there's this--I've given up on the suitcase guitar, primarily because I am not travelling much now-a-days. Instead, I've focused on an electric/acoustic, thin-bodied, nylon string guitar. I'm shooting for something that will give Kirk Sand Mahogany model some serious competition. Still in the race, just a different horse.

[Fixedgear60]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Fixed;

I appreciate the thought. However, I don't think the Klos comes in nylon. And there's this--I've given up on the suitcase guitar, primarily because I am not travelling much now-a-days. Instead, I've focused on an electric/acoustic, thin-bodied, nylon string guitar. I'm shooting for something that will give Kirk Sand Mahogany model some serious competition. Still in the race, just a different horse.

Fully understand... just reminiscing ... my needs have changed as well after running through all the major CF over the years and chasing that sound in my head. I have settled down with the McPherson black binding touring. Love the sound and checks all the boxes for me. Emerald guitars continue to amaze me but kinda of like watching movie stars and the feeling passes after an hour or two. The scale even fits my small hands (but big heart ;-) ) so that I can stretch to all those crazy Sting chords. Fun watching you and the group's CF adventures and pushing the boundaries!!!!!

[Earl49]

Glad you went for it, Tricia.

A club member was playing her Klos ukulele at the jam just last night. I've played it before and it is a nice. We look forward to hearing more as you bond with it.

[steelvibe]

I was pretty impressed with the tone of that little guy when Acoustic Guitar Magazine reviewed it a few months back. Please post up your thoughts as you get to know it. CF is just cool material to build instruments from- and from a tonal and physical standpoint. It’s great to see all the price points too like we have in our choices on wood guitars.

Congrats!

[casualmusic]

Originally Posted by Tricia

I received today the Klos travel guitar. It is what I expected: looks nice, has adequate sound for a very light weight guitar, and will serve my purposes well.

My reasons to get it were 1. to travel without a hassle (it is very easy to put together and take apart) and to have a guitar that is more comfortable for me to hold for practicing at home.


I think there is a place in the market for a less expensive (partially) carbon fibre guitar that is accessible to a broader range of people, and I think this guitar fits that spot well.

Hi Tricia

Félicitations on your new guitar. Sounds like the perfect instrument for your needs.

And the market agrees with you about affordable CF guitars. KLOS is selling enough instruments to keep a group of people employed.

It's interesting to hear that the neck goes on and off easily. I've been wondering if it would be easy or awkward.

Cheers.

[ac]

Klos assembly--take down:


Journey assembly--take down


Journey Overheads are much simpler, but for the carbon version, the price is double the Klos. Significant difference.

Klos is much lighter and more compact. Depending on specific needs, that can be very important.

Nice to have choices.

[Tricia]

Thank you, everyone ! I am glad my post was useful to some.

Originally Posted by ac

Journey Overheads are much simpler, but for the carbon version, the price is double the Klos. Significant difference.

Klos is much lighter and more compact. Depending on specific needs, that can be very important.

Nice to have choices.

I was really drawn to how simply the Journey Overhead neck detaches, and from the videos I heard, think it sounds very good. And indeed, nice to have the choice !

Originally Posted by casualmusic

Hi Tricia

Félicitations on your new guitar. Sounds like the perfect instrument for your needs.

And the market agrees with you about affordable CF guitars. KLOS is selling enough instruments to keep a group of people employed.

It's interesting to hear that the neck goes on and off easily. I've been wondering if it would be easy or awkward.

Cheers.

Merci ! Yes, I am really enjoying playing it. The neck is not so easy as the Journey Overhead, but it only takes a few minutes. It might be more of a pain if one wants to take it apart frequently, because it is necessary to retune entirely, but for me, I plan to take on the airplane a couple times in a year, and otherwise will leave it assembled.

The guitar arrived with a printed instruction page, but I instead followed this video which is very clear:

[Tricia]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I was pretty impressed with the tone of that little guy when Acoustic Guitar Magazine reviewed it a few months back. Please post up your thoughts as you get to know it. CF is just cool material to build instruments from- and from a tonal and physical standpoint. It’s great to see all the price points too like we have in our choices on wood guitars.

Congrats!

Carbon fibre is amazing, isn't it ? Yes, I will post more after a time. I would like to share a recording or make a little video, though I do not now have the equipment to do so. Some day !

Originally Posted by EvanB

Fixed;

I appreciate the thought. However, I don't think the Klos comes in nylon. And there's this--I've given up on the suitcase guitar, primarily because I am not travelling much now-a-days. Instead, I've focused on an electric/acoustic, thin-bodied, nylon string guitar. I'm shooting for something that will give Kirk Sand Mahogany model some serious competition. Still in the race, just a different horse.

Apparently Klos does make a nylon string guitar too, though it sounds like it's not relevant to you now, but in case anyone is interested, their site says :

Do you sell nylon string versions of your guitars?
Yes, we do, but they are not officially on a product page yet! Please fill out the contact us form at the bottom of the page to let us know you're interested and we'll give you more details.

Here you can see the comparison of size and shape of my two guitars, Klos travel guitar and Blackbird Rider (and just for fun, my mountain dulcimer.)

instruments de musique tricia photographe, sur Flickr

Thanks for the information regarding the Klos nylon strung instrument--I look forward to seeing the new guitar.

Did not see anything on the Klos site regarding nylon string guitars, but went to the customization section--some really interesting style options.

[ac]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Did not see anything on the Klos site regarding nylon string guitars, but went to the customization section--some really interesting style options.

Look at the last entry in their FAQ section.