Travel and Couch Guitar

[Lausch83]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Try a koa or mahogany-top GS Mini, especially with Martin Retro Monel mediums - more a 00 than travel-guitar tone...

I am indeed looking at the e koa plus. It has a great aerocase bag for travel and is great to play.

I played a spruce top gs mini and found it too bright and thin for my liking though…

[FatFingerCharli]

If you can track down a Voyage Air you have it try it out.
I have an OM one and play it more than my other guitars combined.
Please don't let my wife see this post or it will be a forced off GASing situation.

[TacomaDR20]

Don't rule out the Voyage Air just because it folds. They are simply great guitars for the price point. Mine stays unfolded hanging in my office about 350 days a year. It's OM size, 1-3/4 nut, action is very similar to my Taylor and the sound will stand up anywhere.

[Lausch83]

Originally Posted by FatFingerCharli

If you can track down a Voyage Air you have it try it out.
I have an OM one and play it more than my other guitars combined.
Please don't let my wife see this post or it will be a forced off GASing situation.

I looked into Voyage Air, the guitars look great but they’re not distributed in Europe and shipping cost is close to 200 usd to get it where I live, on top of which I need to add 21% sales tax.

So, unfortunately, I’ll have to pass on Voyage Air…

My wife did approve the idea of getting a second guitar… I may have downplayed the budget a little bit though ;-)

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Lausch83

...For the ones suggesting I leave my main guitar on a stand in a corner of my living room; it’s something I dream of doing, I’m so tired of taking it in and out of its case and I love looking at it so much but… You haven’t met my kids (3 and 6 years old tornados). That guitar wouldn’t last a week… And I do not want a single scratch on it :-) …

I you want to leave it out, how about hanging it on the wall using a Hercules wall hanger? It would likely be out of their reach unless, like my grandson, they can climb walls, or if there are balls flying about the house . If you go that route, be sure to either mount the hanger into a wall stud, or on a board that can be secured to a stud. I have most of my guitars on Hercules hangers. They work really well.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by TacomaDR20

Don't rule out the Voyage Air just because it folds. They are simply great guitars for the price point. Mine stays unfolded hanging in my office about 350 days a year. It's OM size, 1-3/4 nut, action is very similar to my Taylor and the sound will stand up anywhere.

Agreed. I leave my Furch Little Jane assembled and out on the wall. It gets put into the pack only when I travel.

[phydaux]

Originally Posted by Lausch83

I played a spruce top gs mini and found it too bright and thin for my liking though…

I read that before on here. I played a spruce top Mini and a spruce top Baby in my local store last Sunday. The Baby both felt and sounded like a toy. I was over all very pleased with how the spruce & rosewood Mini both felt and sounded.

I want to do a side by side comparison of the spruce Mini and the mahogany Mini, as well as the Martin DJR-10.

[Lausch83]

Originally Posted by KevinH

I you want to leave it out, how about hanging it on the wall using a Hercules wall hanger? It would likely be out of their reach unless, like my grandson, they can climb walls, or if there are balls flying about the house . If you go that route, be sure to either mount the hanger into a wall stud, or on a board that can be secured to a stud. I have most of my guitars on Hercules hangers. They work really well.

Yes, that’s a great idea! We’ll soon be moving out of our appartement (a lease) into our own place and my guitar will definitely end up on the wall ;-)

I was seriously considering a second full size guitar but maybe a small travel guitar is not a bad idea after all…

[Lausch83]

Originally Posted by phydaux

I read that before on here. I played a spruce top Mini and a spruce top Baby in my local store last Sunder. The Baby both felt and sounded like a toy. I was over all very pleased with how the spruce & rosewood Mini both felt and sounded.

I want to do a side by side comparison of the spruce Mini and the mahogany Mini, as well as the Martin DJR-10.

Actually to be accurate, I did like how the mini sounded (even though I found the neck a bit cramped) but I found it really thin with a capo… with a capo, the difference with my main (a Taylor) was huge…

Haven’t had the chance to test a dr jr. The salespeople here all seem very biased towards Taylor… I did hear very good things about the Martin though and I prefer it over the gs mini on most of the YT videos I watched (yes I know, it’s poor judgment to base an opinion on YT :-) )
If I go the Martin route, I’ll have to take a leap of faith and order on line without having played the guitar…

[SingingSparrow]

Originally Posted by Lausch83

Another option could be a used 000-15, it might fit my budget…

an excellent thought. a 00 body may suit, as well.

[Lausch83]

Originally Posted by SRL

Here are some ideas for small guitars in your price range. All are solid wood except the GS Mini, which has laminate back and sides.

• Breedlove Organic Companion: 23.5" scale, 14 fret, 1.69" nut, mahog or torrefied spruce available, cutaway available, a "mini jumbo" shape like a GS Mini.
  
• Breedlove Organic Concertina: 25" scale, 12 fret, 1.69" nut, mahog or torrefied spruce available, cutaway available, slightly larger, more of a 00 size
  
• Cort Gold Parlor: 25.3" scale, 12 fret, 1.75" nut, parlor size with a "deep body", torrefied spruce and either mahog or rosewood back/sides (P6 vs P8)
  
• Fender PM-2 parlor: 24.75" scale, 12 fret, 1.75" nut, parlor shape, several wood choices and electronics available
  
• Martin Dread Jr: 24" scale, 14 fret, 1.75" nut, dreadnought shape but mini-sized
  
• Martin 000 Jr: 24" scale, 14 fret, 1.75" nut, cutaway available, classic 000 shape but scaled down
  
• Taylor GS Mini: 23.5" scale, 14 fret, 1.69" nut, laminate back/sides, no cutaway option, very popular nicely built guitar, kind of a "mini jumbo" size that has become a popular alternative to a parlor
  
• Yamaha CSF3M parlor: 23.5" scale, 14 fret, 1.69" nut, parlor size

There are probably others that I don't know about as well, but that'll get you started. There are also other small guitars at the bottom end of your price range with laminate woods, such as the Takamine GY93 New Yorker, or the PRS P20 parlor, or the Alvarez Little Jumbo, but the above is what I'd be looking at, mainly depending on what dimensions you're after.

If you're looking for used guitars, you MIGHT be able to find a used Larrivee parlor for around $1000 (particularly the "O-1" or "P-1" series that's not as fancy), but prices have really shot up on those lately. You might also be able to find a used Eastman parlor or Blueridge parlor, but due to scarcity, those are kind of expensive on the used market as well.

Personally, I used to take my Taylor GS Mini traveling because it's cheap, laminate back/sides have some humidity resistance, and being all-mahogany, it's pretty durable (if you want durability, get an all-mahogany or all-sapele guitar, not a spruce-topped guitar). The tone is good for a small guitar, but I did "replace" it with a more expensive all-mahogany, US-built Breedlove Concertina and I have to say, it sounds a lot better than the Mini (as it should, considering the price).

Thank you for you very detailed post. That’s a lot of food for thought.

I looked at the concertina’s they look wonderful but ****, most of them are in another price range :-D

[DavidM 1968]

Better than a stand would be wall hanger, especially placed high up maybe even above a piece of furniture where it would be extra hard for the tornados to reach. However, if you want to buy a new guitar, and few on here would criticise you for that, then I own a Gs mini mahogany and it is perfectly adequate for the couch. Some say the koa model is even better but ymmv. A s/h larger bodied Taylor would be better.

[bufflehead]

check out a Taylor BBT. It's a 15/16ths dreadnought, only 4" deep, with an arched, layered back and no internal braces on the back. Solid spruce top. Fun to play, with much fuller sound than the Baby Taylor. I keep mine in my sailboat most of the time, but I've taken it on five or six plane flights with no trouble. Comes with a gig bag. Mine was the non-electric version, and cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.

[Aspiring]

I have a Journey RT660 carbon fiber that I picked up for the higher end of your price range.

Definitely a good option for leaving out and having some extra robustness. It has a bolt off neck so it can do occasional travel but generally setup for the types of use you are describing.

[SRL]

Originally Posted by Lausch83

Thank you for you very detailed post. That’s a lot of food for thought.

I looked at the concertina’s they look wonderful but ****, most of them are in another price range :-D

The "Organic" line of Concertinas is solid wood and made overseas, most are $500-700 new. The US built Concertinas can be had used as low a $1000ish if you're lucky, new prices start at $1500ish and go up from there. Note though that the US built ones have a 1.75" nut vs. 1.69" on the imports.

Being in Europe though, your options are going to be a lot different. The Faith guitar suggested earlier sounds neat to me; they have a good reputation.