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I spend a good deal of time in our 5th wheel during the summer & I wanted a guitar for the road. I ended up with a Yamaha Silent Guitar. They have an acoustic and a nylon string model. I like it because you can use it with earbuds and not disturb anyone else. It has two reverb settings as well as volume, treble and bass. You can also connect it to your computer or phone to play along with tracks. I've used it live and it sounds pretty good. Eats batteries very quickly so I used the power adaptor. Cumbersome but if the batteries die you have nothing.
It balances well on a strap and is very light. Comes with a gigbag and a crappy pair of earbuds. I don't care for the frame as it cuts into your chest as you hold it. I've thought of covering it in some sort of foamy material but haven't gotten to it yet. It cost less than $500 bucks. Not for jazz but very portable.
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09-29-2013 04:58 PM
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I have an Aria Sinsonido 100S as well and have often thought about putting a humbucker on it.
Little Jay, could you provide any details on installing the mini-humbucker. Anything you could provide regarding the choice of a mini-humbucker, location, routing, etc would be greatly appreciated.
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I recently bought this quirky little thing: http://www.travelerguitar.com/acoust...coustic-ag-105
Full scale neck, pretty loud, but still very small.
Only draw back is I wish I could get just a little more right arm support.
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What I actually did is to roam out the battery compartiment from the back. The pics will tell you.
Originally Posted by cwfly
Maybe this will help already:
The new PU seen though the old battery compartment:
Last edited by Little Jay; 01-11-2014 at 02:24 PM.
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Looks really nice. How compact is it compared to the traveler speedster? Can you put it easily in an overhead compartment? Just curious. Originally Posted by JakeAcci
I recently bought this quirky little thing: http://www.travelerguitar.com/acoust...coustic-ag-105
Full scale neck, pretty loud, but still very small.
Only draw back is I wish I could get just a little more right arm support.
Last edited by AlainJazz; 01-11-2014 at 04:03 PM.
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Thanks! Originally Posted by AlainJazz
I do not own the speedster but you can compare specs here :
http://www.travelerguitar.com/electr.../speedster-red
http://www.travelerguitar.com/acoust...coustic-ag-105
I also own the ultralite pro series
http://www.travelerguitar.com/electr...?category_id=4
that's about as compact as they get - I can basically fit that guitar into my backpack! (the top pokes out a bit - I reign it in by tying it to the zipper with a shoelace.) As I wrote earlier in the thread, the ultralite is so small I can practice in an airline seat.
As for an overhead compartment and the AG 105, I can't say for sure, I've only owned it a bit two weeks, I vaguely remember in some of the promo materials for the guitar they said it would fit in the overhead. It's pretty small at 32 inches long in total.
Worth noting - to my ears the guitar's tone is okay. It's very bright and I think other 3/4 size guitars I've played have a nicer sound, but I wanted to have a guitar that had the conventional scale length so that the practicing on this guitar would be 'transferrable.'
I may try a different string brand or material in the future.
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I have travelled with a full sized nylon string guitar with hardshell case and that fit in the overhead bin.
Nowadays the airlines seem to be cramming more people into flights so might not be possible.
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i have one of these and love it. full sized guitar and tone.
http://www.voyageairguitar.com/on-th...guitar-voyager
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@CWFly - Just curious; did you try flats on the 100S yet? I found that putting TI Jazz Flat 12s on mine and fiddling a bit with the tone control gives me a nice jazz sound through headphones or amp - I really do endorse the Sinsonido as a great jazz traveller - it weighs 3.5 pounds, balances without a problem with or without a strap, and fits easily into the overhead. After a few months of use, I am still very, very happy. Just my (enthusiastic) opinion.
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ah.chem,
I haven't put flats on mine. I can get a decent tone if I dial it in, but, for me, not the meat of a HB. I also seem to have issues when digging in; if there is a little too much gain, it starts to clip a little. I've taken the time to dial it in and it works, but I thought Little Jay's sounded awesome (nice playing as well). I have several floating HM's on my archtops and I really like that sound.
I'd buy the Soloette Songbird Jazz Model if it wasn't so expensive (starts at $1450). Not to mention they want $100 and 6-8 weeks for an ebony fretboard; made me think the rest of it was a bit pricey. Who knows I may buy one anyway. I saw John Stowell using one in Hawaii about 6 years ago. It (and he) sounded fine to me.
Little Jay,
Also thank you very much for the photos. I have always been a little nervous about the amount of wood left after routing for a full size HB because of the two existing pockets for the electronics and battery. Maybe the mini is the way to go.
Thanks everyone!
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For neck dive, I saw someone recommend this for a Shorty travel bass
get a three-point strap, like the Planet Waves Dare strap. Hook up the two ends that are made for the buttons, and attach the third strap to the headstock with a usual shoelace connection. The Dare strap has adjustments on each of the three separate straps, giving you total control on the position of the bass. I could not get the correct position with just a two point strap - even when connected to the headstock and rear button. The Dare strap solves the problem.
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I'm going to be on the road (business travel) for about a month, with more trips in the future. So I'm looking at travel-type (airline carry-on) guitars.
To sum up what I've read...
The Traveler EG-1 is neck heavy (this would be a deal killer for me) and sounds tint'y.
The Aria Sinsonido AS-101S is more balanced, but the tuners suck and build feels cheap.
Both are similarly priced and I had been leaning towards the Traveler, but the balance of the guitar concerns me. I always play with a strap, even when seated, positioning and balance are crucial to me.
Anyone whos used both care to offer an opinion??
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In defense of the Aria: the tuners don't suck, they are cheap but do their job actually pretty well (at least in mine they do), they never gave me problems. But I have no doubt replacing them would give it a more solid feel. The build does not feel that cheap imho: the neck and fretwork are perfect and overall fit and finish are certainly not bad. Originally Posted by Phiberopttic
But: the pick-up system in the tube with two little condenser mics is weak, to say the least. Installing a magnetic pickup gives it a much more true electric guitar tone, oddly enough with some of that 'ploc' a hollow body can give you. Maybe because I left the old (hollow) tube-pickup/bridge on it?
Can't comment on the Traveler, sorry.
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tl;dr - Tried a Traveler acoustic; I love my Sinsonido.
I just got back from 3 weeks in Hawaii with my Sinsonido - best traveler I've ever owned (I also have a Martin Backpacker and a Washburn Rover). I got mine used on eBay for $200 and yeah, the tuners are plastic, but they stay in tune. I thought I would end up replacing them but they work well and I didn't want to add any more weight on a really light and "easy on the back" travel guitar. I agree that there is nothing cheap-feeling about the build. I don't have a problem with the internal pickups, mine sounds fine as is. I used it for many months as a "recovery" guitar - I had a health issue that made it very difficult to play my regular instruments, but this guitar is so light I could manage it without difficulty.
It balances exactly as it should IMO, and it weighs less than 3 pounds set up. I did not have a strap with me, nor did I feel the need for one. I played it a few hours every day and the tuning was spot-on. One thing about the tuning - as the scale is short, it takes only a minor turn to get into pitch - it's easy to crank it way over, but that was just my experience.
I was surprised about battery life, I never replaced the battery the entire trip - you have to remember to remove the jack from the internal amp though, or you will drain the battery - but you only do that once. I plugged into a Bluetooth extension speaker I take along on trips for listening to music from my laptop and tablet - sounded good to me and others. I am adding a Bluetooth xmit dongle so next trip I won't need the cord.
I checked out a Traveler acoustic at Coconut Grove Music in Kailua this trip as I had been considering one before I got the Aria; I'm happy with my decision. I may add a Traveler to my collection at some point but that's just GAS - I love the folding bit. But I can tell you this - I would have been hard-pressed to get the Traveler into the overheads on 2 of the planes I took this trip. That is a scary prospect to me. Others have written about that concern.
If anything ever happens to this guitar, I will replace it immediately. Folks laughed when they first saw it, but after hearing it and playing it, I was getting questions about where they might find one.
Just my experience.
Edit: I confused the Traveler with the Voyager (which I also tried - that's the folder) - the Traveler acoustic still would not have fit the overheads on 2 planes. I think the solid body you are looking at would be OK, but add additional padding as full size suitcase "carry-ons" get crammed into your instrument. I had to ask to have my Aria stored in the crew closet one trip as I boarded late and all the bins were full. I got static from the attendant until I mentioned that I might not be having a problem if they enforced the carry-on bag size rule. But that's another issue.Last edited by ah.clem; 07-21-2014 at 06:03 PM. Reason: Clarification and typo.
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Well I have the traveler EG-1 and like it a lot. I really like that I can plug my phone into it, and practice with recordings. My only complaint is that I'm always tuning it. I would also like it more with a neck pickup. I also never play it at home, since I prefer my other guitar which is out and available. Originally Posted by Phiberopttic
For what it is, I think it is awesome. I bought mine at guitar center while I was travelling, and I love it on the road. Personally the Aria Sinsonido AS-101S is not very appealing. I would buy the EG-1 again. You may be able to try one out if you have a guitar center near you. I don't have any complaints about the balance, but I may not be as picky. I always play it with a strap. It won't sit well across your lap. Good luck!
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I bought the Aria Sinsonido AS-101S, for full price... hate buying new, hate paying full price... But didnt see much on eBay or Craigslist and my trip starts soon.
My initial impressions are very good. I immediately wacked the stings and put on 13 flats, which work fine with the nut and bridge, and spend about 30 minutes dialing in the action.
The sound acoustically is pretty good, no complaints at all. With headphones on, it sounds like an 80s plastic back Ovation; even the flatwound strings couldnt cut back the brightness. Although I didnt muck with the tone much.
All in all, I'm impressed. As a tool to keep my theory sharp and technique in shape while on the road, it should work great!
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Congrats on your NGD! Please post a follow up in a few months with your "roadworthiness" opinion, and do add a bit of bubble wrap or thin foam in the case; many clueless people jam the hell out of their oversized "carry-ons". Just personal experience. Oh, and if your rental car has a black trunk liner, try hard to remember the guitar is way in the back; it gets expensive having it FedEx'ed home from around the country. Just sayin'...
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