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No doubt the Frameworks instruments are fantastic. However, they do not address the OP's request to find something with on-board headphone-out (but hey, who cares what the OP asks for these days eh?
...especially in the "improv" area...).
It seems to me that Frameworks really makes them more of a "professional travel instrument" than say a "practice travel instrument", in other words they're great to take to gigs and plug in...but if you're looking to maximize downtime at the airport, they do not offer a simple plug-and-play solution.
In this regard at least, the Soloettes have the edge with their on-board headphone-out.
I think if one can be satisfied with nylon strings on their travel axe, then the Soloette Nylon Songbird at $925 is the way to go for a travel axe. Just add headphones and you're set. There are cheaper options but they're not THAT much cheaper if you want something decent, and then you still have to deal with the expense and hassle of some sort of travel amp. I recently put nylon strings on an acoustic archtop to see how it felt with a pick...good enough for travelling purposes and hey playing fingerstyle is also fun.
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12-16-2012 11:59 PM
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And I travel every week and play every day. I have tried the following:
* Martin Backpacker
* Traveler (three different models)
* Steinberger knock-offs (Yo 'Spirit')
* Hoffner Steinberger clone
* Chiquita
The Silent is a bit longer than most but still fits all airline overheads, never had an issue in any global travel situation. It sounds the best of all of these for my money, and I can plug it into any PA with zero feedback. I use a Pandora with Bose headphones, but the built-in headphone amp is fine too.
I sold or gifted all the others, but for basic practice the Yo Steinberger was OK too (with the Pandora), and sure the Yamaha is a little more expensive (~400USD) but it is my travel companion for almost a decade now. The only things I don't like about it are the slightly narrower neck at the nut, which they did to expand sales I'm sure, and I had to call and ask for a pickguard but that one is on me, related to my style of playing.
Highly recommended. A quality instrument, reasonable price, & durable too.
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I heard they are planning a 'travel' guitar based on their incredible Multiac tek that will compete directly with the Yamaha, only with three options (1/4", hex and piezo) but it would be easy enough to add a floating (or hex) pickup to the Yamaha Silent too. The foundation is there.
Originally Posted by Keira Witherkay
Yamaha make something called a silent guitar , in steel and nylon , with onboard headphone amp / eq / reverb too , its like a neck with a detachable frame , very comfortable to play and comes with a handy gig bag , now i already been thinking to buy one and fit a floating humbucker in neck position and blend in that acoustic tone
( mmmm thats like the yamaha martin taylor used to play then .... )
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I really like my Soloette Jazz Songbird. As mentioned, you can plug head phones directly in and the amplified sound is really good. Of course not like your carved archtop but pretty warm - you can get away with playing sessions or a low profile gig with it. Soloette also has great customer service.
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I am bumping the thread since I am very interested getting a fairly decent travel guitar. I have a Benedetto 16B build in process that will be my main guitar so I hope to find something cheaper and smaller (no overhead baggage concerns) as a nice travel guitar. I have one question and one contribution to make.
1. I was sort naturally interested in the Benedetto Andy. Does anyone know the back story on the models/price jump? I suppose I could ask Howard next time we talk. It seems they made a $2500 model with laminate sides a couple years ago and discontinued it and replaced it with the Andy Elite that is currently $12000 (5x the price). It would seem they decided to use full blown carved archtop materials/build process. Wow.
2. A student or 3/4 gypsy jazz guitar might make for a nice travel option. That is what I am currently exploring. One nice build I have found is an Eimers Mini Mac (Model Mini Mac | Eimersguitars). I will have to look around to see who else builds smaller sized gypsy guitars.Last edited by shawntp; 04-13-2013 at 12:00 AM.
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A travel guitar is more susceptible to theft and destruction. Replacement cost is, therefore, a major consideration.
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Hi,
I had a Yamaha Silent Steel string for many years, and I think they are great travel guitars. they have a headphone out, an adjustable line in and on board reverb. They are, however slightly long for the overhead bin on a plane. I have recently purchased a Carvin HH2 which I really love, and at 31 inches it fits nicely in the overhead and is such a pleasure to play. It does not have a headphone out or anything, but I get around that by traveling with a Pocket Pod which is actually a wonderful headphone preamp and is the right size for travel.
Bill
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I am pretty happy with the Yamaha Silent. Nylon Strings, 1-7/8" neck, easy to play, sounds good and doesn't bother the wife when she's watching TV and I'm playing guitar in the same hotel room.
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You can get inserts, so the bolts are threading into the insets instead of wood. Originally Posted by xuoham
Locking tuners would make it easier to reattach the string, but I just plain like locking tuners anyway.
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Just adding/sharing options to the thread here...
There is a Composite Acoustics model called "The Cargo". Its short scale with a standard nut width (and made of carbon fibre so it would be pretty durable at the beach or hotel pool). I am going to try and play one.
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Check out a lapstick for something different!
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+1 on Voyage-air. I play fingerstyle chord melody arrangements on my VAOM-1C and love it. In fact, i probably at home as much as I do my other 2 guitars, which cost 4 times more. Just a joy to play.
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Originally Posted by shawntp
probably just a matter of shifting production to free up tooling for other models. The Andy Elite is much more of a high end niche model and profitability would likely support keeping it available. I wouldn't be surprised if the regular Andy makes a re-appearance at some point. Meanwhile, there are probably a few on the used market if you know where to look.
I have an Andy and that thing sounds just like a full sized archtop when amplified; it represents something very different from the usual "travel" type of guitar. It also plays just like a Benedetto, though a mini one (23" scale).
I have a gig tomorrow night and have strung up my Andy as an alto tuned guitar to perform a particular piece that needs a higher tuned transposition and open string voicings. It is working great for that too.
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Originally Posted by mikeSF
Does anyone have any tips on where I might watch for one of these. I actually have been looking for one on the user market for a couple months. I typically look here, on GBase, ebay, and on a Craigslist.
I found one posting on Craigslist but it was an Elite (I am interested in the lower priced original laminate Andy) and it was pulled right away. I figure its just something to keep an eye on and if one comes up ever I will jump. I wonder if there are any other avenues I should monitor.
Thanks!
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call over to Howard Paul at Bendetto and see if he knows of anyone selling one. Though he obviously deals in new instruments, he is very connected to many Benedetto owners and may be able to help. Originally Posted by shawntp
here is the back of my Andy:
Last edited by mikeSF; 05-15-2013 at 11:38 PM.
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I adore my Sinsonido. It is my favorite guitar to play. But, it is severely lacking when it comes to sound and needs updating after purchase. Little Jay's update (as does Cory Sea's) makes it sound much better. But, if you have the funds and want a real travel guitar that is also a real gigging guitar, I'd suggest a look at the Soloette Dragonfly. It is about half the price of the Frameworks, but still a gig-worthy instrument. For a bit less, you can get the Soloette Songbird Jazz. It has only one pickup (compared to two for the Dragonfly), but it is still wonderfully gig-worthy. If you want to go even deeper, you can look into guitars made by Rick Canton. Jody Fisher uses a customized Klein model.
Assuming you've not already purchased an instrument after all this time, I'd love to see and hear what you decide is right for you.Last edited by FrankBlack; 05-16-2013 at 09:13 PM.
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Cory Sea - YouTube
Yes...his modified Sinsonido Aria sounds really great!
Aria Sinsonido SPL Hybrid nylon with a Kinman P90hx and tunematic bridge in place of the original electronics and hardware.
Really nice and nice playing!
The original plastic nut has been replaced by bone and the strings are Thomastik Rope Core KR116.
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Just for the record: I have 0.012 flatwounds on my Sinsonido (D'Addario chromes I believe... they've been on there for quite some time, surviving several holidays including playing at beaches and noodling at hotel pools ;-). Although the guitar sounds great now, I am going to experiment a little more - I'd like to try a tunomatic bridge (or maybe just a compensated rosewood or ebony jazz-bridge, but I think the guitar will benefit from the extra mass of a metal/brass bridge) and a bone nut.
All in all I think an upgraded Sinsonido is by far the cheapest alternative for a gig worthy travel guitar, even with paying for the upgrades: it retails for $399 (but one just went for $215 at eBay), a decent pickup can be had for $50, add another $50 or so for a nut, bridge and decent tuners (my tuners do their job, so I did not replace them) and you still pay considerably less than for a SoloEtte or Frameworks.
Last edited by Little Jay; 05-17-2013 at 07:39 AM.
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Oh boy, just found out that Harley Benton (online store Thomann's cheap house brand) is now making a low budget model of the Ministar Traveller.
For a retail price around $150 that's a real bargain! But I don't know anything about sound and playability.
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Anyway Frameworks is the next level....hand made travel & giging guitar,.
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My new travel guitar. Cheap and cheerful, a reasonable fretboard to fiddle with, practise Arps etc. while I watch tele. I rarely even plug it in. It's a traveler ultra light.
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here is a great vid of Howard demonstrating the Andy...sounds sweet
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Great sounding small guitar!
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I talked to Howard for a little while yesterday about the Andy (and Andy Elite). Howard said a little over 5 years ago they noticed a trend in small travel guitars (Martin, Taylor, etc) and sought to produce a high quality archtop option. The original Andy Model was intended to be priced around $2500-$3000 or so. They tried to meet this price point implementing cost-savers such as satin finish, laminate sides, and a CNC assisted carve for certain parts. From what I understand, they then ended up putting a lot of hand carving time on top in completing the instrument to their standard. Howard indicated at one point they had taken 80 or so orders as the build costs rose on the model and had to discontinue it. It seems to be a pretty rare instrument, I am not sure how many are in existence but I would have to guess a couple hundred at most.
They ultimately looked at the Andy and all the hands on time it took to get it right and I guess Bob decided it really should be something special that they offered as a fully carved archtop without construction compromise. They then re-introduced it as an Andy Elite featuring premium woods and construction.
The Andy elite supposedly has a lot of midrange bark to it like a mandolin. Howard was playing and discussing it for me and actually referred to it as being a mandolin-esque build of an Archtop. The standard discontinued Andy looks and sounds phenomenal also, I imagine the resale on these could go up given how rare they are and that they were essentially sold form minimal profit originally anyways.
I would love to keep my eyes peeled for a used Andy but I would also love an Andy elite someday also.
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