Silent and travel guitar in plans -any experience?

**Doctor Jeff** · 04-28-2017, 08:25 PM

Bill Kirchen (Hot Rod Lincoln) travels with his Tele--he just takes the neck off. (Most people who do this have threaded inserts installed so you're not repeatedly reaming out the screw holes.)

If it's good enough for Bill...

**yebdox** · 04-28-2017, 10:28 PM

I have a Steinberger Spirit that I modified with all Seymour Duncan pickups (HSH) and some push pull knobs to split the coils. I used to travel with it all the time, but now I'm on my 2nd Yamaha Silent Nylon. The first generation sounds a bit too Piezo-ish, although through a good amp, you could definitely make it sound really good (check out Leo Amuedo and Ivan Lins videos). I just got the newer one, and the pre-amp is better, not dramatically, but in a more useable way, and the neck is slightly narrower, making it a bit more comfortable to play. Definitely lighter to travel with than the Steinberger, but the Steinberger makes a better weapon (if I ever need one!)

My favorite headphone amp is the amazing Zoom PS-02, now long discontinued, but extremely versatile. Wish I could get those tones in one of the newer Zoom pedals, but something changed. You can probably still find those on ebay, though.

If traveling by car, I will take both. By plane, lately only the Yamaha.

Can't imagine going on vacation without something to play!

**PB+J** · 04-28-2017, 10:31 PM

That would be my answer--get a squier or a rondo music tele and just take the neck off. Silent practice, practically indestructible, packs flat

**Jonah** · 04-29-2017, 01:33 AM

Heavy...

**Scotto** · 04-29-2017, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

The classic Fernandes Nomad travel guitar...built in amp/speaker, headphone jack for silent play. They even make a bass.

335 style is cool also.

**Jonah** · 04-29-2017, 11:19 AM

That's like I see a travel guitar ... kind of lapstick but full scale TheBone - Home

I also like what tuck andress plays in clip above

**Jonah** · 04-29-2017, 12:41 PM

Or this
MOSQ.E..Detail

The only problem for these guitars is price.
I believe they just conceptually should be much cheaper.

Because it's not real guitar it's surrogate a substitue but they try to sell as something unique..

Probably only tuning mechanism here maybe a bit costly all the rest can be handled at 100 dollars.

Maybe that's why cheap sticks like mini star and shorty use regular head and tuners?

**grandstick01** · 05-04-2017, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by 339 in june

This :

I have the older version, together with a Hohner G3T ( Enjoy Music - Play Hohner - G3T-BK) and that's the solution I found to your problem

I got the guitar used, and with a string adapter, there's no need for special stinky slinky 9-42 spaghetti double ball strings.

I have just bought the same guitar (UPS should be delivering it today), and have also ordered a string adapter for regular strings.

This, plus a guitar interface into my iPhone, will make a great travel setup.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**Little Jay** · 05-04-2017, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by grandstick01

This, plus a guitar interface into my iPhone, will make a great travel setup.

Iphone with iRig-plug and the Amplitube Free Fender-edition app is what I use as well!

I have ireal installed as well, I have spent countless hours on exotic beaches jamming along with ireal! :-)

**srs** · 05-04-2017, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Iphone with iRig-plug and the Amplitube Free Fender-edition app is what I use as well!

What headphones seem to work best in your setup?

**coolvinny** · 05-04-2017, 11:04 AM

Phil Jones Bighead headphone amp is very very good. Technically it's for bass but it has a great guitar tone. No reverb dial but it has a touch of built-in reverb and does not sound sterile, at least not with an archtop (have never tried it with a solid body).

But mostly I use my Soloette Jazz for travel now because it's so convenient.

**Little Jay** · 05-04-2017, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by srs

What headphones seem to work best in your setup?

Any pair of quality headphones will do, but I like the little plugs (earbuds) best, as they close off most environmental noise. Ik have a pair from Sony, 25 bucks or so. Sounds great!

My Sennheiser HD215 sounds great as well, but is too large for travelling.

**unknownguitarplayer** · 05-04-2017, 02:04 PM

I bought a floor demo Hohner G2T for cash as they were knocking down the booth at a 1989 NAMM show, and it's traveled around the world with me several times since. At the time, it was considered a Steinberger knockoff, but after various acquisitions, Steinberger is now pretty much a Steinberger knockoff (my Hohner is a much better instrument than the current Fender Steinberger version). It has a full size neck (25.5") that's pretty easy to play. As far as travel goes, it's all good news. In a pinch, it will fit under an airplane seat, in most overhead bins, either above or behind standard roller bags, and even in the glove-compartment style bins on some commuter planes. I've never had an issue with it on an airplane anywhere in the world.

The bad news isn't all that bad, but if you're used to playing an archtop you either have to get used to a few things, or modify the guitar. I've done both. The guitar uses double ball end strings, and the heaviest gauge available is 0.011". The sound is a bit thin. The biggest adjustment is basically an ergonomic one. Wearing a standard strap and holding the guitar, the neck seems much longer than the same length neck on a conventional body style. That can throw off your intuitive sense of where you are on the neck...you may find yourself watching the fingerboard to avoid being off by a half step or 2 (sight-reading definitely requires an adjustment period).

Mods:

The pickups cover much of the area between the bridge and neck, and they're quite close to the strings. I found them getting in the way of my RH motion, so I removed the bridge PU.

The volume control also gets in the way of RH motion, so I removed it and consolidated volume and tone in a single stacked pot that replaced the tone pot. I also removed the mystery tone toggle switch.

I disabled the Floyd Rose Trans Trem.

The G2T isn't something I'd have ever chosen, but I've gotten used to it, and have spent hundreds of hours playing it in hotel rooms. I've tried most of the travel guitars that have come along since, and I'm not tempted to switch.

The guitar below is not mine, it's just a generic example from the web. PM me if you are want to see the modded version.

**tfling** · 05-07-2017, 04:46 PM

I just bought a Traveler Ultra-Light (piezo model), and after a thorough setup and stringing it with some flatwounds, I am pretty pleased with it - it is easier to travel around with than my ES-165 for sure!

I am currently trying to design and wind an incredibly flat humbucker that I can mount in the neck position to mix with the piezo, but even if I don't get around to it, it sounds pretty nice through my Henriksen Bud as-is

**Jonah** · 05-08-2017, 01:39 PM

Guys,

I just got used Aria 100C SLP.. it's ok but I cant figure out one thing...

It's an earlier mpdel and it has only one output - regular guitar-style jack.

When I put it to the headphones - it plays only one ear...

When I put it to an external amp and then to the headphones - it sounds mono but to 2 ears...

What's that about? Maybe it is about contacts on jack I use for headphones?
Guitar jacks have one contact, and headphones I use all have 2,3 or 4...
I never really used head[hones with guitar I do not know how it works...

Or is it a guitar problem?

Thanks

**Jonah** · 05-10-2017, 07:51 AM

Guys,

I just got used Aria 100C SLP.. it's ok but I cant figure out one thing...

It's an earlier mpdel and it has only one output - regular guitar-style jack.

When I put it to the headphones - it plays only one ear...

When I put it to an external amp and then to the headphones - it sounds mono but to 2 ears...

What's that about? Maybe it is about contacts on jack I use for headphones?
Guitar jacks have one contact, and headphones I use all have 2,3 or 4...
I never really used head[hones with guitar I do not know how it works...

Or is it a guitar problem?

To be honest I feel frustrated a bit... tried a few connectors and adaptors and headphones and it all works only one ear...

Basically the guitar was made as a silent guitar... so it should be made in a way one could easily play it through headphones...

Maybe it should be 1/4 mono jack to 3.5 mm stereo?
I did not try it so far just because I could not find one around...

**Little Jay** · 05-11-2017, 12:47 AM

If I recall correctly (I changed the electronics in my Aria) the pickup contains two little condenser mics and the preamp should send the signal of one of them to each ear, creating a weird kind of stereo. It worked with a normal stereo headphone, so if you get sound in only one ear something is wrong. Did you open it up and check if the output jack still has all wires attached to it? Sometimes the hex nut becomes loose and the whole jack can twist around and the little wires can snap off.

**Jonah** · 05-11-2017, 05:11 AM

If I recall correctly (I changed the electronics in my Aria) the pickup contains two little condenser mics and the preamp should send the signal of one of them to each ear, creating a weird kind of stereo. It worked with a normal stereo headphone, so if you get sound in only one ear something is wrong. Did you open it up and check if the output jack still has all wires attached to it? Sometimes the hex nut becomes loose and the whole jack can twist around and the little wires can snap off.

Thanks. Yes I remember you posts and watched your videos. If I like guitar for long enough I will probably also change electronics the way you did.
I'll check as you advise today though. I just was on the road all the time and did not have time to get inside of it.

As for the rest... I like it very much. It is classical model but the neck is 48mm which is really fine for me.
I played classical guitar many years but I do not really feel this guitar as a substitute for classical, so I changed nylons to steel strings (it has a truss-rod).
The tuners are really cheap but as long as they keep the thing in tune (and they do) I do not see any need to change them.

I really like the feel, the frames shape, the comfortablitly. With a strap I can use only one right upper frame for the right hand rest.

The sound (except this headphone problem I hope to solve) is quite ok, I mean you can live with it for practice. It's not annoying... (at least steels)

I had no problem as carry-on on plane.
I like also the fact that you can take off the neck... that makes it suitable for low-costers carry-on requirements too. You cannot do it too often of course, but you usually do not need.

And I also noticed that the pickup is sensitive enough and it makes it really silent... I mean when you play unplugged you put a bit more force in it to make it audible but ib the headphones it's so clear that your touch stays almost unheard by the people around.
I could play quite comfortably with sleeping kids in the same hotel room.

And it has nice woody feel when you hold it and pleasent Soloetto design

I think I will keep it and use regularily for a few moths and then I decide if go for improvement you did...

**Jonah** · 05-11-2017, 05:21 AM

Very curious about this thing...

El moscito model is probably the only travel guitar with full scale that can be dissassembled easily and set in a very small case.
Beside they have a frame for support the right hand.

(two things that stopped me from Ultra Light Traveller - no right hand support, and solid piece of wood which makes a problem for me in some travels...)

These are pretty expensive... I think ity's on the level of lapsticks and lapaxes which are alsp very compact but shorter scales.

They seem to be well made...

What makes me wonder a bit is that the promo videos were made quite long ago and I cannot see there are many users' demo and

Another point... I once had an experience with theorbe (bass lute with a very long bass neck) that was constructed in a way that bass neck could be easily folded... as result action on bass strings gdually grew high under tension... this separable construction could not stand the tension as good as solid... maybe it was just a bad work.. but still somehow I do not trust this type 'easy-dissamble' construction.

elMOSQUITO.. EN ..lev. 2

**Little Jay** · 05-12-2017, 03:42 AM

That Mosquito seems nice if you can bring only very small hand luggage. But for me it has the pickup in the wrong place for amplified playing (even thru headphones). And as you said: the Sinsonido's neck can be taken off as well. But if you plan to do that more often you need to install threaded inserts for the bolts, otherwise you will wear out the holes.

I'm glad you like the Sinsonido. Installing a 'normal' pickup made this guitar really a great travel guitar that I can happily gig with if needed.

**Jonah** · 05-12-2017, 04:20 AM

That Mosquito seems nice if you can bring only very small hand luggage. But for me it has the pickup in the wrong place for amplified playing (even thru headphones).

I do not why but it's often that they put pickups like that on travel guitars. Many travel guitars have it approximately the same way..

And as you said: the Sinsonido's neck can be taken off as well. But if you plan to do that more often you need to install threaded inserts for the bolts, otherwise you will wear out the holes.

Sometimes when I travel on business I do not like to show that I carry a guitar with me so I would prefer to have it in a suit case... I thought about threaded inserts too... maybe later.

Thanks for support

**Badge** · 05-17-2017, 09:32 AM

The ultra light doesn't balance well imo even with the strap. I really only use it to noodle and practice arps etc. as I can't grip chords well on it. The other traveler guitars do balance pretty well though. I tend to play them unplugged too. The eg models feel great as does the sonic.