I wouldn't say the Martin Backpacker sounds like *shit*, it just doesn't sound like a guitar. My dulcimer playing friends love it, and some even are evolving 6 string modal tunings for it. We got a half size Hohner, yes, like the harmonica, for about $100 new, with a plywood top and while it isn't nearly as good as our good guitars, it does fit nicely in the overhead carrier rack of an airplane. And it's durable. You could paddle a canoe with it if you had to. Barbara