Small Guitars?

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 10:31 AM

I picked up a "cheapo" parlour-sized guitar recently (Gremlin - made in China)- just out of curiosity. I own a Lowden, a top of range Norman and a Pro-series Simon & Patrick, so had no need for, nor any intention of buying, another guitar - certainly not one at £125!!

BUT - I was amazed at it's quality and sound. Solid top (spruce) with Tacoma back & sides - nice looking guitar - very solidly built/beautifully finished/quality tuners, and a woody sound reminiscent of Rob Johnson's blues guitar. I was hooked.

It's my "knock-about" guitar/slung over the shoulder/caseless/bagless cruising axe - with no worries if it gets bust or pinched - I'd just buy another.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: DougR
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 12:58 PM

GUEST 11:04:you meant that website as a joke, right? I actually went there. I don't think I'm quite ready for a pink guitar yet, though, nor a folding one either.

Thanks for the thought though.

DougR

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Don Firth
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 03:00 PM

Hi, Doug —

I posted THIS some time back. Give it a look, check the links at the bottom of my post, and see what you think. I use both of these li'l guitars more than my full-size guitars and I love 'em. As far as sound is concerned, they're well balanced and sound like real guitars. They may be a little thin in the bass, perhaps, but that goes with all small-bodied guitars. I've used the nylon-string GO-GW of a number of gigs and it sounded just fine.

When I first looked at the GO on Sam Radding's website, I passed over them because they looked kind of weird and un-guitar-like, but I find that people seem to think they're "kinda funky" and "cute." After one gig, someone came up and asked me if it was a period instrument of some kind.

They're really handy. I keep one of them within arm's reach almost all the time. Check them out. Good hunting.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: DougR
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 03:31 PM

Thanks, Don, I'll check out the link you provided.

DougR

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Cluin
Date: 13 Nov 04 - 03:31 AM

I was looking at a beautiful little cedar top Seagull the other day. Great sound and feel. Great value for the buck, those Seagulls. I'm trying to talk myself into getting it for myself for Xmas. ;)

(like I need another guitar I won't take to gigs)

I also played a buddy's new parlour guitar today. A Glen Reid. Fantastic machine. Big full sound from such a small instrument. That Glen Reid guy works some real magic with sound wood.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: DougR
Date: 14 Nov 04 - 09:16 PM

Does Glen Reid have a website?

DougR

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Grab
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 06:06 AM

Guest 07:14, I played one of them in our local shop. Briefly. Very briefly. If you could put strings on a brick, it would sound like that. I've never played a cheaper, nastier, more poorly-made guitar.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: 12string growler
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 05:27 PM

Check out this website.
http://www.hmsmusic.co.uk/
The guy builds "STRUMMERS" with or without electrics. Good tone, not too costly. Nothing to do with me, although he did repair my Yam FG412 for me. He's based in Scunthorpe, England.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: DougR
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:29 PM

One last question: If you had to choose between: Baby Martin, Baby Seagull, or Baby Taylor, which would you choose?

DougR

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,wpageubs
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:11 PM

Hello All, I am looking for a small electric guitar my son can travel with. best sound and base I can find. Any help would be great. Thanks. He said they come with clip on amps that you can clip to your waist? Thanks again. Theresa.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Cluin
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 06:43 AM

Glen Reid's Website.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,txlongarm
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 01:10 AM

Your answer is in the "Baby Taylor" and the "Little Martin". The best of the two is up to you. What I have found is the Taylor fans like the "baby" and the Martin fans like the "little". All you have to do is go to each website and find them. I've played both and settled on the "Little Martin" because...well...I liked the looks of it better. I talked to about ten different guitar salesmen and they were split about half and half. You can't go wrong with either. Retail is about $380 on both, but all stores that I called or visited in Houston or Austin have them for $249 to $289. Plus a free (very nice) padded soft case. These two are big guitars in small bodies, or as close as I've found.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Cluin
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 05:03 PM

Check out the new limited edition Tayors on this site. Beautiful machines.

Also watch the on-line video there and hear Bob Taylor explain the benefits of the shorter scale... not the 12-fret guitar but the shorter scale length of the string. Most Taylors have the longer, more common 25.5 inch scale length, but they have been making some with a 24.75 inch scale length (which Gibson used a lot). I've always liked that scale length--the resulting lower tension and closer fret placement makes it ideal for a lot of blues work and fingerstyle playing.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Cluin
Date: 11 Dec 04 - 03:18 PM

Sorry. I guess the new short scale Taylors use a scale length of 24.875 inches, not the Gibson short scale length (24.75"). An eighth of an inch difference there, just for accuracy's sake.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,Pat Q
Date: 26 Oct 05 - 07:04 PM

I'd echo Ragman's sentiments on the Ozark travel guitar... beautiful sound .. though wouldn't do if you're planning a gig at, say, the Royal Albert Hall! Had mine a year or so now, easy traveller .. had to convince security at Dublin airport that it was indeed a guitar .. by getting it out and playing .. first time I've ever played for an armed guard!! .. but word of warning .. was talked into buying the electro-accoust version last monnth ... terrible when played as an accoustic ... the pick up completely screws up the sound .. at times, sounds like a untuned sitar !

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: spindrift
Date: 29 Mar 06 - 09:00 AM

Can't believe I've read this whole thread and no one has even mentioned to Little Martin series. I have the one with the spruce face and the rest is composite. Pretty good sound, rugged and compact. Much better sound and playability than the Backpacker that had before.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Ragman
Date: 26 Apr 06 - 06:03 PM

Re Entry by PatQ
".. had to convince security at Dublin airport that it was indeed a guitar .."


Had a similar experience to Pat in Dusseldorf Airport in early 2005. The Ozark case is flat and rectangular and looks rather like a rifle case. I became aware that the X-ray machine had stopped, and several security personnel wer staring silently at the screen. I offered to take it out and play a tune, but they waved me through... You got one up on me there!

I have also found that when you have a long wait in an airport, you can end up with a session going... I find a quiet corner, and start to play quietly to amuse myself (with the guitar of course). People come over, listen for a while, some sit down, and some ask for a song. Some ask politely, "what is that you are playing? Is it a mandolin?" It certainly helps to pass the time.

I have to confess however that I found that the Ozark was too quiet for pubs and clubs and I sold it. I am considering upgrading to a baby Martin. Beautiful instruments, much better tone, and much louder. Just a little more bulky. Probably won't have so much fun now with airport officials...

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Tim theTwangler
Date: 29 Apr 06 - 12:21 PM

Hi all you experts,
I am a learner guitar player,my wife bought me a Takamini for when we go camping and it is great imho.
i takes normal strings is not any more difficult to play than my full size electro accoustic and has been to work with me on many occasions and so I know I can sit behaind the whell of a car or van and practice the three chords i have learned.
Mine is an accoustic one but they do them with electrics too.
Fretboard /neck are narrow which I prefer and the sound is just smaller than a full size. I have fitted 12 guage to it and that has bumped up the bass end a deal and given the whole a better balance.
Anyone else tried a Takamini?
Greetings from the UK
Incidently I live in a town near Scunthorpe and the strummer guy and his strummers are well made and quite popular around here.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Bugsy
Date: 14 Feb 07 - 10:58 PM

Get a load of these babieS!
MINI MATON


HUGE SOUND for a tiny guitar.


Cheers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 12:09 PM

Oh!! Yes please !! I"ll have one of each ! I have actually had a few backpacker -type guitars----I quite liked the baby Taylor, but there"s no bass in dropped-D. ;The mini-Martin is nice too,but it isn"t that small----The Martin backpacker is very 'tinny',& more like a mandolin.I did own a used, baby Yamaha a few years ago -----I was "On the move" & needed a small guitar. The Yamaha was cheap ( 90 pounds )& actually sounded quite good although it needed constant re-tuning. I used it for "busking " around Exeter for a while.Then I went to Germany, & my companion,a German lady guitar-teacher,liked it so much,she used it for her lessons at night school !! I would like to try the Ozark.Oh, and Tanglewood have brought out a couple or three of really small guitars,two of which I"ve tried,and they too are pretty good for what they are ! At the end of the day, I"d rather put up with the inconvenience of a slightly larger guitar to get the better sound----I guess I"d have a Mini-Martin !!

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Phil Manchester
Date: 15 Feb 07 - 04:02 PM

I bought an ASHTON Joey - designed in OZ, built in China - for £69 last year (From Music Warehosue in Colchester). It looks like an early Martin tyep 2. I played it next to a small Martin and could not tell the difference - indeed to my ears the Joey sounded better than 340 quids worth of Martin. The deal includes a nice padded case, spare strings, a strap and three picks. It also includes a DVD tutor!
Great 'travel' instrument - the neck is on the small side though.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 04:06 PM

Reply to Don Firth:

Once again, you come to the fore! I belong to a small group of old backpackers and horsepackers, Los Viejos Locos, which spends a week each summer in the high Sierra. I have taken a Martin Backpacker's Guitar on two occasions, but the sound was somewhere between a banjo and dulcimer. Playing while sitting on a log at 10,000 feet doesn't require a lot, but I was disappointed. Last year, I took my Takamine classical guitar with me. It was better, obviously, but difficult to transport and fragile. I am contacting GO Guitars postehaste, after reviewing the website you so thoughtfully included. Many thanks!

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Rog Peek
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 04:56 PM

Has anyone seen or had experience of these? Are there any cheaper alternatives around?

http://www.voyageairguitar.com/

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Don Firth
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 07:00 PM

Great, TJ! I think you'll probably be happy with the GO. I'm very happy with mine. Bob (Deckman) Nelson and I are planning to do a concert together this coming fall, and I'll be using it for that.

Living in San Diego, you do have a chance to drop in and talk to Sam Radding directly and give his handiwork a try. Address on the Go-Guitar website:

Go Guitars
4242 View Place
San Diego, CA 92115
[phone]

But then, you're probably way ahead of me on that idea. Good luck!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: John Hardly
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 08:10 PM

A fine sound sample recorded to compare the Go with the Larrivee parlor.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Don Firth
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 08:57 PM

It took me awhile to find the links to the sound samples. Under the "side-by-side" photo, imbeded in the text.

Actually, that's Sam's Type II parlor guitar, not his travel guitar. To my ear, the Go Type II sounded nice and mellow, but the Larivee came on a bit stronger. It also sounded like "slack-key" to me, which could toss a ringer into the comparison.

My Go guitars are both GO-GWs (deeper body, walnut back and sides rather than mahogany), one nylon-string and one steel-string. Talking with Sam on the phone a few months back, he remarked that he thought the nylon-string GO-GWs were somewhat louder than the steel-string ones. My ears bear that out.

I also talked to Sam about maybe getting one of the Type IIs with a full 2" 12-fret neck, slotted headstock, and nylon strings (Sam builds the nylon-string parlor and travel guitars lighter that the steel-string models, and with a different bracing system), but a little measuring revealed that I'd have the same problem with the lower bout of the guitar and the right wheel of my wheelchair interfering with each other. The parlor is 12" at the lower bout, the GO-GW is only 8" wide. Just clears the wheel.

Best thing for TJ to do, since he lives in San Diego, is to drop in, talk to Sam, and try them out. Nothing like "hands on" to tell you what you want to know.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Tim theTwangler
Date: 13 Jun 07 - 11:45 PM

Get a Takamine Takamini plug in mate
Plays like a proper guitar.
Takes fairly heavy strings and is good to play.
Well i think so anyhow

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 02:56 AM

Problem with all of these travel guitars is that some airlines (e.g Ryanair) will not permit them as cabin luggage. I have been toying with a fold up guitar. Can only find the 'Voyage Air', - very expensive!

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Davetnova
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 03:08 AM

I don't know if they are available in America, but I recently got a LAG parlour size guitar, solid wood top, built in electrics, UK price £199, which has a really full sound, very playable. If you see one give it a try, I was surprised enough by it to buy and find myself playing it more than my Martin.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: old moose
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 03:45 PM

I had a three quarter size Applause-made by ovation, sounded good but with my mitts, next to impossible to play, and have A Juan Estruch small guitar, called a laud, pear shaped body, flat back, elaborate sound hole cutouts, twelve strings tuned in unison, , all of them, and in fourths all the way across the finger board. Makes some unusual chords for an old moose to learn. I tuned it like a guitar, only from a low A, makes playing it a whole lot easier. It has a beautiful sound, an easy action, and sets of strings are available from La Bella. For a twelve stringer the action is surprisingly easy. Good small guitars are hard to find-I traded the applause fir a running subaru. el moose

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Kaleea
Date: 14 Jun 07 - 07:00 PM

Does anybody know if the Mini Maton has the thin & skinny neck on it as do the guitars Tommy Emmanuel plays? I have carpal tunnel, & I once played his guitar for about an hour--without my srist splints I have to wear all the time--with no pain! If it has the sknny neck, it may be the guitar I've been hoping to find in recent years.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Goodsonbasinger
Date: 14 Jul 08 - 09:31 AM

I have an old checkmate, actually 5.They are great with gut strings.Got one at a flea for 3 dollars.Liked it so much I tracked down 4 more.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jul 08 - 10:47 AM

Little Martin? - Brilliant. I bought a Martin Felix, just to see what it was like. The entire body of these is made of HPL and the sound is fantastic. I use it all the time at home now, only getting my 'proper' guitar out for gigs and sessions. Some little Martins have a spruce soundboard, never tried one of those, but I bet they are good. My pal ghas a baby taylor and my felix sounds about a million times better.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,Mark C
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:33 PM

I've had the mini Martin for about 3 years now and I play it a lot when I just want to pick up something quick and easy while waiting for the missus to get ready etc. I have also travelled extensively with it and it helps pass the time in hotel rooms.....never had a problem on any airline. Only trouble was when i left it in the trunk of my car one day in desert heat....the neck is composite, (top is spruce) The neck warped which made playing that night in front of some friend nearly impossible. The neck has gone back into shape and I raised the action slightly to compensate a little so it still sounds great. It's still a substitute for a real guitar but a very reasonable substitute especially if you hate not being able to play when you travel.

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Midchuck
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 04:25 PM

CA Cargo. Makes everything else mentioned, that I've ever heard, sound like a toy, and damn near indestructible.

Peter

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: GUEST,Scott
Date: 25 Dec 09 - 09:13 AM

No one has mentioned the Washburn Rover travel guitar.They are compact inexpensive,made of all solid wood, come with a tough travel case and have surprising volume for their size. The tone sounds a little bit like a ukelele, I guess because the body is so tiny, but the overall tone/sustain is still quite good. They also have good access to the upper frets and play almost like an electric. Worth checking out for a travel guitar, although it won't likely replace your full size guitar at home

Subject: RE: Small Guitars?
From: Suffet
Date: 25 Dec 09 - 06:46 PM

Click here to see a video of me fingerpicking an accompaniment to Railroad Bill on my Martin Felix the Cat guitar. It's easy to play, the tone is more than acceptable, and it's a real conversation starter. The volume is a little weak, so I have since added a pickup.

Take a listen

--- Steve