Travel guitars are no longer obscure, niche instruments or novelties – some of the world’s leading manufacturers now make travel guitars that sit alongside full size guitars in their lineups. While a scaled down guitar isn’t as likely to have the rich tones that you’d expect of a full size model, the best travel guitars don’t sacrifice sound for size.
In this guide I will be reviewing the 7 best travel guitars on the market in 2021. In order to give a fair comparison, we will be looking at each instrument on the same criteria – build quality, playability, sound, and overall value for money.
The Traveler Guitar Travelcaster Deluxe was declared our overall best pick in the travel guitar category. It’s undeniably cool, and while it literally defines the travel guitar genre, it is well spec’d enough to hold up to live performances and even recording. The pickups are well rounded, giving life to the mids and highs without sounding tinny. In all, this model is built without compromise, and has all the features of a full size electric guitar at a fraction of the size and weight.
Best Travel Guitars (2023)
The Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top is our best value pick. As a parlor size acoustic guitar, it’s ideal for travel. It’s ¾ scale lightweight, and really well made considering the price. It offers truly old school looks, and a surprisingly rich, sweet sound. It’s made with an Agathis top back and sides, a durable wood that will stand up well to the rigors of travel, and at this low price, you aren’t likely to worry about keeping it shiny!
The Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1 is our editor’s pick – if you’re in the market for a high end travel guitar that pulls out all the stops, this is the one for you. It’s a full scale guitar with a Les Paul style body, and yet it fits conveniently in most airplane overhead baggage compartments. It’s packed with incredible features, and the finish is absolutely beautiful. This is a real head turner that will get you noticed wherever your travels take you.
The Traveler Guitar Travelcaster Deluxe is a striking guitar with an instantly recognizable silhouette. It is clearly inspired by the Stratocaster, yet the entire body fits inside the area of the pickguard. This guitar is 100% full scale and is equipped with a fast, 1 piece, bolt on maple neck. Tuners are precise and offer superb stability – they are laid out 3×3 and are mounted on the headstock, so transition from a full size guitar should be straight forward.
Traveler Guitar Eg 1 Custom
It’s lightweight and comfortable, weighing in at around 5lb, which is about 35% lighter than a full size. The body is poplar, a traditional electric guitar tone wood, prized for low weight and rich tones. Also contributing to the excellent tone is the bone nut. If you’re concerned about tonal issues due to the reduced mass, you needn’t be – the sturdy construction keeps things tight, and it’s fitted with a big trem block for increased sustain.
The pickups are laid out in traditional Stratocaster style SSS layout, with a 5 way selector switch. They offer excellent clarity and the bell like tones that this layout is famous for. Even though it’s 14% shorter than a full size Strat, it’s still equipped with a fully functional vintage style tremolo system for maximum expression, and an adjustable 2 point fulcrum bridge. Action out of the box is excellent, but in case the standard setup doesn’t suit you, it does have standard Strat style adjustable saddles.
Verdict: This is the instrument that defines the travel sized electric guitar genre. It’s not likely to replace a full size instrument full time, mainly due to the ergonomics, but if you’re looking to avoid compromising on features, the Traveler Guitar Travelcaster is a great choice! Build quality is excellent, and it’s clear that quality components have been used throughout, as evidenced by the well rounded tones and smooth, crackle free pots, and all for under $300!
Best Travel Guitars (acoustic & Electric) ⋆ Expert World Travel
Our best budget option is the Gretsch G9500 “Jim Dandy” Flat Top. This is a 24” scale parlor guitar that oozes old school style. It’s finished in a beautiful vintage sunburst with an off white pickguard that really sets the look off. The top, back and sides are made from Agathis, a tone wood that is related to the pines that would have been used on the early acoustics that inspired the G9500 – this keeps both the look and the sound authentic, but provides durability that isn’t possible from soft woods like pine.
The bridge is a no pin design, which makes string changes much faster, and because there’s no pins to lose, you’re less likely to encounter issues while out on the road. Gretsch have kept this guitar is pure acoustic to cram as much quality as they could and keep the price rock bottom. It’s made with a steel reinforced, set nato wood neck. The neck is joined to the body at the 12
Fret, and the bouts are extended, meaning this guitar, like the smaller guitars of old, is able to project far better than its size would suggest.
Best Acoustic Travel Guitars (2019 Reviews)
Verdict: The Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top is a solid choice for budget conscious players who don’t want to be without a guitar during their travels. It offers solid wood construction throughout, an uncommon feature at this price. The sound is unlike anything else in the category, and while the raw, delta blues tone isn’t for everybody, the compact size and powerful projection combination make it an ideal travel companion for anybody.
For the LTD EC-1, Traveler Guitar teamed up with ESP to create the finest travel size electric guitar on the market. To look at, this guitar is stunning – this deluxe version has a Les Paul style body made from mahogany for superior tone, and a quilted maple finish that would look right at home on a $4000 PRS. By removing the headstock and compressing the body, Traveler Guitar have managed to keep a full 24.75” scale, and still make this guitar 24% shorter and 29% lighter than a full size LP style instrument while retaining the ergonomics, comfort and playability. The EC-1 is customizable too, with adjustable saddles to correct both action and intonation.
Another of this guitar’s more unique design features is the layout of the tuners, which to save space have been embedded right in the center of the body. The strings wrap around the bridge and through the body to the machine heads, which are located on the back. What makes this guitar stand out the most is the built in amplifier – within this tiny body, there is a headphone preamp, meaning there’s no need to even carry a mini amp with you. Simply plug in your headphones and away you go. To ensure full, rich tones, it’s fitted with a full size ESP Designed active humbucker. Further to that, the built in amp even has clean boost, overdrive and distortion settings, giving you the ability to access a full tonal range without the need to carry anything other than the guitar and headphones.
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Verdict: If you’re in the market for a high end guitar to take anywhere, there aren’t many better than the Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1. It’s made with premium materials, and in a much more conventional style than typical electric travel guitars, which significantly enhances playability.
The Martin Backpacker is one of the lightest, most compact travel guitars available thanks to its paddle-like styling. The design isn’t universally appealing, but the fact that Martin was able to make a guitar that retains the character of their larger instruments in such a compact package, and at such a low price is incredible. The tone is sweet thanks to the solid spruce top, and the nice, medium height action keeps it playable for most guitarists.
The 15 fret neck is quite thick, and just about perfect for fingerstyle. It’s short scale at 24”, but it’s still comfortable for most players. Despite the fact that there is no truss rod adjustability, intonation is fantastic, and tuning stability is amongst the best of any travel guitar. Some purists might be disappointed to learn that it has a Richlite fretboard, but in all honesty, fretboard material on a guitar of this size and style is almost indistinguishable tonally, so in reality this is a perfect, hard wearing material for a travel guitar.
The Best Travel Guitars For Serious Musicians
Verdict: The Martin Backpacker Steel String will never sound as rich as a D-45, but regardless of its unusual shape and small size, the sound is surprisingly full. It is made in Martin’s Mexico plant, and is subject to the same QA process as any other Martin, so quality is assured. In all, this is a great choice if brand is as important to you as sound.
The PRS SE P20E is a former best overall winner in our 7 best parlor guitars review, but in the travel guitar category we’ve decided to select the P20 acoustic only version. This version is built to the
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