The ultimate (?) travel guitar

[pete1951]

I think I may have talked about this before, if so here we go again. I have traveled with guitars (India and the States) but I didn’t have what I would call the best travel guitar, so I guess I am going to have to make one, and even this is not likely to be the Ultimate!
First it has to be small,but with a standard scale , then it should have enough volume to be heard above a normal acoustic , then some sort of non-active pickup so I can plug in anywhere . It should also be made out of donor guitar that does not cost much.
Well, a donor has turned up, it’s longer than perfect and has a glued in neck, but I hope it will be close to what I want.
Pete


I have pictured it next to a 3 string thing I made some time ago, it has a Busker uke resonator which is surprisingly loud. This is the Reso system I intend to put in the headless electric. It was made from a kit by someone who didn’t give the neck enough angle, so the action was very high (the neck seems well glued in, and the rather over complicated bridge would almost come through the back of the body to correct it)
So at a time when nobody should be travelling and I am getting too old to play I am starting on a travel guitar,
Let’s hope I get to use it!

[ken1953clark]

Think I’ll stick to my Sollophonic with the bolt on neck. Disassembles easily and fits in a suit case. Worked for our Mississippi trip :-)

[pete1951]

Yes, I took an old Eko with a screw on neck to the States, this fitted into my hand luggage. However, to put it together needed a screwdriver, which had to go in the hold. I like to travel with just a walk-on bag (if I ever fly again )
Pete

[Pickers Ditch]

I used to buy a cheapy screwdriver at the other end of the journey - WalMart 99 cent specials usually.

[Stevie]

Or a screw driver with interchangeable hex bits. Never had a problem taking those as carry-on.

e&oe ...

[pete1951]

Maybe I was being too cautious not putting a screwdriver in my hand luggage.
Pete

[tokyo]

E Travel guitar I got this dinky cheap couch guitar a year ago put 16/56s on it noticed the bridge was lifting so I removed it got some spare scratch plate material located the ribs[well at least a few points for fixings] just waiting for my electric  guitar metal bridge the type that does not have to go through the body to be delivered,The pickup is tucked inside the body for now that and the chicken heads were from the first phase,I read many of the posts in relation to intonation that were posted recently and that gave me food for thought as the intonation on the wooden bridge was slightly out being  a tad sharp,Hope you are all keeping well during these times.

[pete1951]

Have come to a small problem. The original headless guitar had Steinburger( spelling?) style m/heads , built into the larger term/ bridge. I am going to have to use banjo m/heads. In an ideal world some custom made Steinburger style ones would be good but the only ones available are £20-30 each, ( cheap banjo ones are £10 for 4) So I am going for the cheap option, it will make the guitar 4” longer, which is not good for a travel guitar. If it is an enormous success then I will cut those 4” off and make or buy some that will act as a tailpiece. The banjo m/heads will mean very long lengths of string behind the bridge, which may lead to tuning problems. We will soon see?
Pete

Even with the extra 4” it’s still shorter (just) than my Baby MM/ Taylor.

[pete1951]

Have just had an idea, the old huge bridge could be cut down to fit! In fact it comes apart and should just screw on to the face of the guitar. You could screw the unit to a standard reso tailpiece and have a headless standard Reso, maybe the next bad headstock break will get this treatment?

So, it’s going to be 4” shorter, but size isn’t everything.
Pete

[slide496]

That long shot of the new guitar IMHO looks like a work of art the way you've taped and drawn the technical diagram...

Lawd lawdy,
H

[pete1951]

Oct 27, 2020 17:03:18 GMT slide496 said:

That long shot of the new guitar IMHO looks like a work of art the way you've taped and drawn the technical diagram...

Lawd lawdy,
H

Sadly, after the tape is removed it looks more like a child’s drawing of a daisy, but it grows, slowly.
Pete


Just need to anneal the hand rest, beat it into shape, work out the correct bridge/tail angle ( 3cones can take the pressure of a heavy set of strings so maybe about a third the pressure??) make a guitar size bridge to fit a uke cone , put it in the guitar and string it up ( being careful to put the middle strings on first to stop an overhanging E string tipping the biscuit over to one side).
Should get it done before Christmas

[pete1951]

So, I have done all the stuff I needed to and do I now have the ultimate travel guitar? Well, the answer is yes and no, the ‘stick’ guitar may be small and useful but the acoustic sound is not up to much. I had expected it to be low volume but it sounds as if I have recorded it through the phone. However, I have my Reso-Taylor , and this is just about perfect.


Pete

[obrienp]

Looks and sounds pretty good to me Pete!

I have tried various travel guitars over the years but never been very satisfied with them. My last was a Vintage Viator, Quite a nice instrument but the intonation never sounded right to me unless I put it in Terz tuning. I gave up with it when budget airlines became even more awkward about taking it on board.

I’ve decided that, when I eventually get to do another trip home down-under for a few months, I’m just going to buy something cheap locally, rather than go though the hassle of trying to take a guitar with me. I’ll try to sell it when I leave, or just give it to a charity. Unfortunately, that means that I’m not going to stretch to a Cole Clark, or Maton!

[mitchfit]

Dearest Mister 1951, Esquire,

perhaps your SteinReso suffers from 1133 disorder? national had to put a cover plate on the back to allow more air movement from the cone to compensate for the lack of a sound chamber.

down side - even if this works to deliver the volume you were hoping for, most of the bass response will be from the back of the guit, if it follows the 1133 model traits.

it is a good looking creation!

hope this helps,
mitchfit

[pete1951]

I had hoped that I had the 1133 problem covered, there are 3 channels that take the ‘back’ tone to the sound hole at the end of the neck. I tried it before I fitted the pickup and screen and tone and volume hardly changed after the pickup was put in. There is just not enough space behind the cone. The body is a very light timber and I think if I had removed all the wood it might have folded up under string tension. I am tempted to make a slightly thicker body , but the I was trying to keep it small.
Pete

I made a couple of 1133ish lap steels a few years ago and used channels to a Dobro style sound hole, these worked ok, but were much bigger, with 9 1/2” cones

I think forum member Bonzo has one of my 1133ish guitars (though I made it 10years or so ago, it may have fallen apart by now, luckily the guaranteed has run out.)