No longer do you need to buy an expensive guitar flight case to have a great guitar when you travel by air.
Journey InstrumentsĀ® launched in 2012 with our OverheadĀ® series collapsible ergonomic acoustic travel guitars in both wood and carbon fiber. Overview of Our Products Overhead Collapsible Travel Guitars I'm particularly impressed with how relatively close to tune it stays after reassembly, and how easy it is to wipe down following playing in comparison to my wooden guitars. Also, the design and quality met and even exceeded my expectations. And it sounds pretty good, understanding that it's not wooden. This carbon fiber Journey guitar does all that. Also, one that would endure severe humidity changes as I travel from south Mississippi to anywhere else. In addition, I wanted one to fit in an airline overhead and safely wait for me in an overheated or chilled car. I wanted a 1.75" nut, and a scale length the same as my Martin 00 and Gibson jumbo so as not to confuse my finger memory, as did my previous Little Martin.
I gave serious attention to Martin, Taylor, Traveler and others during my multi-year search. I researched the specs on a lot of other travel guitars, tried out many in various guitar shops, and even owned a Little Martin LX1 for a short time prior to selling it. Overall, I have to give the design team and Journey Instruments a lot of credit for a well thought out guitar with amazing capabilities and it all fits in an airline overhead." However, I'm not sure how long it will last when subjected to the rigors of travel. The case for travel is unbelievably small and reasonably well made and thought out.
(As, I suppose they all do) There are no electronics, no pre-amp, no tuner, but as expected it sounded like a full size amped acoustic with a very pleasant sound. This guitar really shines when plugged in to an amp. With the wedge shaped body, it was the most comfortable guitar I've ever played. The sound is not as big as my dreadnaught, however it still was impressive for the small body size. The finish is beautiful, but as expected it's a fingerprint magnet. It didn't need any set-up and came with two bridges for different string heights to suit your playing style. I was really impressed with the build quality and the sound. The day I got it I played it for about 3 hours. All in all I would call this a near perfect guitar. That was an easy fix though with a short bungee cord. If someone held a gun to my head and made me come up with something negative, I suppose I would wish they had put a strap on the back of the case that would let me slide the handle through on my rolling suitcase to hold it in place when walking through an airport. I find myself reaching for this everyday, even with a number of much more expensive guitars sitting there. The beveled back, along with the arm rest, cutaway and small body make this guitar feel like it's part of you. And it's by far the most comfortable guitar I've ever played.
It feels similar to a Taylor, although a little bit thinner. The neck is one of the best I've ever played. The greatest accomplishment of the design is the combination of comfort and playability though. And the tone achieved from a carbon fiber instrument is truly remarkable.
Many people have commented that the volume isn't great, but I found it to be much better than anticipated and equal to or better than many other small bodied and travel guitars. I had high expectations for this guitar, but nonetheless I was blown away by the way it plays and sounds.