 Telecaster Guitar Forum |
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Martin Backpacker - Steel String
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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3186
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Fri December 2, 2005
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$160.00
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3.0
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Author
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marindavid
Registered: December 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Fri December 2, 2005
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $160.00
| Rating: 3
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Pros:
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Light, easy to play
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Cons:
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Small sound
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After having read many reviews of this instrument, I decided to take the plunge anyway - at a point in my life where a good many long-distance trips are coming up and my 40-year old (hard to play and wonderful) Harmony Sovereign full-size Western Flat Top) is just too cumbersome to travel with. Many of the criticisms leveled by other users are certainly valid.
It is a very small and oddly shaped small instrument with a proportionately small sound. It would, indeed, be easier to play if the saddle were lowered a bit and if it came out of the box as the manufacturer and designer recommended re strings - it does not. It is awkward to hold.
All of that being said, I am able to honestly recommend it - perhaps because my old Harmony is even harder to play! I have never been spoiled by the experience of owning a really well made guitar (like a full size Martin or Gibson)- so, to me, it plays easily and produces a sound much like I feel it is reasonable to expect from such a small body.
I have had it for about a week and am enjoying it a lot.
Of course, it sounds best in small spaces, wired with thin gauge (bronze 80/20) strings and played with a thin pick.... something that is taking some adjustment on my part - having always used medium gauge picks before.
Because the instrument is disproportionately heavy on the tuning-peg end, playing it standing (pretty much a requirement) works a lot better with the strap tied to the tuner - rather than connected with the hardware installed on the neck side of the Backpacker's mini-body. Otherwise, the tuning end is drawn by gravity making it harder to play than is necessary.
The prices have come down quite a bit - partly, I expect, due to the poor reviews both here and at other sites.
I paid $160. from SameDayMusic - shipping included.
To paraphrase an old tune:
"If you can't play the guitar you love, love the one you play." Attitude has a sound of its own!
This does not require a theatrical suspension of disbelief so much as it necessitates realistic expectations and the ability to enjoy a good effort to create a truly portable Martin.
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David
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