NGD: Stewart Stowaway

[Blrfl]

In anticipation of this thing I keep hearing about called "travel" and some upcoming, distant events where a guitar would be handy, I've been looking at guitars that don't take up huge amounts of space, and there are a lot out there. This one ain't cheap, but it ticks a lot of my boxes and is pretty much a no-compromise instrument that will fit in a roll-aboard or a large briefcase.

Build and finish are good, the fretwork is excellent and the cover over the pocket on the back doesn't get in the way while playing. The neck is satin-finished maple with an amaranth fretboard, both of which might cure my lifelong love of maple/maple slathered in lacquer. The strings that came on it didn't hold tune very well, but a set of my usual D'Addario EXL110s took care that.

Once I got used to having to tune with my right hand and not having a headstock, it's been a blast to play. When not traveling, it's going to be a bedroom guitar and it pairs up nicely with my Mustang Micro.

 

[generic202]

In anticipation of this thing I keep hearing about called "travel" and some upcoming, distant events where a guitar would be handy, I've been looking at guitars that don't take up huge amounts of space, and there are a lot out there. This one ain't cheap, but it ticks a lot of my boxes and is pretty much a no-compromise instrument that will fit in a roll-aboard or a large briefcase.

Build and finish are good, the fretwork is excellent and the cover over the pocket on the back doesn't get in the way while playing. The neck is satin-finished maple with an amaranth fretboard, both of which might cure my lifelong love of maple/maple slathered in lacquer. The strings that came on it didn't hold tune very well, but a set of my usual D'Addario EXL110s took care that.

Once I got used to having to tune with my right hand and not having a headstock, it's been a blast to play. When not traveling, it's going to be a bedroom guitar and it pairs up nicely with my Mustang Micro.





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Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm curious about this guitar. How do you like it after using for awhile now?

Have you had a chance to look under the pickguard? Is it routed for humbuckers or single coils only? Also do the tuners turn easily and smoothly? I have Strandberg Boden 7 so I'm familiar with right hand tuning. Thanks!

 

[Fretting out]

Holy heck!
Didn’t know this existed!

 

[That Cal Webway]

Nize!!

I recall in the 80's or 90's Valley Arts Guitars had a similar neck pocket lock mechanism, tho yours is more secure.

 

[brookdalebill]

Neato!

 

[Blrfl]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm curious about this guitar. How do you like it after using for awhile now?

So far so good. It looks like a guitar, smells like a guitar and plays like a guitar. It hasn't traveled as much as I'd anticipated, but it's pretty much the no-compromise instrument the marketing material says it is. Getting the breakdown/reassembly and right-hand tuning processes down to a science took a little time, but it wasn't difficult.

One thing I've discovered is that the thumbscrews for the neck joint need to be tightened bridge side first for the neck to settle in just the right way. It returns to the same setup very consistently. The strings come up sharp after attaching the neck, but the instructions said to expect that.

Have you had a chance to look under the pickguard? Is it routed for humbuckers or single coils only? Also do the tuners turn easily and smoothly? I have Strandberg Boden 7 so I'm familiar with right hand tuning. Thanks!

I haven't had the pickguard off, but I did check into that before I bought it. They use the same body for the single- and double-humbucker versions and the control cavity is close to the standard routing. The pickguard is the standard Strat shape with a couple of differences in where the screw holes are. I'm planning to build one up with P-Rails, a Freeway switch and a PTB tone stack. The stock pickups and electronics get the job done.

The tuners work just fine. I like that they're tucked out of the way in the back of the body even if getting at them is a little more awkward than where they are on your Strandberg.

 

[generic202]

I haven't had the pickguard off, but I did check into that before I bought it. They use the same body for the single- and double-humbucker versions and the control cavity is close to the standard routing. The pickguard is the standard Strat shape with a couple of differences in where the screw holes are. I'm planning to build one up with P-Rails, a Freeway switch and a PTB tone stack. The stock pickups and electronics get the job done.

Thanks for info. It's also nice to know that the pickguard is standard shape.. that opens up for more possibilities in terms aftermarket options. I thought extra $100 for HSS upgrade was a little too much especially when I already have some parts laying around that I could use for free

I don't know when but this is on my list of next possible guitar... It's really hard to find headless guitars with 22 frets AND single coils. Kiesel is another option but it's at least double the price of Stewart.

 

[Blrfl]

Thanks for info. It's also nice to know that the pickguard is standard shape.. that opens up for more possibilities in terms aftermarket options. I thought extra $100 for HSS upgrade was a little too much especially when I already have some parts laying around that I could use for free

Jim Reed at Stewart is pretty helpful and says he'll sell unpopulated pickguards or fully-wired custom stuff (he's "got a guy"). I don't know if he'd sell a guitar without any pickups in it at all, but it can't hurt to ask.

 

[Fenderdad1950]

Interesting, wonder if the case is squarish in shape?

 

[Blrfl]

Interesting, wonder if the case is squarish in shape?

It's rectangular and extends a few inches up from what's in the picture. There's a handle at the top and shoulder straps in a pocket on the rear that turn it into a backpack.

 

[generic202]

It's rectangular and extends a few inches up from what's in the picture. There's a handle at the top and shoulder straps in a pocket on the rear that turn it into a backpack.

Would it pass as a personal item on a flight? If not, I would probably use my own carry-on bag when I'm flying to hold more stuff.

 

[Blrfl]

Would it pass as a personal item on a flight? If not, I would probably use my own carry-on bag when I'm flying to hold more stuff.

That might be a little tight for some airlines. That said, there's room for a laptop in the back pocket or with the guitar and a fair amount of space in the front pocket, so it could be primary carry-on if you're checking luggage.

I've seen photos of the Stowaway stuffed into briefcases and it will fit in a standard roll-aboard with room to spare. I have some must-carry stuff when I fly, so I may go that route and consolidate.

 

[Blrfl]

For @generic202, I had the pickguard off this afternoon.

The pickup route is HSH. The neck and bridge cavities are routed through where the neck storage pocket intersects. That area has felt on it, so the cavity is closed.

The control cavity is standard Strat. All of the electronics are no-name and the pots are miniature. It all works, though.

The next decision is whether to stay with Strat pickups or have a HSH guard made up and build up something all new.

 

[Blrfl]

Quick update on the electronics:

I decided that the P-Rails project was more ambitious than I wanted to do this go-round. So I tore it all back to the pickguard and installed a set of G&L CLF-100s, a Freeway 5B5-01 switch and fresh pots with the G&L PTB circuit. Pro tip: If you want to build one, get the pots from G&L. I looked all over for 1M, reverse-audio-taper pots and nobody else has them.

Anyway, what I got for my troubles is a travel guitar that sounds like my Legacy (which I adore) and has five extra switch positions: N+M in series, N+B in parallel, N+B in series, N+M+B in parallel and M+B in series. Ba-da-bap-ba-bap, I'm lovin' it.