What do you use or want in a Camp/travel guitar?
- Thread starter skitched
- Start date
When I first saw this I heard "Small-town" with the lyrics changed to "Old town" at least six bats flew through my head.
I use an old First Act guitar that my wife was gifted when she was in her teens. It spent 99% of its life in a case. I only own 1 other acoustic and when it needed repairs I decided to re-string and setup the First Act guitar, it’s actually not bad after I adjusted the truss rod and cut a new nut and saddle for it. Sounds and plays incredibly well for the price and it has turned into the perfect guitar to take camping or let my kids play around with.
jimd
Friend of Leo's
The Jim Dandy is a great choice. I really like mine. It plays great and sounds decent for a laminate guitar.
LGOberean
Doctor of Teleocity
Yeah, retro look. As I said, to me the Jim Dandy resembles a guitar my Dad had in the early '60s: a Stella by Harmony H-929.
So, yeah, Harmony...Monkey Wards...same era, same provenance, as in MiC (Made in Chicago).
As for what Pete Anderson endorsed, I have no idea. I've read that he had some connection to Larrivee, but I dunno if it's the same look as this.
I believe you're right about Larrivee.
I found an example on Reverb.
https://reverb.com/item/14957972-larrivee-pete-anderson-om-03m
Ed Driscoll
Friend of Leo's
How do those travel guitars take the transition of being in the heat outdoors in the summertime (note my location) and then into an air-conditioned room? Is finish checking a big issue?
Danjabellza
Friend of Leo's
Personally I’m interested in one of those Klös carbon fiber travel guitars. I typically like to go camping in area that more arid than not. With the occasional temperate zone thrown in. So the carbon fiber would be great for stability and consistency.
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
HotRodSteve
Poster Extraordinaire
For a camping guitar I would get an extremely cheap one that tunes and plays well so you don't have to worry about it. No need to bring a $5000 closet queen to a camp out. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
+1 Yup, I ended up with a 00 size just to get some volume. I bought a spruce top Epi EL-00 Pro a few years back to replace my worn out campfire guitar. This thing is so nice, that my wife bought the mahogany top version. I take it all the way to the Pacific coast almost every summer and play on the beach and back here with a very dry wood cookstove heated winter, this thing just keeps on giving. To me the parlor size will not put out enough volume when a group is singing around the campfire. As @schmee mentions, sound tends to fade away quickly outdoors and with a crackling fire, it needs to project. I have given two people Epi Caballero models which have a more dread sound than the very bluesy EL-00, but not as rich of a tone.
As a side note, the GS Mini is the sweetest dread sounding small guitar that I have ever played (my wife had one for a few years), but it is a very short scale and seems fragile for campfire playing to me. Nevertheless, if you want dread in a small package and fantastic projection and willing to chance it on the road, this is a great choice too.
Special Ed teachers are Special People.
I’ve got a 40 years old Ovation Balladeer and a Gig Bag. I drag it everywhere and anywhere.
LGOberean
Doctor of Teleocity
If I had every other guitar I've GASed over, and money still was no object, I'd look at getting one of those carbon fiber guitars. Sigh...
Well, I bought my Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy 3 years ago, the Thursday before the Memorial Day weekend in 2017. Since then, I play it indoors and outdoors at home. I've made several trips to the beach with it, and taken it on camping trips. Take note of my location, too. Definitely heat and humidity outdoors down here. But like I said, I've taken it on camping trips, so it's been all over Texas, and I don't recall for sure, but maybe on some out of state trips as well. So this is no indoor wall hanging, no closet queen. It has not lived a sheltered life in its three years with me.
The pic I posted of it earlier was taken May 25, 2017. I'll include that pic here again, side by side with a pic I just took. You can see for yourself that finish checking isn't an issue.
68Telebass
Friend of Leo's
^^+1 on the Jim Dandy!!!
I have had mine for about four or five years- I think that “barnwood burst” gray is no longer available, but I love that dark Heritage burst as well- looks like it stepped out of the 30s or 40s! Cheap, light sounds great- throw a set of Martin 80/20s on it-
I got a Gator parlor guitar gig bag for mine if I toss it in the car or fly with it- should fit overhead, but I check in at gate with all the strollers etc- no problems!
Boreas
Poster Extraordinaire
Wood is wood. Laminates are tougher and very resistant to environment changes. If you need great sound, stick with wood. If you need something bulletproof, go with laminates. I have played my Little Martin in the rain with no ill effects. Even the fingerboard is synthetic. But it plays extremely well yet still sounds like a parlor guitar. It will never sound like a dreadnought.
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LGOberean
Doctor of Teleocity
John, does that Martin LXM have a Richlite fretboard? I've never owned a guitar with that kind of fretboard, but I've test driven several Martins that have it. To me, it looks and plays like ebony. It feels good under my fingers.
If you're a Johnny Cash fan, Martin offers the LXM in black. I call it my mini-Cash guitar. I also have a Felix III. Chris Martin IV loved Felix the Cat cartoons when he was little and he worked with Don Oriolo to cone up with three Felix LXM's. III is a Tie Die with Grateful Dead-looing dating Felix's. This was a fun eBay score. This one stays home. It's signed and numbered inside.
Yes it does - Martin calls it Micarta. It's jet black, resists perspiration and it plays like lightening. It plays faster than ebony.
