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mpi_50
Lokahi
USA
133 Posts |
 Posted - 09/28/2009 : 2:59:15 PM
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Here I am 58 yrs. old, and chosen to go to Iraq (HQ MNSTC-I) for a year. Which guitar would be best for that environment. I was thinking Rain Song (graphite?) or a smaller travel size. I would have to be good for open G slack key and have good harmonic range, sturdy and not too affected by the desert environment, any suggestions?
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 3:34:47 PM
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The best bet for super dry conditions is to constantly monitor the humidity in your guitar. Daily, rather than weekly. The Rainsong, being graphite, may not be as much affected by the dry air, but they may be somewhat expensive. I haven't priced one lately; it's been several years. The cheaper travel guitars are mostly laminated wood, including the tops. This makes them less susceptible to damage from an overly dry climate. The sound qualities of most of the travel guitars I've seen was pretty poor. I guess whatever you take will be a trade off in some ways. Is luggage going to be an issue, or is someone else paying for extra baggage? I see you are in the Reserves. How much will Uncle Sam allow you to bring? I took a $35 Harmony guitar to Vietnam many years ago. It got used once in a while when I actually got to the rear to play it. (Not very often.) I went back one time, walked into the orderly room and found the company clerk playing it. When we did get to the rear, it was worth every bit of hassle to bring it. Every player in the company had turns.I couldn't count the songs and styles it got used for.(Probably bad memory.)Take one you don't mind passing around to the guys-the'll all want to play.
You might consider a cheaper guitar, and watch the humidity carefully, then donate it to one of your replacements when you come home. Laminated woods are more stable. And cheaper. The Harmony was never right again, as the neck bowed and began pulling free from the body. But it served it's purpose, and survived the round trip. I tried to repair the neck joint as a learning experience, with no knowledge and no teacher. The results were not spectacular. After a few years, it ended up on the treelawn. But, boy, the songs it played!
Unko Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 3:38:08 PM
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Oh, I almost forgot- strings were nearly impossible to get in Vietnam. Take extras with you, and maybe leave a few sets with someone at home to send in case you don't bring enough. The others you share the guitar with may not use G tuning, and it may be going back & forth to standard tuning every few players.
Unko Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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Hookani
Lokahi
232 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2009 : 6:22:36 PM
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Probably one the best choices for travel size and weather resistance is the Composite Acoustics Cargo. And the thing sounds pretty good too.
Ho'okani |
Ke Kani Nahe
YouTube
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 06:29:07 AM
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If cost is not crucial, the Cargo is probably optimal--small, tough, and respectable-sounding. Not dirt cheap, though. For less than half (or maybe a third) the money, a Baby Taylor is a bit smaller, respectably tough (solid top but laminate back/sides), and better-sounding than you would expect. Get the thermoplastic hard case and it's pretty well protected. I've traveled quite a bit with mine over the last 14 years and never had a problem. Of couse, I stay in hotels rather than tents, and hardly anyone ever shoots at me, especially if I play quietly. (BTW, with medium strings the Baby is a surprisingly good slack key guitar.)
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1019 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2009 : 12:12:11 PM
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| For $400, check out the Seagull parlor. Made in Canada, Solid wood (at least the top), cedar and mahogany, 1 3/4 nut, good for fingerstyle. I like mine and it holds tune. You'll need a case though. It fits in the overhead in a gig bag. I won't drag a full size rig anywhere on a plane anymore. I keep a Planet Waves humidifier in it when it's idle. |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2009 : 04:25:24 AM
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All of the choices mentioned are good options. I have played the CA Cargo, and it sounds very good considering its size -- probably the best of the travel guitars. Hilo Guitars & Ukuleles seems to be a good place to buy them - good prices.
I have two Rainsongs, which would hold up really well, but be careful of the heat. Extreme heat or black guitars with direct exposure to the sun can soften the resin and create problems. They get too hot to touch sometimes. The Rainsongs are expensive enough that I don't usually travel with them, preferring something more expendable. Seagull makes both the parlor guitar and the the newer Mini-Jumbo (under $400). Finally, you might consider the Little Martin series. They sound OK, and are less than $300 retail. They are made of high pressure laminate (read: Formica) and would be quite durable. They are pretty small but still decent sounding and quite playable.
I personanly travel with a used Seagull S-6 dreadnought that I turn over to the airline gorillas, and so far no bad luck. But even if they destroy / lose it, I'm only out about $400 for guitar, pickup and case.
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2009 : 05:19:57 AM
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I used to travel with my Rainsong OM-1000 and always checked it with one of Bruce Lamb's Clam cases. It worked great. I never had a heat problem, although I heard of one that claimed to have had a problem. But now that Sheila is gone, I have no one to watch the luggage while I get the rental car. So I bought one of the Voyage Air guitars. I haven't taken it on a flight yet. I'll report back in January about it.
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2165 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2009 : 08:08:09 AM
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| I've been using an Ovation with a laminate top for the polka band as it is durable and can go from playing outside in temps in the 50s to inside with temps in the 70s and not have problems. It doesn't have the tone of my D-18, but it has brittle sound good for the task at hand and it plays good and survives the plane OK. I've tried the little laminate Martins and was impressed. They have a brittle sound also. |
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mpi_50
Lokahi
USA
133 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2009 : 1:20:39 PM
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| Thanks! I probably won't be in a tent. I'll be in the Green Zone (Baghdad by the Euprates)and share a 2-man room. I did check out the Rain Song, too expensive and I did notice the Baby Martin and Taylor. I love my Koa Ovation but it's staying home. that is what I'm trying to retain in a travel-worthy package.I'll check out the CA Cargo (I've never heard of it nor the Voyage Air). I remember the Viet Nam Era I was in the Marines stationed in Camp Smith,Hawaii and my guitar was well used also. I left it there when I left also. Thanks once again! |
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mpi_50
Lokahi
USA
133 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2009 : 2:18:53 PM
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| How does the CA Cargo and Little Martin Koa perform in Ki Ho'Alu? I've narrowed my choices to these two, as always MAHALO! |
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Earl
`Olu`olu
USA
521 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2009 : 10:22:24 AM
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I have played the Composite Acoustics Cargo model in taro patch, F wahine and Keola's C tuning. It performed remarkably well given its size, especially the low end. it is more like a 3/4 size than a half-size guitar. I think you would be very happy with it, and it would survive the desert environment well.
I would have bought one while at Hilo Guitars last February after Aloha Camp, where I played one newly purchased by a fellow camper. But we were already maxed out on checked bags. Not to mention that Alice is probably on the verge of saying "one out for each new one in" when it comes to guitars. (I may have a problem. Anyone know of a 12 fret program?)
Oh, and thank you for you continued service. Oohrah!
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2009 : 12:35:21 PM
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I second the CA Cargo. Best travel guitar I've ever played. I sold my Baby Taylor cuz it didn't like playing it.
I have one that I play in both standard & slack & DADGAD for some sessions recently in Ireland. It holds up quite well with a band--pipes, flute, fiddle, bouzouki & tenor banjo in one case & sounds remarkable good solo.
This summer I took it down to Palm Springs area to play for my ailing father. It was 114 in the shade, and I did not ever think twice about leaving it in the car while I went to lunch. I also don't care if it gets rained on.
Only down side? Well, they laughed at it in a pub in Kilkenny. |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2165 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2009 : 12:54:26 PM
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| Soome of us might need a 14 fret program. |
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mpi_50
Lokahi
USA
133 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 6:29:25 PM
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| Good to hear all the gang with their responses. You know, I frequent the Guitar Center not because it is great, but it is close and has a good invetory of guitars. The drawback is that they have no CA guitars in their inventory. They did have a Little Martin (I have no Martin bias; just sound and playability) with the spruce top. I was adequate and easy to play, I would think that with a little work the koa version would perform nicely. I still would like to try the CA offering. I ordered the little Martin in koa, it looks llike a big uke! thanks for your input! As always I love hearing from all of you. If you recall I work shifts on the dock and some work weeks extend to 12 days so I can't respond in a timely manner. Thanks for your patience and for your ALOHA! |
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Fingerpickin
Lokahi
117 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2009 : 3:17:23 PM
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mpi_50,
I just got back from a year long deployment to Iraq (Tikrit area, COB Speicher.) I was in one of the dryest places in Iraq, right smack dab in the middle of the desert.
I have been very dissapointed in most "travel" guitars. The volume, tone, and playability is distinctly lacking in most of these instruments. This is what I did, based on a recommendation from Doug Fitch and others:
As soon as I got to Iraq, I ordered an Epiphone Masterbilt jumbo. (Mahogany body, solid spruce top, Shadow dual-pickup system.) It cost $550, came perfectly set up and Musicians Friend delivered it in less than 2 weeks. This guitar is no Martin or Taylor, but it sounds good acoustically and incredible plugged in. My origional plan was to sell it before I left, but I could not bear to part with it and wound up shipping it home. Surprisingly, the shipping was only $40 from the U.S. postal service and it got here without a mark on it. I hydrated it with the planet waves in-soundhole system which worked well.
Whatever you decide, thanks for supporting us troops over there, we could not do it without the dedication of many civilians, all who volunteer for this dangerous duty.
-Lance |
"Hey Lance, try watch." -Ozzie |
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Travel guitar
