Squier Mini Strat Electric Guitar Review

The Squier Mini Strat electric guitar is a surprisingly well-made and comfortable piece of equipment. While it is on the low-end of the price scale and certainly far from the best travel electric guitar out there, its quality genuinely out-performs what you'd expect from the price.

The sound quality of this particular mini electric guitar tends to be very good for what it is, although it may help to have some slight adjustments made to lower the action slightly. While this is possible, it is also something of a hassle and can take considerable time to get just right.Another flaw of the Fender Mini Strat is in the tuning pegs. They seem to be of somewhat lower quality than the rest of the guitar (which is fairly well made for the most part) and do not hold tuning like an experienced guitarist would expect.

The other complaint a guitarist would be likely to have about this guitar is simply the fret size. While many travel electric guitars boast a full size fret board with a compact head and body, the Squier Mini electric guitar actually has a smaller scale and more compact fret board.

The smaller scale also contributes to the issue with keeping this guitar in tune as the shorter length of strings also requires less tension to achieve the same sound, meaning more bending and more frequent tuning. Changing to higher quality tuning pegs will help but you cannot expect the issue to be entirely resolved by this.

The other effect of this more compact frets is that, if you are used to playing a full size guitar or even other travel electric guitars with full size frets, you will likely feel somewhat cramped. This can be a hassle and many experienced players will not appreciate the compact space but, for players with smaller hands and children (for whom, with its economic price, this guitar is perfect) the smaller area can be a blessing.

Likewise, however, experienced guitarists can also appreciate the Fender Squier Mini. Despite its small stature, this mini electric guitar is comfortable to hold and play. Like its larger counterpart, it fits comfortably in your lap or across your body when using a strap. Although the materials are far from perfect, it's generally sturdy and well made. While not the first choice for a serious musician, the Squier Mini Strat is a perfect travel guitar for a person on a budget or a young person just starting to play and lives up well to the Stratocaster name in sound and playability, if on a comparably smaller scale.

Features

• Small-scale neck
• (22-3/4")
• Three single-coil electronic pickups
• Master volume and tone controls
• Maple C-shaped neck
• Rosewood fretboard
• 20 medium frets
• Hard-tail 6-saddle bridge

SoloEtte Jazz Songbird Travel Guitar Review

A few months back I was introduced to what is, in my opinion, one of the most innovative musical inventions I have ever seen. That invention was the SoloEtte travel guitar.

While perusing various guitar players on YouTube I stumbled upon a great clip of master classical guitarist and Grammy award winner Sharon Isbin performing on what was one of the most unusual looking, (and frankly, coolest), guitars I have ever seen. The guitar had an ergonomic body with the headstock at the bottom of the guitar. There was no ‘real’ body to guitar other then an aluminum frame that gives the perception/feel of a body. The guitar immediately caught my attention and I began doing some research. It turned out that the guitar was the SoloEtte travel guitar.

I contacted Rossco Wright, the owner of the company, and he sent me out the Jazz Songbird model for review. I already knew their guitars sounded remarkable because I saw Sharon Isbin, (Director of Julliard’s Classical Guitar Dept.), playing the SoloEtte, yet I was eager to play and hear one for myself. (There are also great sounding clips of jazz guitar master John Stowell playing the SoloEtte on YouTube).

After inserting the tubing of the guitar, (this took all of 30 seconds), I plugged the guitar into an amplifier and was blown away. Everything felt and sounded amazing! When the guitar is plugged in it sounds big, full, warm, and beautiful. I have no idea how they did it, but they did, and it’s incredible!

I immediately realized how advantageous this guitar could be to me for the rest of my life. For example, I would never have to worry about the stress of traveling with a guitar ever again. Recently, when doing some work in Mid-West I brought the guitar on the plane and was actually able to practice while sitting in my airline seat.

I plugged in some headphones into the guitar, practiced for the duration of a three-hour flight, and didn’t disturb anyone. (Except for my funny looking guitar faces that are inevitable when I play). Not only does the SoloEtte serve as a convenient practice guitar, it can be used in any live situation and sounds astonishing. In fact, I have used the guitar on more than dozen gigs in the past month and it continues to amaze me. I wouldn’t hesitate to do any gig for any situation on this guitar.

The Jazz SongBird is intended for the archtop player. It includes an EMG neck position humbucker pickup that provides a fat/warm sound. The neck width is 1 ¾ and has a body radius 16”. The guitar features 22 frets, strap buttons, dot inlays and a cutaway frame.

All of the SoloEtte models are a solid-construction, disassembling frame-design, travel, practice, and performance guitars that can be plugged into an amp can be used with headphones. The frame comes apart and fits into a small carrying case. When the SoloEtte is disassembled for traveling, it’s only 33 inches long and no wider than a guitar neck.

Some outstanding guitarists that play on SoloEtte guitars include Sharon Isbin, John Stowell, Gustavo Assis-Brasil, and Don Latarski, among many others. The SoloEtte is made in the USA in Eugene, Oregon.

Review by Dr. Brandon Bernstein

Stewart Stow Away Travel Guitar Review

Stow Away Travel Guitar Review by Janis Kreilis

Not long before graduating from college, I got a job offer that I had long dreamed of: a truly jet-set lifestyle which would involve flying to far-away countries that I would never otherwise visit and not staying in one place longer than a couple of months. Still, a problem remained. Reminding myself of all the trouble I had gone through just to bring my full-sized guitar across the Atlantic once a year, I kept thinking, does this mean that I would have to give up playing the guitar?

 

This is where the Stow-Away from Stewart Guitars comes in. The key thing about this guitar is Woody Stewart’s patented clip-joint system which allows you to easily remove the neck of the guitar without taking the strings off. Once detached from the body, the neck can then be stored into a special slot inside the guitar’s body. The whole procedure is remarkably easy and takes about five minutes to learn, as Woody provides great directions for assembly and disassembly. After that, putting the guitar back together is a matter of seconds. Disassembled, the guitar—even when put in the well-padded bag that comes with every Stow-Away—is small enough to fit in your average carry-on. I have never had an easier time bringing a guitar back to Europe (mind you, though, that the airport security might be curious—I had to open my bag in Germany).

What separates the Stow-Away from other travel guitars is that it is not really travel-sized when assembled. The guitar features a standard-scale (25½") neck with rosewood fingerboard and 22 medium frets, and the alder body is only slightly smaller than that of a standard Strat. Having no headstock means that the tuners can be found at the bottom of the body—while it felt slightly unusual at first, I got used to tuning the guitar with my right hand in no time. The Stow-Away comes equipped with three single-coil alnico pole magnet pick-ups, a five-way pick-up selector, a volume knob, and two tone knobs.

Now for the subjective part. It has been two months since I got this guitar, and I love it (to the point that I haven’t picked up my good-old LTD). I have tried it with my 5W all-tube amp as well as the little travel-sized VOX that I bought for my future hotel-room practice sessions, and the guitar sounds amazing. With the treble up, the pick-ups give you a crisp and punchy sound both in clean and overdrive, but playing with the tone controls will bring out the mellower part of the guitar’s character. Each pick-up has a very distinctive sound, so this amazing instrument has a lot to offer. The sustain is amazing—especially given the slot in the body and the unusual build.

The Stow-Away feels and looks great as well. You can clearly see that Woody Stewart pays great attention to every little detail and his guitars are of the highest quality. The sleek neck feels great when playing, and the frets have given me no problem for now. My Stow-Away is black with a pearloid pickguard (other variations are available), and the dark chrome finish on the output jack and strap buttons only adds to the elegant look. For me, Stow-Away is way more than a “substitute” travel guitar: it feels and sounds like a great “regular” guitar, and I wouldn’t even think twice about bringing it on stage.

Last word about Woody Stewart, the inventor and maker of this ingenious design: you will hardly find better customer service anywhere. I had to get mine on a short notice because I was leaving for Europe, and, despite some delays on the manufacturing side, Woody managed to get one of his Stow-Aways to me on time. He also mentioned that I could always send it back if I didn’t like it. Thanks, but mine is not going anywhere.
Body

• Alder
• Body Size 18 x 12 x 3.5”

Neck

• Neck Wood Maple
• Fretboard Wood Rosewood
• Scale Length 25.5”
• Neck Length 19”
• Number of Frets 22 Medium
• Fretboard Radius 14”

Hardware

• Neck Attachment Clip-Joint™ Neck Connector System
• Bridge Slotted Hard Tail
• Tuners Linear Tuning System
• Pickups Three Single Coils - Alnico Pole Magnets
• Controls Five Position Switch, Volume, Tone, Tone

Hofner Shorty Travel Guitar Review

The Hofner Shorty Travel Guitar is a great little Guitar that doesn’t feel or sound like a mini model. The beginner will enjoy the low price, high quality and tremendous value, while the most accomplished player will notice immediately that it has a standard sized neck. The Hofner sports a 24 ¾ scale neck and in the hand it feels a lot like a Les Paul except there is not as much body weight. The neck is fairly identical to other popular guitars but the body is smaller and lighter for easy handling and portability.

The Hofner Shorty is actually a redesign of a popular guitar built from 1982 -1986. In those days the Hofner was made in Germany. It was a fine example of German craftsmanship. The new design is practically identical to the original. The buyer can choose from four colors, black, blue, pink and red, just like in the 80’s.

Not Just another Practice Guitar
The Hofner Shorty TG is not just another practice guitar. It actually looks great and is suitable for public performances. It looks absolutely stunning and the sound quality is competitive with other electric guitars and far exceeding the sound quality of most guitars in its price range.

Excellent Performance Guitar
The lighter weight actually feels great once one becomes accustomed to it. It certainly makes those on stage moves a little easier and more comfortable. The Hofner Shorty Travel Guitar weighs less than ten pounds, has an overall length of only 32 ½ inches, and yet has a full sized neck. For this reason, the Hofner can become so comfortable that it actually does feel like an extension of the musician. Musician and instrument just meld together, and it feels very natural to hold.

Caring for your Hofner Shorty Travel Guitar.
The Hofner Shorty is durable but care should still be taken in storage. Just as with any guitar, the neck is a major concern. Whenever resting your guitar for more than a few hour, be sure that it is put in a case that provides proper neck support. Definitely consider a hard case for storage and travel. The Shorty is extremely portable, but always be careful when packing. This is true of any guitar.

Restringing the guitar can be a bit tricky for some people. Unless one has owned dozens of guitars, the task always feels a little strange the first time. If in doubt about the process research or enlist the help of a more knowledgeable friend the first time it is strung. It’s always good to have an extra pair of hands on this operation anyway. Beginners might consider asking a reliable music store to do the job the first time, and allow them to watch.

The Hofner Shorty Travel Guitar can be a Musician’s Favorite
Since the current version (2005 to present) is a slightly updated 180 its styling is reminiscent of the 80’s rockers. It is comparable to much more expensive guitars in sound, and overall quality and appearance. It features a standard 32 ¾ inch neck and all the features one would expect on a new guitar including a Humbucker pickup and output jack. It can be customized further by an experienced guitar technician, and it is a joy to hold. It’s truly an easy guitar to become attached to.

Rambler Travel Electric Guitar Review

Want to jam when you get there?  Practice in the hotel?  Jump on stage and play?  Take a Rambler™ Travel Electric Guitar - a full scale professional instrument that breaks down to fit in a briefcase or computer bag. This is a great sounding, great playing instrument perfected for the traveling musician.  The Rambler™ offers unsurpassed quality, playability and resonance.

The Rambler™ travel guitar features locking tuners located on the bottom of the guitar.  The strings are loaded from the top of the neck through the patented StringKeeper™.  Dual humbucking pickups switchable from neck to bridge or both provide a fat full sound and excellent tone. Separate tone and volume controls provide a wide range of equalization.  Intonation and string action is set with a fully adjustable Tuneomatic bridge.  The adjustable nut, a unique feature of the Rambler™, allows string action to also be adjusted at the top of the neck.

Weighing less than five pounds and with an overall length of about 30”, the Rambler™ is a very portable guitar even when assembled.  Scale length is 24-1/2” (Gibson scale) with 20-21 frets. Many travelers prefer to take the guitar apart and place the separated neck and body in their carry on luggage.  To take the guitar apart, loosen a single thumbwheel on the top of the neck and remove the StringKeeper™.  Wrap the strings around the body through the StringCatcher™, tucking the StringKeeper™ between the middle tuners.  Then take off the neck by loosening four thumbwheels.  Simply reverse the process to assemble the guitar.

While playing and sounding like a full size electric guitar, the Rambler™ has a sonic advantage due to the absence of a headstock.  The string energy normally wasted as the strings pass over the nut is channeled back into the neck, providing excellent resonance and sustain.  Neck relief is adjustable with the dual action truss rod, allowing more or less relief as desired.  The Rambler™ Classic has a solid Canadian Maple body, in either Tobacco or Cherry Sunburst.  The Classic comes with a specially designed and embroidered Strobel Guitars gig bag.

Strobel Guitars also offers a Rambler™ Custom Travel Guitar, with choice of tone woods, neck shape, fretboard, inlay and custom colors. Options include coil tapping, on board pre-amp, Piezo bridge, etc.  Strobel Guitars recently introduced the Rambler™ Custom Travel Electric Bass guitar, offering a 34” scale neck with the nut located at the third fret.  Overall length of the Rambler™ Bass is less than 35”.  Both the Rambler™ Custom Guitar and Bass are outfitted with high end Schaller electronics and components.

-Strobel Guitars This is a sweet looking guitar.  Check out their New Website for more information on the Rambler Classic, Custom and Bass models.

Rambler™ Travel Electric Guitar Features

• standard dual humbucking pickups
• separate tone and volume controls
• tuneOmatic bridge
• locking tuners
• custom thumbwheels
• available  in choice of Tobacco or Cherry Sunburst.

Fender Squier Mini Player Electric Guitar Review

I received the Fender Squier Mini Player for a birthday present from my girlfriend.   She wanted to buy me something that I was passionate about but she knew she couldn't afford to buy above the two full size electric guitars I already own.  Solution:  go practical.

I admit, at first I thought it was a joke or something until she explained why she bought it.  So many times we travel places or just end up in a situation where I would like to play a guitar but I either

A.) didn't bring it because of space and storage issues
B.)  don't feel like hauling it out and setting up
or
C.)  just don't find it practical

Whats great about this little guitar is that the amplifier, speaker and distortion are all built into the guitar.  You have two separate knobs for volume and distortion to tune it just how you want it.  There's  no cords, no boxes, just pick it up and play.  It also provides a headphone jack for those situations where you need a silent practice.

So what does it sound like?  Surprisingly, and I wasn't expecting much, it sounds really good.  You get really decent clean tones out of this guitar but don't expect the neighbor to call the cops on account of you playing to loud.  It has only the one humbucking pickup.  I really wish it was a little louder but when playing without a preamp the volume is pretty low.  Turning up the distortion helps and it does sound pretty cool.   If I need more volume I noticed there's a 1/4" jack that allows you to hook up your favorite amp and really rock out.

As far as playing it goes, well, this is where you realize your playing a fender and not just some toy.  It has a nice maple neck and rosewood fret board with 20 medium jumbo frets.  The body is lamenated hardwood and the hardware is all chrome.  It feels pretty sturdy, like it could take some serious abuse.  Even though its a smaller guitar it doesn't feel awkward at all like some small travel guitars are notorious for.  It pretty much feels just like a normal guitar so playability isn't a issue.

Overall, I would recommend the Fender Squier Mini Player to anyone who likes to travel, the portablity is just awesome.  Yes, there are smaller electric travel guitars but they do not offer a built in amp and speaker.  Whats interesting is I find myself picking up this guitar over my other guitars even when I'm just messing around at home.  Why?  Because I can just pick it up and start playing.  I really like having it around and I owe it all to by wonderfully smart girlfriend.

What about kids? Well we don't have any together yet but  this guitar would be perfect for a kid.  A lot of times people buy their kid a guitar for 40 bucks at Walmart to see if they are going to stick with it.  The problem with this is that the guitar sucks and it rarely stays in tune if you can even get it in tune.  Of Course they give up.  This guitar is relatively inexpensive, a quality instrument (not a toy), and its small stature fits perfectly into the arms of a child.

Fender Squier Mini Player Features:

• Series: Affinity Series
• Scale length: 22.75" (575mm)
• Colors: Black (polyurethane finish)
• Body: Laminated hardwood
• Neck: Maple, C-shaped, (polyurethane finish)
• Fingerboard: Rosewood, 9.5" radius (241 mm)
• Frets: 20 medium jumbo
• Pickups: 1 humbucking pickup
• Controls: Volume, Gain
• Pickup switching: None
• Bridge: Hard-tail 6-Saddle Bridge
• Machine Heads: Covered tuners
• Hardware: Chrome
• Pickguard: None
• Width at nut: 1.61" (41 mm)
• Unique features: Built-In amplifier and speaker system, Volume and Gain Controls, easy access 9V battery compartment (battery included), Headphone jack for Silent practice, 1/4" Input, 9V DC adaptor Input, Black silkscreen Logo, White dot position inlays
• Strings: Fender Super 250L, (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel p/n 073-0250-003

Traveler Escape EG-1 Travel Guitar Review

The Traveler Escape EG-1 is a travel-sized guitar with full size sound. The EG-1 is co-designed by John Carruthers for Traveler Guitar and the craftsmanship put into this axe shows it.

Whether it was tone, awkwardness, poor action or thin sound, travel guitars of the past have always been encumbered by something that just wasn’t quite right. That has changed with the EG-1. When I first pulled the EG-1 out of the shipping box, I was amazed at the size and weight. Obviously, since it’s a travel guitar that fits in an overhead airplane bin, it’s going to be small, but still, this thing is like a baby. However, we all know the old adage about how big things can come in small packages. The EG-1 delivers.

First, the guitar features a single humbucker pick-up, Alder body, maple neck with an ebonized rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets. I immediately needed to play this guitar, so I sat down with it and plugged in the Pocket Rock-It headphone amplifier and tuned it up. Let me say this, if you don’t have a strap, the EG-1 is a bit awkward when you rest it on your leg in a sitting position. However, beyond that, the sound is amazing. For a stock pick-up, the humbucker delivers big, warm sound. If you’re looking for a hotter sound, though, you may want to switch it out.

The action on the EG-1, for an electric, seems a bit high to me, but it’s really not bad out of the box. It's also easy to adjust with the top-slotted bridge posts. The fat frets are also a plus. The overall feel of the guitar is pretty stout, even though the neck is relatively thin. I purchased the blue stripe model and I love this finish. From a looks standpoint, it reminds me of a fast car with a wicked racing stripe.

My one complaint about the EG-1 is how hard it is to re-string. After my first session, I decided to go with a lighter gauge set of strings. Due to the design of the guitar, re-stringing it is pretty tough, but after a call to their customer service department (thanks Dave!) I was able to get the job done.

Overall, this guitar is a great investment if you travel a lot. It stays in tune and has great sound, so you can rock wherever you go.

Traveler Escape EG-1 Features:

• Full 25-1/2" scale
• 5 pounds light and only 29-1/4" long
• Built-in Pocket RockIt headphone amp with distortion and clean tones
• Fits in airline overhead compartments
• Alder body
• American hard maple neck
• Fretboard: Ebonized rosewood
• 22 jumbo frets
• deluxe gig bag

Traveler Speedster Travel Guitar Review

Perhaps one of the newest innovations to hit the market concerning travel guitars is the Traveler Speedster guitar. It possess the ability to emulate the sound, feel, and look of a solid-body, full-size guitar; and, it's perfect for any frequent traveler who would like to keep their chops up while on the road and/or concerned about damage to more conventional, valuable models.

Although the Traveler Speedster looks deceiving, the neck has the normal scale of 22 frets, with its width being narrower than a Gibson guitar, and closer to a Fender Stratocaster. It has a comfortable, detachable arm rest which helps it feel like a conventional guitar. The entire package comes with an attractive soft case(can be used as a carry-on), a pick, and a manual you will need regards to tuning and assembly.

This is not a guitar that I would use on a recording session or any gig situation, simply because of the single coil pickup which makes the tone sound deficient, if not a bit weak.   Overall, the sound quality is not that bad for a travel guitar, and as mentioned before, the neck is regular size, so players who have larger hands need not be concerned with any complications.  [UPDATE:  All New Traveler Speedster's come with a dual-rail Humbucker.  In no way is the sound or tone deficient but instead quite amazing.]

Although the action of the guitar was just fine as set by the factory, you can easily adjust the string action by raising the height and/or lowering the roller bridge. The tuning pegs are cumbersome, so extra care will be needed while tuning the guitar. The only disadvantage to the aforementioned roller bridge is the way the strings wrap around it provide an inconsistent tension distributed to the strings. This can make tuning this guitar a nightmare, but still easier to tune than any guitar with a floating tremolo bar.

Overall, I do recommend the Traveler Speedster, despite what I consider to be minor flaws in design. While the tuning system will take you some time to get used to, you will be able to adjust your tuning fairly easily within 2-3 weeks of practicing it. Even more encouraging is the fact that it can withstand knocks, bumps, etc. and still keep its tuning – thus reducing the fear of the tedious process of tuning this guitar. The easy portability of the Traveler Speedster, and full-size feel, make this an excellent choice.

Brian's Input- there is several things im doing to make it a awesome guitar. I put in two micro switches, parrallel serial, cut out coil. Seymour Duncan pickup will be installed , I hope this isn't a 95 dollar mistake. The original pickup does sound pretty good. The soider joints should be checked on anything from china, they put stuff together to fast, I used to soider for a living, yea i spelled it wrong. Not quite sure how I'm going to address the peg mounting for the armrest, you need the armrest and it works well. butt mine in on there kind of wobbly and will ruin the guitar in the long run. It needs two screw downs.... you cant put weight on something with a cheesy peg that doesn't go all the way through the hole. I hope I don't mess it up taking the peg out and making a secure screw down like with the strap screw. which was done nicely. It would be great if the company would just send me another one to replace the peg. I sent in the warranty but of course it isn't useful now anyway. I don't want this guitar gone for a day anyway. The ernie ball slinky 11 to 48 strings were a big improvement for me, and the guy who said tuning this guitar is hard .... I have to laugh. This is the easiest guitar to tune, plus it stays in tune. I love it. Feel free to take any positives out of this and compile a shining review if you like , I have no problem with that. For anyone stuck in a reclined chair or wheel chair etc. girl etc. this guitar is your only low cost and big bang for the buck you can get. I could find no other guitar to suite my needs at all. Plus its really a beautiful guitar. Have a great day -Lizard

Traveler Speedster Features:

• Full 24-3/4" scale
• 4 1/2 pounds light and only 28" long
• Fits easily in airline overhead compartments
• Dual-rail humbucker
• Volume and tone controls
• Upper armrest detaches for travel
• high quality gig bag

Ministar Castar Travel Guitar Review

The Ministar Castar is a travel electric guitar that is designed to resemble a Stratocaster and is great for playing rock music. The price is relatively affordable at $199.99. This type of guitar is great for travelers because it is extremely portable. It can be taken just about anywhere. It will even easily fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane. Even though the Castar weighs only 3 pounds, it has all the features of a full sized Stratocaster.

This guitar features a maple neck with a 24-fret fingerboard, an adjustable bridge and nut, master volume controls, an on/off switch, 3 single-coil pickups, die-cast tuners, a tremolo bar, a leg rest rod, and extension rods to resemble a full-sized guitar body. It also has a one-piece construction to allow for maximum tone, sustain, and strength. The Castar is packaged with a strap, should strap rods, a gig bag, and an amplifier lead.

Even though this a great travel guitar, it does have some flaws. The tremolo bar will frequently come loose while you play. Also, the volume control does not work like a volume control should. When the knob is set to high the volume will not change for most of the turn. Then the tone will change when the volume is almost set to “off”. Other than these two flaws the guitar is designed pretty well and the playability is impressive for something so compact.

The sound is pretty impressive as well. The tone is comparable to a regular sized guitar. The pickups are custom made and they give a clear quality tone making this guitar sound great through any amp. The bridge pickup creates a great “twang”. The neck even feels like a Stratocaster neck. The action is quite low and can be adjusted to reduce fret buzz. It also stays in tune surprisingly well. The Castar is very easy to assemble and comfortable to play because it is so light. The adjustable floating armrest works great to comfortably hold your arm in place.

This guitar is basically made from one piece of maple wood, which gives it durability and strength. This product is a quality instrument with the exception of the volume control and the tremolo bar. It is ideal for the traveler and is less expensive than some of the other travel guitars on the market. This guitar is unique, but simple and fun to play. If you want the ultimate in portability, this is the instrument for you.

Ministar Castar Features:

• 3 matched B-M-F pickups
• 25 1/2" Scale
• 22 Frets
• 1 volume, 1 tone
• 1 5-position switch
• Micro-Adjustable Vibrato
• Sit Rod
• Carrying Bag
• Cord and Strap

Ministar Lestar Travel Guitar Review

I was going on a trip where space was at a premium, but I wanted to bring a guitar. I had heard good things about the Ministar Lestar guitar on an online chat and so I ordered one and received it really quickly. With the tool I needed included and in hand, I first picked the Lestar up and adjusted the truss bar. Then I took my time looking the Lestar over. I guess I had kind of expected it to be slightly shoddy workmanship because of its low price, but I was surprised to see that the instrument was free of rough fret ends and its wood had a nice and smooth decent finish.

It's still difficult to call it a guitar, because it's so super lightweight and there is no body, just a neck. It's really strange and a little awkward to play at first, but now that I have gotten used to it I am still surprised by how easy it actually is to play! The neck holds twenty-two frets, and because I have rather small hands, I really like that the guitar is thin, too. It makes it so much easier for me that I am able to play for a lot longer. I find that I no longer miss the presence of the normal guitar body, and am enjoying more maneuverability while I'm playing.

Some full-size guitars come with way too many bells and whistles. The Lestar has just two: one button for volume, one for tone. Nice and simple, just like I like it. The action feels a lot like what you would find on a more expensive guitar, though. It's slightly high, but still good. The sound I am getting out of the Ministar Lestar is surprising for such a small piece of wood. It's gutsy and bluesy and is just what I need to play mini-concerts in my living room. I play a lot of classic rock and rock ballads and I am even able to get some funky distortion buzz out of it through my amp!

The Lestar seems like it's going to hold up pretty well, too. The guitar feels solid and durable, and I think it's going to last for a long time. My friends kind of made fun of me for playing it at first, at least until they played it. Even though they thought it looked really odd, they all admitted that it played well and sounded good.

Ministar Lestar Features:

• 2 Humbuckers
• 24 3/4" Scale
• 22 Frets
• 1 Volume, 1 Tone
• 1 Selector Switch
• Sit Rod
• Carrying Bag
• Cord and Strap

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