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.

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