I'm looking for advices about a new concept for a travel electric guitar

[buristo1]

Hi everyone, i'm a guitarist and a product design student working on his final project, and i need your help!

 

I was intrigued by modular guitars, so i did some research and i reached to the conclusion that there is not enough market for this kind of instruments (eaven if some companies produce them), basically because we love to have multiple models with their own personality.

 

This is why i switched to travel guitars. They have a much bigger market, with a lot of different models, but most of them are too big to be carried with you in an airplane and look more or less the same.

My idea is to create a collapsible travel guitar, characterized by some interchangeable parts (such as pickups, knobs, fretboard radius, neck profile, bridge…) that allows you to create your own configuration. I think that the moduar aspect in this case would be justified, because when you travel for work or when you are on holyday, you totally can’t carry more than one guitar with you, especially if you use public transports.

 

So, my questions are:

- What kind of guitarist are you?

- Wuold you buy a collapsible modular electric guitar?

- Wich features would you like to have in such instrument?

 

This is it, thank you so much for your help!

[randythoades]

I like the idea of a modular guitar definitely, would be very cool to have one guitar but be able to swap out single coil for humbuckers etc, or maple instead of rosewood neck when the whimsy takes you, but not sure why you would have one as a travel guitar. The nature of an electric guitar is that you would also need to carry an amplifier and cables, thus negating and offsetting the benefits in a collapsible travel electric unless you were going down the Pignose route and having onboard amplification.

 

A collapsible acoustic seems far more suitable like the Journey https://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Instruments-Solid-Travel-Guitar/dp/B088D7XQYT/ref=asc_df_B088D7XQYT/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696385059988&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14344007345713079697&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007360&hvtargid=pla-932629138513&psc=1&mcid=a0f3a2e1ed28380f9fa73423ec1942cd&gad_source=1

 

To answer your questions:

I play country / southern rock / bluegrass and retro blues based rock (rockabilly and boogie styles).

Yes, I would buy a modular electric guitar.

I would like pickup/control configurations mainly. I don't think I could be bothered in changing necks on a regular basis.

[Graham50]

I owned a Washburn Travel guitar for a while, but I did find it lacking in tone. I have travelled with my Yiari parlour guitar by plane, it fits the overhead. I don’t think a collapsible would appeal to me. Sorry.

[Pbassred]

Modular yes.  Collapsible, no.  There are enough issues with inconstant action as it is without taking the neck off.  It would need to relocate exactly every time.  That means metal to metal joints, heavy sprung latches and even then where would the strings go when you fold it.  Even if you get it to work and be stable anyone who is flying somewhere to perform would want to play the best instrument for the show rather than the best instrument for the aircraft.

Travel guitars exist but they tend to be headless neck-throughs with detachable wings.  You can't get then in the over-head but you could negotiate a carry-on depending on the airline.  There are also half size guitars.

 

The one in the amazon link sounds like a wet rag.

 

I slightly disagree with Randythoades. though

On 25/10/2024 at 07:21, randythoades said:

The nature of an electric guitar is that you would also need to carry an amplifier and cables,

If you don't care enough to take your favourite Tele, your amp could be borrowed, rented or one of many modelling boxes (that are quite good now) and run direct out the PA.  its quite fashionable in some genres.

[randythoades]

8 hours ago, Pbassred said:

I slightly disagree with Randythoades. though

If you don't care enough to take your favourite Tele, your amp could be borrowed, rented or one of many modelling boxes (that are quite good now) and run direct out the PA.  its quite fashionable in some genres.

But the OP is wanting to produce a collapsible travel electric, which I am obviously missing the point on. If you were going to borrow amps then you could borrow a guitar too if necessary, although the modelling box into PA does make a lot more sense.

I do like the idea of a modular guitar, being able to swap out pickup modules and electrics would be really cool, going from a standard tele setup to double humbuckers would be good and certainly save space for those that have multiple guitars for different applications.

[tauzero]

I'll echo what's already been said - making it collapsible would make it more liable to tuning issues. A headless guitar would have a total length only a few cm longer than the scale length. If you had a rigid backbone to the main body, you could have an interchangeable lower wing carrying pickups and controls so you could swap pickup and control configurations by simply slotting in a different wing.

[EdwardMarlowe]

I often looked at the Traveler range, https://travelerguitar.com Ugly AF, BUT that's offset by practicality. Years ago, I bought a Steinberger Spirit for using as a travel option. Wouldn't have been my first choice. HSH is just about everything I hate in a guitar set up, but that was the only left handed model they did. It's an ugly guitar, but I really came to appreciate the cleverness of the design. The neck being full scale is a huge plus as that makes it feel like a 'real' guitar. But then they clamped down on sizes of hand luggage for all airlines, and it was just too big. It's largely collected dust ever since, and I should sell it on. It's one of the GU style that have a body shaped like a guitar rather than a paddle, from the Music Yo era. One of only two I've ever seen in the UK, as MY never officially sold here, and the then UK distributor didn't take any of the left handed options. 

I've considered other options over the years. Basically for a carry-on item, best as I can make out it now needs to be no bigger than a violin. I think the Traveler guitars are fractionally too big, and I wouldn't carry an instrument if I risked being told it was going in the hold. I would very much welcome an option ,though, as currently I'm reduced to taking a harmonic with me when I travel, and my harmonica playing is *even* *worse* than my guitar... 

The killer app for me, I think, would be something sized closer to a Ukelele, that was either six or 12 string and tuned like a guitar. Brandoni used to make 12 string electric Mandolins which were, essentially, a guitar neck that was tuned to and played like a regular guitar with a capo on the 12th fret. Something like that the right size - even a six string -  would appeal as it could have a purpose when not travelling as well. Not trying to make it a full-neck guitar would mean you could avoid odd scale lengths and have it be something with its own character but which feels like a guitar. A solid body ukelele seems like a good solution for a travel item, but it's also a whole new tuning, set-up, chord pattern thing. Shorter learning curve for a guitar player, but still not quite a grab and go. 


Might also help justify the money to have something that is just different enough to provide something else at home too... As well as concerns about being hand-baggage sized, the Traveler is just expensive enough that I might think twice about taking it on holiday in case of loss or damage, plus its' not something I would lift to play in the house as an alternative to one of my other guitars. 

So... Maybe a six-string, solid body Ukulele which has a much beefier neck that feels like the top ten frets of a Strat and tunes an octave up from a regular guitar? Bolt on neck, one single coil pickup in the neck position. Or, better:  a bottle-top style bugmount** that came with it would be grand by me as long as it was a reliable sound. That would also save significantly on production costs, as it would mean no need to rout the body for pickups or wiring, just give it a decent fixed bridge, something like a Junior style wraparound, though the fully adjustable Wilkinson style. And cut the body to a symmetrical shape. That way you don't need to have a separate left handed version for those of us that need that...   If somebody could produce something like that than came in under £200, and for which I could also buy a hard case that was smaller than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm would be the killer app. Chosen those dimensions specifically because a] that's the max size for cabin baggage in Ryanair, the stingiest of all airlines (I'd rather swim, personally, but they're a good guide as to what the extremes are here). 


** This sort of thing, though there are a lot of them on the market. https://www.webemusic.com/products/The-Original-Bottle-Cap-Guitar-Pick-Up-18336.html

[EdwardMarlowe]

This Vox is a *close* but just slightly too big for carry-on for me - the symmetrical body could be flipped left handed, though the controls would still be in the way: 

https://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/sdc1

 

Good body shape, though. And I like the idea of it being ready to play when I pop the case. I'm leery of the reliability of anything folding and affordable, and once you get into having to reattached and retune necks after travel, it starts to be a lot of hassle for something where I just want a grab and go that might get lifted for a few minutes here and there in a hotel room on a week long worktrip. 

[Kiwi]

On 25/10/2024 at 00:56, buristo1 said:

This is why i switched to travel guitars. They have a much bigger market, with a lot of different models, but most of them are too big to be carried with you in an airplane and look more or less the same.

My idea is to create a collapsible travel guitar, characterized by some interchangeable parts (such as pickups, knobs, fretboard radius, neck profile, bridge…) that allows you to create your own configuration.

I don't want to piss on your fire but many have tried and failed.  They're very niche instruments and invariably there is some compromise between convenience and adaptability.  I would suggest taking a look at Michael Spalt's designs, they're beautiful in their own way and their construction was a little ahead of its time with the collapsable body bouts. 

 

 

In your position, and as someone with a career in design, I would probably use his ideas as an aesthetic inspiration and make them collapsible on both sides AND headless.  I would also investigate whether pickup swapping was an idea as well, this has been done by other makers.  You would need to design a cradle to allow standard pickups to be used.  I guess you could also look at a bayonet style or latching neck attachment, especially if it was an aluminium (or carbon composite) frame dampened by wooden inserts.