Help me choose a camping/roadtrip guitar

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Tleek

Alright guys,
I went and played some more guitars today.
I almost bought a gs mini, but something about it just didn’t click to me and 500 is a bit more than I wanted to spend on a classroom and outdoor beater.

I kept going back to one particular Yamaha fs800. It just sounds great. It just felt good and sounded better than a $230 guitar should.

I picked it up with a $10 used gig bag and it’s ready for the beach, river, and backwoods. It’s larger than I wanted and the string spacing is pretty tight, but for the price it should work well. I think I just like Yamaha.

That's a good choice! It's probably where I would have ended up. I have travelled with "mini" scale guitars and they have always been disappointing. I now travel with my A&L Legacy that I picked up second hand. And I gig with it too! In fact, it's the only flattop acoustic I own. The Gibson scale length is really as small as I want to go.

[sinistral]

At the end of the day, any guitar could be a camping guitar, but some will be easier to pack, transport and/or care for than others. I’m a fan of guitars with detachable or foldable necks if space is a premium. If you’ve got the space and can maneuver with a gig bag that fits a 000-size guitar, an FS-800 is a great guitar since it’s inexpensive, reasonably rugged, and sounds and plays like a full-size guitar because it is.

[bsman]

Originally Posted by Birdbrain

That's an interesting option, and cheaper than expected. But it might not be appropriate for outdoor use in sunny and hot places. A black guitar inside a black case would sizzle in the sun. Perhaps the CF construction would survive, but you could get burns just picking it up. Blacks seems the default color for everything these days - "Look, it's a tactical guitar!" - but I've learned to avoid it, here in my sunny Western state.

I'll second that. I have a Rainsong Shorty that gets way too hot to be comfortable when I play outside in the sun. Lately, I have a Journey OF660 carbon fiber (mostly used for travel) with an orange top that's a lot more comfortable to play outside on a sunny day.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Tleek

I camp a lot with my family. Last year my camping guitar was a cordoba mini II but I sold it.

I know this has come up a lot, but…
I’d like some recommendations. I think dangers with humidity are pretty overblown, but I do live in a very wet area and like to travel to very dry areas. Something stable would be nice. Theft is also a big concern as is portability. I have two toddlers and an suv so when we get loaded up for a road trip there’s not a lot of extra space.

Im trying to decide between dirt cheap or a little nicer.

I’m thinking…
Jim Dandy
Yamaha CSF or FS 800
Taylor GS mini
Another Nylon stringed parlor or mini guitar
Some beat up pre owned guitar.

Hi Tleek…
We're taking off on a month long road trip in a couple weeks, and even though I have a Voyage Air (which has logged tens of thousands of road miles in our RV, and air miles on planes), I'm taking my Baritone Uke.

It's tuned exactly like the top four strings of a guitar and I string it with a low D string (D-G-B-E). We're going to be interaction-heavy on this trip and I just want something which takes up less space and which can be played in hotels, or BBQ (at the Air B&Bs) without disturbing folks around me.

We used to send mission trips to remote places with the $100 Musician's Friend Rogue Dreadnoughts (the #110 models), which were simple to setup to play nicely. We'd put them in an inexpensive carry bag with a dozen sets of strings, a tuner, strap and peg winder and play them while there and then find people in those areas to leave the guitars with as a gift.

My point is the Rogues were easy to setup to play easily. Cheaper than renting an instrument, not a big deal if something were broken or stolen, and easily replaceable. They work great on camping excursions as well.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by Tleek

Alright guys,
I went and played some more guitars today.
I almost bought a gs mini, but something about it just didn’t click to me and 500 is a bit more than I wanted to spend on a classroom and outdoor beater.

I kept going back to one particular Yamaha fs800. It just sounds great. It just felt good and sounded better than a $230 guitar should.

I picked it up with a $10 used gig bag and it’s ready for the beach, river, and backwoods. It’s larger than I wanted and the string spacing is pretty tight, but for the price it should work well. I think I just like Yamaha.

That is a great choice, I was reading through the thread and was going to recommend this after reading all your thoughts on the minis that do not really have the sound you want. I have a Yamaha from the 1970's that I did nothing for (unfair to it for sure), stored it without a case in closets, under beds, etc. It is still crack free and plays well, cant' be beat it in my opinion for a decent sound and obvious structural integrity.

[Tleek]

Not camping, but this fs800 is doing its job at the beach. The but width and string spacing is a bit annoying, but I’m really enjoying this guitar. I’m really glad I went with this over a gs mini.

[kbraker]

The Breedlove Companions are pretty nice for used money. If you are ok with a 23.5inch scale, 1 11/16 nut its worth a try.

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Retired elementary-school music/fifth-grade classroom teacher here - given your situation I'd be looking for maximum durability and acceptable portability; that said, here's cheap and small (Taylor GS Mini size):

BUMMER: Nut Width: 1-5/8 Inch

Full Specs: https://www.enya-music.com/collectio...ts/x3-pro-mini

[leew3]

Originally Posted by Tleek

It’s possible lol!

No, the Shure SM58 is for pounding tent pegs!

[Tleek]

Originally Posted by leew3

No, the Shure SM58 is for pounding tent pegs!

lol Then what’s my behringer knock off for?

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by Bluenose

The most indestructible guitar is made from carbon fiber but that comes at a cost.

Originally Posted by redir

Because not only are they indestructible they sound amazingly well too.

After years of wanting one, I finally bought a Journey OF660 last year and it's been my travel guitar ever since for when I'm not taking my own car.

[itsLars]

If you don‘t mind a shorter scale, the Composite Acoustics Cargo is a wonderful travel guitar.

[Stonehauler]

I am going to talk about generalities, not specific guitars.

In general, most people can't tell the difference between a 200 dollar guitar all laminate and a 5000 dollar guitar when they listen to one.

People on this forum love to spend other people's money on dream guitars...even me.

Who are you buying this for. YOUR listening pleasure, or to perform for others (even just family)?

Are you willing to be the next United Breaks Guitars person?

What happens when it gets stolen out of your car/hotel room?

What happens if you get rear ended while you have it in the trunk? (yes, that's happened to me)

Are the places you play going to be good a playing environment, be a dead room, or a room with lots of other background noises? The environment you play in has almost as much impact on your sound as your choice of guitar does.

I am fortunate enough to have a few guitars. Some very nice, some that are more affordable. I take my affordable guitar with me when I go somewhere. I know I can take my nicer guitars, but why? My mom can't tell the difference. My brother, sister-in-law and our nieces/nephews couldn't tell the difference either and none of them can play one.

Honestly, if my affordable guitar (it's the first one I ever owned) got damaged, I would replace it with another affordable guitar for the purposes of traveling with it. Probably an Epi Dove or Hummingbird or a Epi J45, not sure if it would be the laminate body/side or the IBG solid wood version (probably laminate), but it would be an affordable guitar, not a martin D18/D28 or a Gibson J45/Dove/Hummingbird. Something I would love playing, but not something I could not afford to lose 8 months after I bought it because of something unforeseen.

My recommendation. Get a nice laminate guitar with a solid top and a bound fretboard. It won't cost you an arm and a leg, it will give you good sound, and if it gets stolen, broken, or damaged, it won't be the end of the world.