Voyage Air Question

[mikey99]

Hi All,

I had been in the market for a Voyage Air for a while after being less than thrilled about the portability of my Journey. This morning a (somehow?) brand new VAD-06SN popped up on ebay and I grabbed it. From fold who have owned Voyage Air guitars, did you need to get yours set up or did they come pretty much ready to go? Was the action decently low?

Thanks!!!

[zeeway]

I recently bought a used Voyage Air VA-OM, and it sounds good and has good action as is. YMMV.

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by zeeway

I recently bought a used Voyage Air VA-OM, and it sounds good and has good action as is. YMMV.

That's great to hear! Did you buy it new or used? I was going back and forth as the OK looks great too, but dread won out in the end. Which case do you have and how do you like it? Mine has the transit case

[29er]

I bought mine new @ 10 years ago and although it had a cracked top the action was spot on from day one and has remained as such. The retailer discounted it heavily due to the crack and it's probably the best money I've even spent on an instrument. It's been all over the country on countless camping trips, never humidified and generally been treated poorly. Can't recommend it enough

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by 29er

I bought mine new @ 10 years ago and although it had a cracked top the action was spot on from day one and has remained as such. The retailer discounted it heavily due to the crack and it's probably the best money I've even spent on an instrument. It's been all over the country on countless camping trips, never humidified and generally been treated poorly. Can't recommend it enough

That's awesome, which model did you get, and what case?

[Glennwillow]

I have a Voyage-Air VAOM-06. I set it up myself; I also changed the saddle to bone. The back of the neck was poorly finished, so I sanded it a little and fixed the feel of the neck. It didn't take a lot of effort to spruce the guitar up and it always sounded good. The change to bone saddle added a little more bass.

- Glenn

[29er]

Originally Posted by mikey99

That's awesome, which model did you get, and what case?

The VAOM-04. It came with the transit case.

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by 29er

The VAOM-04. It came with the transit case.

Nice, was looking at that one as well. Mine comes with the transit case. How have you liked it? I'm planning to get a bright "fragile" hang tag to put on it for when I put it in an overhead bin, just in case someone tries to stuff something on top of it.

[zeeway]

Originally Posted by mikey99

That's great to hear! Did you buy it new or used? I was going back and forth as the OK looks great too, but dread won out in the end. Which case do you have and how do you like it? Mine has the transit case

It was used and it has the transit case. It has good tone and easy to play. Yep, I like it.

[catdaddy]

I've had a VAD-04SN for more than 10 years. Bought it new, and it was setup perfectly when I received it. However, one thing that I learned early-on with it was to not over-tighten the neck fastening screw. Over-tightening caused the neck joint to misalign slightly and produced some intonation problems. Once I stopped doing that, the guitar has been perfect. It's traveled many thousands of miles with me, and I can't imagine a better guitar for travel with it's nice sound and playability, and ease of transport.

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

I've had a VAD-04SN for more than 10 years. Bought it new, and it was setup perfectly when I received it. However, one thing that I learned early-on with it was to not over-tighten the neck fastening screw. Over-tightening caused the neck joint to misalign slightly and produced some intonation problems. Once I stopped doing that, the guitar has been perfect. It's traveled many thousands of miles with me, and I can't imagine a better guitar for travel with it's nice sound and playability, and ease of transport.

That's great to hear, thanks for the tip. I am pretty sure these come with 12's. Did you stick with 12's? I normally play with 11's

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by mikey99

That's great to hear, thanks for the tip. I am pretty sure these come with 12's. Did you stick with 12's? I normally play with 11's

I've always used 12s on all of my acoustics (except the Bourgeois with 13s), so I've used only 12s on the Voyage Air. FWIW- I like either PBs or monels on it.


Enjoy your new VAD-06SN!!!

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

I've always used 12s on all of my acoustics (except the Bourgeois with 13s), so I've used only 12s on the Voyage Air. FWIW- I like either PBs or monels on it.


Enjoy your new VAD-06SN!!!

Interesting, I wonder if I will need to adjust the action if I switch to 11's. As you may have figured out, I'm not an expert on these things, nowhere close!!

I am definitely psyched! Funny part is, right now my only two other acoustics are an older Alvarez jumbo and a Journey Overhead +, so the VAD-06SN will be my only standard sized dread, haha

[mikey99]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have a Voyage-Air VAOM-06. I set it up myself; I also changed the saddle to bone. The back of the neck was poorly finished, so I sanded it a little and fixed the feel of the neck. It didn't take a lot of effort to spruce the guitar up and it always sounded good. The change to bone saddle added a little more bass.

- Glenn

Thanks for the insight, I'll have to take a look once it comes. I haven't really made those mods before but sounds like they are easy fixes that go a long way!!

[LAPlayer]

Originally Posted by mikey99

...From fold who have owned Voyage Air guitars, did you need to get yours set up or did they come pretty much ready to go? Was the action decently low? Thanks!!!

I've had a VA in my studio, on the road, all over the world .... since Harvey first announced them. As soon as I had one in my hands to evaluate, I called Harvey and purchased it. I bought my first from Harvey and over the years sold that dread and bought a couple more. The last one I bought, which is the one I travel with now, was Harvey's personal guitar and it is, as expected, a great one. The answer is that EVERY guitar benefits from a set up so - yes you should get it set up. Except for the zero-fret nut, it sets up identically to any other acoustic. Since every guitar is different, I can't guess how yours will arrive. I sold my first VA because it was a laminate body w/ solid top - and was very good. My last few, including my current one have been all solid. They are great. I've shown the guitar all over the world, to audience members and passengers on cruise ships when I was playing there. No one, including my some-time duo partner has ever held a VA and been able to tell it was anything other than a great guitar - until I showed them it folds. OP - enjoy yours.

Harvey will also build you a custom-build to your specs with the folding neck. That's how this whole thing began. Harv was asked by a good customer of his to build him a guitar he could travel with. The articulated neck was Harvey's solution to the request. The rest, as they say, is history.