Parlor or 3/4 guitar for flying?

Which airline?

Nick's question is more important than it may seem.
Every airline has different (and constantly changing) ideas regarding what is acceptable carry-on.
They may not allow you to carry it on. You may be required to check it (to allow them to cram another paying customer into the cabin, or to somehow prevent terrorism)

That said, I would recommend a trip to your local pawn shops.
You'll be able to try a variety of guitars, and see/hear what the smallest you can enjoy is.

Who knows, you might find something very affordable that sounds and feels great.
Or something really cheap that you won't cry over if the airline does something bad to it.

Northwest and American, via the web they both state 45 linear inches, but that in itself is confusing. On American they state W x L x H, on Northwest they don't. I see so many people at the airports and their carry-ons are huge, 2 of them, backpacks just crammed, how is that right? Anyways, getting back on the subject I'm not quite sure what to do. Thanks for your input.

Northwest has always let me carry on. YMMV

American has never let me carry on my guitar. I won't fly them again.

Southwest is my preferred airline now. Not only have they let me carry things on, they've rearranged bins to fit my guitar.

I travel a lot and use the Traveler EG-1. They also make an acoustic version called the MK-2 (I think) These are only about 30" long and sound great. I also carry the Vox AC30 amplug and an iPod with tunes to play along with. If I am in a car I use a Roland Microcube amp.

http://www.travelerguitar.com

If you want to play with friends, camping etc. you may want to look at the new Martin plastic guitar. Pretty indestructible and you can play it in the rain...

I travel a lot and use the Traveler EG-1. They also make an acoustic version called the MK-2 (I think) These are only about 30" long and sound great. I also carry the Vox AC30 amplug and an iPod with tunes to play along with. If I am in a car I use a Roland Microcube amp.

Thanks for the info., you carry this on with no problem? Hard case or gig bag?

Thanks :wink:

I just saw a similar thread on another guitar forum and people there recommend a travel guitar from http://www.go-guitars.com/ .

-- Rob

I travel a lot and use the Traveler EG-1. They also make an acoustic version called the MK-2 (I think) These are only about 30" long and sound great. I also carry the Vox AC30 amplug and an iPod with tunes to play along with. If I am in a car I use a Roland Microcube amp.

Thanks for the info., you carry this on with no problem? Hard case or gig bag?

I have the older Traveler Pro. I have flown with this as carry on and I've checked it inside a hard suitcase both with no problems. We've got a nice hard case that this fits diagonally in and then with a layer of clothes above and below it is well cushioned. The only thing to be aware of is that it might be mistaken for a gun. I had one of the guys at the security check make a comment about that when I was bringing it as carry on.

The guitar has a different enough feel that when I plan on going somewhere with it I start to introduce it in my practice for a week or two ahead of time. I start with a song during practice and work my way up to more of the practice before I travel.

I'm also thinking about switching out the tuners to locking tuners. It can be very troublesome to get the strings on nicely in the tight space.

The EG-1 comes with a nice gig bag. It is well padded and had two pockets.
They are pretty cool. There is a testimonial somewhere (musicians friend, I think)I read about a guy had one in Iraq. 120 degrees and it did great.

I would definitely get the MK-2 but at the moment it's a little too spendy for me. :(

I used to own a Washburn Rover travel guitar. It was good for practicing on the road. However, the sound was not so great. I was looking at Traveler Guitars for a model to replace the Rover. I tried out a really nice electric at Guitar Center. I think it was their EG-1 model. However, before I could buy one, I was given a Martin LXM as a gift.

For an acoustic travel guitar the LXM has a really good sound. It comes with a fairly well padded gig bag. In the last eight months I have traveled extensively with it. I have flown almost all of the major airlines in the US and have never had a problem putting it in the overhead bin (although it can be a little snug on some small commuter jets). It also seams to be pretty resistant to changes in weather, as I found out when one of my kids left it sitting on the dashboard of the minivan during a 90+ degree day in Badlands National Park. It didn't warp. Heck, it didn't even go out of tune. I suspect it is a little more resistant to heat and humidity due to being constructed of laminate. My wife, who is not good at haggling over pricing, got the LXM for about $240 at a Chicago area GC.