I recently saw Andy Askins at the Comedy Store. His routine was pretty good especially his re-tooling of the Police's Message in a Bottle as Massge in a Brothel. I was intrigued by his guitar which (after googling for awhile) is a Aria "Sinsonido" travel quitar. I also stumbled across the Soloette Dragonfly (http://www.soloette.com/electricguitar.htm).

I really like the look of them. I'm considering buying one but am looking for opinions. Has anyone played one? All the reviews that I've found are positive.

I've played both of those at music stores because they looked interesting.

They're great if you're always playing amplified and you prefer that sort of processed, quack-like sound that transducer pickups provide. Some people actually like that sound. But if you want something that sounds like an actual guitar (resonating wood), look at actual guitars.

If you're looking for something small that travels well, sure, those things are great, but remember that you also must bring amplification, thus increasing the travel complexity by that amount.

Another travel guitar option is a Baby Taylor or a Baby Martin. They don't sound like their full-size counterparts, but they do sound good, and they're really cute and feel great.

Thanks Tony, the fact that they're travel guitars was what intrigued me. I travel a fair bit and was looking for something that I could pack down. As far as the amp goes, if I understand correctly, they can be used with headphones instead of an amp.

I'll take a wander over and look at the Baby Taylor and Baby Martin.

I've looked at these, but at the end of the day, replaced my '30's' Levin with a nice, very economical, Yamaha acoustic. which sounds every bit as good.

There's also the Martin Backpacker, which is interesting, but doesn't sound as good as the Baby Taylor or Baby Martin.

I own the Classical, and it is absolutely fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough. The odd little tubes do a *perfect* job simulating the body of a real guitar. It feels exactly like my grand concert hall classical. They are extremely rugged. The sound is surprisingly good, too, though that is obviously a secondary consideration.

I would try to get a used one if I were you. There aren't any resonating cavities, so there really isn't anything to break or deteriorate.

Jim

The Soloette guitars have a built-in amplifier that works with headphones. You don't need to bring an amp, just earbuds or headphones. I practice with mine without anything in hotel rooms. Their whole reason for existence is so you can practice while travelling, nobody would perform with one. On the other hand, I can't see any reason why a Soloette electric guitar like the dragonfly can't sound as good as anything else (except for resonating body instruments, of course).

Oh, one other thing about the Classical. It's designed to use ball-end strings. Unfortunately, ball-end nylon strings mostly suck. I was able to easily modify the head stock so I can tie on good strings. Of course, this isn't an issue for you if you're an electric player.

Finally got myself a Steinberger G3T for travelling around with. Okay - it's a full electric, but it plays alright. The downside is I played a Parker Fly in the same shop and was soooo tempted to fork out the £1600 for that - beautiful note.

Wow, the Parker Fly looks amazing. Still mulling over the DragonFly but I'm pretty close to dropping the dime.

The Parker is the lightest guitar I have ever played, but perfectly balanced - and the sounds you can get from the pickups (2 normal, one humbucker and one piezo bridge transducer) give you the full range from Thrash to Classical, Blues and Folk to Grunge...

So wanting that for my birthday.....

It just depends on what you want it for. The Parker Fly is a full-sized (though light) guitar. That means its probably too long to fit in airplane overheads. The Soloettes are really, really small. Can't be beat for a travelling practice guitar.