Summer is here. The sun, the warmth, the blue skies, and the opportunity to spend quality time outdoors with friends and family — it does wonders for the mind and the spirit. It’s also a great season to bring along your music to enhance the experience. And there’s no other instrument better than a guitar to accompany your hours on the beach, in the mountains, or at your backyard cookout.
Choosing the perfect travel-friendly guitar means finding one that is both portable and befitting of your preferred playing style. At Sweetwater, we have a wide range of smaller acoustics with various player-specific features in a range of prices. Here, we’ll highlight 9 instruments that qualify for the role of ideal travel-friendly instrument — so you can grab one and head off to whatever summer destination awaits!
- Taylor GS Mini
- Ibanez PF2MH
- Luna Safari Koa Supreme
- Martin Backpacker
- Washburn Apprentice G-Mini 5
- Cordoba Mini II
- Epiphone El Nino
- Journey Instruments FC522
- Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1
Taylor GS Mini
First up on our list is the incredibly compact but all-Taylor GS Mini. This little powerhouse is modeled after that popular Grand Symphony body style, packing big, big volume unplugged or plugged in. The GS Mini features a solid Sitka spruce top and rosewood back and sides for that classic blend of punchy high end supported by a present midrange and a full low end. The GS Mini comes with a built-in ES-T electronics system that translates pristine amplified acoustic tone. With a total length of just over 36 inches, the GS Mini is a guitar you can easily pack in any vehicle, haul on the subway, or even stow in overhead compartments on planes. Perfect for camping, festivals, or just hauling long distances, the GS Mini is a compact guitar with big tone that can go everywhere you go.
Ibanez PF2MH
The Ibanez PF2MH mini dreadnought packs a lot of volume and playability at an amazing price point. It features a sapele top, back, and sides for a warm, balanced tone that sounds great at the beach. The PF2MH also features a smooth mahogany neck and a nandu fingerboard that is extra responsive. This 3/4-scale dreadnought packs into the back of the van beautifully and will provide you with hours of on-the-go playing fun!
Luna Safari Koa Supreme
Next up is a real stunner. The Luna Safari Koa Supreme is an acoustic-electric with an all-koa body that features a 22.5-inch scale that allows this beauty to be able to fit in an overhead bin, should your travel plans involve flying. The Safari Koa Supreme also comes with onboard Fishman Sonitone electronics in the event that your journey includes a comfy outside cafe that happens to have a PA system! The mahogany neck on the Safari Koa Supreme comes with a pau ferro fingerboard that is adorned with pearloid moon phases that will captivate you and your audience.
Martin Backpacker
If you’re headed to the mountains, then you can’t do any better than the Martin Backpacker. This ultra-compact, travel-friendly guitar is a reduced-body acoustic that has been cut to the absolute minimum body design, making it incredibly light and easy to pack. The Backpacker can, in fact, be strapped to a backpack, should you get the urge to really set out for the territory! This unique acoustic features a solid spruce top with select hardwood back and sides for robust unamplified projection that will fill a room or a mountainside.
Washburn Apprentice G-Mini 5
The Washburn Apprentice G-Mini 5 is yet another acoustic that is ideal for summer travel. This undersized grand auditorium puts out a really impressive level of sound, and it’s light when standing and easy on the lap when not. The spruce top and mahogany back and sides of the G-Mini 5 keep this acoustic light but still big on volume and tone. The shorter, 7/8 scale on the G-Mini 5 is great for beginners and seasoned players alike. Finally, quartersawn scalloped bracing provides excellent support and durability for all the places you might go, making this acoustic a go-to for many, many years and many, many miles.
Cordoba Mini II
If you’re a summer traveler who also happens to be a classical guitar enthusiast, then the Cordoba Mini II will be your jam! This undersized classical acoustic has a beautifully cut mahogany body that sits comfortably in the lap for hours of play, be it on a veranda overlooking the beach or in a living room at a cozy Airbnb. The Cordoba Mini II is made from a resonant mahogany top, back, and sides and features an ultra-smooth and playable mahogany neck cut to a classic-C profile with a 22.875-inch scale. With the Cordoba Mini II, you can tap into your inner Segovia or jam your favorite classic rock with a classical twist!
Epiphone El Nino
Portability and playability pair perfectly in the El Nino Travel Acoustic from Epiphone. This travel-size dreadnought is made with quality materials and meticulous design. The El Nino is made from a select spruce top with an agathis body for great tone and robust unplugged volume — ideal for beach jams and intimate living-room sessions. A comfortable mahogany neck with granadillo fingerboard offers wonderful playability along the 22.68-inch neck. Summer never sounded so good with this quality, ultra-affordable acoustic!
Journey Instruments FC522
When you need portability and great tone, the Journey Instruments FC522 First Classical acoustic-electric is an amazing instrument that truly has to be experienced to be believed. The FC522 features Journey Instruments’ patented collapsible neck system that lets you detach and reattach the guitar neck with just a few simple clicks and turns, letting you easily fit the FC522 inside its included travel bag and into overhead bins on planes. This traditional Torres-sized-body acoustic features a solid cedar top, a solid pau ferro back, and engineered pau ferro sides for exceptionally rich acoustic tone. A solid mahogany neck with carbon fiber reinforcement is beautifully playable and responsive. And when you are ready to plug in, a proprietary under-bridge transducer pickup system delivers stellar amplified acoustic tone.
Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1
Finally, for the electric guitar enthusiasts in our audience, we present the Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1. This solidbody electric is actually a full-sized guitar with a 24.75-inch scale and 28.5-inch frame without a headstock to keep it even more portable. This travel-friendly electric features an active humbucking pickup and an onboard headphone amplifier, so you can jam silently wherever you go! There is also an aux input for jamming along to your favorite tracks as well as clean-boost, overdrive, and distortion settings for dialing in your tone as you like.
Whatever travel-friendly summer guitar you choose, we hope your destinations are filled with laughter, friends, and music! To help you find your ideal summer guitar, our Sweetwater Sales Engineers are always available to answer any questions you might have. Give them a call at (800) 222-4700 today.
